Acts 7:14 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And Joseph sent and summoned Jacob his father and all his kindred, seventy-five persons in all.

NIV: After this, Joseph sent for his father Jacob and his whole family, seventy-five in all.

NASB: Then Joseph sent word and invited his father Jacob and all his relatives to come to him, seventy-five people in all.

CSB: Joseph invited his father Jacob and all his relatives, seventy-five people in all,

NLT: Then Joseph sent for his father, Jacob, and all his relatives to come to Egypt, seventy-five persons in all.

KJV: Then sent Joseph, and called his father Jacob to him, and all his kindred, threescore and fifteen souls.

NKJV: Then Joseph sent and called his father Jacob and all his relatives to him, seventy-five people.

A follower of Jesus and talented speaker, Stephen, is countering a claim from his accusers. Though they suggest he rejects Moses (Acts 6:11–14), it is they who continue the long line of Jews who persecute God's prophets. When Joseph was a boy, he had a dream to the effect that his father, mother, and brothers would one day bow down to him. At the time, Jacob was incredulous, but he kept the prophecy in the back of his mind (Genesis 37:9–11).

Years later, Joseph's dream came true. God had worked in his life so that he was second in command of Egypt and in charge of the only significant food stockpile in a seven-year famine. His position meant he could bring his father's family to Egypt where they would have everything they needed. Joseph's brothers, the patriarchs of the tribes of Israel, sold their brother, God's prophet, into slavery, just as later Israelites rejected Moses, killed many other prophets, and crucified Jesus (Acts 7:35, 39–40, 51–52).

Despite Stephen's gifted weaving of prophets, the Mosaic law, and the temple into a stunning defense, many people get to this verse and get hung up on the claim that "seventy-five persons" came to Egypt. The issue is that after everyone is counted, the original account claims seventy people came to Egypt (Genesis 46:27). Most of the quotations of the Hebrew Scriptures in the New Testament are taken from the Septuagint, the Greek translation. Where the ESV reads, "And the sons of Joseph, who were born to him in Egypt, were two," the Septuagint says, "And the sons of Joseph, who were born to him in the land of Egypt, were nine souls." The original counts Joseph and his sons Manasseh and Ephraim. The Septuagint includes Manasseh's son and grandson and Ephraim's two sons and one grandson for an additional five. In all, Joseph was responsible for the presence of his father's family of seventy-five in Egypt.

Acts 7:9–16 describes one of the church's first deacons, Stephen, during his trial before the Sanhedrin. A crowd of Jews has accused him of speaking against Moses, the Mosaic law, and the temple (Acts 6:8–15). Stephen uses his defense to show how Abraham's descendants have been God's people since long before the Law or the temple. In Acts 7:1–8, he gave a summary of how God called Abraham far from the land his people would later inherit. Stephen continues showing how God cared for His people without a place, adding that they didn't respect His prophets, starting with Joseph. Joseph's story is in Genesis 37—Exodus 1.

Stephen is a Greek-speaking Jewish Christian and one of the first deacons in the church in Jerusalem (Acts 6:1–7). He's also a skilled apologist and has been debating Jews from outside Judea about the proper place of the Mosaic law and the temple (Acts 6:8–15). His opponents cannot counter his arguments so they resort to lies. They tell the Sanhedrin that Stephen wants to destroy the temple and repeal the Mosaic law. Stephen counters that his accusers don't respect Moses or the Law, and the temple isn't necessary to worship God. This enrages the mob, and Stephen is stoned, becoming the first Christian martyr.

Chapter 7 is one of the pivot points of the book of Acts. Until recently, the early church has seen favor from the people and indifference from the Sanhedrin. Now, the Sanhedrin has beaten the apostles and ordered them not to preach about Jesus (Acts 5:40), and the people are starting to realize how different Christianity is. In Jerusalem, a Hellenist Jewish Jesus-follower named Stephen has been in a debate with other foreign Jews who finally accuse him of wishing to destroy the temple, like Jesus (Acts 6:8–15). This is Stephen's defense, which leads to his death and the introduction of Paul.

The summary of the book of Acts is provided in Jesus' words in Acts 1:8: ''But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.'' In Acts 2:1–13, the Christ-followers receive the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:14—7:60 describes the rapid growth of the church in Jerusalem. Chapters 8—12 find Jewish persecution inadvertently spreading the gospel throughout Judea and Samaria. And in chapters 13—28, Paul and his companions spread the good news throughout the Roman Empire.