I got a shock while reading TGC’s online commentary on Zephaniah. Jason DeRouchie, the author, made this dramatic statement: “Zephaniah may have been a black Judean.” By “black Judean” he’s referring to Zephaniah as a Hebrew with possible Cushite (African) ancestry. Only this wasn’t some internet meme with a crazy theory; it was a serious scholarly argument. DeRouchie is, after all, a Professor of Old Testament & Biblical Theology at Midwestern Seminary and in his commentary he presented a robust argument that Zephaniah may have had both Judean and African ancestry. As a church leader in Africa, I’m always drawn to references about Africa in the Bible. Most of us are aware of the Ethiopian eunuch that Philip led to faith. There’s Ebed-Melech, who assisted Jeremiah. But Zephaniah was new to me. An African Judean wrote scripture?
Was Zephaniah an African?
DeRouchie’s argument goes something like this. Zephaniah is referred to in Zephaniah 1:1 as the “son of Cushi”, likely meaning someone from Cush (approximating to the area of modern-day Sudan and parts of northern Ethiopia). Then later he prophesies over the land of Cush (Zephaniah 2:12). If Cushi does refer to ethnic origin (rather than a personal name), it may explain why the opening verses of the book give a more extensive genealogy than usual, going back four generations to establish Zephaniah’s Judean pedigree (all the way to King Hezekiah) rather than the usual one or two. Black Judean and royalty? Fascinating.
Black Judean and royalty? Fascinating.
It’s also geographically plausible. Judah had extensive contact with Egypt and Cush in the century prior to Zephaniah’s ministry. During this time, Egypt itself was ruled by Cushite kings from Nubia, including rulers such as Tirhakah who assisted Judah in fighting off Assyria (2 Kings 19:9; Isaiah 37:9). Movement of officials, soldiers, merchants, and families between Judah, Egypt, and Cush was therefore not unusual. And that’s why people from Cush appear throughout the Old Testament.
You need only recall Jeremiah to make this point. Left to die, the prophet was rescued out of a cistern by a Cushite called Ebed-Melech (Jeremiah 38:7-13). While many of Judah’s leaders abandoned God’s prophet, an African court official intervened to save him. Ebed-Melech approached King Zedekiah, secured permission to act, and personally oversaw Jeremiah’s rescue. Africa wasn’t simply on the geographic or relational periphery of Israel’s story. Its presence was deeply intertwined with it.
Africans in the Old Testament Scriptures
When our church preached through the story of Joseph in Genesis, it struck me that because Joseph married Asenath, an Egyptian priest’s daughter (Genesis 41:45), his two sons were ethnically half-Egyptian. Now, fast forward to the Exodus. Upon leaving Egypt, two of the twelve tribes—approximately one sixth of the Israelites—had Egyptian blood running through their veins. Perhaps even more significantly, Exodus hints that Egyptians and others joined the Israelites as they left Egypt. “A mixed multitude also went up with them” (Exodus 12:38).
Africa has a footprint in both the Old Testament scriptures and history.
Moses himself was raised by an Egyptian princess. He grew up in the royal Egyptian court. Thus Moses almost certainly spoke and dressed like an Egyptian (Acts 7:21-22), just as Joseph and his two sons would’ve done all those years before.
Africa’s footprint in both the Old Testament scriptures and history sets the stage for the New Testament.
Africa and the New Testament
It’s in Matthew’s Gospel that the most significant African sojourn is often overlooked. While we don’t know how long Jesus spent in Egypt, we know that he spent some of his formative years living in geographical Africa. Matthew links this to fulfilling prophecy by Hosea (Matthew 2:13-15).
Balancing out the African influence at the start of his earthly life is an African who assists him at the end of his life. At Jesus’ crucifixion, Simon of Cyrene—a North African—carried the cross when Jesus no longer could (Luke 23:26). Cyrene was a Greek colony located in modern-day Libya with a prominent Jewish population. While Simon’s exact ethnicity remains unknown, this man from North Africa played a pivotal role in the gospel story.
The African presence continued at Pentecost, where people from Egypt and Libya were among those who heard the apostles declaring God’s works in their own languages (Acts 2:10). Thus, God arranged among the many languages miraculously spoken on that special day that some were understood by visitors from Africa.
Zephaniah saw a future in which Africans were included within God’s redeeming purposes.
To some degree then it comes as no surprise that the early church had African leaders, such as Lucius of Cyrene and Simeon Niger (Acts 13:1). In his commentary, Charles John Ellicott remarked that “Niger” likely refers to Simeon being of African origin or descent. Those men were leaders in the church at Antioch, which was also famous for launching Paul on his missionary journeys to the Gentiles (Acts 13:1-3). It’s likely that this rich diversity fuelled their missionary zeal to reach people who’d yet to hear the good news.
But it wasn’t Paul who won Africa’s most famous convert. That was Philip. He preached to the Ethiopian Eunuch who was travelling back to Africa (Acts 8:26-40). This Eunuch served in the royal court of the Kingdom of Kush (approximating to modern-day Sudan). As I wrote previously, that region became an important centre of Christianity, with the neighbouring Kingdom of Aksum (modern-day northern Ethiopia and Eritrea) declaring itself a Christian state in the 4th century. While this was happening, native North African theologians such as Augustine, Cyprian, and Tertullian wrote theology and defended orthodoxy—all while Christianity was in its infancy in Europe.
A Prophetic Vision for Africa Fulfilled
The story of God’s people has always been larger, richer, and more diverse than many imagine. Thanks to the genealogy of Jesus, we’re aware of Gentiles in Jesus’s lineage. For example, we read of Tamar and Rahab (Canaanites), Ruth (Moabite) and Uriah (Hittite) in Matthew 1:3-6. Scripture mentions many more Gentiles, but in this article I’ve focused on the Africans who were grafted into the biblical story. By doing this we see that from Genesis to Acts, from Egypt to Ethiopia, Africans helped shape both scripture and the people of God. That is not a modern attempt to read diversity back into the Bible. It is simply what the Bible itself reveals.
Concluding with our possible scripture-writer, Zephaniah, his own prophecy contains a remarkable vision of what we experience today: African worshippers joining God’s redeemed people. “From beyond the rivers of Cush my worshipers, my scattered people, will bring me offerings” (Zephaniah 3:10).
Africans aren’t latecomers to the story of God’s people.
Zephaniah may or may not have had Cushite ancestry. Regardless of that, he definitely saw a future in which Africans were included within God’s redeeming purposes. God is fulfilling that vision in churches across our continent. As John saw in Revelation, the redeemed people of God will ultimately be a multitude “from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages” (Revelation 7:9). Africans aren’t latecomers to the story of God’s people. They’ve been part of the story all along. And they will be part of its glorious conclusion. That’s something to celebrate.
