There was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians….He had come to Jerusalem to worship and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah (Acts 8:27-28).
The native language and culture of Ethiopia, in Africa, were different from the language and culture of Israel in the Middle East. Based on the way Acts 8 quotes Isaiah 53, we know that the Ethiopian was reading from the Septuagint, the Old Testament Scriptures translated into Greek from Hebrew. The Greek words, faithfully translated, were plain enough. But the Ethiopian wondered where the words were pointing: “About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” Philip let the Scriptures lead to the answer. The Ethiopian came from a different culture and language. Yet, even as a foreigner depending on a translation, he could read the clear words of Scripture. Then he learned the explanation. These facts reassure us today as we seek to understand the Bible.