Acts 7

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Stephen, in his defense, recounts the history of Israel from Abraham to Moses, highlighting God's faithfulness and the people's repeated rebellion and rejection of His chosen leaders. He then directly accuses his audience of being "stiffnecked" and resisting the Holy Ghost, persecuting prophets, and murdering the Just One. Enraged by his words and vision of Jesus, they stone Stephen, who prays for their forgiveness as he dies.

Stephen's Defense Begins: God's Covenant with Abraham 1–8

And the high priest said, Are these things so?

And he said, Brethren and fathers, hearken: The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Haran,

and said unto him, Get thee out of thy land, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall show thee.

Then came he out of the land of the Chaldæans, and dwelt in Haran: and from thence, when his father was dead, God removed him into this land, wherein ye now dwell:

and he gave him none inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on: and he promised that he would give it to him in possession, and to his seed after him, when as yet he had no child.

And God spake on this wise, that his seed should sojourn in a strange land, and that they should bring them into bondage, and treat them ill, four hundred years.

And the nation to which they shall be in bondage will I judge, said God: and after that shall they come forth, and serve me in this place.

And he gave him the covenant of circumcision: and so Abraham begat Isaac, and circumcised him the eighth day; and Isaac begat Jacob, and Jacob the twelve patriarchs.

The Betrayal of Joseph 9–16

And the patriarchs, moved with jealousy against Joseph, sold him into Egypt: and God was with him,

and delivered him out of all his afflictions, and gave him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh king of Egypt; and he made him governor over Egypt and all his house.

Now there came a famine over all Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction: and our fathers found no sustenance.

But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent forth our fathers the first time.

And at the second time Joseph was made known to his brethren; and Joseph’s race became manifest unto Pharaoh.

And Joseph sent, and called to him Jacob his father, and all his kindred, threescore and fifteen souls.

And Jacob went down into Egypt; and he died, himself and our fathers;

and they were carried over unto Shechem, and laid in the tomb that Abraham bought for a price in silver of the sons of Hamor in Shechem.

The Birth and Calling of Moses 17–29

But as the time of the promise drew nigh which God vouchsafed unto Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt,

till there arose another king over Egypt, who knew not Joseph.

The same dealt craftily with our race, and ill-treated our fathers, that they should cast out their babes to the end they might not live.

At which season Moses was born, and was exceeding fair; and he was nourished three months in his father’s house:

and when he was cast out, Pharaoh’s daughter took him up, and nourished him for her own son.

And Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians; and he was mighty in his words and works.

But when he was well-nigh forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren the children of Israel.

And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended him, and avenged him that was oppressed, smiting the Egyptian:

and he supposed that his brethren understood that God by his hand was giving them deliverance; but they understood not.

And the day following he appeared unto them as they strove, and would have set them at one again, saying, Sirs, ye are brethren; why do ye wrong one to another?

But he that did his neighbor wrong thrust him away, saying, Who made thee a ruler and a judge over us?

Wouldest thou kill me, as thou killedst the Egyptian yesterday?

And Moses fled at this saying, and became a sojourner in the land of Midian, where he begat two sons.

Moses at the Burning Bush 30–36

And when forty years were fulfilled, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of mount Sinai, in a flame of fire in a bush.

And when Moses saw it, he wondered at the sight: and as he drew near to behold, there came a voice of the Lord,

I am the God of thy fathers, the God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob. And Moses trembled, and durst not behold.

And the Lord said unto him, Loose the shoes from thy feet: for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.

I have surely seen the affliction of my people that is in Egypt, and have heard their groaning, and I am come down to deliver them: and now come, I will send thee into Egypt.

This Moses whom they refused, saying, Who made thee a ruler and a judge? him hath God sent to be both a ruler and a deliverer with the hand of the angel that appeared to him in the bush.

This man led them forth, having wrought wonders and signs in Egypt, and in the Red sea, and in the wilderness forty years.

Israel Rejects God's Prophets 37–43

This is that Moses, who said unto the children of Israel, A prophet shall God raise up unto you from among your brethren, like unto me.

This is he that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel that spake to him in the mount Sinai, and with our fathers: who received living oracles to give unto us:

to whom our fathers would not be obedient, but thrust him from them, and turned back in their hearts unto Egypt,

saying unto Aaron, Make us gods that shall go before us: for as for this Moses, who led us forth out of the land of Egypt, we know not what is become of him.

And they made a calf in those days, and brought a sacrifice unto the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their hands.

But God turned, and gave them up to serve the host of heaven; as it is written in the book of the prophets, Did ye offer unto me slain beasts and sacrifices Forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?

And ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch, And the star of the god Rephan, The figures which ye made to worship them: And I will carry you away beyond Babylon.

The True Tabernacle vs. the Temple 44–50

Our fathers had the tabernacle of the testimony in the wilderness, even as he appointed who spake unto Moses, that he should make it according to the figure that he had seen.

Which also our fathers, in their turn, brought in with Joshua when they entered on the possession of the nations, that God thrust out before the face of our fathers, unto the days of David;

who found favor in the sight of God, and asked to find a habitation for the God of Jacob.

But Solomon built him a house.

Howbeit the Most High dwelleth not in houses made with hands; as saith the prophet,

The heaven is my throne, And the earth the footstool of my feet: What manner of house will ye build me? saith the Lord: Or what is the place of my rest?

Did not my hand make all these things?

Stephen Accuses the Council 51–53

Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Spirit: as your fathers did, so do ye.

Which of the prophets did not your fathers persecute? and they killed them that showed before of the coming of the Righteous One; of whom ye have now become betrayers and murderers;

ye who received the law as it was ordained by angels, and kept it not.

The Stoning of Stephen 54–60

Now when they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth.

But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God,

and said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.

But they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and rushed upon him with one accord;

and they cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul.

And they stoned Stephen, calling upon the Lord, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.

And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Acts 7

Verse 1

Are these things so? — The question puts to Stephen the charges of 6:13–14: 'blasphemous words against this holy place, and the law', and that 'this Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place'. His reply (vv.2–53) recounts Scripture from Abraham to Solomon, turns to the temple (vv.47–50), and then to the council itself (vv.51–53).

Verse 2

The God of glory — The title is that of Ps 29:3, 'the God of glory thundereth'. 'Appeared' is optomai, was seen. Mesopotamia stands in the New Testament only here and Acts 2:9. Genesis gives the call itself (Gen 12:1) and the LORD's word, 'I am the LORD that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees' (Gen 15:7). 'Men, brethren, and fathers' is Paul's address in Acts 22:1.

Verse 4

out of the land of the Chaldaeans — Terah took Abram 'from Ur of the Chaldees' to Haran (Gen 11:31); 'Terah died in Haran' (Gen 11:32), and then 'Abram departed' (Gen 12:4). 'Removed' is metoikizo, to cause to migrate; its only other use is v.43, 'carry you away beyond Babylon'. 'Ye now dwell' sets the land before the council.

Verse 5

not so much as to set his foot on — The promise was of the land 'for a possession' (kataschesis) to 'his seed after him', 'when as yet he had no child' (Gen 12:7; 17:8). The fathers receive 'the possession of the Gentiles' in v.45, the same word. Hebrews says, 'he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country' (Heb 11:9).

Verse 8

the covenant of circumcision — Diatheke, covenant, and peritome, circumcision: the covenant of Gen 17:9–14. The 'eighth day' is the command of Gen 17:12 and its keeping in Gen 21:4. 'Patriarchs' (patriarches) stands in the New Testament here, in v.9, in Acts 2:29 (David) and in Heb 7:4 (Abraham).

Verse 9

moved with envy — Zeloo, to be jealous; Gen 37:11 says 'his brethren envied him'. The sale 'into Egypt' is Gen 37:28. 'God was with him' repeats Gen 39:2, 'the LORD was with Joseph'. Joseph is the first of the deliverers whom Stephen shows refused; Moses follows (v.35).

Verse 14

threescore and fifteen souls — Genesis gives two tallies: 'threescore and six' that 'came with Jacob' besides his sons' wives (Gen 46:26), and 'threescore and ten' for 'all the souls of the house of Jacob' (Gen 46:27; Ex 1:5). Stephen's word is suggeneia, 'kindred', the household Joseph called to him; Stephen counts the whole kindred, wider than 'out of his loins' (Gen 46:26).

Verse 16

the sepulchre that Abraham bought — Scripture records two purchases: Abraham's cave at Machpelah from Ephron (Gen 23:16), and Jacob's field at Shechem from 'the children of Hamor, Shechem's father' (Gen 33:19), where Joseph's bones were laid (Josh 24:32). Stephen's sentence draws on both, and readers take it as joining the two burial places. 'Emmor' is Hamor in Greek form, 'Sychem' Shechem.

Verse 22

learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians — Paideuo, to train as a child, the 'taught' of Paul 'at the feet of Gamaliel' (Acts 22:3). Exodus says he 'became her son', Pharaoh's daughter's (Ex 2:10); Hebrews that he 'refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter' (Heb 11:24). 'Mighty in words and in deeds' is said of Christ in Luke 24:19, 'mighty in deed and word'.

Verse 25

he supposed his brethren would have understood — The comment is Stephen's own; Exodus records the answer, 'Who made thee a prince and a judge over us?' (Ex 2:14). 'Understood' is suniemi, the verb of Luke 24:45, 'that they might understand the scriptures'. 'Deliver' is soteria, salvation: God by his hand would 'give salvation'.

Verse 30

when forty years were expired — Stephen divides Moses' life into three forties: 'full forty years old' when he visited his brethren (v.23), forty more before the bush, and the 'forty years' in the wilderness (v.36). Exodus has him 'fourscore years old' before Pharaoh (Ex 7:7). 'An angel… in a flame of fire in a bush' is Ex 3:2.

Verse 35

a ruler and a deliverer — 'Refused' is arneomai, to deny, the verb of Acts 3:13–14, 'ye denied the Holy One and the Just'. The words refused are Ex 2:14, 'Who made thee a prince and a judge over us?' God sent him as 'ruler' (archon) and 'deliverer' (lutrotes, redeemer), a word found only here in the New Testament.

Verse 37

A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up — Moses' words in Deut 18:15, quoted also by Peter (Acts 3:22). 'Like unto me' sets the promised prophet beside Moses, whom Stephen has just shown refused and then sent. 'Him shall ye hear' is the Father's word at the transfiguration: 'This is my beloved Son… hear ye him' (Matt 17:5).

Verse 38

the church in the wilderness — Ekklesia, assembly: Israel with 'the angel which spake to him in the mount Sina'. 'Lively oracles' are living sayings; logion stands again in Rom 3:2, 'the oracles of God', and 'lively' is the zao of Luke 24:5, 'the living'. Verse 53 and Gal 3:19 add that the law came through angels.

Verse 42

gave them up — Paradidomi, the verb of Rom 1:24, 'God also gave them up to uncleanness'. 'The host of heaven' is what Deut 4:19 forbids: 'the sun, and the moon, and the stars'. The words from 'the book of the prophets' are Amos 5:25–27, which names 'the tabernacle of your Moloch and Chiun… the star of your god' (Amos 5:26).

Verse 44

the tabernacle of witness — Ex 38:21 calls it 'the tabernacle of testimony'. 'Fashion' is typos, pattern, the model shown to Moses: 'make them after their pattern, which was shewed thee in the mount' (Ex 25:40). Hebrews takes it as 'the example and shadow of heavenly things' (Heb 8:5).

Verse 45

with Jesus — This is Joshua; the KJV prints 'Jesus' for the same name in Heb 4:8, 'if Jesus had given them rest'. 'Possession' (kataschesis) is the word of v.5: what Abraham was promised 'for a possession', the fathers now enter, 'unto the days of David'. 'Drave out' recalls Ps 44:2, 'thou didst drive out the heathen with thy hand'.

Verse 47

Solomon built him an house — The promise was that David's son 'shall build an house for my name' (2 Sam 7:13); David had 'desired to find a tabernacle for the God of Jacob' (v.46; Ps 132:5). Solomon's own prayer sets the limit: 'the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded?' (1 Kings 8:27).

Verse 48

not in temples made with hands — Cheiropoietos, hand-made, the word of the charge in Mark 14:58, 'this temple that is made with hands', and of Acts 17:24. Hebrews says of Christ's tabernacle, 'not made with hands' (Heb 9:11). The prophet is Isa 66:1, quoted in vv.49–50.

Verse 51

stiffnecked and uncircumcised — Sklerotrachelos, hard-necked, a word found only here, from Ex 32:9, 'a stiffnecked people'. 'Uncircumcised in heart' is Deut 10:16, 'Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart', and the 'ears' are Jer 6:10, 'their ear is uncircumcised'. 'Resist' (antipipto) also stands only here; compare Isa 63:10, 'vexed his holy Spirit'.

Verse 52

the Just One — Dikaios, righteous, the title of Christ in Acts 3:14, 'the Holy One and the Just', here, and Acts 22:14, 'that Just One'. 'Betrayers' is prodotes, as Judas is 'the traitor' in Luke 6:16. 'Shewed before' is prokatangello, the verb of Acts 3:18, 'God before had shewed… that Christ should suffer'.

Verse 53

the disposition of angels — Diatage, arrangement or ordering, found elsewhere only in Rom 13:2, 'the ordinance of God'. The law 'was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator' (Gal 3:19), and Hebrews speaks of 'the word spoken by angels' (Heb 2:2). 'Have not kept it' is phulasso, the verb of keeping.

Verse 54

cut to the heart — Diaprio, to saw through; the same word as Acts 5:33, where the council 'were cut to the heart, and took counsel to slay' the apostles. 'Gnashed' is brucho, to grate the teeth, found only here; Ps 35:16 has 'they gnashed upon me with their teeth'.

Verse 55

Jesus standing on the right hand of God — Elsewhere he is seated there: 'Sit thou at my right hand' (Ps 110:1); 'sat on the right hand of God' (Mark 16:19). The text gives the posture without comment. 'Looked up stedfastly' is atenizo, the look of Acts 1:10 at the Ascension; Stephen is 'full of the Holy Ghost', as in 6:5.

Verse 56

the Son of man standing — This is the only use of 'Son of man' in Acts. It is Christ's own title, from Dan 7:13, 'one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven'; he told this council they would see him 'sit on the right hand of the power of God' (Luke 22:69). 'The heavens opened' recalls Matt 3:16 and John 1:51.

Verse 58

the witnesses laid down their clothes — The blasphemer is taken outside the camp and stoned (Lev 24:14, 16), and 'the hands of the witnesses shall be first upon him' (Deut 17:7). 'Saul' is first named here; Acts 13:9 says 'Saul, (who also is called Paul)', and he later says he was 'standing by, and consenting' (Acts 22:20).

Verse 60

he fell asleep — Koimao, to sleep, the word for the death of believers: 'Our friend Lazarus sleepeth' (John 11:11); Christ is 'the firstfruits of them that slept' (1 Cor 15:20). The cry follows the Lord's on the cross, 'Father, forgive them' (Luke 23:34); v.59, 'Lord Jesus, receive my spirit', echoes Luke 23:46.