The Bible's People Weren't White — Ancient Christian Art Shows Them as Black

In this short excerpt, a Black Hebrew Israelite speaker points to historical Christian artwork depicting dark-skinned or Black representations of biblical figures, including the Apostle Peter, Mary, Christ, prophets, Israelites, angels, and other biblical characters.

The footage raises a question that many Americans have probably never considered: How were biblical people actually portrayed in some of the oldest Christian artistic traditions?

Ethiopian Christian art provides particularly important historical examples. Surviving Ethiopian manuscripts and icons contain depictions of Mary, Jesus, apostles, angels, and saints with distinctly African visual characteristics. Some surviving examples date back centuries, including Ethiopian manuscripts from the 1400s.

The speaker interprets these images as evidence that the Israelites and biblical figures were historically Black. The artwork itself is real historical evidence of Black and African representations of biblical figures, although what those artistic traditions prove about the biological ancestry of the ancient Israelites remains a separate historical question.

The interesting part is that you don't have to take the speaker's word for it—you can actually look at the artwork yourself.

Look at the evidence. Study the history. Then make your own assessment.