Eunuchs

Eunuchs were castrated males who served at the king's court.

Overview

Castration of children was widely practiced by the Babylonians, as confirmed in 2 Kings 20:18 about the descendants of King Hezekiah: “And some of your descendants, your own flesh and blood that will be born to you, will be taken away, and they will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.” Eunuchs were highly valued as court servants for their trustworthiness. Their primary role was to guard the queen and other female royalty. The lack of genitalia allied them to women, making them sexually available to their masters.

Especially in Persian times, eunuchs gained increasing influence over the king and his court, as attested in ancient sources, both Greek (Herodotus, Xenophon, Plutarch) and Jewish (Daniel, Esther). The practice of castration created a multi-ethnic class of officials (and bureaucrats) whose loyalty was exclusively with the King (and the empire) as they had no prospects for marriage and descendants. They were no longer used only as personal servants of the king but carried out the most important administrative functions. Children "of great beauty and intelligence" from the different provinces of the Persian empire were sold or offered as a tribute to the Persian court. The practice continued into Hellenistic times, as evidenced by the case of the fourteen-year-old eunuch, Bagoas the Younger, once the favorite of Darius III, who became Alexander's lover. See Encyclopedia Iranica.

In ancient Jewish tradition

Castration was forbidden in ancient Jewish law and the eunuch (Heb. סריס, saris) was excluded from the religious community. According to Deuteronomy, "No one whose testicles are crushed or whose penis is cut off shall be admitted to the assembly of the Lord" (Deut 23:1). Castrated members of the priestly caste were forbidden to enter certain parts of the temple, to approach the altar, or to make sacrifices, although they could eat their share of the offerings and receive the priestly and Levite gifts (Lev. 21:16–24). Leviticus 22 forbids the offering of castrated animals: "24 Any animal that has its testicles bruised or crushed or torn or cut, you shall not offer to the Lord; such you shall not do within your land, 25 nor shall you accept any such animals from a foreigner to offer as food to your God; since they are mutilated, with a blemish in them, they shall not be accepted in your behalf."

The Book of Daniel does not explicitly says that Daniel and his companions were castrated, but this was the way it was commonly understood already in antiquity (see Josephus, Ant XX.11.1-2). The boys were educated under the authority of the “chief eunuch” Ashpenaz, and their childhood did not end with marriage.

A significant number of Jewish children, like Daniel and his companions, served as eunuchs. Some of them, notably, Nehemiah who in 445 B.C.E. became governor of Judah, would play a very important role in the early Second Temple Period. Acknowledging their contribution, the Book of Isaiah included words of consolation for the eunuchs; they were now welcomed into the religious community with empathy:

3 Do not let the eunuch say,

“I am just a dry tree.”

4 For thus says the Lord:

To the eunuchs who keep my sabbaths,

who choose the things that please me

and hold fast my covenant,

5 I will give, in my house and within my walls,

a monument and a name

better than sons and daughters;

I will give them an everlasting name

that shall not be cut off. (Isaiah 56:3b-5)

In early Christianity

According to Matthew 19:12, Jesus describes three types of people as unfit for marriage, namely those who have been castrated (eunuchs); those born incapable (congenital eunuchs) and those who, by their own free choice and for the glory of God’s Kingdom, abstain from marrying (voluntary celibates).