Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

AFRICA

Although the Bible does not mention Africa by name, various North African places and peoples figure prominently in the events and imagery of both the OT and NT.

Most frequently mentioned is Egypt. From the time of the patriarchs to the time of the apostles, Egypt possessed an abundant grain resource which was sought by nations throughout the eastern Mediterranean (e.g., Gen. 41:50–42:25). The Exodus from Egypt, arguably the most important event in Jewish history (Exod. 3:1–20:21), became a significant theological resource (e.g., Amos 5:25; Isa. 40:3). Egypt was also a place of refuge for dissident or dispersed Jews (e.g., 2 Macc. 1:1-9; Matt. 2:13-15, 19-20). Egypt and Israel also shared in the wisdom tradition of the ancient Near East (cf. Prov. 22:17–24:34 and the Egyptian Instruction of Amenemope). Finally, politics linked Egypt and Israel (e.g., 1 Kgs. 11:1; cf. Nah. 3:8-9).

Cush (Heb. lit., “black”) is mentioned often in the OT. Due to Greek and Roman influences, some translate “Ethiopia.” Other ancient writings refer to Cush as “Nubia.” In the Bible Cush referred to lands south of Egypt. Biblical writers often linked Egypt and Cush, suggesting that they associated them in some way (e.g., Isa. 45:14; Ezek. 30:4-9; Ps. 68:31 [MT 32]). As with Egypt, Cush was also a place of refuge (Zeph. 3:10).

The NT mentions Egyptians, Cyrenians, Libyans, and Cushites/Ethiopians (e.g., Mark 15:21; Acts 2:10; 11:20-21;18:24). Acts 8:26-39 records the baptism of a high-ranking Ethiopian official by the Apostle Philip.

Recently, African-American biblical scholarship has challenged traditional Eurocentric exegesis of African peoples in the Bible as not reflecting more neutral biblical perspectives and in effect “de-Africanizing” the Bible. Rather, Africans were highly regarded and often used as positive examples by biblical writers.

Bibliography. D. Adamo, Africa and Africans in the Old Testament (San Francisco, 1997); R. A. Bennett, Jr., “Africa and the Biblical Period,” HTR 64 (1971): 483-500; C. H. Felder, Troubling Biblical Waters: Race, Class, and Family (Maryknoll, 1989), 5-48; ed., Stony the Road We Trod (Minneapolis, 1991), 127-84.

Thomas B. Slater

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

AFRICA

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)