Acts 7:42

ἔστρεψε : properly intransitive. Weiss takes it transitively: God turned them from one idol worship to another; but here probably means that God turned away from them, in the sense that He cared no longer for them as before; so Grimm, sub v.; or that He actually changed so as to be opposed to them; cf. Joshua 24:20, Heb., so Wetstein “Deus se ab iis avertit,” and cf. LXX, Isaiah 63:10. παρέδωκεν, cf. Romans 1:24, and εἴασε in Acts 14:16; Ephesians 4:19, “gave themselves up”. ἑαυτοὺς παρέδωκαν, from the side of man. λατρεύειν τῇ στρατιᾷ τοῦ οὐρ., cf. Deuteronomy 17:3; 2 Kings 17:16; 2Ki 21:3, 2 Chronicles 33:3; 2 Chronicles 33:5; Jeremiah 8:2; Jeremiah 19:13, a still grosser idolatry: “antiquissima idolatria, ceteris speciosior” Bengel. The created host was worshipped in place of Jehovah Sabaoth, “the Lord of Hosts”. The word, though used always in the N.T. of religious service, is sometimes applied to the worship of idols, as well as of the One God; cf. Romans 1:25 (LXX, Exodus 20:5; Exodus 23:24; Ezekiel 20:32), so λατρεία is used of the worship of idols in 1Ma 1:43; see Trench, Synonyms, i., p. 142 ff. ἐν βίβλῳ τῶν προφ.: here part of the Hebrew Scriptures which the Jews summed up under the title of “the Prophets,” as a separate part, the other two parts being the Law and the Hagiographa (the Psalms, Luke 24:44); or Twelve Minor Prophets which probably formed one book. Μὴ σφάγια κ. τ. λ.: a quotation from Amos 5:25-27, with little variation the quotation in Acts 7:42 is really answered by the following verse. The question does not mean literally that no sacrifices were ever offered in the wilderness, which would be directly contrary to such passages as Exodus 24:4; Numbers 7:9. The sacrifices no doubt were offered, but how could they have been real and effectual and acceptable to God while in their hearts the people's affections were far from Him, and were given to idol deities? μή, expecting a negative answer = num (see Zöckler's note, in loco). οἶκος : nominative for vocative, as often, as if in apposition to the ὑμεῖς contained in προσηνέγκατε (Blass). Some emphasise μοι = mihi soli, or suppose with Nösgen that the question is ironical.