Who is this man from Ethiopia?

Luke gives a remarkable description of the man in the chariot: an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official. “Eunouchos” means emasculated (from the verb “eunouchizo,” meaning to unman, to castrate). The word comes from “eunѐ” meaning bed—the bedroom which he must guard. In English, castrated person may be called a chamberlain. Such a chamber-lord is guard of the harem and had to be castrated.

As a result of this practice, the term itself was sometimes used to refer to court officials in general. This description can thus also indicate a (general) title, without the person having to be castrated. So, Potiphar was an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard (Genesis 39:1), and the Septuagint has as title “eunouchos” for this married civil servant. Also, two of Pharaoh’s officers—the chief cupbearer and the chief baker—are called “eunouchoi” in the Greek translation (Genesis 40:2).

But, because Luke, after this word, mentions the special vocation (“dunastѐs”, court official) of the Ethiopian, it is obvious to think with eunuch (“eunouchos”) here of his castrated state: an emasculated person, a high official at the royal court in Ethiopia. “Dunastѐs” means ruler, mighty (e.g., in Luke 1:52), here a high court official. He is a close collaborator of the Candace which is a title or name to be compared with Pharaoh, queen of the Ethiopians. He is the minister of finance, who looks after her whole treasury (gaza) as chief controller of all her money and goods. So, he has a high position of trust beside the throne. Queen (basilissa) we encounter in the New Testament only by the queen of Sheba (Matthew 12:42, Luke 11:31) and as a description of Babylon (Revelation 18:7). The queen of Sheba once came from the end of the earth to visit King Salomon (1 Kings 10:1). Her country of origin has been located in Yemen (South-eastern Arabia), where trade routes run from India and Eastern Africa to Damascus and Gaza.