Acts 7:12 - Printer Friendly

ESV: But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent out our fathers on their first visit.

NIV: When Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our forefathers on their first visit.

NASB: But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our fathers there the first time.

CSB: When Jacob heard there was grain in Egypt, he sent our ancestors there the first time.

NLT: Jacob heard that there was still grain in Egypt, so he sent his sons — our ancestors — to buy some.

KJV: But when Jacob heard that there was corn in Egypt, he sent out our fathers first.

NKJV: But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent out our fathers first.

One effective method to help us better understand the Bible is to interpret it according to the literary genre of the passage. The account of how the Israelites came to Egypt falls under the category of narrative. This part of the story uses the tool of poetic justice.

Nine of Jacob's older sons attacked their younger brother Joseph and sold him to slavers (Genesis 37:12–36). The slavers took Joseph to Egypt and sold him to a nobleman. After serving in a house and then serving time in prison, Joseph rose to the rank of second in command of Egypt. As God's prophet, he knew a famine would come on the land, and Pharaoh empowered him to prepare (Genesis 39—41). As the seven years of famine progressed, Canaan grew desperate while Egypt had food. In another example of God's poetic justice, Joseph's brothers were starving while Joseph had authority over the largest stockpile of grain in the area. When they came to Egypt to buy grain, Joseph hid his identity and thoroughly tested his brothers to make sure they were treating his youngest brother, Benjamin, with more kindness (Genesis 42).

Stephen is using this story to show how throughout Israel's history, they have persecuted those God sent to save them. First, Joseph. Later, Moses (Acts 7:35, 39–40). Most recently, Jesus, the great Prophet Moses said God would raise up—the Messiah (Acts 7:37). God's plans are not thwarted by His people's rejection of His messengers, but Stephen's accusers show the greatest hypocrisy when they claim to follow Moses and his awaited heir but do neither (Acts 6:11–14).

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.