candace Summary and Overview

the queen of the Ethiopians whose "eunuch" or chamberlain was converted to Christianity by the instrumentality of Philip the evangelist (Acts 8:27). The country which she ruled was called by the Greeks Meroe, in Upper Nubia. It was long the centre of commercial intercourse between Africa and the south of Asia, and hence became famous for its wealth (Isa. 45:14). It is somewhat singular that female sovereignty seems to have prevailed in Ethiopia, the name Candace (compare "Pharaoh," "Ptolemy," "Caesar") being a title common to several successive queens. It is probable that Judaism had taken root in Ethiopia at this time, and hence the visit of the queen's treasurer to Jerusalem to keep the feast. There is a tradition that Candace was herself converted to Christianity by her treasurer on his return, and that he became the apostle of Christianity in that whole region, carrying it also into Abyssinia. It is said that he also preached the gospel in Arabia Felix and in Ceylon, where he suffered martyrdom. (See PHILIP T0002936.)

(prince of servants), a queen of Ethiopia (Meroe), mentioned #Ac 8:27| (A.D. 38.) The name was not a proper name of an individual, but that of a dynasty of Ethiopian queens.

CAN'DACE (sovereign of slaves?). The name is a title of Ethiopian queens. Acts 8:27. Her chamberlain or treasurer, a eunuch, was met by Philip the evangelist on the road between Jerusalem and Gaza, and converted. See Philip.

Queen of Ethiopia (the island of Meroe, in upper Nubia, between the Nile on one side and the Atbara on the other). The name of the dynasty, not merely the individual. Her eunuch or treasurer was converted to Christ by Philip the evangelist, through the power of the word (Isaiah 53), and the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:27, etc.); named Judich in Ethiopian tradition, which represents him as having propagated the gospel in Arabia Felix and Ethiopia, and brought Candace herself to the faith. Pliny (6:35) and Strabo (17:820), pagan authors, confirm Scripture as to Candace being the name of the Ethiopian queens, as Pharaoh was common to the Egyptian kings. Ethiopian monuments singularly confirm the prominence given to females as queens and armed warriors; the more singular as not an instance of the kind occurs in the Egyptian remains.