“Israelites Were Black” — What 15th-Century Biblical Manuscripts Actually Show

What did medieval artists actually depict when they illustrated biblical and Christian figures?

This video examines 15th-century manuscripts and religious artwork depicting biblical figures with dark or Black skin, including scenes featuring the evangelists and other figures from biblical tradition. The speaker argues that these images challenge the modern assumption that biblical Israelites and other figures from the ancient Near East were historically depicted as white.

The footage is particularly interesting because the viewer can see the manuscripts being examined page by page, rather than simply hearing an argument about them.

Medieval and Renaissance artwork did not portray skin color in one uniform way. Black and dark-skinned biblical and Christian figures are documented in European and African manuscript traditions, including Black depictions of figures such as the Magus Balthazar and Black Christian saints. Ethiopian manuscript traditions also contain numerous dark-skinned biblical and Christian figures, including 15th-century Gospel manuscripts.

The important question raised by this footage is how biblical peoples were historically imagined and represented—and how those representations changed over time.

Look at the manuscripts. Look at the artwork. Examine the historical context. Then make your own assessment.