Candace

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

The name of an Ethiopian queen, whose high treasurer was converted to Christianity under the preaching of Philip the evangelist, Acts 8:27 . The Ethiopia over which she ruled was not Abyssinia, but that region of Upper Nubia called by the Greeks Meroe; and is supposed to correspond with the present province of Atbara, lying between thirteen and eighteen degrees north latitude. Extensive ruins found in this neighborhood, and along the upper valley of the Nile, indicate high civilization among the ancient Ethiopians. Pliny and Strabo inform us that for some time before and after the Christian era, Ethiopia Proper was under the government of female sovereigns, who all bore the appellation of Candace. Irenaeus and Eusebius ascribe to Candace's minister her own conversion to Christianity, and the promulgation of the gospel through her kingdom.

Easton's Bible Dictionary

Acts 8:27Isaiah 45:14

It is somewhat singular that female sovereignty seems to have prevailed in Ethiopia, the name Candace (compare "Pharaoh," "Ptolemy," "Caesar") being a title common to several successive queens. It is probable that Judaism had taken root in Ethiopia at this time, and hence the visit of the queen's treasurer to Jerusalem to keep the feast. There is a tradition that Candace was herself converted to Christianity by her treasurer on his return, and that he became the apostle of Christianity in that whole region, carrying it also into Abyssinia. It is said that he also preached the gospel in Arabia Felix and in Ceylon, where he suffered martyrdom. (See PHILIP .)

Fausset's Bible Dictionary

Queen of Ethiopia (the island of Meroe, in upper Nubia, between the Nile on one side and the Atbara on the other). The name of the dynasty, not merely the individual. Her eunuch or treasurer was converted to Christ by Philip the evangelist, through the power of the word (Isaiah 53), and the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:27, etc.); named Judich in Ethiopian tradition, which represents him as having propagated the gospel in Arabia Felix and Ethiopia, and brought Candace herself to the faith. Pliny (6:35) and Strabo (17:820), pagan authors, confirm Scripture as to Candace being the name of the Ethiopian queens, as Pharaoh was common to the Egyptian kings. Ethiopian monuments singularly confirm the prominence given to females as queens and armed warriors; the more singular as not an instance of the kind occurs in the Egyptian remains.

Holman Bible Dictionary

Acts 8:27

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

CANDACE . Queen of Ethiopia. A eunuch belonging to her, in charge of her treasure, was baptized by Philip ( Acts 8:27 ). The name was borne by more than one queen of Ethiopia. The Candace who invaded Egypt in b.c. 22 (Strabo) is, of course, earlier than this. A Candace is perhaps named on one of the pyramids of Meroe. See Cush.

F. Ll. Griffith.

Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament

Candace (Κανδάκη) is mentioned in Acts 8:27 as ‘queen of the Ethiopians,’ i.e. of Meroë (see Ethiopia and Ethiopian Eunuch). It appears from various ancient authorities that this was a name always borne by the queen-mother of the Ethiopians, and that in many cases she reigned still as dowager: e.g. we read Κανδάκην Αἰθίοπες πᾶσαν τὴν τοῦ βασιλέως μητέρα καλοῦσιν (J. A. Cramer, Catena in Acta Apostolorum , 1844, p. 143), an extract from an anonymous author who proceeds to quote Bion (of Soli) thus: Αἰθίοπες τοὺς βασιλέων πατέρας οὐκ ἐκφαίνουσιν, ἁλλʼ ὡς ὄντας υἱοὺς ἡλίου παραδιδόασιν· ἑκάστου δὲ τὴν μητέρα καλοῦσι Κανδάκην; cf. Athen. xiii. 566 and Pliny, Historia Naturalis (Pliny) vi. 29. The name in its Egyptian form is said to occur on the monuments, and a queen so named tried conclusions with the Romans during the reign of Augustus 24-21 b.c. and obtained some measure of success. The expression in Acts 8:27 that the εὐνοῦχος δυνάστης, whom Philip baptized, ‘was over all her treasure’ suggests that this monarch was powerful and wealthy.

C. L. Feltoe.

Morrish Bible Dictionary

Name or title of a queen of the Ethiopians, whose eunuch was converted on his returning from a visit to Jerusalem. Acts 8:27 .

People's Dictionary of the Bible

Candace (kăn'da-sç or kan-dâ'sç, Eng.,kan'dâs), sovereign of slaves? The name is a title of Ethiopian queens. Acts 8:27. Her chamberlain or treasurer, a eunuch, was met by Philip the evangelist on the road between Jerusalem and Gaza, and converted. Her kingdom was Upper Nubia.

Smith's Bible Dictionary

Canda'ce or Can'da-ce. (prince of servants). A queen of Ethiopia (Meroe), mentioned in Acts 8:27. (A.D. 38). The name was not a proper name of an individual, but that of a dynasty of Ethiopian queens.

Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary

the name of an Ethiopian queen, whose eunuch coming to Jerusalem to worship the Lord, was baptized by Philip the deacon, near Bethsura, in the way to Gaza, as he was returning to his own country, Acts 8:27 . The Ethiopia here mentioned was the isle or peninsula of Meroe to the south of Egypt, which, as Mr. Bruce shows, is now called Atbara, up the Nile. Candace was the common name of the queens of that country. Strabo and Pliny mention queens of that name as reigning in their times. That the queen mentioned in the Acts was converted by the instrumentality of her servant, and that the country thus received Christianity at that early period, are statements not supported by any good testimony. See ABYSSINIAN CHURCH .

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

kan´da -sē ( Κανδάκη , Kandákē ): Queen of the Ethiopians (Acts 8:27 ). Pliny states that the name Candace had already been borne for many years by the queens of Ethiopia (vi,29). See Ethiopia . Her treasurer, "a eunuch of great authority," was baptized by Philip the Evangelist on his return from worshipping in Jerusalem.

Kitto's Popular Cyclopedia of Biblial Literature

Canda´ce, or, more correctly, Kandake, was the name of that queen of the Ethiopians whose high treasurer was converted to Christianity under the preaching of Philip the Evangelist (). The country over which she ruled was not, as some writers allege, what is known to us as Abyssinia: it was that region in Upper Nubia which was called by the Greeks Meroë, and is supposed to correspond to the present province of Atbara, lying between 13° and 18° north latitude. The city of Meroë stood near the present Assour, about twenty miles north of Shendy; and the extensive and magnificent ruins found not only there, but along the upper valley of the Nile, attest the art and civilization of the ancient Ethiopians. Meroë, from being long the center of commercial intercourse between Africa and the south of Asia, became one of the richest countries upon earth; the 'merchandise' and wealth of Ethiopia () was the theme of the poets both of Palestine and Greece; and since much of that affluence would find its way into the royal coffers, the circumstance gives emphasis to the phrase—'all the treasure' of Queen Candace. It is further interesting to know, from the testimonies of various profane authors, that for some time both before and after the Christian era, Ethiopia Proper was under the rule of female sovereigns, who all bore the appellation of 'Candace,' which was not so much a proper name as a distinctive title, common to every successive queen, like 'Pharaoh' and 'Ptolemy' to the kings of Egypt, and 'Caesar' to the emperors of Rome.

A curious confirmation of the fact of female sovereignty having prevailed in Ethiopia has been remarked on the existing monuments of the country. Thus, on the largest sepulchral pyramid near Assour, the ancient Meroë, a female warrior, with the royal ensigns on her head, drags forward a number of captives as offerings to the gods; on another compartment she is in a warlike habit, about to destroy the same group. Heeren, after describing the monuments at Naga, or Naka, south-east of Shendy, says, 'It is evident that these representations possess many peculiarities, and that they are not pure Egyptian. The most remarkable difference appears in the persons offering. The queens appear with the kings; and not merely as presenting offerings, but as heroines and conquerors. Nothing of this kind has yet been discovered on the Egyptian reliefs, either in Egypt or Nubia. It may therefore with certainty be concluded, that they are subjects peculiar to Ethiopia. It is singular enough, that when Bruce was at Shendy, the government of the district was in the hands of a female called Sittina, i.e. the lady or mistress. Irenæus and Eusebius ascribe to Candace's minister her own conversion to Christianity, and the promulgation of the Gospel throughout her kingdom: and with this agrees the Abyssinian tradition, that he was likewise the apostle of Tagré, that part of Abyssinia which lay nearest to Meroë; it is added that he afterwards preached the Gospel in Arabia Felix, and also in the island of Ceylon, where he suffered martyrdom.

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

Bibliography InformationMcClintock, John. Strong, James. Entry for 'Candace'. Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature. https://www.studylight.org/encyclopedias/eng/tce/c/candace.html. Harper & Brothers. New York. 1870.