Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Acts 7:10
And delivered him out of all his afflictions, and gave him favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and he made him governor over Egypt and all his house.
10. For the history see Genesis 39-41.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
And delivered him … – That is, restored him to liberty from his servitude and humiliation, and raised him up to high honors and offices in Egypt.
Favour and wisdom – The favor was the result of his wisdom. His wisdom was particularly evinced in interpreting the dreams of Pharaoh, Gen. 41.
And he made him governor … – Gen 41:40.
All his house – All the family, or all the court and government of the nation.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 10. Gave him favour and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh] God gave him much wisdom, in consequence of which he had favour with the king of Egypt. See the whole of this remarkable history explained at large, Ge 41:1-45:28.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
And delivered him out of all his afflictions; the effect of Gods presence with him, which to his people is always in an especial manner, not only as he is with all other creatures, but as the soul is with the body, most effectually, so is God with them.
And gave him favour and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh: thus God brought Daniel into favour, Dan 1:9, and hath all hearts in his hands.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And delivered him out of all his afflictions,…. From the evil designs of his mistress, and from all the miseries of a prison:
and gave him favour and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt; so Justin in the place above cited says, that Joseph was very dear to the king; but not through his knowledge of magic arts, as he suggests, but on account of the wisdom which God gave him; for when he is said to have favour and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh, the meaning is, that he was highly esteemed of by him, because of the wisdom he saw in him; and both the favour he had with him, and the wisdom he had in himself, were from the Lord; and in a very humble and modest manner does he speak of himself, in Ge 41:16 which Onkelos the Targumist paraphrases thus:
“”not from my wisdom”, but from the Lord, shall the peace of Pharaoh be answered;”
the name of this Pharaoh was Misphragmuthosis; by the Jews he is called Rian ben Walid o:
and he made him governor over Egypt: a deputy governor under him; for Pharaoh kept the throne, and in it was greater than Joseph, and had the other ensigns of royalty, and Joseph rode in the second chariot to him:
and all his house; see Ge 41:40 as he had the affairs of the kingdom committed to him, so likewise the domestic affairs of Pharaoh, he was steward of his household.
o Juchasin, fol. 135. 2.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Delivered him out ( ). First aorist middle indicative of , old verb to take out, snatch out. Note repetition of .
Pharaoh King of Egypt ( ). Pharaoh is not a name, but a title, the Egyptian per meaning great house.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Afflictions [] See on Mt 13:21.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “And delivered him out of all his afflictions,” (kai ekseilato auton ek paso ton thlipseon autou) “And (God) rescued him (Joseph) out of all his afflictions or tribulations,” which he experienced; It was God who delivered him from the envy and hate of his brothers, from the pit where they cast him, from the Ishmaelites to whom they sold him, from prison where Potiphar’s lying wife caused him to be sent, see? Gen 39:6-23.
2) “And gave him favor and wisdom,” (kai edoken auto charin kai sophian) “And God gave to him grace and wisdom,” both Divine favor and Divine- judgement in making wise decisions and in interpreting dreams, Gen 40:7-23.
3) “In the sight of Pharaoh king over Egypt,” (en enation Pharaoh basileos Aiguptou) “Before the eyes or in the sight of Pharaoh (who was) king of Egypt,” Gen 41:1-16; Gen 41:38-44.
4) “And he made him governor over Egypt,” (kai katestesen auton hegoumenon ep’ Aigupton) “And he (Pharaoh) made (appointed) him (Joseph) to be governor over Egypt,” Gen 41:39-46.
5) “And all his house,” (kai holon ton oikon autou) “And (governor) over all his household,” to superintend all domestic matters of the king’s household of family and servants, Gen 41:40.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
10. Stephen addeth the means, because God gave him favor in the sight of Pharaoh. God could have delivered him by some other means, but his counsel had respect unto a farther thing, that Joseph, being ruler of the kingdom, might entertain his father and all his family. In these two words, favor and wisdom, there is the figure hypalloge. For the wisdom wherewith Joseph was endued was the cause that he found favor; although I confess that they were two distinct benefits. For, though Joseph were a faithful interpreter of dreams, and did excel in divine wisdom, yet the proud tyrant would never have brought him to so great honor, unless God had bent the mind of Pharaoh unto a certain unwonted love; yet, notwithstanding, we must consider that order whereby God useth to bring him into favor. (392) Wisdom doth not only signify the gift of prophecy in interpreting dreams, but prudence in giving counsel; for Moses putteth in both. That which Stephen reporteth of one man in this place is extended unto all. For what aptness and readiness (393) soever is in men, it ought to be reckoned amongst the gifts of God, and that his special gifts. (394) And it is he that giveth good success as it pleaseth him, that his gifts may be profitable to that end for which it seemed good to him to give them. Therefore, although Joseph be made chief ruler of Egypt by Pharaoh, yet is he lifted up to so great honor properly by the hand of God. (395)
(392) “ Illi Deus gratiam conciliat,” procureth favor for him.
(393) “ Dexteritas,” dexterity.
(394) “ Pro modo inaequali,” according to the unequal mode of distribution, omitted.
(395) “ Non nisi Dei manu,” by nought but the hand of God.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
10. Favour and wisdom Favour with God, and wisdom toward man.
Governor over Egypt And so Christ is ruler even over the Gentiles, to fit them for their place in his Church.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
10. From the least to the greatest Both old and young, pauper and magistrate, freely credited the super-naturalism of Simon. It was not the low and ignorant alone, but ladies of high rank, philosophers, generals, and emperors, that listened to magicians, fortune-tellers, and necromancers. Pompey, Crassus, and Cesar consulted Oriental astrologers; Brutus beheld an apparition summoning him to the fatal Philippi; and Cesar was warned by the soothsayers to “beware the ides of March.” Tiberius, at Capreae, “had a flock of Chaldeans around him.” Tacitus styles them “a class of men faithless to the powerful, fallacious to those hoping from them; which will ever be legally prohibited in the State, yet always retained.” In an age when old religions are dying out, the empty hearts of men are hungry for something beyond dead nature. Vacate men’s spirits of a true religion, and they will hanker after the vilest superstitions. There are at the present day so-called philosophers, who tell us that the age of faith is passing away, and the higher age of reason, the glorious millennium of Atheism, is coming on, when men will be far too wise to believe in God. But such an age would be rife with demon-worship and base paganism. We see in the sorceries of Simon something identical with the sorcery of the Old Testament, (and with the execrable pseudo-spiritualism of the present day,) something rather basely below nature: sub-natural rather than super-natural; where the depths of vice may perhaps be so fathomed as to reach clown to the infernal.
The great power The true reading is, This man is the power of God, which is called great. It refers, doubtless, to the masculine or greater power of nature in distinction from the feminine, of which Simon professed to be the incarnation.
It, of course, became the ascended Head of the Church, (see note on Act 1:1,) the Lord Jesus, to overcome these spurious miracles by the genuine, and the false doctrines by the divinely true.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘And delivered him out of all his afflictions, and gave him favour and wisdom before Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he made him governor over Egypt and all his house.’
Thus God delivered him from his afflictions, and exalted him, and enthroned him (the parallel could hardly be missed with the One Who had been crucified and was declared by His followers to have been enthroned, although at this stage Stephen is not trying to make it too blatant). He was delivered in such a way that the great Pharaoh himself looked on him with favour and saw him as wise. And he made him Lord over Egypt and all his house. The one rejected by Israel’s leaders was uplifted and exalted, and became the favoured of the unorthodox. (This was getting right to the heart of the charge against Stephen).
‘Favour (grace) and wisdom.’ This may be a specific reference to Joseph’s ability to interpret Pharaoh’s dreams. God showed Pharaoh that Moses was favoured by Him by giving him the ability to reveal signs and wonders before Pharaoh in interpreting dreams. Compare Act 7:36.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
10. ] Observe (Mey.) the simple coupling of the clauses by , as characteristic or this speech.
. .] No Hendiadys: favour , so that he was acceptable to Pharaoh (see reff.): and wisdom , so that Ph. consulted him and followed his suggestion, especially in the important case recorded Gen 41:38 .
] viz. Pharaoh: a change of subject: see reff. Gen.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Act 7:10 . , cf. Gen 39:2 ; Gen 39:21 ; Gen 39:23 ( cf. Luk 1:28 ; Luk 1:66 ). : the same construction in Gen 32:11 , Exo 3:8 , and in N.T., Act 12:11 ; Act 26:17 , Gal 1:4 ; so in classical Greek. The middle force of the verb in the sense of causing to be saved is lost. , cf. Act 2:41 . The word means primarily, as the context shows, favour with man, cf. Gen 39:21 ; but this was also a divine gift: . It is significant also that Pharaoh speaks of Joseph, Gen 41:38 , as a man in whom the spirit of God is, although no doubt the expression refers primarily to Joseph’s skill in foretelling and providing against the famine. : in interpreting the king’s decree, Gen 41:25 ff. , so in Gen 39:21 . . .: without the article as in Hebrew (Blass), cf. Gen 41:46 ; see also Winer-Schmiedel, p. 185. , sc. , Pharaoh, cf. change of subject as in Act 7:4 , in which Weiss also sees the hand of a reviser, but see above. The same word is used in Gen 41:43 , and cf. for the same chap., Act 7:41 , where the sense of the title is shown the exact word is used of Joseph in Sir 49:15 ( ); in N.T. four times in Luke, see Luk 22:26 , Act 7:10 ; Act 14:12 ; Act 15:22 ; elsewhere only in Hebrews, cf. Heb 13:7 ; Heb 13:17 ; Heb 13:24 .
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
delivered. Greek. exaireo. Here, Act 7:34; Act 12:11; Act 23:27; Act 26:17. Mat 5:29; Mat 18:9. Gal 1:1, Gal 1:4.
afflictions = tribulations. Greek. thlipsis. Compare Psa 105:17-19.
favour = grace. Greek. charis. App-184.
in the sight of = before. Greek. enantion.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
10.] Observe (Mey.) the simple coupling of the clauses by , as characteristic or this speech.
. .] No Hendiadys: favour, so that he was acceptable to Pharaoh (see reff.): and wisdom, so that Ph. consulted him and followed his suggestion, especially in the important case recorded Gen 41:38.
] viz. Pharaoh: a change of subject: see reff. Gen.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Act 7:10. , out of all) See 2Ti 3:11, note (Psa 34:17).- ) Psa 105:21 in the LXX., , .
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
delivered: Gen 48:16, Psa 22:24, Psa 34:17-19, Psa 37:40, Psa 40:1-3, 2Ti 4:18, Jam 5:11, Rev 7:14
gave: Gen 41:12-46, Gen 42:6, Gen 44:18, Gen 45:8, Gen 45:9, Psa 105:19-22, Pro 2:6, Pro 3:4, Pro 16:7
Reciprocal: Gen 30:27 – favour Gen 39:2 – the Lord Gen 39:21 – gave him Gen 41:37 – the thing Gen 41:43 – ruler Gen 41:52 – the land Gen 43:14 – And God Exo 3:21 – General Exo 12:36 – the Lord Deu 23:7 – because thou Deu 33:24 – let him be 1Sa 10:26 – whose hearts 1Sa 18:5 – behaved 1Ki 8:50 – and give them 1Ki 11:19 – found 2Ki 18:7 – And the Lord 1Ch 9:20 – the Lord 2Ch 15:9 – they saw Neh 2:8 – the king Est 2:9 – she obtained Est 2:15 – Esther Est 5:2 – she Pro 13:15 – Good Pro 21:1 – The king’s Pro 22:1 – loving favour rather than Jer 1:8 – for I am Jer 39:12 – do him Dan 1:9 – General Dan 1:17 – God Luk 2:52 – and in 2Ti 2:7 – and 2Pe 3:15 – according
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
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Act 7:10. This verse includes the events of Genesis 41.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Act 7:10. And wisdom. This, of course, includes Josephs interpretation of the royal dreams, but has more especial reference to his wisdom in striking out a new system of governing the land of Egypt, and of administering and developing the finances of that great kingdom.
Pharaoh. This is not a proper name, but was the common title of the ancient sovereigns of Egypt. It signifies in the ancient Egyptian, the king. In after ages, in the Graeco-Macedonian period, the common title of the monarchs of the country was Ptolemy (which signifies in the Greek, warrior).
We have a well-known instance of these royal appellatives in the Caesars of Rome, a designation which, under the Teutonized form of Kaiser in the German and Austrian Empires, and in the Russian form of Czar, continues in our own times.
Governor over Egypt. Joseph fulfilled the functions of the Vizier or Prime Minister of Pharaoh. The power delegated to him by his master seems to have been almost without limit.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
See notes on verse 9
Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)
7:10 And delivered him out of all his afflictions, and gave him {g} favour and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and he made him governor over Egypt and all his house.
(g) Gave him favour in Pharaoh’s sight because of his wisdom.