Finally, the geographical
dimensions of Acts 8 are mind-boggling. From Jerusalem to their meeting point
outside Gaza, Philip and the Nubian official have traveled separately for some
30 miles over a day and a half. Philip is directed by an angel to this route
near Gaza, more properly termed “wilderness” than “desert” (v. 26). Traveling
by foot, he overtakes the African official, whose return trip to Nubia from
Jerusalem is by a different mode of transportation. Philip is told by the Spirit
to approach a vehicle called a harma (v. 29). Most English versions
misleadingly translate this word as “chariot”; however, chariots were not
appropriate for long-distance travel. A double-axled carriage, known in Latin
as a petorritum, was more comfortable and served as the limousine of the
Roman world. With a wooden roof (which allowed shade for the Nubian to read his
scroll of Isaiah [v. 28]) and a decorated interior, the petorritum was
pulled by a team of horses or donkeys. Such carriages averaged up to 5 miles
per hour on level ground. It is plausible that the African man is riding in
such a vehicle. (Mark Wilson, “Philip’s Encounter with the ‘Ethiopian Eunuch,’”
Biblical Archaeology Review 52, no. 1 [Spring 2026]: 64)
