Acts 7

 And the high priest said, “Are these things so?” 2 And Stephen said:

“Brothers and fathers, hear me. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran,

The description “the God of glory” occurs only in Ps. 29:3 (28:3 LXX). No specific reason for the choice of the unusual phrase can be given except that it is majestic language. “Appeared” (ōphthē) occurs in Gen. 12:7. “Our father” is Stephen’s description of him.

3 and said to him, ‘Go out from your land and from your kindred and go into the land that I will show you.’ 4 Then he went out from the land of the Chaldeans and lived in Haran. And after his father died, God removed him from there into this land in which you are now living. 5 Yet he gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot’s length, but promised to give it to him as a possession and to his offspring after him, though he had no child. 6 And God spoke to this effect—that his offspring would be sojourners in a land belonging to others, who would enslave them and afflict them four hundred years. 7 ‘But I will judge the nation that they serve,’ said God, ‘and after that they shall come out wand worship me in this place.’ 8 And he gave him the covenant of circumcision. And so Abraham became the father of Isaac, and circumcised him on the eighth day, and Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob of the twelve patriarchs.

The story begins with Abraham (see Dahl 1968), specifically God’s appearance to him in Mesopotamia. The description “the God of glory” occurs only in Ps. 29:3 (28:3 LXX). No specific reason for the choice of the unusual phrase can be given except that it is majestic language. “Appeared” (ōphthē) occurs in Gen. 12:7. “Our father” is Stephen’s description of him. “Mesopotamia” (i.e., “between the rivers”) is the LXX equivalent of the Hebrew Aram Naharaim (“Aram of the Two Rivers”), used in Gen. 24:10 but not in the narrative that Stephen is following here, where it is called “the land of the Chaldeans” (Gen. 11:31; 15:7; the MT here has “Ur of the Chaldeans,” but the LXX has chōra, translating Heb. ʾereṣ). Haran was in the north of Mesopotamia. From the fourth century BC the use of “Mesopotamia” was extended to include the southern area nearer the Persian Gulf, where Ur was situated. Stephen follows this later usage (NBD 753). “Before he lived in Haran” refers to when Abraham lived in Ur. However, in Gen. 11:31–12:5 Abraham is already in Haran when he receives this revelation. One might assume from Gen. 15:7 and Neh. 9:7 that Abraham had a previous revelation with much the same content in Ur, and this appears to be the view of Philo, Abraham 71; Josephus, Ant. 7.1.

9 “And the patriarchs, jealous of Joseph, sold him into Egypt; but God was with him 10 and rescued him out of all his afflictions and gave him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who made him ruler over Egypt and over all his household.

Similarly, the story of the enslavement of Joseph and his subsequent elevation is told with brevity. The summary reflects Gen. 37:11 (ezēlōsan auton); 37:28 (apedonto); 45:4 (apedosthe eis Aigypton); 39:2 (kai ēn kyrios meta Iōsēph [cf. 39:21]). “And rescued him from all his troubles” departs from the wording in Genesis; however, note that exeilato, from exaireomai, which means “choose” in classical Greek, here has its LXX sense “to rescue” and is actually used of Reuben’s action in rescuing Joseph from his brothers (Gen. 37:22); “trouble” (thlipsis) is used by the brothers when talking later about his sufferings (Gen. 42:21); for the whole phrase, cf. Ps. 34:4, 6 (33:5, 7 LXX). “He enabled him to win favor and to show wisdom when he stood before Pharaoh, king of Egypt” (NRSV) is a mixture of idioms that the NRSV and the NIV paraphrase in different ways. The noun “wisdom” (sophia) is not actually used of Joseph in Genesis (but see Ps. 105:22 [104:22 LXX]); rather, Pharaoh declares him to be more “discerning and wise” (phronimōteros kai synetōteros) than anybody else (Gen. 41:39). And when Stephen says that Joseph “won favor” with Pharaoh, this phrase that aptly sums up the situation is in fact used in Gen. 39:21 of the impression that Joseph made on the prison warden. “Pharaoh made him ruler over Egypt and all his palace” summarizes Gen. 41:41–43; 45:8 (but there it is God who appointed him as ruler; see Barrett 1994–1998: 348); cf. the brief account of Joseph’s career in Ps. 105:16–22. The word for “ruler” (hēgoumenos) is not found here, but the verb hēgeomai is used of Joseph in Jacob’s blessing in Gen. 49:26 LXX (cf. Sir. 49:15 LXX), albeit of his leadership over his brothers. Wilcox (1965: 27–28) notes that Targum Pseudo-Jonathan includes the word sarkan (“leader, officer”), the Aramaic equivalent for the Hebrew nāgîd, which is often translated by hēgoumenos; however, it is dubious whether this indicates that Luke was using a textual tradition akin to the Targum (Bovon 2006: 108).

11 Now there came a famine throughout all Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction, and our fathers could find no food.

The account of the famine is based on Gen. 41:54–57; 42:5. “Great suffering” is a phrase not used here in Genesis, but it aptly sums up the effects of the famine. “Our people/ancestors” (7:11, 12, 15, 19, 38, 39, 44, 45, 51, 52) is literally “our fathers” (cf. Ps. 106:7 [105:7 LXX]). “Food” (chortasmata) is specifically fodder for animals (Gen. 42:27; 43:24), but the related verb chortazō can be used to describe feeding people.

12 But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent out our fathers on their first visit. 13 And on the second visit Joseph made himself known to his brothers, and Joseph’s family became known to Pharaoh.

Stephen summarizes Gen. 42:1–2; interestingly, the minor differences from the LXX are removed by assimilation to it in some manuscripts. Thus Stephen uses sitia (“food”) rather than the LXX’s sitos (“corn”). For the “first visit,” see Gen. 42:3–38, and for the “second visit,” see Gen. 43–45, especially 45:1, 2, 9, 13, 16.

14 And Joseph sent and summoned Jacob his father and all his kindred, seventy-five persons in all. 15 And Jacob went down into Egypt, and he died, he and our fathers, 16 and they were carried back to Shechem and laid in the tomb that Abraham had bought for a sum of silver from the sons of Hamor in Shechem.

“Seventy-five in all” reflects Gen. 46:27 LXX; Exod. 1:5 LXX; 4Q13; Philo, Migration 199. The MT here has “seventy” (cf. Deut. 10:22 MT and LXX), followed by Jub. 44; Josephus, Ant. 2.176–183, which list them by name, as in Gen. 46:8–27. Jacob went to Egypt with sixty-six members of his family. The smaller total of seventy is gained by adding in Jacob himself and Joseph and his two sons who were already there (Targum Pseudo-Jonathan includes Jochebed the daughter of Levi instead of Jacob himself). The larger number was reached by omitting Jacob and Joseph and including all nine of Joseph’s sons (Gen. 46:27 LXX, where the MT mentions only the two named in 46:20). Despite the impression given by the text, the number recorded is thus not simply those who actually went with Jacob, but rather is the total number of Jacob’s descendants when Joseph’s offspring in Egypt were included. The problem is one for students of the LXX rather than of Acts, which has simply taken over the number in the LXX.

17 “But as the time of the promise drew near, which God had granted to Abraham, the people increased and multiplied in Egypt 18 until there arose over Egypt another king who did not know Joseph.

Stephen reminds his listeners that all through this time there was still the promise that God had made to Abraham (cf. 7:5–7). Meanwhile, the people grew in number (auxanō, plēthynō [Exod. 1:7]; cf. Gen. 47:27; see commentary on Acts 6:7 above; cf. 12:24; 19:20). At last “a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt”; there are textual variants here, but the NA27 text is identical with Exod. 1:8. The king dealt treacherously (katasophizomai [Exod. 1:10]) with the people and oppressed (kakoō [Exod. 1:11]) them, but whereas in Exod. 1:11 the verb kakoō refers to abusing the people at work, here it is used of forcing them to expose their infants (cf. Exod. 1:15–22). The phrase poiein ta brephē ektheta is not used in Exodus, which speaks of throwing the male children into the river rather than simply leaving them to die. “So that they would die” (eis to mē zōogoneisthai) is based on Exod. 1:18, where the midwives disobeyed orders and “preserved alive” the male children (cf., similarly, the female children in Exod. 1:22).

19 He dealt shrewdly with our race and forced our fathers to expose their infants, so that they would not be kept alive. 20 At this time Moses was born; and he was beautiful in God’s sight. And he was brought up for three months in his father’s house, 21 and when he was exposed, Pharaoh’s daughter adopted him and brought him up as her own son. 22 And Moses was instructed in ball the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was mighty in his words and deeds.

The brief description of Moses’ education is not found in the LXX, but the theme is developed at some length by Philo (Moses 1.21–24). Likewise, there is no reference to the proverbial wisdom of the Egyptians in Exodus, but see 1 Kings 4:30. Nor does Exodus tell us that Moses was “powerful in speech and action” (cf. Sir. 45:3), a phrase that echoes the description of Jesus in Luke 24:19; there is no real tension with the story in Exod. 4:10–16, which reflects Moses’ self-depreciation at an early point in his career. We see here examples of the way in which Christian reading of OT stories was shaped to some extent by the interpretations and developments in contemporary Judaism, in this case by eulogizing Moses.

23 “When he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brothers, the children of Israel. 24 And seeing one of them being wronged, he defended the oppressed man and avenged him by striking down the Egyptian.

Stephen paraphrases Exod. 2:11b to produce a less clear text, in that he does not immediately identify the attacker and the attacked as Egyptian and Hebrew respectively. “Went to his defense and avenged him” is not in Exodus, but “by killing the Egyptian” is taken from there. Codex Bezae (D) adds from the LXX “and hid him in the sand”—a good illustration of the tendency of scribes to assimilate the text even more to the LXX.

25 He supposed that his brothers would understand that God was giving them salvation by his hand, but they did not understand. 26 And on the following day he appeared to them as they were quarreling and tried to reconcile them, saying, ‘Men, you are brothers. Why do you wrong each other?’

This comment on Moses’ thoughts and the response of the Israelites is not taken from Exodus. It is, therefore, perhaps especially significant for understanding the story that Stephen is telling on the basis of the OT. What is emerging at this point is a comparison between Moses as an offerer of salvation and Jesus as a savior (cf. Acts 4:12; 5:31) and between the incomprehension of the people toward Moses and toward Jesus (cf. Luke 2:50; 8:10; 18:34; Acts 28:26–27).

27 But the man who was wronging his neighbor thrust him aside, saying, f‘Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? 28 Do you want to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’ 29 At this retort Moses fled and became an exile in the land of Midian, where he became the father of two sons.

The account in Exod. 2:14–15 is simplified. There, Moses is struck with fear because the fact that it was he who had killed the Egyptian has leaked out, and the matter has come to the ears of Pharaoh, who naturally is anxious to take action against him; so Moses flees from Pharaoh and dwells in Midian, where later he comments, “I am an alien in a foreign land” (Exod. 2:22). Midian lay to the east of the Gulf of Aqabah and thus south of Edom. Here, Moses flees at the word of the Israelite and “settles as a foreigner” (egeneto paroikos) in Midian. Exodus 2:15–22 describes Moses’ marriage and the birth of his son; later we learn that he had two sons (Exod. 18:3–4). Again Stephen abbreviates the story.

30“Now when forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him jin the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in a flame of fire in a bush.31 When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight, and as he drew near to look, there came the voice of the Lord: 32 ‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob.’ And Moses trembled and did not dare to look. 33 Then the Lord said to him, l‘Take off the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. 34 I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send you to Egypt.’

35 “This Moses, whom they rejected, qsaying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’—this man God sent as both ruler and redeemer rby the hand of the angel who appeared to him in the bush. 36 sThis man led them out, performing twonders and signs uin Egypt and vat the Red Sea and win the wilderness for xforty years. 37 This is the Moses who said to the Israelites, ‘God will raise up for you ya prophet like me from your brothers.’ 38 This is the one zwho was in the congregation in the wilderness with athe angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and with our fathers. bHe received cliving doracles to give to us. 39 Our fathers refused to obey him, but thrust him aside, and ein their hearts they turned to Egypt, 40 saying to Aaron, f‘Make for us gods who will go before us. As for this Moses who led us out from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ 41 And gthey made a calf in those days, and offered a sacrifice to the idol and hwere rejoicing in ithe works of their hands. 42 But jGod turned away and kgave them over to worship lthe host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets:

m“ ‘Did you bring to me slain beasts and sacrifices,

nduring the forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?

43  You took up the tent of oMoloch

and the star of your god Rephan,

the images that you made to worship;

and I will send you into exile beyond Babylon.’

44 “Our fathers had pthe tent of witness in the wilderness, just as he who spoke to Moses qdirected him to make it, according to the pattern that he had seen. 45 Our fathers in turn rbrought it in with Joshua when they sdispossessed the nations tthat God drove out before our fathers. So it was uuntil the days of David, 46 vwho found favor in the sight of God and wasked to find a dwelling place for xthe God of Jacob.1 47 But it was ySolomon who built a house for him. 48 zYet the Most High does not dwell ain houses made by hands, as the prophet says,

49  b“ ‘Heaven is my throne,

cand the earth is my footstool.

What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord,

or what is the place of my rest?

50  Did not my hand make all these things?’

51 d“You stiff-necked people, euncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. fAs your fathers did, so do you. 52 gWhich of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of hthe Righteous One, iwhom you have now betrayed and murdered, 53 you who received the law jas delivered by angels and kdid not keep it.”

The Stoning of Stephen

54 Now when they heard these things lthey were enraged, and they mground their teeth at him. 55 But he, nfull of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw othe glory of God, and Jesus standing pat the right hand of God. 56 And he said, “Behold, I see qthe heavens opened, and rthe Son of Man standing pat the right hand of God.” 57 But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together2 at him. 58 Then sthey cast him out of the city and tstoned him. And uthe witnesses laid down their garments vat the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 And as they were stoning Stephen, whe called out, “Lord Jesus, xreceive my spirit.” 60 And yfalling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, z“Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, ahe fell asleep.