Event New Testament
Philip and the Ethiopian official
Sent by an angel to the road toward Gaza, Philip met an Ethiopian court official reading Isaiah 53 in his chariot. Starting from that passage Philip told him the good news about Jesus, and at the official's request Philip baptized him in water beside the road.
Why it matters. The Gospel crosses a boundary of nation and status, and Isaiah's suffering servant is read openly as Jesus by an evangelist of the earliest church.
- Primary passages
- Witnesses
Chronology confidence: high
Acts records the meeting on the desert road toward Gaza and Philip's later arrival at Caesarea.
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-30 by the FaithGraph team
Connections
Stephen's martyrdom precedes Philip and the Ethiopian official
Explicit in ScriptureHigh confidenceActs narrates these events in this order.
Evidence:Philip and the Ethiopian official precedes The conversion of Paul
Explicit in ScriptureHigh confidenceActs narrates these events in this order.
Evidence:Philip the evangelist participates in Philip and the Ethiopian official
Explicit in ScriptureHigh confidenceThe text names Philip in this event at the cited verses.
Evidence:Philip and the Ethiopian official occurs at Caesarea
Explicit in ScriptureHigh confidencePhilip's journey after the baptism ends at Caesarea.
Evidence: