Acts 7:9-16 9And the patriarchs, being jealous of Joseph, sold him into Egypt. And God was with him 10and rescued him out of all his afflictions and gave him grace and wisdom before Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and he made him ruler over Egypt and over all his house. 11Now a famine came upon all Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction, and our fathers found no food. 12But when Jacob heard, since there was grain in Egypt, he sent out our fathers first. 13And on the second, Joseph made himself known to his brothers, and Joseph’s family became known to Pharaoh. 14And sending, Joseph summoned Jacob his father and all his kin, seventy-five souls in all. 15And Jacob went down into Egypt, and he died, he and our fathers, 16and they were carried back to Shechem and laid in the tomb that Abraham had bought for a sum of silver from the sons of Hamor in Shechem.
Stephen continued his recount of Israel’s history through the book of Genesis with the story of Joseph from chapters 37-46. His speech was more than a summary of history. There are subtle but important points made throughout it whereby he defended himself and, in some ways, described what God was doing in and through him and other believers. Verse 9 shows a contrast that mirrored Stephen’s situation. On the one hand, Joseph’s brothers were jealous, like the Jewish leaders and those from the Greek synagogue. God, however, was with Joseph, like God was with Stephen and the other believers.
Verse 10 indicates how, in response, God rescued Joseph from slavery and granted him grace and wisdom, two qualities that described Stephen in 6:3 and 8. The word afflictions (thlipseōn) can mean tribulation or persecution—what the Jews were doing to Stephen and other believers. As a result of God’s blessing, Joseph was elevated to be ruler over Egypt and his family, from a slave at the bottom to savior of everyone. Joseph became a figure or type for Jesus of Nazareth, who also became the Savior of all people, going from death on a cross to exaltation at God’s right hand. Although Stephen did not make this explicit connection in these verses, partially because he is simply retelling the story of their ancestors, what parts of the story he chose are significant, and the attentive listener (Sanhedrin) or reader should be able to make some comparisons and connections.
Stephen then recounts in verses 11-12 the way Joseph saved his family during the severe famine in the Middle East at that time. The story unfolds with the idea of revelation. At first, his family did not recognize him, just as many of the Jews did not recognize Jesus as the Messiah. Later, Joseph revealed himself, bringing the family together and introducing them to the Pharaoh. The note in verse 13 about a second revelation of Joseph’s identity may be another subtle message about how God was giving the Jewish leaders another opportunity to accept Jesus as the Messiah. God is the God of the second chance, full of grace and forgiveness.
Verses 14-16 give a brief summary of how the children of Israel, numbering only seventy-five at that time, ended up in Egypt. Stephen compressed several stories together from Genesis 23, 49–50 about the purchase of a small plot of land in Canaan, and about how Joseph’s death and how his body was later carried back to the promised land, mentioned in Joshua 24:32. The locations are not consistent, with Abraham buying land in Shechem and not Hebron, but Jacob buying land from Hamor in Shechem. What is noteworthy about the location is that it was in Samaria, which the Jews despised. The story brings the Jews and Samaritans together into a shared experience and heritage. Each small detail of Stephen’s defense challenged the narrow vision and interpretations of the Jewish leaders and invited them to see God’s bigger movement and purposes.
For older posts, click here.