The Meaning of Acts 8:27 Explained

Acts 8:27

KJV: 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,

YLT: And having arisen, he went on, and lo, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch, a man of rank, of Candace the queen of the Ethiopians, who was over all her treasure, who had come to worship to Jerusalem;

Darby: And he rose up and went. And lo, an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a man in power under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who was over all her treasure, who had come to worship at Jerusalem,

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

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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, 

What does Acts 8:27 Mean?

Context Summary

Acts 8:26-40 - Winning A Traveler
From the great city revival in Samaria Philip was led to the desert to minister to one seeking soul. It seems strange that God should be able to spare him from his busy and fruitful ministry in Samaria; but probably the comparative retirement was needed for soul and body after the strain of that successful campaign. How certain these Spirit-filled men were of the heavenly impulse! Every appearance suggested that this man of God was needed in the city, but the inner voice was the deciding factor, and his journey was so timed as to bring him in contact with a soul that was groping its way toward Christ.
The Bible is good as a traveling companion. Take it on your journeys. Read it as other men do their newspapers; not exclusively but boldly. There are many stories afloat of bullets being stopped by pocket Testaments; and it is certain that many a desperate thrust of the devil has been warded off by the Word of God being hidden in the heart and worn as a breastplate. Live in touch with God, and He will put you in touch with souls. This conversion of a son of Ham was a worthy fulfillment of Isaiah 56:3-8. [source]

Chapter Summary: Acts 8

1  By occasion of the persecution in Jerusalem, the church being planted in Samaria,
4  by Philip the deacon, who preached, did miracles, and baptized many;
9  among the rest Simon the sorcerer, a great seducer of the people;
14  Peter and John come to confirm and enlarge the church;
15  where, by prayer and imposition of hands giving the Holy Spirit;
18  when Simon would have bought the like power of them,
20  Peter sharply reproving his hypocrisy and covetousness,
22  and exhorting him to repentance,
25  together with John preaching the word of the Lord, return to Jerusalem;
26  but the angel sends Philip to teach and baptize the Ethiopian Eunuch

Greek Commentary for Acts 8:27

A eunuch of great authority [ευνουχος δυναστης]
Eunuchs were often employed by oriental rulers in high posts. Dynasty comes from this old word δυναστης — dunastēs used of princes in Luke 1:52 and of God in 1 Timothy 6:15. Eunuchs were not allowed to be Jews in the full sense (Deuteronomy 23:1), but only proselytes of the gate. But Christianity is spreading to Samaritans and to eunuchs. [source]
Candace [Κανδακης]
Not a personal name, but like Pharaoh and Ptolemy, the title of the queens of Ethiopia. This eunuch apparently brought the gospel to Ethiopia. Treasure (γαζης — gazēs). Persian word, common in late Greek and Latin for the royal treasure, here only in the N.T. For to worship Future active participle expressing purpose, a common idiom in the ancient Greek, but rare in the N.T. (Robertson, Grammar, p. 1128). [source]
Treasure [γαζης]
Persian word, common in late Greek and Latin for the royal treasure, here only in the N.T. [source]
For to worship [προσκυνησων]
Future active participle expressing purpose, a common idiom in the ancient Greek, but rare in the N.T. (Robertson, Grammar, p. 1128). [source]
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 Meroë, 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.” [source]
Of great authority [δυνάστης]
A general term for a potentate. [source]
Candace []
The common name of the queens of Meroë: a titular distinction, like Pharaoh in Egypt, or Caesar at Rome. [source]
Treasure [γάζης]
Only here in New Testament. A Persian word. [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Acts 8:27

John 8:20 The Treasury [γαζοφυλακίῳ]
From γάζα , treasure, a Persian word, occurring only once in the New Testament (Acts 8:27), and φυλακή , guard. Used by John only here. The Treasury was in the Court of the Women, so called, not because it was appropriated to the worship of women exclusively, but because they were not allowed to proceed further, except for sacrificial purposes. The court covered a space upwards of two hundred feet square, and was surrounded by a colonnade, within which, and against the wall, were the thirteen trumpet-shaped chests, called “trumpets” from their shape, for charitable contributions. This court was the most public part of the temple. [source]
John 8:20 In the treasury [εν τωι γαζοπυλακιωι]
See note on Mark 12:41 and note on Luke 21:1 for this word for the treasure-chambers of the temple. “It abutted on the Court of the Women, and against its walls were placed chests, trumpet-like in form, as receptacles for the offerings of the worshippers” (Bernard). The Persian word gaza (treasure) occurs only once in the N.T. (Acts 8:27) and the compound And Reason (οτι — hoti) given why no one seized (επιασεν — epiasen cf. John 7:30) him. Εληλυτει — Elēluthei is past perfect active of ερχομαι — erchomai “had not yet come.” This very use of ωρα — hōra appears in John 2:4 and the very clause in John 7:30 which see. [source]
1 Timothy 6:15 Who is the blessed and only Potentate [ο μακαριος και μονος δυναστης]
“The happy and alone Potentate.” Δυναστης — Dunastēs old word, in N.T. only here, Luke 1:52; Acts 8:27 (the Eunuch). See note on 1 Timothy 1:11 for μακαριος — makarios The King of kings (ο βασιλευς των βασιλευοντων — ho basileus tōn basileuontōn). “The King of those who rule as kings.” Oriental title. So with “Lord of lords.” See note on Revelation 10:6. [source]

What do the individual words in Acts 8:27 mean?

And having risen up he went behold a man an Ethiopian a eunuch a potentate of Candace queen of [the] Ethiopians who was over all the treasure of her had come to worship to Jerusalem
καὶ ἀναστὰς ἐπορεύθη ἰδοὺ ἀνὴρ Αἰθίοψ εὐνοῦχος δυνάστης Κανδάκης βασιλίσσης Αἰθιόπων ὃς ἦν ἐπὶ πάσης τῆς γάζης αὐτῆς ἐληλύθει προσκυνήσων εἰς Ἰερουσαλήμ

ἀναστὰς  having  risen  up 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Participle Active, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: ἀναπηδάω 
Sense: to cause to rise up, raise up.
ἐπορεύθη  he  went 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Passive, 3rd Person Singular
Root: πορεύομαι  
Sense: to lead over, carry over, transfer.
ἰδοὺ  behold 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Imperative Active, 2nd Person Singular
Root: ἰδού  
Sense: behold, see, lo.
ἀνὴρ  a  man 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: ἀνήρ  
Sense: with reference to sex.
Αἰθίοψ  an  Ethiopian 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: Αἰθίοψ  
Sense: an Ethiopian.
εὐνοῦχος  a  eunuch 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: εὐνοῦχος  
Sense: a bed keeper, bed guard, superintendent of the bedchamber, chamberlain.
δυνάστης  a  potentate 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: δυνάστης  
Sense: a prince, a potentate.
Κανδάκης  of  Candace 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Feminine Singular
Root: Κανδάκη  
Sense: a queen of Ethiopia mentioned in Acts 8:27.
βασιλίσσης  queen 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Feminine Singular
Root: βασίλισσα  
Sense: queen.
Αἰθιόπων  of  [the]  Ethiopians 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Masculine Plural
Root: Αἰθίοψ  
Sense: an Ethiopian.
ἐπὶ  over 
Parse: Preposition
Root: ἐπί  
Sense: upon, on, at, by, before.
γάζης  treasure 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Feminine Singular
Root: γάζα2  
Sense: the royal treasury, treasure, riches.
αὐτῆς  of  her 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Genitive Feminine 3rd Person Singular
Root: αὐτός  
Sense: himself, herself, themselves, itself.
ἐληλύθει  had  come 
Parse: Verb, Pluperfect Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: ἔρχομαι  
Sense: to come.
προσκυνήσων  to  worship 
Parse: Verb, Future Participle Active, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: προσκυνέω  
Sense: to kiss the hand to (towards) one, in token of reverence.
Ἰερουσαλήμ  Jerusalem 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Feminine Singular
Root: Ἰερουσαλήμ  
Sense: denotes either the city itself or the inhabitants.