Was Jesus Black?

Question

I know that white society generally does not want to even contemplate this question as a possibility, but i'm curious about intelligent opinions on this topic. Jesus was born in what is now Israel, and the population of that area is arabic and black. It seems that I heard at some point that there is a referrence in the bible to Jesus's hair being as coarse as wool and his skin being the color of copper. So... Realistically... Was Jesus Black?

Answer 1

I suspect that Jesus looked like any other person of Mediterranean birth: olive to light brown skin with black hair, probably somewhat curly. I doubt that he was "black", if by black you mean Bantu African. But he certainly wasn't pale with blond hair and blue eyes.

Hildulf: On the contrary, most of the studies I'VE seen suggest that the black Jews of Ethiopia were converts for the most part. Much in the way that Ashkenazi (sp?) Jews have a large number of Caucasian ancestors who converted to Judaism, the same goes for the Dannites of Ethiopia. Most scholarship accepts Semitic descent for Jews--you need only look at the Arabs and other Semitic peoples to see what the Jews of Jesus' time probably looked like. They base this on Mitochondrial DNA evidence as well as Y chromosome evidence.

Israel/Palestine is on the Eurasian continent, by the way. Please don't make arguments about geography if you don't even have a basic knowledge of geography in the first place!

Answer 2

Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard. ~ Leviticus 19:27

Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. ~ Matthew 5:17 (Jesus Christ)

If Christ came to fulfill the law then he would have adhered to the law in Leviticus and thus would not have cut the hair at the sides of his head or clip off the edges of the beard.

He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. ~ Isaiah 53:2

The scripture above is prophesying about Christ. So what ever Christ looked like as a man he was not beautiful or desirable in appearance.

God purposely didn't reveal Jesus' full appearance in scripture so that it would not cause conflict between races and peoples appearances. God is love not vanity. God shows no favoritism.

Answer 3

Jesus is Jewish - probably on the shortish or smallish side - maybe not - muscular as he was a carpenter after his father - his hair and eyes had to be dark brown of the region. He wore a turban as most other Jewish young men did. His skin was olive and/or tawny due to the nature of the Jewish people and by his work in the sun. The people of the time were very careful about integration and did not marry outside of their own tribes. So his line would have been pure. So while I don't believe Jesus was black, I do believe he was more dark-olive complected. katiefish <><

Answer 4

Black? No. Afro-ish hair with dark skin, probably. All those blonde Jesus's really make my teeth grind. He was a Yid!

The current or previous residents of Israel were never 'black'. Semetic, yes. You're looking at a bog standard middle Eastern fella here, not an African.

Answer 5

Doubtful. He was born in the Palestinian territory, what is Israel today. He was born of a Jewish mother, born in the same region. You don't see many born in this area being classified as black or of African descent. He wasn't Caucasian either. The passage you are referring to is probably this one:

Rev 1:14 And the hairs of His head were white as white wool, as snow, and His eyes as a flame of fire;
Rev 1:15 and His feet like burnished brass having been fired in a furnace; and His voice as a sound of many waters;

This is John's vision of Christ on the island of Patmos.

Answer 6

I'm white and Christian. I really don't care what color Jesus was, although I think he was Jewish or Arab. It doesn't make any difference to me one way or the other the color of his skin or the texture of his hair. Neither has anything to do with his message or his life. Good luck. 2D

Answer 7

Arab, dark brown, just like about everyone else in the area during the time. If he existed that is, which is up for debate but beyond the limits of this discussion.

Answer 8

Yes.
According to migration patterns in the area, his blood relatives would now be the Ethiopians.

EDIT:
I'm always rather astonished at the lack of research that people participate in, regarding their own religions.
It is easily publicly researched that today's Ethiopians were the Semites of Jesus' time. They were displaced by invading Khazars from the steppes of Russia some 800 years ago, when that tribe of Khazars converted, wholecloth, to Judaism and decided they should live in the lands that were Israel, since they were then Jews.

Crack open a book, people... it's not hard to research.
Jesus looked like today's Ethiopians. Though a bit shorter.

EDIT:
Rosa Preto... on what continent would you find Israel and Palestine?
Think about it, carefully...
Here... I'll give you a hint... it's Africa.

Answer 9

According to the Bible, he was born in the Middle East from a Middle Eastern mother, so he would look like Bin Laden or Omar Sharif

Answer 10

Christ was probably jewish/arab skin colored. But seriously who will pay attention on the day He returns with a description of his appearance is this.

Revelation 1:13-17 KJV
(13) And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.
(14) His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire;
(15) And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.
(16) And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.
(17) And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: