Acts 7:17

But when the time of the promise drew nigh, which God had sworn to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt,

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Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
But	δὲ de	G1161	but · conjunction
when	καθὼς kathōs	G2531	just (or inasmuch) as · conjunction
time	χρόνος chronos	G5550	a space of time (in general · noun — nominative singular masculine
promise	ἐπαγγελίας epangelias	G1860	an announcement (for information · noun — genitive singular feminine
nigh	ἤγγιζεν ēngizen	G1448	to make near · verb — imperfect active indicative, 3rd person singular
which	ἧς hēs	G3739	the relatively (sometimes demonstrative) pronoun · relative pronoun — genitive singular feminine
God	θεὸς theos	G2316	figuratively · noun — nominative singular masculine, a title
sworn	ὀμνύω omnýō	G3660	to swear
Abraham	Ἀβραάμ, Abraam	G11	Abraham · noun — dative singular masculine, a proper name
people	λαὸς laos	G2992	a people (in general · noun — nominative singular masculine
grew	ηὔξησεν ēuxēsen	G837	to grow ("wax") · verb — aorist active indicative, 3rd person singular
and	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
multiplied	ἐπληθύνθη eplēthunthē	G4129	to increase (transitively or intransitively) · verb — aorist passive indicative, 3rd person singular
in	ἐν en	G1722	"in · preposition
Egypt	Αἰγύπτῳ Aiguptō	G125	Ægyptus · noun — dative singular feminine, a place

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Exodus 1:7-12 And the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceeding mighty; and the land was filled with…
Genesis 15:13-16 And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shal…
Psalms 105:24-25 And he increased his people greatly; and made them stronger than their enemies.
Acts 7:6 And God spake on this wise, That his seed should sojourn in a strange land; and that they should bring them into bondage, and entreat them e…
Acts 13:17 The God of this people of Israel chose our fathers, and exalted the people when they dwelt as strangers in the land of Egypt, and with an hi…
Exodus 1:20 Therefore God dealt well with the midwives: and the people multiplied, and waxed very mighty.
2 Peter 3:8-9 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Acts 7:17-29

Stephen here goes on to relate, I. The wonderful increase of the people of Israel in Egypt; it was by a wonder of providence that in a little time they advanced from a family into a nation. 1. It was when the time of the promise drew nigh - the time when they were to be formed into a people. During the first two hundred and fifteen years after the promise made to Abraham, the children of the covenant were increased but to seventy; but in the latter two hundred and fifteen years they increased to six hundred thousand fighting men. The motion of providence is sometimes quickest when it comes nearest the centre. Let us not be discouraged at the slowness of the proceedings towards the accomplish…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Acts 7:17

But when--rather, "as." the time of the promise--that is, for its fulfilment. the people grew and multiplied in Egypt--For more than two hundred years they amounted to no more than seventy-five souls; how prodigious, then, must have been their multiplication during the latter two centuries, when six hundred thousand men, fit for war, besides women and children, left Egypt!

Adam Clarke on Acts 7:16

And were carried over to Sychem - "It is said, Gen 50:13, that Jacob was buried in the cave of the field of Machpelah before Mamre. And in Jos 24:32, and Exo 13:19, it is said that the bones of Joseph were carried out of Egypt by the Israelites, and buried in Shechem, which Jacob bought from the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem. As for the eleven brethren of Joseph, we are told by Josephus, Ant. lib. ii. cap. 8. sect. 2, that they were buried in Hebron, where their father had been buried. But, since the books of the Old Testament say nothing about this, the authority of Stephen (or of Luke here) for their being buried in Sychem is at least as good as that of Josephus for their being burie…

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John Gill on Acts 7:17

But when the time of the promise drew nigh,.... That is, the time of the four hundred years; when God promised to deliver the seed of Abraham out of their affliction and servitude, and bring them into the land of Canaan to inherit it: which God had sworn to Abraham; in Genesis 15:13 for though there is no express mention made of an oath, yet there is a most solemn affirmation, which is equivalent to one; the Alexandrian copy and some others, and the Vulgate Latin version read, which God promised unto Abraham; the people grew and multiplied in Egypt; see Exodus 1:7 insomuch, that though their number were but threescore and ten when they went down to Egypt, and though various methods were ta…

The Church Fathers

But when the time of the promise which God had confessed to Abraham approached, it is better written in Greek: Which God had promised to Abraham.
— Bede, Retractions on Acts

But when the time of the promise which God had confessed to Abraham was drawing near, namely that which was said: And after these things, they will go out and serve me in this place.
— Bede, Commentary on Acts

"But when the time of the promise drew nigh, which God had sworn to Abraham the people grew and multiplied in Egypt, till another king arose, which knew not Joseph." Then again, fresh disappointment: first, famine, but they came through that: secondly, the falling into the hands of their enemy: thirdly, the being destroyed by the king. Then to show God's fullness of ways and means... "But when the time of the promise drew nigh, which God had sworn to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt, till another king arose, which knew not Joseph." Observe, that it is not during the four hundred years that He multiplies them, but only when the end was about to draw nigh. And yet already four hundred years were passed, nay more, in Egypt. But this is the wonder of it.
— John Chrysostom, Homily on Acts 16

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Stephen — One of the seven deacons, who became a preacher of the gospel. He was the first Christian martyr. His personal character and history are recorded in Acts 6. “He fell asleep” with a prayer for his…
Court · ACCUSED SPOKE IN HIS OWN — ACCUSED SPOKE IN HIS OWN
Promises Of God, The · Are: Performed in due season — Are: Performed in due season

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Acts 7:17

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Acts 7:17-29

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Acts 7:17

Adam Clarke on Acts 7:16

John Gill on Acts 7:17

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Acts 7:17

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Acts 7:17-29

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Acts 7:17

Adam Clarke on Acts 7:16

John Gill on Acts 7:17

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Acts 7:17-19

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Acts 7:16