Bible Study series: Acts 7:1-8. Stephen begins his speech to the people of Jerusalem, in sight of the temple. He begins at the beginning.
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At the link to the original post, next, I write more commentary and dig a little deeper into the Greek. I also offer a section Observations for Discipleship. Check it out!
In this post, links are provided in the commentary section for further study.
Let’s begin.
Scripture: Acts 7:1-8
1 And the high priest said, “Are these things so?”
2 And Stephen replied: “Men, brothers, fathers, hear me! The God of glory appeared to our ancestor Abraham, who was in Mesopotamia, before he settled in Haran 3 and said to him, ‘Leave your homeland and your relatives, and go to the land I will show you’ [Gen. 12:1]. 4 So then he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. From there, after his father died, God settled him in this land in which you now live 5 and gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot of ground, but ‘promised to give it as a possession even to his offspring after him,’ [Gen. 12:7] even though he had no child.
6 God spoke in this way: ‘It shall be that his offspring shall live as pilgrims in a foreign land, and they shall be enslaved there and mistreated for four hundred years. 7 And the nation of Egypt that shall enslave them I shall punish, God says, and afterwards they shall go out and worship me in this place’ [Gen. 13:13, 14]. 8 And he gave him a covenant of circumcision. And then Abraham became the father of Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day, and Isaac did the same to Jacob, and Jacob to the twelve patriarchs.” (Acts 7:1-8)
Comments
Before we get to the commentary, here are some preliminaries.
Recall that Stephen was attacked and dragged before the Jewish high court (Sanhedrin) to be examined. His accusers said he had spoken blasphemous words against the law and the temple.
Here is the final pericope (puh-RIH-koh-pea) or section of Acts 6:
8 Stephen, full of grace and power, did great wonders and signs in front of all the people. 9 But certain members of the Freedmen Synagogue (as it was called), comprising Cyrenians and Alexandrians and some from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and disputed with Stephen, 10 and they were unable to counter the spiritual wisdom, which he was speaking. 11 So then they suborned men who said, “We have heard him speaking blasphemous words against Moses and God!” 12 They stirred up the people and the elders and teachers of the law and attacked and dragged him away and led him into the council. 13 And they set up false witnesses who said, “This man does not stop speaking words against this holy place and the Law! 14 For we heard him say that this Jesus, the Nazarene, will destroy this place and change the customs which were handed down to us from Moses!” 15 Everyone sitting in the council, as they fixed their gazes on him, saw his face like a face of an angel. (Acts 6:8-15)
One more introductory comment before we go verse by verse or section by section. Scholars have noticed chronological compression and inexactitude with Stephen’s overall, summary speech. Stephen’s life was on the line. Luke did not hear this speech firsthand. He got it from someone. Was it Saul / Paul? Was it someone else? The problem was not with Luke’s record of it, but Stephen speaking under intense pressure, which we have not experienced.
I like what Longenecker says:
Stephen’s speech was not a scholarly exposition but a powerful portrayal of God’s dealing with his own people Israel, which mounted inexorably to a climax in unmasking the obstinacy and disobedience of the nation and its leaders in Stephen’s time. History knows few greater displays of moral courage than Stephen showed in this speech. And to dissect it on precisionist grounds evidences a lack of appreciation for its circumstances or an understanding of its basic truth. (comment on vv. 2-8).
Now let’s look at a table that mentions the problems and possible solutions. The Pentateuch is the first five books of the bible, from Genesis to Deuteronomy. The LXX is the abbreviation for the Septuagint (pronounced sep-TOO-ah-gent), the third-to-second Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible.
| Speech in Acts 7 | Pentateuch | Possible Explanation |
| 7:2-3 God called Abram in 12:1 “before he lived in Haran” | God called Abram when he was in Haran (11:31-32; 12:4-5) | Gen. 12:1 says, “from your own country”; in Gen. 15:7 and Neh 9:7, God brought Abram from Ur |
| 7:4: Abram left Haran for Canaan after his father’s Terah’s death | Abram was born when Terah was 70 (11:26) and left seventy-five years later (12:4), long before Terah’s death at 205 (11:32) | Abraham’s departure 12:5) is mentioned after Terah’s death (11:32); the Hellenistic Jewish philosopher Philo read the passage the way Stephen did (Migr. 177), and the Samaritan Pentateuch allows it. |
| 7:14 Seventy-five went to Egypt | Seventy went to Egypt (Gen 46:27; Ex 1:5; Dt 10:22) | The LXX and Qumran texts report seventy-five (Gen. 46:27; Ex 1:5); instead of adding Jacob, Joseph, and Joseph’s two sons to Gen 46:26 to a round seventy, the LXX that he has nine sons. Philo also notes the discrepancy (Migr. 200-2) |
| 7:16 Jacob and “our ancestors” were buried in Shechem | Though Joseph was buried in Shechem (Josh. 24:32), Jacob was buried in Hebron (Gen 49:29-32) | Shechem’s ruins were now in Samaritan territory. |
| 7:21 Moses’s training in Egyptian wisdom | Not noted (although some Egyptian education could be assumed for a son of one of Pharaoh’s daughters) | Often emphasized in post-biblical Jewish sources (Philo, Mos. 1:20-24) |
| 7:23 Moses visited his people at age forty | Exodus specifies only that he was grown (2:11) | Later traditions divided Moses’ 120-year life into three 40-year periods |
| 7:52 Angels mediated the law | Missing in the Hebrew Bible | A common Jewish tradition (cf. LXX Dt 33:2; Josephus Ant. 15:136; Gal. 3:19; Heb. 2:2) |
| Keener, pp. 238-39, who gets the table from J. B. Chance, Acts (Smyth and Helwys, 2007), p. 110. | ||
Luke / Stephen condensed, blended and telescoped the long story of Israel’s history, and this is a common literary technique of the time. We should focus on Stephen’s main message and his moral courage and not get distracted by demanding mathematical precision from a speech that is purposed to be a sweeping chronology (see Longenecker on vv. 2-8). Longenecker then points to Jewish writings that have conflations and inexactitudes of Jewish popular religions (comment on vv. 9-16). Stephen was simply fitting in to his own times. Wise words from Prof. Longenecker.
Peterson also has some good explanations for matching Stephen’s speech with the OT (pp. 270-75).
In their entirety, the above explanations are reasonable for any reasonable Bible interpreter—but not for the post-Enlightenment, postmodern critic who reads the ancient documents in bad faith, believing that Luke was a deceiver or a worthless historian. Ignore them.
Your faith in Christ and confidence in Scripture should not be so brittle that it snaps in two when these differences come up. They are normal for these times. Focus on the gist and main themes of this marvelous speech. Namely, the Sanhedrin of Jerusalem whom Stephen is addressing have a long and illustrious history, but as many ancient Israelites missed out on God’s purposes and best and broke the law, so also these Jewish leaders are missing out on their Messiah and violate the true meaning of the temple, which has served its purpose but points to the Messiah. They are becoming hard-hearted, and God is handing them over to their own sins and blindness, just as he did to the people of old.
1:
“Is this so?”: The high priest, who was still probably Caiaphas, since he continued in office until A. D. 36, asked powerful Stephen to confirm or deny those accusations. That is, are the accusations true? In effect he is asking Stephen whether he is leading Israel into apostasy, which was punishable by death (Deut. 13:1-5).
Quick Reference to Jewish Groups in Gospels and Acts
Now Stephen begins his speech. He is about to give a long summary, a sweeping speech, about the land (vv. 2-36), the law (vv. 37-43), and the temple (vv. 44-50). He is about to contradict the popular piety of his day (HT: Peterson, p. 245).
Recall that Jesus said not to over-think what you should say when you are summoned before a synagogue or local council, whether Roman or any other nation, for the Spirit would prompt you and give you the right words (Mark 13:11 // Matt. 10:19-20 // Luke 12:11 and 21:15).
Stephen was filled with boldness, not timidity. You can spot the Spirit surging through you by courage, not fear. No doubt he had one “butterfly” in his stomach, but he still stepped forward and delivered a strong, convicting word. You too can be filled with the Spirit—a power surge—many times in your life, for edifying the church or reaching the lost.
2-5:
“fathers”: it is a sign of respect for the elderly men sitting in the Sanhedrin. But towards the end of the long speech, he is about to lower the boom.
The upshot of this passage is that Abraham lived a simple faith in God, as he moved from place to place. His only ritual was circumcision. He did not need a temple with religious customs piled on top of each other, as the Judaism of Stephen’s day practiced.
As for the inspiration behind Stephen’s anointed speech, recall that Jesus said not to over-think what you should say when you are summoned before a synagogue or local council, whether Roman or any other nation, for the Spirit would prompt you and give you the right words (Mark 13:11 // Matt. 10:19-20 // Luke 12:11 and 21:15).
Stephen was filled with boldness, not timidity. You can spot the Spirit surging through you by courage, not fear. No doubt he had one “butterfly” in his stomach, but he still stepped forward and is now delivering a strong, convicting word. You too can be filled with the Spirit—a power surge—many times in your life, for edifying the church or reaching the lost.
6:
“live as pilgrims”: The Greek word is paroikeō (pronounced par-oi-keh-oh), which means “live as strangers” or foreigners. The par- (para) prefix connotes “alongside.” (Compare the word parachurch.) So it literally means “to live off to the side.” By extension the offspring of Abraham was marginal in Egypt. See v. 29, below.
No matter where you live, either in your homeland or in a foreign country, God sees you and puts his call on you. He has not abandoned you.
7:
“the nation”: Egypt was added for clarity.
“I shall punish”: the Greek verb is krinō, and it does mean “judge” and “punish.” However, I prefer the concept of “enforcing justice” on a very bad nation that enslaved people. It is similar to the judgment that was imposed on the antebellum South. They were destined to lose the Civil War, so slavery could be uprooted at the great cost of humanity and material resources. But no condemnation on you today, South! You have changed for the better, especially your receptivity to the gospel and sound moral values.
“worship”: it is the verb latreuō (pronounced lah-true-oh), and it is related to serving, which can encompass worship (Acts 7:7, 42). But sometimes it is best to translate it as “serving” (Acts 24:14; 26:7). It is optional—up to you. Interpret it both ways: worship and serve.
8:
Circumcision was a sign that a man belonged to God’s Chosen People,
9 Then God said to Abraham, “As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come. 10 This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised. 11 You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you. 12 For the generations to come every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised, including those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner—those who are not your offspring. 13 Whether born in your household or bought with your money, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant. 14 Any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised in the flesh, will be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.” (Gen. 17:9-14, NIV)
And in the context of partaking of the Passover meal:
48 “A foreigner residing among you who wants to celebrate the Lord’s Passover must have all the males in his household circumcised; then he may take part like one born in the land. No uncircumcised male may eat it. 49 The same law applies both to the native-born and to the foreigner residing among you.” (Exod. 12:48-49, NIV)
So no male can eat the Passover without being circumcised.
Finally, the newborn boy is to be circumcised on the eighth day: “On the eighth day the boy is to be circumcised” (Lev. 12:3).
Today, in Christ, circumcision is not required. However, if a Jew who converts to the Messiah intends to be a good witness to his Jewish neighbors, so he circumcises his sons, then there is nothing wrong with doing this. He is not under command and so is also free to not to circumcise, or he is free to do it.
What Does the New Covenant Retain from the Old?
GrowApp for Acts 7:1-8
1. Abraham took a giant step of faith to leave his homeland. Did you take a big step of faith when you were saved and had to leave behind your unbelieving family or friends?
2. What were the results?
RELATED
The Historical Reliability of the Book of Acts
Book of Acts and Paul’s Epistles: Match Made in Heaven?
SOURCES
For the bibliography, please click on this link and scroll down to the very bottom. There is also a section titled Observations for Discipleship at the end.
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