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,
And he arose and went. To leave a city where his hands were full of his Master's work, to go far away on a desert road, and to be kept in ignorance of the object of the journey-was fitted to stagger the faith of our zealous evangelist. But, like Paul, he "was not disobedient, to the heavenly vision;" and, like Abraham, "he went out, not knowing where he went."
And, behold, a man of Ethiopia - the name anciently given to Upper or Southern Egypt, of which Meroe-a rich island formed by two branches of the Nile-was the capital.
An eunuch of great authority. Eunuchs were generally employed for confidential offices in the East, as to some extent they are still; and although, from their being so much employed about royal persons, this name was sometimes given to those who were not literally eunuchs, there is no sufficient reason to doubt that it is here used in its literal sense-not (as some take it) in the general sense of 'a grandee.' The prohibition of the Mosaic law against the admission of such to the congregation (Deuteronomy 23:1) has been pleaded against this. But the approach there intended seems not to relate to any but born Israelites, and so would have excluded all proselytes; and even though it did not, from the case of Ebed-melech (Jeremiah 38:7-13; Jeremiah 39:16-18) - of whom we can scarcely doubt that he had a place in the congregation-there is reason to think that this law was not so rigidly enforced as to prove a bar to the recognition of one in the high position of this Ethiopian, even though a literal eunuch.
Under Candace queen of the Ethiopians. We learn from Pliny ('H.N.' 6: 29), who flourished during the reign of Vespasian, that this had for many years been the family name of the queens of Upper Egypt-like Abimelech, Pharaoh, Caesar, etc., and Eusebius ('E.H.' 2: 10) says that as in Sheba (South Arabia), so here, females were allowed to reign.
Who had the charge of all her treasure х gazees (G1047)] - a special Persian word for the royal treasure, (Quint. Curt. 3: 13. 5);
And had come to Jerusalem for to worship - to keep the recent feast of Pentecost, as a Gentile proselyte to the Jewish Faith. See the glorious premise to such, Isaiah 56:3-8.