Ma`asei (Acts) 7
7
1And the high priest said, “Is this so?”
2And he replied, “Men, brothers and fathers, listen: The Elohim of esteem appeared to our father Aḇraham when he was in Aram Naharayim, before he dwelt in Ḥaran,
3and said to him, ‘Come out of your land and from your relatives, and come here, into a land that I shall show you.’# Gen. 12:1
4“Then he came out of the land of the Kasdim and dwelt in Ḥaran. And from there, after the death of his father, He removed him to this land in which you now dwell.
5“And He gave him no inheritance in it, not a foot of it.# Deu. 2:5 But He promised to give it to him for a possession, and to his seed after him,# Gen. 12:7; Gen. 17:8#See also Gen. 13:15; Gen. 15:4; Gen. 15:7; Gen. 15:18-21; Gen. 24:7; Gen. 48:4 when as yet he had no child.
6“And Elohim spoke in this way: that his seed would be sojourning in a foreign land, and that they would be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years.# Gen. 15:13
7‘And the nation to whom they shall be enslaved, I shall judge,’# Gen. 15:13 said Elohim, ‘and after that they shall come out and serve Me in this place.’# Gen. 15:14; Exo. 3:12
8“And He gave him the covenant of circumcision. And so he brought forth Yitsḥaq and circumcised him on the eighth day. And Yitsḥaq brought forth Ya‛aqoḇ, and Ya‛aqoḇ brought forth the twelve ancestors.
9“And the ancestors, becoming jealous, sold Yosĕph into Mitsrayim. But Elohim was with him,# Gen. 37:11; Gen. 37:28; Gen. 39:2; Gen. 39:21
10and delivered him out of all his afflictions, and gave him favour# Gen. 39:21 and wisdom before Pharaoh, sovereign of Mitsrayim. And he appointed him governor over Mitsrayim and all his house.# Gen. 41:37-46
11“Then a scarcity of food and great distress came over all the land of Mitsrayim and Kena’an,# Gen. 41:54; Gen. 42:5 and our fathers found no food.
12“But Ya‛aqoḇ heard that there was grain in Mitsrayim,# Gen. 42:2 and he sent out our fathers the first time,
13and at the second time Yosĕph was made known to his brothers, and Yosĕph’s race became known to the Pharaoh.
14“And Yosĕph sent and called his father Ya‛aqoḇ and all his relatives to him, seventy-five people.
15“And Ya‛aqoḇ went down to Mitsrayim, and died, he and our fathers,# Gen. 46:5; Gen. 49:33; Exo. 1:6
16and they were brought over to Sheḵem and laid in the tomb that Aḇraham bought for a price of silver from the sons of Ḥamor, the father of Sheḵem.
17“But as the time of the promise drew near which Elohim had sworn to Aḇraham, the people increased and multiplied in Mitsrayim
18until another sovereign arose who did not know Yosĕph.# Exo. 1:8
19“Having dealt treacherously with our race, this one mistreated our fathers, making them expose their babies, so that they should not live.
20“At that time Mosheh was born, and he was well-pleasing to Elohim. And he was reared three months in the house of his father.
21“But when he was exposed, the daughter of Pharaoh took him up and reared him as her own son.
22“And Mosheh was instructed in all the wisdom of the Mitsrites, and was mighty in words and works.
23“And when he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brothers, the children of Yisra’ĕl.
24“And seeing one of them being wronged, he defended and revenged him who was oppressed, smiting the Mitsrian.
25“And he thought that his brothers would have understood that Elohim would give deliverance to them by his hand, but they did not understand.
26“And the next day he appeared to two of them as they were fighting, and urged them to peace, saying, ‘Men, you are brothers, why do you wrong one another?’
27“But he who was wronging his neighbour pushed him away, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge over us?
28‘Do you wish to kill me as you killed the Mitsrian yesterday?’# Exo. 2:14
29“And at this saying, Mosheh fled and became a sojourner in the land of Miḏyan,# Exo. 2:15 where he fathered two sons.
30“And after forty years were completed, a Messenger of יהוה appeared to him in a flame of fire in a bush,# Exo. 3:2 in the wilderness of Mount Sinai.
31“And Mosheh, seeing it, marvelled at the sight, and coming near to look, the voice of יהוה came to him,
32saying, ‘I am the Elohim of your fathers, the Elohim of Aḇraham and the Elohim of Yitsḥaq and the Elohim of Ya‛aqoḇ.’ And Mosheh trembled and did not have the courage to look.
33‘But יהוה said to him, Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is set-apart ground.
34“I have certainly seen the evil treatment of my people who are in Mitsrayim, and I have heard their groaning and have come down to deliver them. And now come, let Me send you to Mitsrayim.” ’# Exo. 3:6-10
35“This Mosheh whom they had refused, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’# Exo. 2:14 – this one Elohim sent to be a ruler and a deliverer by the hand of the Messenger who appeared to him in the bush.
36“This one led them out, after he had done wonders and signs in the land of Mitsrayim, and in the Red Sea, and in the wilderness forty years.
37“This is the Mosheh who said to the children of Yisra’ĕl, ‘יהוה your Elohim shall raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brothers. Him you shall hear.’# Deu. 18:15
38“This is he who was in the assembly in the wilderness with the Messenger who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our fathers, who received the living Words to give to us,
39unto whom our fathers would not become obedient, but thrust away, and in their hearts they turned back to Mitsrayim,
40saying to Aharon, ‘Make us mighty ones to go before us, for this Mosheh who led us out of the land of Mitsrayim, we do not know what has become of him.’# Exo. 32:1; Exo. 32:23
41“And they made a calf in those days, and brought an offering to the idol, and were rejoicing in the works of their own hands.
42“So Elohim turned and gave them up to worship the host of the heaven,#See Deu. 4:19; Deu. 17:3; 2Kings 23:5 as it has been written in the book of the Prophets, ‘Did you bring slaughtered beasts and offerings unto Me during forty years in the wilderness, O house of Yisra’ĕl?
43‘And you took up the tent of Moleḵ, and the star of your mighty one Kiyyun, images which you made to bow before them. Therefore I shall remove you beyond Baḇel.’# Amos 5:25-27
44“The Tent of Witness was with our fathers in the wilderness, as He appointed, instructing Mosheh to make it according to the pattern that he had seen,
45which our fathers, having received it in turn, also brought with Yehoshua into the land possessed by the nations, whom Elohim drove out before the face of our fathers until the days of Dawiḏ,
46who found favour before Elohim and asked to find a dwelling for the Elohim of Ya‛aqoḇ,
47but Shelomoh built Him a house.
48“However, the Most High does not dwell in dwellings made with hands,#See Acts 17:24 as the prophet says:
49‘The heaven is My throne, and earth is My footstool. What house shall you build for Me? says יהוה, or what is the place of My rest?
50‘Has My hand not made all these?’# Isa. 66:1, 2
51“You stiff-necked# Exo. 32:9; Exo. 33:3; Exo. 33:5 and uncircumcised in heart and ears!# Lev. 26:41; Jer. 6:10 You always resist the Set-apart Spirit, as your fathers did, you also do.
52“Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who before announced the coming of the Righteous One, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers,
53who received the Torah as it was ordained by messengers, but did not watch over#See Mat. 5:20 it.”
54And hearing this they were cut to the hearts and gnashed the teeth at him.
55But he, being filled with the Set-apart Spirit, looked steadily into the heaven and saw the esteem of Elohim, and יהושע standing at the right hand of Elohim,
56and he said, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Aḏam standing at the right hand of Elohim!”# Psa. 110:1
57And crying out with a loud voice, they stopped their ears, and rushed upon him with one mind,
58and threw him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Sha’ul.
59And they were stoning Stephanos as he was calling and saying, “Master יהושע, receive my spirit.”
60And kneeling down he cried out with a loud voice, “Master, do not hold this sin against them.” And having said this, he fell asleep.
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Ma`asei (Acts) 7: TS2009
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Copyright© 1993 – 2015 by the Institute for Scripture Research (ISR). All rights reserved.
Acts 7
7
Stephen’s Sermon
1The high priest asked, “Are these accusations true?”
2Stephen replied, “My fellow Jews and fathers, listen to me. The God of glory appeared # 7:2 The entire Hebrew family, and consequently the life of believers today, all began with a divine encounter as the God of glory appeared before Abraham. It is this same glory that calls people to faith in Christ. We, like Abraham, have been captured by the God of glory. See 2 Peter 1:3. to our ancestor Abraham while he was living in Iraq # 7:2 Or “Mesopotamia,” or “the land between two rivers” (Euphrates and Tigris). and before he moved to Haran # 7:2 This is the city to which Abraham migrated on his way to the promised land. Haran was also the son of Caleb who claimed a mountain. Haran means “mountain climber.” in Syria. 3God said to him, ‘Go! Leave behind your country and your relatives. Begin your journey and come to the land that I will show you.’ # 7:3 See Gen. 12:1.
4“So Abraham left southeastern Iraq # 7:4 Or “the land of Chaldeans.” and began his journey. He settled in Haran and stayed there until his father passed away. Then God had him move to the land of Israel with only a promise. 5Although God gave him no parcel of land he could call his own, not even a footprint, # 7:5 See Deut. 2:5. yet he promised Abraham that he and his descendants would one day have it all. And even though as yet Abraham had no child, 6God spoke with him and gave him this promise:
‘Your descendants will live in a foreign land with a people
who will make slaves of them
and oppress them for four hundred years. # 7:6 See Gen. 15:13–14; Ex. 2:22; 12:40.
7But I will judge the nation that enslaves them,
and your descendants will be set free
to return to this land to serve and worship me.’ # 7:7 See Ex. 3:12.
8“Then God entered into covenant with Abraham, which included the requirement of circumcision. So when he became the father of Isaac, he circumcised him eight days after his birth.
9“Isaac then became the father of Jacob, who was the father of our twelve patriarchs. Jacob’s sons became jealous of their brother Joseph and sold him to be a slave in Egypt. But God’s favor and blessing rested upon Joseph, and in time, 10God rescued him from all his oppression and granted him extraordinary favor before Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. Pharaoh appointed him as the overseer of his nation and even of his own palace. # 7:10 See Gen. 41:37–44.
11“Then a devastating famine came over all of Egypt and Canaan, bringing great misery to the people, including our ancestors, who couldn’t find food. # 7:11 See Gen. 41:54; 42:5. 12But when Jacob learned that there was food in Egypt, he sent his sons, our ancestors, on their first trip to purchase grain for their family. 13On their second trip to Egypt, Joseph revealed his identity to his brothers, # 7:13 See Gen. 45:1. and because of this, Pharaoh learned about Joseph’s family and where he came from.
14“Joseph sent for his father, Jacob, and his entire family, a total of seventy-five people, to come and reside in Egypt. 15Eventually, Jacob died there, along with all of his sons, our forefathers. 16Their bones # 7:16 The Aramaic is “his [Jacob’s] bones,” while every Greek manuscript is “their bones.” Jacob was buried in Abraham’s tomb according to Gen. 50:1–14. Joseph was buried in a plot purchased in Shechem for one hundred pieces of silver (Gen. 33:18–20; Josh. 24:32). were later carried back to the promised land and buried in Shechem, in the tomb Abraham had purchased for a sum of money from the sons of Hamor.
17“The time drew near for God to fulfill the prophetic promise he had made to Abraham. Our Jewish people had increased greatly in number, multiplying many times over while in Egypt.
18“Another # 7:18 The Greek is “another of a different kind [or ‘character’].” king, who had forgotten how Joseph had made their nation great, arose to rule over Egypt. # 7:18 See Ex. 1:7–8. 19He was an abusive king who exploited our people with his smooth talk. With cruelty he forced our ancestors to give up their little boys as he committed infanticide! # 7:19 The Aramaic can also be translated “forced them to abort their children.”
20“Then Moses came on the scene—a child of divine beauty. # 7:20 Or “beautiful [well pleasing] in the eyes of God.” The Aramaic is “He was loved by God.” Ancient Hebrew scholars believed Moses may have had a shining of glory on his countenance when he was born, distinguishing him as a special servant of the Lord God. This shining face would later mark him as one who dwelt in the presence of the Lord (Ex. 34:29). Moses was a type or picture of the Lord Jesus Christ. No one was fairer than he; but no one was more extraordinary than our Lord. We learn from Ex. 6:20 that Moses’ father was Amram and his mother was Jochebed. Amram means “family of the lofty One” and Jochebed means “Yah makes great.” The sister of Moses was Miriam (the Hebrew name for Mary), which comes from the root word for “myrrh,” meaning “aromatic,” “fragrant,” or “bitter.” The name Moses means “rescued out of the water.” His parents hid him from Pharaoh as long as they could to spare his life. # 7:20 See Heb. 11:23. After three months they could conceal him no longer, 21so they had to abandon him to his fate. But God arranged that Pharaoh’s daughter would find him, take him home, and raise him as her own son. 22So Moses was fully trained in the royal courts and educated in the highest wisdom Egypt had to offer, until he arose as a powerful prince and an eloquent orator. # 7:22 Jewish tradition is that Pharaoh’s daughter had no child of her own and she herself was an only child. Moses stood in line to receive the throne of Egypt, the great world power. God was going to prepare a servant who would do his pleasure. All the education and culture of this world dynasty with its unlimited resources was placed before Moses. See Ps. 113:7–8.
23“When Moses turned forty, his heart was stirred for his people, the Israelites. 24One day he saw one of our people being violently mistreated, so he came to his rescue, and with his own hands Moses murdered the abusive Egyptian. 25Moses hoped that when the people realized how he had rescued one of their own, they would recognize him as their deliverer. How wrong he was! 26The next day he came upon two of our people engaged in a fist fight, and he tried to break it up by saying, ‘Men, you are brothers! Why would you want to hurt each other?’
27“But the perpetrator pushed Moses aside and said, ‘Who do you think you are? Who appointed you to be our ruler and judge? 28Are you going to kill me like you did the Egyptian yesterday?’ # 7:28 See Ex. 2:14. Moses missed God’s timing. To know God’s will doesn’t mean you know God’s timing. God made Moses a ruler and a judge, but it took forty years to prepare him. Moses wanted the position forty years before he was ready. No one can make himself ruler and judge—only God has authority to set leaders in place. We cannot raise ourselves up with ministry responsibilities until God releases us. See also Prov. 8:16.
29“Shaken by this, Moses fled Egypt # 7:29 See Heb. 11:24–27. and lived as an exile in the land of Midian, where he became the father of two sons. 30After forty years had passed, while he was in the desert near Mount Sinai, the Messenger of Yahweh # 7:30 As translated from the Aramaic. appeared to him in the midst of a flaming thorn bush. # 7:30 See Ex. 3:2. 31Moses was astonished and stunned by what he was seeing, so he drew closer to observe this marvel. Then the Lord Yahweh spoke to him out of the flames:
32‘I am the living God, # 7:32 As translated from the Aramaic. the God of your ancestors.
I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.’
“Trembling in God’s presence and overwhelmed with awe, Moses didn’t even dare to look into the fire.
33“Out of the flames the Lord Yahweh said to him:
‘Take the sandals off your feet, # 7:33 Removing one’s shoes indicated the highest reverence. It is symbolic of removing earthly matters from our minds and hearts in readiness to accept spiritual realities.
for you are standing in the realm of holiness. # 7:33 Or “you are standing on ground that is set apart” (sacred).
34I have watched and seen how my people
have been mistreated # 7:34 The Aramaic is “I have seen their torment.” in Egypt.
I have heard their painful groaning,
and now I have come down to set them free.
So come to me, Moses,
for I am sending you to Egypt to represent me.’ # 7:34 See Ex. 3:6–10.
35“So God sent back to Egypt the man our people rejected and refused to recognize by saying, ‘Who appointed you to be our ruler and judge?’ God sent this man back to be their ruler and deliverer, commissioned with the power of the messenger who appeared to him in the flaming thorn bush. 36This man brought the people out from their Egyptian bondage with many astonishing wonders and miracle signs—miracles in Egypt, miracles at the Red Sea, and miracles during their forty-year journey through the wilderness. 37This is the same Moses who said to our ancestors, ‘The Lord God # 7:37 As translated from the Aramaic. will raise up one from among you who will be a prophet to you, like I have been. Listen to everything he will say!’ # 7:37 As translated from the Aramaic. See Deut. 18:15.
38“Moses led the congregation in the wilderness # 7:38 Or “Moses is the one who was in the assembly in the wilderness.” and he spoke face-to-face with the angel who spoke with him on the top of Mount Sinai. Along with our ancestors, he received the living oracles of God that were passed down to us. 39But our forefathers refused to obey. They pushed him away, and their hearts longed to return to Egypt.
40“While Moses was on the mountain, our forefathers said to Aaron, ‘Make us gods to lead us, because we don’t know what has become of this Moses who brought us out of Egypt.’ # 7:40 The Aramaic is “We don’t know who this Moses is.” See Ex. 32:1, 23.
41“So they made a god, an idol in the form of a bull calf. They offered sacrifices to it and celebrated with delight what their own hands had made. # 7:41 Or “They had a party in honor of what their own hands had made.”
42“When God saw what they had done, he turned away from them and handed them over to the worship of the stars of heaven, # 7:42 This was in violation of Deut. 4:19; 17:2–5. as recorded in the prophetic writings: # 7:42 See Amos 5:25–27.
‘People of Israel, you failed to worship me
when you offered animal sacrifices
for forty years in the wilderness.
43Instead you worshiped the god Moloch, # 7:43 This was the Canaanite god of the sun and sky.
and you carried his tabernacle, not mine.
You worshiped your star-god, Rephan. # 7:43 Or “Derphan,” or “Remphan.” This is the Assyrian deity also referred to as Saturn.
You made idols with your hands
and worshiped them instead of me.
So now I will cast you into exile beyond Babylon.’
44“God gave Moses the revelation of the pattern of the tabernacle of the testimony. By God’s command, he made it exactly according to the specifications given to him for our ancestors in the wilderness. 45The next generation received possession of it, and under Joshua’s # 7:45 In Aramaic-Hebrew, the spelling of Joshua and Jesus is the same: Yeshua. leadership they took possession of the land of the nations, which God drove out in front of them. The tabernacle was carried about until 46David found loving favor with God and prayed for a dwelling place for the God of Jacob, 47but it was Solomon who built him a house. # 7:47 See 2 Chron. 5.
48“However, the Most High God does not live in temples made by human hands, as the prophet said: # 7:48 See Isa. 66:1–2.
49‘Heaven is my throne room and the earth
is but a footstool for my feet.
How could you possibly build a house
that could contain me?’ says the Lord Yahweh.
‘And where could you find a place where I could live?
50Don’t you know that it is my hands
that have built my house, # 7:50 Or “all these things.” not yours?’
51“Why would you be so stubborn as to close your hearts and your ears to me? You are always opposing the Holy Spirit, just like your forefathers! 52Which prophet was not persecuted and murdered by your ancestors? Name just one! They killed them all—even the ones who prophesied long ago of the coming of the Righteous One! Now you follow in their steps and have become his betrayers and murderers. 53You have been given the law by the visitation # 7:53 As translated from the Aramaic. The Greek is “by angelic decrees.” of angels, but you have not obeyed it.”
Stephen Is Stoned to Death
54When they heard these things, they were overtaken with violent rage filling their souls, and they gnashed their teeth at him. 55But Stephen, overtaken with great faith, # 7:55 As translated from the Aramaic. was full of the Holy Spirit. He fixed his gaze into the heavenly realm and saw the glory and splendor of God—and Jesus, who stood up at the right hand of God.
56“Look!” Stephen said. “I can see the heavens opening and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God to welcome me home!” # 7:56 Jesus sits at the right hand of God, but when he saw Stephen give his last breath for the gospel, he stood to welcome his martyr into his eternal reward.
57His accusers covered their ears with their hands and screamed at the top of their lungs to drown out his voice. 58Then they pounced on him and threw him outside the city walls to stone him. His accusers, one by one, placed their outer garments at the feet of a young man named Saul of Tarsus. # 7:58 That is, Saul, who would be converted and become Paul the apostle. Stephen’s graduation was Paul’s initiation.
59As they hurled stone after stone at him, Stephen prayed, “Our Lord Jesus, accept my spirit into your presence.” 60He crumpled to his knees and shouted in a loud voice, “Our Lord, don’t hold this sin against them.” # 7:60 See Luke 23:34, 46. And then he died.
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