Candace

Biblical Record

Candace is mentioned only once in the Bible, in Acts 8:27, where the Authorized Version speaks of "Candace queen of the Ethiopians." Korean translations render the phrase slightly differently: the Revised Korean Version (New Revised Edition) has "Candace, queen of Ethiopia," and the New Korean Standard Version has "Candace, queen of the Ethiopians." The text records none of Candace's own words or deeds. It names her only as the sovereign served by the official who had charge of all her treasure, namely the Ethiopian eunuch. This official had gone to Jerusalem to worship, and on his way home he met Philip the evangelist, who explained the book of Isaiah to him and baptized him (Acts 8:26–39).

Significance within Scripture

The mention of Candace shows that the eunuch was a high official responsible for the finances of a kingdom. Acts 1:8 declares that the gospel will reach "unto the uttermost part of the earth," and within that narrative movement this account is read as the moment the gospel began to reach the royal court of a distant nation to the south, beyond Israel. The biblical "Ethiopia" is not necessarily identical to the modern country of Ethiopia. It is generally understood to refer to the region of the upper Nile called "Cush" in the Old Testament, roughly corresponding to present-day northern Sudan.

Interpretation and Issues

• Name or title: Greek and Roman writers (such as Strabo and Pliny the Elder) record that the queen of Meroë, the capital of the kingdom of Cush, was called "Kandake." For this reason, a view widely known among scholars regards Candace not as a personal name but as a title given to a queen or queen mother. Which queen is meant in Acts has not been identified.
• What the text does not say: The text does not say whether Candace heard the gospel or what the eunuch did after returning home. Accounts of the eunuch returning to his homeland and preaching the gospel belong to traditions from the early church onward.
• Distinction from the Queen of Sheba: Because Ethiopian tradition links the Queen of Sheba with that nation, the two figures are sometimes conflated. However, the Queen of Sheba of 1 Kings 10 and the Candace of Acts belong to different eras and backgrounds.

In the Korean Church

In Korean churches, Candace is rarely the subject of a sermon in her own right. She is mentioned in sermons and Sunday school lessons on the account of Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8, when explaining the eunuch's high rank and the distant land from which he came.