Acts 8:28

Acts 8:28

Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet.

a. NLT: And he was now returning. Seated in his carriage, he was reading aloud from the book of the prophet Isaiah. [Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.]

b. ASV: And he was returning and sitting in his chariot, and was reading the prophet Isaiah. [Thomas Nelson & Sons first published the American Standard Version in 1901. This translation of the Bible is in the public domain.]

c. YLT: He was also returning, and is sitting on his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. [The Young's Literal Translation was translated by Robert Young, who believed in a strictly literal translation of God's word. This version of the Bible is in the public domain.] 

d. Classic Amplified: And he was [now] returning, and sitting in his chariot he was reading the book of the prophet Isaiah. [Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC) Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation]

e. Peshitta Eastern Text: While he was returning, sitting in his chariot, he read the book of the prophet isaiah.  [HOLY BIBLE FROM THE ANCIENT EASTERN TEXT.Copyright  Ⓒ 1933 by A.J. Holmon Co.; copyright  Ⓒ renewed 1961 by A.J. Holmon Co.; Copyright  Ⓒ 1939 by A.J. Holmon Co.; copyright  Ⓒ renewed 1967  by A.J. Holmon Co.;  Copyright  Ⓒ 1940 by A.J. Holmon Co.; copyright  Ⓒ renewed 1968 by A.J. Holmon Co.; Copyright  Ⓒ 1957 by A.J. Holmon Co. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. HarperCollins Publishers, 195 Broadway, New York, NY 10007.]

f. NIV:And on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the Book of Isaiah the prophet. [THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by Permission of Biblica, Inc.® All rights reserved worldwide.]

 1. “Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet.”

a. [Strong: 5037. te teh a primary particle (enclitic) of connection or addition; both or also (properly, as correlation of 2532):--also, and, both, even, then, whether. Often used in composition, usually as the latter participle.]

b. Was [Strong: 2258. en ane imperfect of 1510; I (thou, etc.) was (wast or were):--+ agree, be, X have (+ charge of), hold, use, was(-t), were.]

c. returning [Strong: 5290. hupostrepho hoop-os-tref'-o from 5259 and 4762; to turn under (behind), i.e. to return (literally or figuratively):--come again, return (again, back again), turn back (again).]

d. and [Strong: 2532. kai kahee apparently, a primary particle, having a copulative and sometimes also a cumulative force; and, also, even, so then, too, etc.; often used in connection (or composition) with other particles or small words:--and, also, both, but, even, for, if, or, so, that, then, therefore, when, yet.]

e. sitting [Strong: 2521. kathemai kath'-ay-mahee from 2596; and hemai (to sit; akin to the base of 1476); to sit down; figuratively, to remain, reside:--dwell, sit (by, down).]

f. in [Strong: 1909. epi ep-ee' a primary preposition; properly, meaning superimposition (of time, place, order, etc.), as a relation of distribution (with the genitive case), i.e. over, upon, etc.; of rest (with the dative case) at, on, etc.; of direction (with the accusative case) towards, upon, etc.:--about (the times), above, after, against, among, as long as (touching), at, beside, X have charge of, (be-, (where-))fore, in (a place, as much as, the time of, -to), (because) of, (up-)on (behalf of), over, (by, for) the space of, through(-out), (un-)to(-ward), with. In compounds it retains essentially the same import, at, upon, etc. (literally or figuratively).]

g. his [Strong: 846. autos ow-tos' from the particle au (perhaps akin to the base of 109 through the idea of a baffling wind) (backward); the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative 1438) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other persons:--her, it(-self), one, the other, (mine) own, said, (self-), the) same, ((him-, my-, thy- )self, (your-)selves, she, that, their(-s), them(-selves), there(-at, - by, -in, -into, -of, -on, -with), they, (these) things, this (man), those, together, very, which.]

h. [Strong: 3588. [tou] ὁ ho ho, including the feminine he hay, and the neuter to to in all their inflections; the definite article; the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom):--the, this, that, one, he, she, it, etc.] [Thayer: [tou] ὁ, ἡ, τό, originally τος, τῇ, τό (as is evident from the forms τοι, ται for οἱ, αἱ in Homer and the Ionic writings), corresponds to our definite article the (German der, die, das), which is properly a demonstrative pronoun, which we see in its full force in Homer, and of which we find certain indubitable traces also in all kinds of Greek prose, and hence also in the N. T.] [Additional variants: tē, hoi, oi, tēn, ta, tēs, tois, tais, tō, tōn, tou, hé  hē, hai.]

j. chariot [Strong: 716. harma har'-mah probably from 142 (perhaps with 1 (as a particle of union) prefixed); a chariot (as raised or fitted together (compare 719)):--chariot.]

k. [Strong: 2532. kai kahee apparently, a primary particle, having a copulative and sometimes also a cumulative force; and, also, even, so then, too, etc.; often used in connection (or composition) with other particles or small words:--and, also, both, but, even, for, if, or, so, that, then, therefore, when, yet.]

l. read [Strong: 314. anaginosko an-ag-in-oce'-ko from 303 and 1097; to know again, i.e. (by extension) to read:--read.]

m. Esaias [Strong: 2268. Hesaias hay-sah-ee'-as of Hebrew origin (3470); Hesaias (i.e. Jeshajah), an Israelite:--Esaias.]

n. the [Strong: 3588. [ton] ὁ ho ho, including the feminine he hay, and the neuter to to in all their inflections; the definite article; the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom):--the, this, that, one, he, she, it, etc.] [Thayer: [ton] ὁ, ἡ, τό, originally τος, τῇ, τό (as is evident from the forms τοι, ται for οἱ, αἱ in Homer and the Ionic writings), corresponds to our definite article the (German der, die, das), which is properly a demonstrative pronoun, which we see in its full force in Homer, and of which we find certain indubitable traces also in all kinds of Greek prose, and hence also in the N. T.] [Additional variants: tē, hoi, oi, tēn, ta, tēs, tois, tais, tō, tōn, tou, hé  hē, hai.]

o. prophet [Strong: 4396. prophetes prof-ay'-tace from a compound of 4253 and 5346; a foreteller ("prophet"); by analogy, an inspired speaker; by extension, a poet:--prophet.]

1). During the first century A.D. there had already been a Jewish presence in Ethiopia for a thousand years. It is unknown how familiar the eunuch was with Isaiah. Did he know of the passage in Isaiah about eunuchs? 

a). Isaiah 56:3-5 Neither let the son of the stranger, that hath joined himself to the Lord, speak, saying, The Lord hath utterly separated me from his people: neither let the eunuch say, Behold, I am a dry tree.

56:4 For thus saith the Lord unto the eunuchs that keep my sabbaths, and choose the things that please me, and take hold of my covenant;

56:5 Even unto them will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off.

2).  The important thing is he was reading his Bible on the way back from Jerusalem. This man must have been spiritually hungry, for I do not believe it was just a coincidence “the angel of the Lord” and the Holy Ghost directed Phillip to this particular individual. I believe they knew this was the vessel they would use to introduce Christianity into Ethiopia. It is remarkable that he had a copy of the scroll of Isaiah. Some scholars believe he may have purchased it in Jerusalem.