along the particular fifty-odd mile road that descended from Jerusalem to Gaza, one of the five ancient cities of the Philistines. Although some translations take “desert” to refer to the road, it probably referred to the ruins of the old city of Gaza, destroyed in 96 B.C., through which the road passed on its way to the new city of Gaza, which was further down the road on the Mediterranean coast.5 While making his way down the road, Philip noticed a royal Ethiopian official traveling in his chariot,