Eunuch in Biblical History

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Schaff's Bible Dictionary

Definitions in Biblical History
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What is a Eunuch?
EU'NUCH
(bed-keeper, chamberlain). Such persons have long been, and are still, employed about Eastern courts as guards and attendants in harems. 2 Kgs 9:32; Esth 2:3; and others of this class hold oftentimes the principal offices. They are often cowardly, jealous, intriguing, the tool of despots and libertines, ready for any evil work, being shameless and remorseless. They are also peculiarly liable to be melancholy, and, as the only way of ridding themselves of the burden of life, to commit suicide. Eunuchs are the natural consequence of polygamy, and they are numerous in the Eastern cities. In ancient Rome there were many; so in Greece during the Byzantine period. There are even to-day in Rome a few who sing soprano in the Sistine chapel -- the only instance in Christian lands. According to the law of Moses, no eunuch could enter into the congregation of the Lord, Deut 23:1; nor could a mutilated animal be offered in sacrifice. Lev 22:24. Eunuchs existed in the various foreign courts of which we read in the Bible. Herod had them, and so Queen Candace. Acts 8:27. The word "eunuch " is employed by Christ, Matt 19:12, in various senses to designate: 1. Those who are naturally incapacitated; 2. Those who have been mutilated; 3. Those who voluntarily abstain from marriage in order to devote themselves more exclusively to the interests of the kingdom of God.

Bibliography Information
Schaff, Philip, Dr. "Biblical Definition for 'eunuch' in Schaffs Bible Dictionary".
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