Does the enslavement of black people predate the first coming of Jesus Christ over 2,000 years ago?

Nehemiah lived in the 5th century BC. He oversaw the rebuilding of Jerusalem after being released from captivity by the Persian king Artaxerxes I. Nehemiah also instituted extensive moral and liturgical reforms in order to bring the Jews back to the Lord. However, the verse below tells us that the practice of selling Jews as slaves by Gentiles predates the time of Jesus Christ, since it already existed in Nehemiah's time.

• Nehemiah 5:8 "and I said to them, We of our free-will have redeemed our brethren the Jews that were sold to the Gentiles; and do ye sell your brethren? and shall they be delivered to us? And they were silent, and found no answer." |Brenton Septuagint|

• Nehemiah 5:8 "And I said to them, “According to our ability we have redeemed our Jewish brethren who were sold to the nations. Now indeed, will you even sell your brethren? Or should they be sold to us?” Then they were silenced and found nothing to say. |New King James Version|"

We find numerous statements concerning the biblical Jews, published by highly respected and credible ancient historians. All these evidence reinforces the hypothesis that the Jews who lived in Judea (Judaei), the province of ancient Rome, were people of black descent from Sub-Saharan Africa.

Here's an excerpt from “The Histories: The Jews - Book 5 Chap. 2” by Cornelius Tacitus (56 - 120 A.D.), Roman orator and politician considered the greatest Roman historian, in which he asserts that the Judeans (Jews) who populated Judea originated from ancient Ethiopia.

• "Others assert that in the reign of Isis the overflowing population of Egypt, led by Hierosolymus and Judas, discharged itself into the neighboring countries. Many, again, say that they were a race of Ethiopian origin, who in the time of king Cepheus were driven by fear and hatred of their neighbors to seek a new dwelling-place".

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Abd Allah Mohammed Al-Idrissi, the greatest geographer and cartographer of the Middle Ages, toured the world and observed the indigenous populations. In 1154, he was able to write the world's first geography with detailed descriptions. His works are preserved in the most prestigious libraries, such as Oxford's Bodleian Library and the Bibliothèque nationale de France in Paris. Interestingly, in his maps, he indicated that Jews populated the southern regions below the Sahara desert, including all of West Africa and sub-Saharan Africa:

• Senegambia, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Mauritania, Liberia, Malia, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Niger, Chad, South Sudan, South Africa, Angola, Congo Basin (DRC), Congo Brazzavile, Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, Gabon, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, Uganda, Central African Republic, Rwanda, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe.   

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Here's a quote from what Al-Idrissi wrote in his book entitled “Description de l'Afrique et de l'Espagne”, on page 4 of the chapter 'Premier Climat - Première Section', referring to the sub-Saharan regions and Central Africa.

Conference of Berlin?

In Joel 3:1-6, the Lord declares that the nations of Judah and Israel were scattered and sold to the sons of Javan, who transported them far from their homeland.

• Joël 3:1-6 "1“Yes, in those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, I will gather all the nations and take them to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. I will enter into judgment with them there because of My people, My inheritance Israel. The nations have scattered the Israelites in foreign countries and divided up My land. They cast lots for My people; they bartered a boy for a prostitute and sold a girl for wine to drink. And also: Tyre, Sidon, and all the territories of Philistia — what are you to Me? Are you paying Me back or trying to get even with Me? I will quickly bring retribution on your heads. For you took My silver and gold and carried My finest treasuresm to your temples. You sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks to remove them far from their own territory.

If the “sons of Javan” represent the European nations and the true Jews refer to the nations originating from the center of Africa, it is then clear that the division described in Joel 3:1-6 is a prophecy echoing the Berlin Conference concerning the partition of Africa. During the conference, fourteen northern countries divided Africa among them. The countries represented at the time were Austria-Hungary, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden-Norway, Turkey and the United States of America.

The end result was a hodgepodge of geometric borders that divided Africa into 50 irregular countries. This new map of the continent was imposed on the 1000s of indigenous cultures and regions. The new countries were devoid of meaning and logic, as they divided homogeneous groups of people and merged disparate groups who didn't get along at all.

You be the judge, and we encourage you to do your own research.