the he (she or it) · demonstrative pronoun — nominative singular masculine
subtilly
κατασοφισάμενοςkatasophisamenos
G2686
to be crafty against · verb — aorist middle deponent participle, nominative singular masculine
with
γένοςgenos
G1085
"kin" (abstract or concrete · noun — accusative singular neuter
our
ἡμῶνhēmōn
G2257
of (or from) us
kindred
γένοςgénos
G1085
"kin" (abstract or concrete
entreated
ἐκάκωσενekakōsen
G2559
to injure · verb — aorist active indicative, 3rd person singular
our
ἡμῶνhēmōn
G2257
of (or from) us
fathers
πατέραςpateras
G3962
a "father" (literally or figuratively · noun — accusative plural masculine
they
ποιεῖνpoiein
G4160
to make or do (in a very wide application · verb — present active infinitive
out
ἔκθεταektheta
G1570
put out · adjective — accusative plural neuter
their
αὐτῶνautōn
G846
the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — genitive plural masculine
children
βρέφηbrephē
G1025
an infant (properly · noun — accusative plural neuter
end
εἰςeis
G1519
to or into (indicating the point reached or entered) · preposition
might
ζῳογονεῖσθαι.zōogoneisthai
G2225
to engender alive · verb — present passive infinitive
not
μὴmē
G3361
(adverb) not · particle — negative
live
ζωογονέωzōogonéō
G2225
to engender alive
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
Psalms 105:25 He turned their heart to hate his people, to deal subtilly with his servants.
Exodus 1:9-22 And he said unto his people, Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we:
Psalms 83:4-5 They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.
Revelation 12:4-5 And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was rea…
Psalms 129:1-3 Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth, may Israel now say:
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…
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 7:19
The same dealt subtilty - Οὑτος κατασοφισαμενος, A word borrowed from the Septuagint, who thus translate the Hebrew נהחכמה לו nithchokmah lo, let us deal wisely with it, i.e. with cunning and deceit, as the Greek word implies; and which is evidently intended by the Hebrew. See Gen 27:35, Thy brother came with subtilty, which the Targumist explains by בחוכמא be-chokma, with wisdom, that is, cunning and deceit. For this the Egyptians were so remarkable that αιγυπτιαζειν, to Egyptize, signified to act cunningly, and to use wicked devices. Hence the Jews compared them to foxes; and it is of them that Canticles, Sol 2:15, is understood by the rabbins: Take us the little foxes which spoil our vin…
The same dealt subtilly with our kindred,.... See Exodus 1:10 he took crafty, and yet cruel methods, to diminish the children of Israel, and to humble them; weakening their strength by labour, that they might not be able to beget children; ordering the Hebrew midwives to kill all the males that were born; and charging all his people to drown such male children that should escape the hands of the midwives;
and evil entreated our fathers; keeping them to hard labour, in mortar and brick, and all rural service; in which he made them to serve with rigour, and thereby made their lives bitter to them; employing them in building cities, pyramids, walls, and towers; making ditches, throwing up tren…
The Church Fathers
"The same dealt subtly with our kindred, and evil-entreated our fathers, that they should cast out their young children, to the end they might not live." "Dealt subtly:" he hints at their not liking to exterminate them openly: "that they should cast out their young children," it says.
Having become crafty, that is resolved to outwit them by cunning devices. For sophistry is a forced explanation. Wherefore the emphasis here says that it is plain they are violently imposed upon; therefore the charlatans are called sophists, as those who hide the truth by deceit and fallacies. Following what has been said concerning Abraham, the account of the trading shows the hardship of his descendants under the Egyptians. Whose counterstroke is the refreshing destruction of the Egyptians, which it was foretold would be wrought upon them by God himself at the Red Sea. In case under the burden of sufferings, despair of salvation should lead them to slide into unbelief. Consider also the pledge of the faith of those to whom promises are made. What is that? Circumcision of the genital parts, known to them alone and not to others who have not suffered. From these things indeed springs the compelling proof of those who conduct these affairs.
But even at the time when deliverance for the afflicted was drawing near, the arrogance of the oppressors, having increased, introduced destruction of the males by the midwives. Moreover, as to the other evils it chiefly led to an increase in the number of the afflicted, here, in order to condemn the crimes, it unexpectedly rescues even Moses, who was to destroy them, and esteems him worthy of royal nurture and care. Why was this also mentioned? To show that even now those who arm themselves against Christ and his disciples do not recognize that they will meet with like fates, being seized in the very works of their hands. The sign of circumcision is meant to indicate this on the generative members. The covering placed upon the ancestors in paradise, having sprung from the envy of the original evil serpent, from which it also seemed more credible than the act of God concerning the taste of the tree. Circumcision introduced the removal of this for one who turns to live toward God, commanding the cutting out according to the Mosaic legislation of customs from birth.
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
Infanticide · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
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 7:17-19
17. And when the time of the promise drew near, which God had sworn to Abraham, the people increased, and was multiplied in Egypt, 18. Until another king arose, which knew not Joseph: 19. This man dealt subtilely with our kindred; he evil-entreated our fathers, that they might cast out their infants, lest they should be increased.
17. Stephen passeth over unto the deliverance of the people, before which [405] went that innumerable issue which had increased beyond the ordinary manner in no long space of time. Therefore, he setteth down this as a singular gift of God, that the people was increased, to the end we may know that that came not to pass according to the common or wont…
