Eunuch

Occurrences in the Bible

A eunuch was a castrated male official who served at a royal court. The New Korean Revised Version renders the same original word with different terms depending on the context, including words meaning "eunuch," "castrated man," "officer," and "chief official."

• Old Testament courts: Potiphar, who bought Joseph, is introduced as "an officer of Pharaoh's" (Genesis 37:36); the original word translated "officer" here is the same word that means eunuch. Other examples include Ashpenaz, the master of the eunuchs in Daniel 1; Hegai, Hatach, and Harbonah, the eunuchs of King Ahasuerus in the story of Esther; the eunuchs who threw Jezebel out of the window (2 Kings 9:32–33); and Ebed-melech, the Ethiopian (Cushite) eunuch who rescued Jeremiah from the dungeon (Jeremiah 38:7–13).
• Law and prophecy: Deuteronomy 23:1 stipulates that a man whose genitals have been damaged shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD. Isaiah 56:3–5 promises eunuchs who keep the Sabbath and take hold of the covenant "a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters." Scripture also records a prophecy that descendants of Hezekiah would become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon (2 Kings 20:18).
• The Gospels: At the end of an exchange about divorce (Matthew 19:3–9), Jesus speaks of eunuchs who were born so, eunuchs who were made so by men, and those who made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake (Matthew 19:12).
• Acts: A eunuch in charge of the treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, was reading Isaiah 53 when he heard Philip the evangelist explain the passage, and he was then baptized (Acts 8:26–39; see Ethiopian eunuch).

Terminology and Background

The Hebrew saris is widely held to derive from an Akkadian expression meaning "one who stands at the king's head," that is, a close attendant. In ancient Near Eastern courts, castrated men were often entrusted with duties such as overseeing the harem or managing finances. Many scholars hold that the word gradually came to designate a high-ranking official regardless of whether he was castrated, which would explain why Potiphar, who had a wife, is called a saris. The Greek eunouchos is commonly explained as meaning "keeper of the bed." The Korean word naesi, used in Korean Bible translation, was borrowed from the term for the eunuchs of the old Korean royal palace.

Broader Biblical Significance

To those whom Deuteronomy barred from entering the congregation, Isaiah promises a place in God's house. Many interpreters read Acts 8 as the fulfillment of this promise, since it tells of a eunuch from a Gentile land hearing the gospel through a passage about the Suffering Servant (Acts 8:32–35). The scene is also read as one stage in the spread of the gospel "unto the uttermost part of the earth" described in Acts 1:8.

Interpretations and Debates

• Literal eunuch or official?: Interpreters differ from passage to passage over whether the Old Testament saris refers to a castrated man or is simply an official title.
• Status of the Ethiopian eunuch: The text does not make clear whether he was a Gentile, a proselyte to Judaism, or a God-fearing Gentile. Interpreters are therefore divided over whether the first Gentile convert was this eunuch or Cornelius.
• Acts 8:37: This verse, which records a confession of faith before baptism, is absent from a number of early manuscripts. For this reason, modern translations generally omit it from the main text or mark it separately.
• Mode of baptism: Baptists cite the phrase "they went down both into the water" (Acts 8:38) as support for baptism by immersion. Presbyterians, Methodists, and others hold that the mode cannot be determined from this verse alone (see Baptism and Immersion).
• Matthew 19:12: Most churches read this saying as referring to the gift of celibacy for the sake of the kingdom of God. According to an account preserved by the church historian Eusebius, the church father Origen took this verse literally and castrated himself. The Roman Catholic Church connects this verse with its tradition of priestly celibacy, whereas Protestants regard celibacy as one calling among many and do not exalt it above marriage.
• Extrabiblical tradition: Irenaeus and others in the second century report that this eunuch returned to his homeland and preached the gospel there. The Ethiopian church likewise traces its origins to him. This, however, is a later tradition not found in the biblical text.

In the Korean Church

The account of the eunuch in Acts 8 is frequently cited in sermons on evangelism guided by the Holy Spirit. Philip's question to the eunuch, "Understandest thou what thou readest?" (Acts 8:30), is often invoked to stress the need for Bible study and the careful interpretation of Scripture.