Acts 7:9-19

7:9 The ¹  patriarchs, because they were jealous of Joseph, sold ²  him into Egypt. But ³  God was with him, 7:10 and rescued him from all his troubles, and granted him favor and wisdom in the presence of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who made ⁴  him ruler over Egypt and over all his household. 7:11 Then a famine occurred throughout ⁵  Egypt and Canaan, causing ⁶  great suffering, and our ⁷  ancestors ⁸  could not find food. 7:12 So when Jacob heard that there was grain ⁹  in Egypt, he sent our ancestors ¹⁰  there ¹¹  the first time. 7:13 On their second visit Joseph made himself known to his brothers again, and Joseph’s family ¹²  became known to Pharaoh. 7:14 So Joseph sent a message ¹³  and invited ¹⁴  his father Jacob and all his relatives to come, seventy-five people ¹⁵  in all. 7:15 So Jacob went down to Egypt and died there, ¹⁶  along with our ancestors, ¹⁷  7:16 and their bones ¹⁸  were later moved to Shechem and placed in the tomb that Abraham had bought for a certain sum of money ¹⁹  from the sons of Hamor in Shechem.

7:17 “But as the time drew near for God to fulfill the promise he had declared to Abraham, ²⁰  the people increased greatly in number ²¹  in Egypt, 7:18 until another king who did not know about ²²  Joseph ruled ²³  over Egypt. ²⁴  7:19 This was the one who exploited ²⁵  our people ²⁶  and was cruel to our ancestors, ²⁷  forcing them to abandon ²⁸  their infants so they would die. ²⁹ 

¹ tn Grk “And the.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

² tn The meaning “sell” for the middle voice of ἀποδίδωμι (apodidwmi) is given by BDAG 110 s.v. 5.a. See Gen 37:12-36, esp. v. 28.

³ tn Though the Greek term here is καί (kai), in context this remark is clearly contrastive: Despite the malicious act, God was present and protected Joseph.

⁴ tn Or “appointed.” See Gen 41:41-43.

⁷ tn Grk “came upon all Egypt.”

⁸ tn Grk “and,” but logically causal.

⁹ sn Our. Stephen spoke of “our” ancestors (Grk “fathers”) in an inclusive sense throughout the speech until his rebuke in v. 51, where the nation does what “your” ancestors did, at which point an exclusive pronoun is used. This serves to emphasize the rebuke.

¹⁰ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

¹⁰ tn Or possibly “food,” since in a number of extrabiblical contexts the phrase σιτία καὶ ποτά (sitia kai pota) means “food and drink,” where solid food is contrasted with liquid nourishment (L&N 3.42).

¹¹ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

¹² tn The word “there” is not in the Greek text. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.

¹³ tn BDAG 194 s.v. γένος 2. gives “family, relatives” here; another alternative is “race” (see v. 19).

¹⁶ tn The words “a message” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

¹⁷ tn Or “Joseph had his father summoned” (BDAG 121 s.v. ἀποστέλλω 2.b).

¹⁸ tn Grk “souls” (here an idiom for the whole person).

¹⁹ tn The word “there” is not in the Greek text. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.

²⁰ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

²² tn “and they.”

²³ sn See Gen 49:29-32.

²⁵ tn Grk “But as the time for the fulfillment of the promise drew near that God had declared to Abraham.” The order of the clauses has been rearranged to improve English style. See vv. 6-7 above.

²⁶ tn Grk “the people increased and multiplied.”

²⁸ tn Or simply “did not know.” However, in this context the point is that the new king knew nothing about Joseph, not whether he had known him personally (which is the way “did not know Joseph” could be understood).

²⁹ tn Grk “arose,” but in this context it clearly refers to a king assuming power.

³⁰ sn A quotation from Exod 1:8.

³¹ tn According to L&N 88.147 it is also possible to translate κατασοφισάμενος (katasofisameno") as “took advantage by clever words” or “persuaded by sweet talk.”

³² tn Or “race.”

³³ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

³⁴ tn Or “expose” (BDAG 303 s.v. ἔκθετος).

³⁵ tn Grk “so that they could not be kept alive,” but in this context the phrase may be translated either “so that they would not continue to live,” or “so that they would die” (L&N 23.89).