Acts 7:17

The Pulpit Commentary - Acts 7:17-29

Israel in Egypt: the rise of Moses. We may view these events as typical of the Christian time or as expressive of an inner meaning, a Divine logic of history. We may learn, then, from this passage— I. THAT DIVINE BEGINNINGS IN HISTORY ARE NEVER WITHOUT STRUGGLES , The people grew and increased, but a sudden check was given to their prosperity by the accession of a new king. Israel might have settled in Egypt and have achieved no great thing for the world, had not... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Acts 7:17

The time of the promise - The time of the “fulfillment” of the promise.The people grew ... - Exodus 1:7-9. read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Acts 7:17-21

Acts 7:17-21 . When the time of the promise drew nigh That is, the time for the accomplishment of the promise; which God had sworn to Abraham Concerning the multiplication of his seed; see note on Genesis 22:16-17; the people grew, &c. Became very numerous in Egypt, notwithstanding that they were under great oppression there; till another king arose Probably of another family; which knew not Joseph And had no regard to his memory. The same dealt subtly with our kindred Formed... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Acts 7:1-60

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

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Acts 7:17

when = as soon as. promise. Greek. epangelia. See note on Acts 1:4 . people. Greek. laos. See note on Acts 2:47 . read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Acts 7:17

But as the time of the promise drew nigh which God vouchsafed unto Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt, until there arose another king over Egypt, who knew not Joseph. The same dealt craftily with our race, and our fathers, that they should cast out their babes to the end that 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... read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Acts 7:17

17. But when—rather, "as." the time of the promise—that is, for its fulfilment. the people grew and multiplied in Egypt—For more than two hundred years they amounted to no more than seventy-five souls; how prodigious, then, must have been their multiplication during the latter two centuries, when six hundred thousand men, fit for war, besides women and children, left Egypt! read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Acts 7:2-53

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

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Acts 7:17-18

Stephen had gotten ahead of himself briefly in Acts 7:16. Now he returned to his history of Israel just before the Exodus. "The promise" God had made to Abraham was that He would judge his descendants’ enslaving nation and free the Israelites (Genesis 15:14). This was a particular way that He would fulfill the earlier promises to give Israel the land, to multiply the Israelites, and to curse those nations that cursed Israel (Genesis 12:1-3; Genesis 12:7). The Israelites increased in Egypt until... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Acts 7:17-36

The career of Moses 7:17-36Stephen’s understanding of Moses was as orthodox as his view of God, but his presentation of Moses’ career made comparison with Jesus’ career unmistakable. As in the previous pericope, there is a double emphasis in this one, first, on God’s faithfulness to His promises in the Abrahamic Covenant and, second, on Moses as a precursor of Jesus."More specifically than in the life of Joseph, Stephen sees in the story of Moses a type of the new and greater Moses-Christ... read more

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