Acts 8:27

And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship,

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(27) A man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority.—Literally, a eunuch, a potentate. The Ethiopia from which the traveller came was the region so named by the geographers of St. Luke’s time in the upper valley of the Nile. Its connection with the Jewish people presents many points of interest. There seems reason to believe that in the time of Manasseh, who (according to the statement in the narrative of Aristeas as to the LXX. translation) formed an alliance with Psammetichus king of Egypt, a considerable body of Jews were sent off to protect the outposts of his kingdom, and it is in reference, probably, to these that Zephaniah speaks of the suppliants of “the daughter of my dispersed beyond the rivers of Ethiopia” (Zephaniah 3:10). Jewish influences had accordingly been at work there for some centuries. They may probably be traced in the piety of the Ethiopian eunuch, Ebed-melech, in the time of Jeremiah (Jeremiah 38:7-13; Jeremiah 39:16-18). Even at an earlier period the hopes of Israel had looked forward to, perhaps had actually seen, the admission of Ethiopians among the citizens of Zion (Psalm 87:4), Ethiopia stretching forth her hands unto God (Psalm 68:31). The fact that the traveller had come as a pilgrim or a proselyte, shows (if, as the narrative implies, the latter) that he was a circumcised “proselyte of righteousness.” His baptism was not, like that of Cornelius, the admission of a Gentile as such. The word “eunuch” has been taken by some commentators as meaning only “chamberlain,” which is, indeed, the strict etymological sense of the word. Its use in Matthew 19:12, and indeed in later Greek writers generally, is, however, in favour of the literal sense of the word. The strict letter of Deuteronomy 23:1, forbidding the admission of such persons into the congregation of the Lord, had been already modified (probably on the assumption that the state was not one which they had brought about by their own act) in favour of the sons of the stranger, the eunuchs “who keep my Sabbaths,” by Isaiah (Isaiah 56:4); and we may well think of St. Luke, as glad to record a proof that the discipline of the Church of Christ was as liberal on this point as the teaching of the Evangelical prophet. It is interesting to note that the first act of the first (Ecumenical Council was to formulate a like rule in dealing with such cases of the kind as then presented themselves (Conc. Nic. Song of Solomon 1), admitting those who were not self-mutilated even into the ranks of the clergy.

Under Candace queen of the Ethiopians.—The quantity of the second syllable is uncertain, but the analogy of Canăce is in favour of its being short. The knowledge of the student of Strabo (Strabo, xvii. p. 820) may, perhaps, be traced in the description. He mentions a Queen of Meroè, in Ethiopia, bearing the name of Candace. The occurrence of the same name in Plin. iv. 35, Dion.-Cass. liv. 5, indicates that it was, like Pharaoh, a dynastic name or title. Eusebius (Hist. ii. 1) states that in his time (circ. A.D. 430) the region was still under the rule of a queen, according to the custom of the country.

Who had the charge of all her treasure.—The Greek word for treasure is Gaza, a word of Persian origin, which about this time had come into use both among Greek and Latin writers (Cicero, de Off. ii. 22). The LXX. translators employ it in Ezra 5:17; Ezra 6:1; Ezra 7:21; Isaiah 39:2. Aristotle (Hist. Plant. viii. 11) is the first Greek writer in whom we find it naturalised. It is not found elsewhere in the New Testament, but a compound form appears as denoting the treasury of the Temple in Luke 21:1. The coincidence between this Gaza and the name of the town is at least suggestive of the thought that St. Luke saw in it a nomen et omen. The man came from one Gaza, and was going to another; and he, like the man in the parable of Matthew 13:44, found a treasure which he had not looked for, but which came to him as the reward of his diligently seeking.

Had come to Jerusalem for to worship.—The act itself, even prior to the eunuch’s conversion by Philip, was a fulfilment of the hope of the prophet Zephaniah cited above. Whether of Jewish origin or incorporated as a “proselyte of righteousness,” he belonged to “the daughter of the dispersed,” and so long a journey by a man in so high a position was in itself a notable event. He came seeking, we must believe, for light and wisdom, and they were given him beyond his expectations.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

8:26-40 Philip was directed to go to a desert. Sometimes God opens a door of opportunity to his ministers in very unlikely places. We should study to do good to those we come into company with by travelling. We should not be so shy of all strangers as some affect to be. As to those of whom we know nothing else, we know this, that they have souls. It is wisdom for men of business to redeem time for holy duties; to fill up every minute with something which will turn to a good account. In reading the word of God, we should often pause, to inquire of whom and of what the sacred writers spake; but especially our thoughts should be employed about the Redeemer. The Ethiopian was convinced by the teaching of the Holy Spirit, of the exact fulfilment of the Scripture, was made to understand the nature of the Messiah's kingdom and salvation, and desired to be numbered among the disciples of Christ. Those who seek the truth, and employ their time in searching the Scriptures, will be sure to reap advantages. The avowal of the Ethiopian must be understood as expressing simple reliance on Christ for salvation, and unreserved devotion to Him. Let us not be satisfied till we get faith, as the Ethiopian did, by diligent study of the Holy Scriptures, and the teaching of the Spirit of God; let us not be satisfied till we get it fixed as a principle in our hearts. As soon as he was baptized, the Spirit of God took Philip from him, so that he saw him no more; but this tended to confirm his faith. When the inquirer after salvation becomes acquainted with Jesus and his gospel, he will go on his way rejoicing, and will fill up his station in society, and discharge his duties, from other motives, and in another manner than heretofore. Though baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, with water, it is not enough without the baptism of the Holy Ghost. Lord, grant this to every one of us; then shall we go on our way rejoicing.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

A man of Ethiopia - Gaza was near the confines between Palestine and Egypt. It was in the direct road from Jerusalem to Egypt. "Ethiopia" was one of the great kingdoms of Africa, part of which is now called Abyssinia. It is frequently mentioned in Scripture under the name of "Cush." But "Cush" comprehended a much larger region, including the southern part of Arabia, and even sometimes the countries adjacent to the Tigris and Euphrates. Ethiopia proper lay south of Egypt, on the Nile, and was bounded north by Egypt, that is, by the cataracts near Syene; east by the Red Sea, and perhaps part by the Indian Ocean; south by unknown regions in the interior of Africa; and west by Libya and the deserts. It comprehended the modern kingdoms of Nubia or Sennaar, and Abyssinia. The chief city in it was the ancient Meroe, situated on the island or tract of the same name, between the Nile and Ashtaboras, not far from the modern Shendi Robinson's Calmet).

An eunuch ... - See the notes on Matthew 19:12. Eunuchs were commonly employed in attendance on the females of the harem; but the word is often used to denote "any confidential officer, or counselor of state." It is evidently so used here.

Of great authority - Of high rank; an officer of the court. It is clear from what follows that this man was a Jew. But it is known that Jews were often raised to posts of high honor and distinction in foreign courts, as in the case of Joseph in Egypt, and of Daniel in Babylon.

Under Candace ... - Candace is said to have been the common name of the queens of Ethiopia, as "Pharaoh" was of the sovereigns of Egypt. This is expressly stated by Pliny (Nat. History, 7:29). His words are: "The edifices of the city were few; a woman reigned there of the name of Candace, which name had been transmitted to these queens for many years." Strabo mentions also a queen of Ethiopia of the name of Candace. Speaking of an insurrection against the Romans, he says, "Among these were the officers of queen Candace, who in our days reigned over the Ethiopians." As this could not have been the Candace mentioned here, it is plain that the name was common to these queens - a sort of royal title. She was probably queen of Meroe, an important part of Ethiopia (Bruce's Travels, vol. ii, p. 431; Clarke).

Who had the charge ... - The treasurer was an officer of high trust and responsibility.

And had come ... - This proves that he was a Jew, or at least a Jewish proselyte. It was customary for the Jews in foreign lands, as far as practicable, to attend the great feasts at Jerusalem. He had gone up to attend the Passover, etc. See the notes on Acts 2:5.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

27. a man of Ethiopia—Upper Egypt, Meroe.

an eunuch of great authority—Eunuchs were generally employed for confidential offices in the East, and to some extent are still.

Candace—the family name of the queens of Upper Egypt, like Pharaoh, Cæsar, &c. (as appears from classic authors).

had come to Jerusalem to worship—that is, to keep the recent feast of Pentecost, as a Gentile proselyte to the Jewish faith. (See Isa 56:3-8, and Joh 12:20).

Matthew Poole's Commentary

A man of Ethiopia: the Ethiopians were the most despicable unto the Jews; and Homer calls them, escatoi anorwn; but God would now show that there is no difference of nations with him; but in every nation, he that worketh righteousness shall be accepted, Acts 10:35.

An eunuch; in great esteem in courts, especially to attend on queens, to avoid all suspicion: here that prophecy was fulfilled, Isaiah 56:4,5: though both in the Hebrew and (anciently) in the Greek tongue a eunuch signified more largely, viz. any attendant in the chamber.

Candace; a name common to the queens of that country; as all the kings of Egypt were called Pharaohs, and the emperors of Germany are called Caesars.

Come to Jerusalem for to worship; being a proselyte, he had been to worship God in that solemn festival of the passover.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And he arose and went,.... As soon as he had his orders, he immediately obeyed them; he made no dispute about the matter, though he was directed only part of his way, and had no account of what he went about, or was to do;

and behold, a man of Ethiopia; or "a man, an Ethiopian"; an Hebraism, such as "a man a Jew", Zechariah 8:23 wherefore his being called a man, is no contradiction to his being an eunuch; for the word "man" does not regard his sex, but with the other the country of which he was; and it is the same as if he had only been called an Ethiopian, which signifies one of a black countenance; for Ethiopia was not so called from Ethiops, the son of Vulcan, who is said to reign over it, but from the colour of its inhabitants; Jeremiah 13:23. This country in the Hebrew language is called Cush, and the people of it Cushites, from Cush the son of Ham, Genesis 10:6 And so Josephus says (i), that the Ethiopians over whom he (Cush) reigned, are now by themselves, and by all in Asia, called Chuseans; and so likewise the inhabitants of upper Ethiopia, or the Abyssines, are to this day called Cussinns, by the Portuguese. Geographers make mention of two Ethiopias, one in Africa, divided into upper and lower, and which is here meant; and the other in Asia and a part of Arabia, and which is the Ethiopia spoken of in the Old Testament: a note of admiration is prefixed, to observe to us what was remarkable in providence that just at this time, and in this way, such a man should be travelling; and what was still a greater wonder of grace, that such an one should be the object of God's peculiar favour, and should be chosen and called, have the Gospel preached to him, and be admitted to an ordinance of it; whereby some prophecies began to have their accomplishment in part, Psalm 68:31

An eunuch of great authority; he might be one that was literally so, it being common for eastern princes and great men to have such persons as guards over their wives, to preserve their chastity; and so hereby was a fulfilment in part of Isaiah 56:3 though this word is used to denote a person in office: so Potiphar is called an eunuch, though he had a wife, and which we rightly render an officer; and the Chaldee paraphrase renders it, "a prince", or great man, Genesis 39:1. So Balaam is said (k) to be one of the king's eunuchs, and yet Jannes and Jambres are said to be his sons; and the word Dynastes here used, which we translate "of great authority", may be considered as explanative of the word eunuch; to teach us, that this word was not expressive of his case, but a title of office: it is reported of this eunuch, that after his conversion he preached the Gospel to the inhabitants of Zeylan and Arabia Felix, and in the island of Traprobane in the Red sea, and at last suffered martyrdom (l): this great person said to be

under Candace queen of the Ethiopians; that is, of those Ethiopians who inhabited the island of Meroe; for Candace, or Candaoce, as Pliny (m) reads it, was a common name of the queens of that island, as Pharaoh was of the Egyptian kings, and Caesar of the Roman emperors: the word Candace signifies a governor of children, that is, servants; it is derived from the Ethiopic word "Kani", which signifies to govern; and from "Dak, a child", or servant; and the king of the Abyssines is to this day called Prestar Chan, or Kan, a prince of servants, who is commonly and corruptly called Prester John; and Chan, or Kan, is a well known name for an emperor or governor in the eastern countries as with the Tartars and Persians, witness the late famous Kouli Kan. Some say (n), her proper name was Judith, others Lacasa (o), and others Hendake, or Indich; which, as Ludolphus (p) observes, is no other than Candace; though this last name Indich, according to Zaga Zabo, an ambassador of the king of the Ethiopians, was the name of the eunuch himself; his words, as reported by Damianus a Goes (q), are these;

"we, almost before all other Christians, received baptism from the eunuch of Candace, queen of Ethiopia, whose name was Indich:''

who had the charge of all her treasure; was her lord treasurer; which shows, that he was not an eunuch to her on account of chastity, but an high officer in her kingdom: the word Gaza here used, signifies in the Persian language treasure, or treasury (r). The Ethiopic version takes it for the name of a place, and renders it, "and he was governor of the city of Gaza", but very wrongly: "and had come to Jerusalem for to worship"; hence he seems to have been either a Jew by birth, or rather a proselyte to the Jewish religion; and had been at Jerusalem at one of their annual feasts, the passover, "pentecost", or tabernacles, to worship the God of Israel, whom he believed to be the only true God.

(i) Antiqu. l. 1. c. 6. sect. 2.((k) Heb. Chron. Mosis, fol. 4. 2. & 6. 2.((l) Fabricii Lux Evangelii, p. 115, 708. (m) Hist. Nat. l. 6. c. 29. Vid. Alexand. ab Alex. l. 1. c. 2.((n) Godignus de rebus Abysainis, p. 117. apud Castel. Lex Polyglott. col. 4003. (o) Mariani Reatini Catalog. Reg. Aethiop. in De Dieu in loc. (p) Hist. Ethiop. l. 3. c. 2.((q) In De Dieu in loc. (r) Mela, v. 1. p. 22. Alex. ab Alex. l. 2. c. 2.

Geneva Study Bible

And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch {i} of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship,

(i) A man of great wealth and authority with Candace. Now this word Candace is a common name of all the Queens of Ethiopia.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Meyer's NT Commentary

Acts 8:27. Καὶ ἰδού] And behold (there was) a man. Comp. on Matthew 3:17.

εὐνοῦχος δυνάστης] is, seeing that δυνάστης is a substantive, most simply taken, not conjointly (a power-wielding eunuch, after the analogy of Herod. ii. 32: ἀνδρῶν δυναστέων παῖδες, comp. Sir 8:1), but separately: a eunuch, one wielding power, so that there is a double apposition (see Bornemann in loc). The more precise description, what kind of wielder of power he was, follows (chief treasurer, γαζοφύλαξ, Plut. Mor. p. 823 C; Athen. vi. p. 261 B). The express mention of his sexual character is perhaps connected with the universalism of Luke, in contrast to Deuteronomy 23:1. In the East, eunuchs were taken not only to be overseers of the harem, but also generally to fill the most important posts of the court and the closet (Pignor. de servis, p. 371 f.; Winer, Realw. s.v. Verschnittene); hence εὐνοῦχος is often employed generally of court officials, without regard to corporeal mutilation. See de Dieu, in loc.; Spanheim, ad Julian. Oratt. p. 174. Many therefore (Cornelius a Lapide, de Dieu, Kuinoel, Olshausen) suppose that the Ethiopian was not emasculated, for he is called ἀνήρ and he was not a complete Gentile (as Eusebius and Nicephorus would make him), but, according to Acts 8:30 ff., a Jew, whereas Israelitish citizenship did not belong to emasculated persons (Deuteronomy 23:1; Michaelis, Mos. R. II. § 95, IV. § 185; Ewald, Alterth. p. 218). But if so, εὐνοῦχος, with which, moreover, the general word ἀνήρ[228] is sufficiently compatible, would be an entirely superfluous term. The very fact, however, that he was an officer of the first rank in the court of a queen, makes it most probable that he was actually a eunuch; and the objection drawn from Deut. l.c. is obviated by the very natural supposition that he was a proselyte of the gate (comp. on John 12:20). That this born Gentile, although a eunuch, had been actually received into the congregation of Israel (Baumgarten), and accordingly a proselyte of righteousness, as Calovius and others assumed, cannot be proved either from Isaiah 56:3-6, where there is a promise of the Messianic future, in the salvation of which even Gentiles and eunuchs were to share; nor from the example of Ebedmelech, Jeremiah 38:7 ff. (considered by Baumgarten as the type of the chamberlain), of whom it is not said that he was a complete Jew; nor can it be inferred from the distant journey of the man and his quick reception of baptism (Lange, apost. Zeitalt. II. p. 109), which is a very arbitrary inference. Eusebius, ii. 1, also designates him as πρῶτος ἐξ ἐθνῶν, who had been converted. Κανδάκη was, like Pharaoh among the Egyptian kings, the proper name in common of the queens of Ethiopia, which still in the times of Eusebius was governed by queens. See Strabo, xvii. 1. 54, p. 820; Dio Cass. liv. 5; Plin. N. H. iv. 35. 7. Their capital was Napata. See particularly Laurent, neutest. Stud. p. 140 ff.

On γάζα, a word received from the Persian (“pecuniam regiam, quam gazam Persae vocant,” Curt. iii. 13. 5) into Greek and Latin, see Serv. ad Virgil. Aen. i. 119, vol. i. p. 30, ed. Lion. and Wetstein in loc.

ἐπί, as in vi. 3. Nepos, Datam. 5 : “gazae custos regiae.”

Tradition (Bzovius, Annal. ad a. 1524, p. 542), with as much uncertainty as improbability (Ludolf, Comm. ad Hist. Aeth. p. 89 f.), calls the Ethiopian Indich and Judich, and makes him,—what is without historical proof, doubtless, but in itself not improbable, though so early a permanent establishment of Christianity in Ethiopia is not historically known,—the first preacher of the gospel among his countrymen, whose queen the legend with fresh invention makes to be baptized by him (Niceph. ii. 6).

[228] He might even have been married. See Genesis 39:1, and Knobel in loc.

Expositor's Greek Testament

Acts 8:27. καὶ ἀναστὰς ἐπορεύθη: immediate and implicit obedience.—καὶ ἰδού, see on Acts 1:11; cf. Hort, Ecclesia, p. 179, on the force of the phrase; used characteristically by St. Luke of sudden and as it were providential interpositions, Acts 1:10, Acts 10:17, Acts 12:7, and see note on Acts 16:1.—εὐνοῦχος: the word can be taken literally, for there is no contradiction involved in Deuteronomy 23:1, as he would be simply “a proselyte of the gate” (Hort, Judaistic Christianity, p. 54). The instances sometimes referred to as showing that the exclusion of eunuchs from the congregation of the Lord was relaxed in the later period of Jewish history can scarcely hold good, since Isaiah 56:3 refers to the Messianic future in which even the heathen and the eunuchs should share, and in Jeremiah 38:7; Jeremiah 39:15 nothing is said which could lead us to describe Ebed Melech, another Ethiopian eunuch, as a Jew in the full sense. On the position and influence of eunuchs in the East, both in ancient and modern times, see “Eunuch,” B.D.2, and Hastings’ B.D. St. Luke’s mention that he was a eunuch is quite in accordance with the “universalism” of the Acts; gradually the barriers of a narrow Judaism were broken down, first in the case of the Samaritans, and now in the case of the eunuch. Eusebius, H. E., ii., i., speaks of him as πρῶτος ἐξ ἐθνῶν, who was converted to Christ, and even as a “proselyte of the gate” he might be so described, for the gulf which lay between a born Gentile and a genuine descendant of Abraham could never be bridged over (Schürer, Jewish People, div. ii., vol. ii., p. 326, E.T.). Moreover, in the case of the Ethiopian eunuch, descended from the accursed race of Ham, this separation from Israel must have been intensified to the utmost (cf. Amos 9:7). No doubt St. Luke may also have desired to instance the way in which thus early the Gospel spread to a land far distant from the place of its birth (McGiffert, Apostolic Age, p. 100).—δυνάστης: noun in apposition to ἀνὴρ Αἰθ., only used by St. Luke here and in his Gospel, Luke 1:52, and once again by St. Paul, 1 Timothy 6:15. In LXX frequent (used of God, Sir 46:5, 2Ma 15:3; 2Ma 15:23, etc.; so too of Zeus by Soph.), for its meaning here cf. Genesis 1:4, Latin, aulicus.—Κανδάκης: not a personal name, but said to be a name often given to queens of Ethiopia (cf. Pharaoh, and later Ptolemy, in Egypt), Pliny, N. H., vi., 35, 7. In the time of Eusebius, H. E., ii., 1, Ethiopia is said to be still ruled by queens, Strabo, xvii., I., 54; Bion of Soli, Ethiopica (Müller, Fragm. Hist. Græc., iv., p. 351). According to Brugsch the spelling would be Kanta-ki: cf. “Candace,” B.D.2, and “Ethiopia,” Hastings’ B.D.—γάζης: a Persian word found both in Greek and Latin (cf. Cicero, De Off., ii., 22; Virg., Æn., i., 119; and see Wetstein, in loco). In LXX, Ezra 6:1 (Esther 4:7), treasures; Acts 5:17, Acts 7:20, treasury; Acts 7:21, treasurers; cf. also Isaiah 39:2, and γαζοφυλάκιον in LXX, and in N.T., Luke 21:1, Mark 12:41 (2), 43, John 8:20. “Observat Lucas, et locum, ubi præfectus Gazæ Philippo factus est obviam, Gazam fuisse vocatum” Wetstein; see also on the nomen et omen Felten and Plumptre, and compare on the word Jerome, Epist., cviii. 11. If the second ὅς is retained (R.V.) it emphasises the fact that the eunuch was already a proselyte Weiss).—προσκυνής ων: proves not that (he was a Jew, but that he was not a heathen (Hackett). The proselytes, as well as foreign Jews, came to Jerusalem to worship. We cannot say whether he had gone up to one of the feasts; St. Chrysostom places it to his credit that he had gone up at an unusual time.

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

27. behold, a man of Ethiopia] It is better to supply the substantive verb here, “behold there was, &c.” otherwise the conjunction at the commencement of the next verse is left untranslated.

Ethiopia, like Cush in the O. T., is a general name given to the country which is now called Nubia and Abyssinia. Its northern portion was the great kingdom of Meroe, which we know was ruled over by queens for a long period (Plin. H. N. vi. 29), and it is from this kingdom, most probably, that the eunuch had come. Jews were abundant in Egypt, and this man had become a proselyte to their religion.

under Candace queen of the Ethiopians] We are told by Pliny (l. c.) that this was the name of a series of queens of Meroe, just as Pharaoh at an early period and Ptolemy subsequently were general names for the kings of Egypt, and Cæsar for the Roman emperors.

and had come to Jerusalem for to worship] As proselytes did, as well as Jews. This we learn from the enumeration of those who were present at the feast of Pentecost (Acts 2:10), among whom proselytes are expressly named. So (John 12:20) we find Greeks coming up to the feasts at Jerusalem.

Bengel's Gnomen

Acts 8:27. Κανδάκης, of Candace) a name which, according to Pliny, has now for many years passed to the queens (of Ethiopia).—[προσκυνήσων, for the purpose of worshipping) He seems also long ago to have received circumcision.—V. g.]

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 27. - Was over for had the charge of, A.V. ; who for and, A.V. Candace. According to Pithy, the queens of Ethiopia, who reigned at Meroc, were so named through a long course of years ('Nat. Hist.,' 6:2,5-37). Dion Cassius speaks of a warlike Queen of Ethiopia of that name, who was brought to terms by Caius Petronius in the year A.U.C. 732 (54:5, 4). Eusebius ('Eccl. Hist.,' lib. it. cap. 1.) says that the custom still continued in his day of the Ethiopians being governed by a queen. Had come to Jerusalem, etc. He was doubtless a proselyte of the gate. Eusebius, in the place above cited, speaks of him as the first Gentile convert, and as the first fruits of the faithful in the whole world. He adds, as Irenaeus before him had hinted (3. 12:8), that he is reported to have preached the gospel to the Ethiopians, by which the prophecy of Psalm 68:31 was fulfilled. Later traditions speak of Candace as baptized by him. Acts 8:27

Vincent's Word Studies

Of Ethiopia

The name for the lands lying south of Egypt, including the modern Nubia, Cordofan, and Northern Abyssinia. Rawlinson speaks of subjects of the Ethiopian queens living in an island near Mero, in the northern part of this district. He further remarks: "The monuments prove beyond all question that the Ethiopians borrowed from Egypt their religion and their habits of civilization. They even adopted the Egyptian as the language of religion and of the court, which it continued to be till the power of the Pharaohs had fallen, and their dominion was again confined to the frontier of Ethiopia. It was through Egypt, too, that Christianity passed into Ethiopia, even in the age of the apostles, as is shown by the eunuch of Queen Candace."

Of great authority (δυνάστης)

A general term for a potentate.

Candace

The common name of the queens of Mero: a titular distinction, like Pharaoh in Egypt, or Caesar at Rome.

Treasure (γάζης)

Only here in New Testament. A Persian word.