Men of the Bible and the Black Women They Loved

In recognition of Valentine's day and Black History Month, this post will be about Biblical men who fell in love with black women.

Joseph and Asenath (Genesis 41:45)
After Joseph interpreted Pharoah's dream, Pharoah gave Asenath, the daughter of the Egyptian priest  Potipherah, as wife.  It was the union of Joseph and Asenath that produced the two sons of Joseph - Ephraim and Manesseh.  Both Ephraim and Manasseh were fully accepted into the nation of Israel, and were the patriarchs of two of the twelve tribes of Israel - the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh.

Moses and Tharbis (Antiquities of the Jews 2.10.252-3; Numbers 12:1)
You may be unfamiliar with the name of this woman, but she was Moses first wife, before Zipporah.  When Moses was a prince in Egypt, according to Josephus, he waged war against the Ethiopians.  Tharbis was the daughter of the Ethiopian king, and when she saw Moses, she fell in love with him.  They both got married, and consummated the marriage while in Ethiopia.

Solomon and Shulamite (Song of Solomon 6:13)
The whole book of the Song of Solomon is dedicated to the love between Solomon and his wife, whom is called Shulamite in chapter 6:13.  This Shulamite describes herself as "black but comely" (Song of Solomon 1:5).  She was black and beautiful, and very much so! Read all the loving descriptions of her in this book of Songs.  According to 1 Kings 3:1 and Song of Solomon 7:1, Shulamite was an Egyptian princess.

Solomon and the Queen of Sheba (1 Kings 10:1-13; 2 Chronicles 9:1-12)
Contrary to popular belief, Sheba was NOT located in Arabia.  Sheba was located in Ethiopia!  It was the name of the royal city of Ethiopia at least since the time of Moses (Antiquities of the Jews 2.10.253).
Ethiopian historians has it that when the Queen of Sheba visited Solomon, they had sexual relations!  This union produced a son, who was the progenitor of the present royal family of Ethiopia, to this day.

David and Bathsheba?(2 Samuel 11)
No one is really sure of Bathsheba's race.  She was the daughter of Eliam, who was a Gilonite, and they lived in Israel (vs. 3).  She was also married to Uriah the Hittite, who was a Canaanite(vs. 3).  Since it was against the law for a daughter of Israel to marry a Canaanite, and since many Canaanites lived in Israel, one can safely assume that Bathsheba was Canaanite.  This however is a big assumption, because the fact is that many of the Israelites were indeed breaking the law and marrying Canaanites.  In addition, there is no historical evidence which I can find that shows that Canaanites were black people, although they were descendants of Ham.  All the ancient drawings which I have seen, including a carving from the ceremonial cane of king Tut, shows a Canaanite having white skin.  This does not mean they were Caucasian, it just means they were a white-skinned race, in much the same way Chinese and Japanese are considered white-skinned.

Jesus Christ
Finally, we cannot forget Jesus Christ - the Son of God.  Although not a mere man, He did come to earth as a man, to live among men for a time.  He is the ultimate Lover.  He loves ALL WOMEN, whether they are black, white, red, yellow, or whatever race or ethnicity they may be.  He is our eternal Bridegroom, with the church as His bride.  In a marriage, the husband represents Christ, and the wife represents the church.  It is because of His of love, self-sacrifice, and caring, all women can look to Him as their ultimate Husband.  Women of all races can safely say of Christ:

Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth: for thy love is better than wine. Because of the savour of thy good ointments thy name is as ointment poured forth, therefore do the virgins love thee (Song of Solomon 1:2-3).


HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY EVERYONE!!!!!