page_title: Eunuch
section_title: In the Bible
hierarchical_section_title: Eunuch / In the Bible
context_page_description: Generally, a eunuch is a man who has been castrated to serve a specific social function.
  The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 21st century BC. Over the millennia since, they have performed a wide variety of functions in many different cultures: courtiers or equivalent domestics, treble singers, religious specialists, soldiers, royal guards, government officials, and guardians of women or harem servants.
  Eunuchs would usually be servants or slaves who had been castrated to make them reliable servants of a royal court where physical access to the ruler could wield great influence. Seemingly lowly domestic functions—such as making the ruler's bed, bathing him, cutting his hair, carrying him in his litter, or even relaying messages—could in theory give a eunuch "the ruler's ear" and impart de facto power on the formally humble but trusted servant. Similar instances are reflected in the humble origins and etymology of many high offices.
context_section_description: For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from their mother's womb: and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men: and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it.
  — Matthew 19:12
  Eunuchs are mentioned many times in the Bible, such as in the Book of Isaiah (56:4) using the word סריס (saris). Although the Ancient Hebrews did not practice castration, eunuchs were common in other cultures featured in the Bible, such as ancient Egypt, Babylonia, the Persian Empire, and ancient Rome. In the Book of Esther, servants of the harem of Ahasuerus such as Hegai and Shashgaz as well as other servants such as Hatach, Harbonah, Bigthan, and Teresh are referred to as sarisim. Being exposed to the consorts of the king, they would likely have been castrated.
  There is some confusion regarding eunuchs in Old Testament passages, since the Hebrew word for eunuch, saris (סריס), could also refer to other servants and officials who had not been castrated but served in similar capacities. The Egyptian royal servant Potiphar is described as a saris in Genesis 39:1, although he was married and hence unlikely to have been a castrated eunuch.
  One of the earliest converts to Christianity was an Ethiopian eunuch who was a high court official of Candace the Queen of Ethiopia. Acts 8:27–39 The reference to "eunuchs" in Matthew 19:12 has yielded various interpretations.
caption: Rembrandt, The Baptism of the Eunuch, 1626.
exif: {"Image ImageDescription": "The  baptism of the eunich\n*oil on panel\n*63,5 x 48 cm\n*signed b.r.: RH 1626", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "17997/100", "Image YResolution": "17997/100", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop CS2 Windows", "Image DateTime": "2014:09:05 11:06:51", "Image Artist": "Rembrand van Rijn", "Image ExifOffset": "284", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "422", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "6712", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "3401", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "4495"}