Jesus was neither white (as in European) nor black (as in sub-Saharan African) in the modern racial sense. He was a Jewish man from the Middle East, born in Bethlehem and raised in Nazareth in 1st-century Judea, a region in what is today Israel/Palestine.
Likely Appearance Based on History and Anthropology:
- Skin Tone: Likely olive or medium brown, typical of Semitic peoples in the region at that time.
- Hair: Probably dark brown or black, and curly or wavy.
- Eyes: Most likely brown.
- Height: The average male height of the time was around 5'5" (165 cm).
Biblical Clues:
The Bible does not describe Jesus' physical appearance in detail, but there are symbolic references:
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Isaiah 53:2 (ESV) – "He had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him."
This suggests Jesus was ordinary in appearance, not strikingly handsome or majestic. -
Revelation 1:14–15 uses symbolic language:
“The hair on his head was white like wool... His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace...”
This is a vision of the glorified Christ, not a literal description of His earthly appearance.
Artistic Depictions:
- European art often portrays Jesus as white with light skin and long, flowing hair, reflecting the culture of the artists rather than historical reality.
- African, Asian, and Latin American Christian communities often portray Jesus with features similar to their own people—this is a cultural expression of identification with Christ.
Scholarly Consensus:
Anthropologists and historians agree that Jesus would have looked like a typical Galilean Jew of the 1st century:
“Dark-skinned, dark-haired, with Middle Eastern features—not white and not black.”
Conclusion:
Jesus was a Middle Eastern Jew—neither white nor black. His likely appearance was olive-skinned, with dark hair and Semitic features. His message and mission, however, transcend race and ethnicity.
Here is a depiction created by chat GPT of what Jesus may have looked like related to his actual olive skin color.
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