Acts 7:20 - Printer Friendly

ESV: At this time Moses was born; and he was beautiful in God 's sight. And he was brought up for three months in his father 's house,

NIV: "At that time Moses was born, and he was no ordinary child. For three months he was cared for by his family.

NASB: At this time Moses was born; and he was beautiful to God. He was nurtured for three months in his father’s home.

CSB: At this time Moses was born, and he was beautiful in God’s sight. He was cared for in his father’s home for three months.

NLT: At that time Moses was born — a beautiful child in God’s eyes. His parents cared for him at home for three months.

KJV: In which time Moses was born, and was exceeding fair, and nourished up in his father's house three months:

NKJV: At this time Moses was born, and was well pleasing to God; and he was brought up in his father’s house for three months.

Jews from Egypt, Libya, and modern-day Asia Minor have accused the Jewish Jesus-follower Stephen of disrespecting Moses, among other things (Acts 6:11–14). Using the story of Israel's history, Stephen is putting each of these things in proper perspective. In the Jews' minds, Moses is almost synonymous with the law he received from God on Mount Sinai. To blaspheme Moses is to reject his law, and to reject his law invites the threat of exile. In Acts 7:20–22, Stephen shows how little Moses had to do with his own qualifications.

The word translated "beautiful" means well-bred and refined. God chose Moses at his birth, when the baby certainly had nothing to do with how the world perceived him. At the time, by law of the pharaoh, his parents should have surrendered him to be thrown into the Nile. Instead, they hid him from their Egyptian oppressors (Exodus 2:1–2).

In the following verses, Stephen will remind his audience how the pharaoh's daughter rescued and raised Moses, and had him trained by Egyptian scholars. Then, Stephen will point out how Moses murdered an Egyptian and ran away to Midian to hide in fear (Acts 7:29). It is true that God chose Moses, and Moses became one of the greatest Jews in history. But it is because of God's work, not Moses'. And anyone who reveres Moses more than God misses the point of Moses' life.

Acts 7:17–22 continues Stephen's defense against charges that he speaks against Moses, the Mosaic law, and the temple (Acts 6:11–14). In this part, he subtly shows that God's work is not confined to a building, city, or even nation. God used a hostile foreign government to prepare the greatest prophet of the Old Testament and the bringer of the Law that made the Israelites a nation. Solomon admitted during the dedication of the temple that even heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain God, much less a building made by human hands (2 Chronicles 6:18). The truth is, neither can a single nation, or even the world.

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.