And delivered him ... - That is, restored him to liberty from his servitude and humiliation, and raised him up to high honors and offices in Egypt.Favour and wisdom - The favor was the result of his wisdom. His wisdom was particularly evinced in interpreting the dreams of Pharaoh, Genesis 41:0.And he made him governor ... - Genesis 41:40.All his house - All the family, or all the court and government of the nation. read more
Acts 7:9-10. And the patriarchs, moved with envy The rest of the twelve sons of Jacob, though their relation to such holy ancestors might have taught them a much better lesson; yet, influenced by envy at the superior regard which Jacob showed to his favourite son, most inhumanly sold Joseph Their brother; into Egypt Where he became a slave, and suffered a great variety of calamities; but God was with him In the midst of them, supporting him, though he was not in this land, and... read more
Stephen before the Sanhedrin (7:1-60)The defence that Stephen made before the Sanhedrin was not designed to win its approval. He outlined Israel’s history to demonstrate two main points. First, God had never shown himself to be limited to one dwelling place, or even one locality (therefore the Jews were mistaken in attaching such importance to the temple in Jerusalem). Second, the people of Israel had always rejected the messengers of God (therefore their rejection of the Messiah Jesus was not... read more
delivered. Greek. exaireo. Here, Acts 7:34 ; Acts 12:11 ; Acts 23:27 ; Acts 26:17 . Matthew 5:29 ; Matthew 18:9 . Galatians 1:1 , Galatians 1:4 . afflictions = tribulations. Greek. thlipsis. Compare Psalms 105:17-19 . favour = grace. Greek. charis. App-184 . in the sight of = before. Greek. enantion. read more
Stephen’s view of God 7:2-16The false witnesses had accused Stephen of blaspheming God (Acts 6:11). He proceeded to show the Sanhedrin that his view of God was absolutely orthodox. However in relating Israel’s history during the patriarchal period, he mentioned things about God and the patriarchs that his hearers needed to reconsider. read more
2. Stephen’s address 7:2-53As a Hellenistic Jew, Stephen possessed a clearer vision of the universal implications of the gospel than did most of the Hebraic Jews. It was this breadth of vision that drew attack from the more temple-bound Jews in Jerusalem and led to his arrest. His address was not a personal defense designed to secure his acquittal by the Sanhedrin. It was instead an apologetic for the new way of worship that Jesus taught and His followers embraced."On the surface it appears to... read more
The patriarchs, Joseph’s brothers, became jealous of him (Genesis 37:11) and sold him as a slave into Egypt (Genesis 37:28). One of Jesus’ 12 disciples was responsible for selling Him even as one of Joseph’s 11 brothers had been responsible for selling him. Nevertheless God was with Joseph (Genesis 39:2; Genesis 39:21) and rescued him from prison, gave him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh (lit. great house), and made him ruler over Egypt (Genesis 41:41) and his father’s family. God was with... read more
God’s faithfulness to His people 7:9-16Stephen next proceeded to show what God had done with Joseph and his family. He apparently selected this segment of the patriarchal narrative primarily for two reasons. First, it shows how God miraculously preserved His people in faithfulness to His promises. Second, it shows the remarkable similarity between the career of Joseph, a savior God raised up, and that of Jesus. Jesus repeated many of Joseph’s experiences illustrating God’s choice of Him. Also... read more
Defence and Martyrdom of Stephen1-53. Speech of Stephen. There is every reason to believe that this speech was really delivered by St. Stephen, and not composed by St. Luke; for, (1) the speech does not (in any direct manner) answer the charges alleged (Acts 6:14), as a speech composed by the historian himself would have done; (2) there are several erroneous references to the OT. (not all due to the use of LXX), natural enough in a speech delivered impromptu, but not natural in a speech... read more
Get Bible verse every day in your inbox
Read on Mobile
The Pulpit Commentary - Acts 7:10
Before for in the sight of, A.V. And delivered him , etc. And even so had he delivered his servant Jesus from the grave, and raised him to eternal life. read more