Acts 7:40

Saying unto Aaron, Make us gods to go before us: for as for this Moses, which brought us out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him. SAYING UNTO AARON, MAKE US GODS TO GO BEFORE US. In using the word "gods" in the plural number, Stephen only follows the Septuagint translation of the Hebrew word [ 'ªlohiym (H430)], which our translators also do in the Old Testament passage referred to: "Up, make us gods which shall go before us," etc.; and when Aaron made the golden calf, "they said (according to our version), These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt" (Exodus 32:1; Exodus 32:4). And yet there is no reason to suppose that they desired a plurali...

40._Make us. _Though the Jews be turned back divers ways, yet Stephen maketh _choice _of one notable example above all the rest, of their filthy and detestable treachery, to wit, when they made themselves a calf, that they might worship it instead of God. For there can no more filthy thing be invented (446) than this their unthankfulness. They confess that they were delivered out of Egypt; neither do they deny that this was done by the grace of God and the ministry of Moses; yet, notwithstanding, they reject the author of so great goodness, together with the minister. And under what color? They pretend they cannot tell what is become of Moses. But they know full well that he is in the mount. They saw him with their eyes when he went up thither, until such time as the Lord took him unto himself, by compassing him about with a cloud. Again, they know that Moses is absent for their health’s...

30-41 Men deceive themselves, if they think God cannot do what he sees to be good any where; he can bring his people into a wilderness, and there speak comfortably to them. He appeared to Moses in a flame of fire, yet the bush was not consumed; which represented the state of Israel in Egypt, where, though they were in the fire of affliction, yet they were not consumed. It may also be looked upon as a type of Christ's taking upon him the nature of man, and the union between the Divine and human nature. The death of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, cannot break the covenant relation between God and them. Our Saviour by this proves the future state, Matthew 22:31. Abraham is dead, yet God is still his God, therefore Abraham is still alive. Now, this is that life and immortality which are brought to light by the gospel. Stephen here shows that Moses was an eminent type of Christ, as he was Israel...

SAYING UNTO AARON - Exodus 32:1. MAKE US GODS - That is, idols....

EXPOSITION ACTS 7:1 _And the high priest said _for then _said the high priest, _A.V. The high priest spoke as president of the Sanhedrim (see Acts 9:1. Acts 9:1 and Matthew 26:62). Theophilus the son of Annas or his brother Jonathan is probably meant. ACTS 7:2 _Brethren and fathers _for _men, brethren, and fathers, _A.V. _Haran _for _Charran, _A.V. BRETHREN AND FATHERS. The Greek is ἄνδρες ἀδελφοὶ (_i.e. _"men who are also my brethren") καὶ πατέρες. H

SAYING UNTO AARON, MAKE US GODS TO GO BEFORE US,.... This is a proof of their disobedience to the law of Moses, and of their rejection of him, and of the inclination of their hearts to the idolatry of the Egyptians; which shows the gross stupidity, as well as ingratitude of this people, to think that gods could be made; and that those that are made could go before them, be guides unto them, and protectors of them; when they have eyes, but see not, and hands, but handle not, and feet, but walk not: FOR AS FOR THIS MOSES; whom they speak of with great contempt, and in a very irreverent way: WHICH BROUGHT US OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT; which they mention not with gratitude, but as reflecting upon him for doing it: WE WOT NOT WHAT IS BECOME OF HIM; they thought he was dead, according to the Targum of Jonathan on Exodus 32:1 they concluded he

Acts 7:14. _Then sent Joseph, and called his father Jacob to him, and all his kindred, threescore and fifteen souls. So Jacob went down into Egypt, and died, he, and our fathers, and were carried over into Sychem, and laid in the sepulcher that Abraham bought for a sum of money of the sons of Emmor the father of Sychem. But when the time of the promise drew nigh, which God had sworn to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt,_ Note those words, «the time of the promise,» and remember that every promise has its due time of fulfillment, and that there is a time of promise, to all the Lord's chosen people, when he will surely bring them out of bondage into the glorious liberty of the children of God. Acts 7:18. Till another king arose, which knew not Joseph. The same dealt subtly w

ACTS 7:3-51 In addition to several direct quotations from the Septuagint, Stephen’s speech consists of a series of allusions to and summaries of Israelitish history. In these phrases drawn from the Old Testament about thirty variants between B and D occur in which one agrees with the Septuagint against the other. In most of the cases it is codex Bezae that has been conformed to the text of the Septuagint; according to Ropes’s judgment, 156 in only one instance (h;|dei in ver. Acts 7:18) is there reason to suspect that the B-text has been conformed to the Septuagint. ------------------------- 156 The Text of Acts,...

CHAPTER 7 _ 1. The Address of Stephen (Acts 7:1)._ 2. The Martyrdom of Stephen (Acts 7:54). This is the largest chapter in this book and concludes the first section. Stephen is the chosen instrument to deliver the final testimony to the nation. He was not permitted to finish it. We notice at once a marked difference between the previous preaching by the Apostle Peter and the address of Stephen. The testimony of Peter was marked on the day of Pentecost and at the other occasions by great brevity. Stephen's address is the longest discourse reported in the New Testament. The name of Jesus is prominent in all the addresses of Peter. The fact that He was rejected by the people, crucified and that He rose from the dead, and the call to repentance, were the leading features of Peter's preaching.

MOSES. Stephen describes the growth of the people, the change of ruler and his oppression, as in Exodus 1. ACTS 7:20. FAIR UNTO GOD (_mg._): from Exodus 2:2; Philo and Josephus speak of the beauty of Moses. Acts 7:21. _Cf._ Exodus 2:3; Exodus 2:10. The papyri show that the exposure of infants was still common in Egypt in Christian times. The OT says nothing of Moses-' education or learning; Philo knows much more of it than is here stated. Acts 7:23. forty yea