Acts 7:2

And he said, Men, brethren, and fathers, hearken Omit men. Cp. Acts 1:16, note. For an account of the argument in Stephen's speech and its connection with the whole design of the writer of the Acts, see Introductionpp. ix. x.

The God of glory A not very common expression (see Psalms 29:3), but probably chosen designedly as an introduction to this discourse, which deals with the several stages of God's manifestation of Himself. The term is applied (John 1:14) to the incarnate Word; "we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father."

appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia The ancestral home of Abraham is called "Ur of the Chaldees" (Genesis 11:31), and it is said (Joshua 24:2-3) to have been "on the other side of the flood," i.e. beyond the Euphrates. It is not possible to determine the site of Ur, but the most probable opinion seems to be that which places it at Edessa, now called Orfah, and said to have been called Orrhain early times. If this were the place the journey thence to Charran (O.T. Haran), i.e. Carrhæ, would not have been so very formidable for the father of the patriarch to undertake, and at Charran Terah remained till he died (Genesis 11:32). Abraham when without his father could remove with greater ease to the distant Canaan.

our father Abraham If Stephen were merely a proselyte he might yet use this expression, for Abraham is regarded as the father of proselytes. On Genesis 12:5, "The souls which they had gotten [Heb. made in Haran," the Targum of Onkelos explains "The souls which they (Abraham and his family) had brought to serve the Law," i.e. made them proselytes: and on the same text Berashith Rabbah, par. 39, has "Rabbi Eliezer, the son of Zimra, said: If all the men in the world were to combine to create even a single gnat, they could not infuse into it a soul; and thou sayest, -The souls which they made." But these are the proselytes whom they brought in. Yet, if so, why does it say they madethem? This is to teach thee that when anybody brings near the stranger, and makes him a proselyte, it is as good as if he had created him."

before he dwelt in Charran The Greek verb rendered dwelt is one which implies a settled residence, though it conveys no idea of permanent abode. It is used (Matthew 2:23) of Joseph and Mary dwellingat Nazareth, and (Matthew 4:13) of Christ's less fixed dwellingin Capernaum.