The God of this people chose our fathers, and exalted the people when they stayed as aliens in the land of Egypt, and with an uplifted arm, he led them out of it. For a period of about forty years he put up with them in the wilderness. When he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, he gave them their land for an inheritance for about four hundred fifty years. After these things, he gave them judges until Samuel the prophet. Afterward they asked for a king, and God gave to them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. When he had removed him, he raised up David to be their king, to whom he also testified, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after my heart, who will do all my will.’
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Acts 13:17-22 sits inside this longer paragraph.
Paul stood up, and beckoning with his hand said, “Men of Israel, and you who fear God, listen. The God of this people chose our fathers, and exalted the people when they stayed as aliens in the land of Egypt, and with an uplifted arm, he led them out of it. For a period of about forty years he put up with them in the wilderness. When he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, he gave them their land for an inheritance for about four hundred fifty years. After these things, he gave them judges until Samuel the prophet. Afterward they asked for a king, and God gave to them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. When he had removed him, he raised up David to be their king, to whom he also testified, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after my heart, who will do all my will.’ From this man’s offspring, God has brought salvation to Israel according to his promise, before his coming, when John had first preached the baptism of repentance to Israel. As John was fulfilling his course, he said, ‘What do you suppose that I am? I am not he. But behold, one comes after me, the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie.’ Brothers, children of the stock of Abraham, and those among you who fear God, the word of this salvation is sent out to you. For those who dwell in Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they didn’t know him, nor the voices of the prophets which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled them by condemning him. Though they found no cause for death, they still asked Pilate to have him killed. When they had fulfilled all things that were written about him, they took him down from the tree, and laid him in a tomb. But God raised him from the dead, and he was seen for many days by those who came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are his witnesses to the people. We bring you good news of the promise made to the fathers,
Parallel Translations
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The God of this people chose our fathers, and exalted the people when they stayed as aliens in the land of Egypt, and with an uplifted arm, he led them out of it.
For a period of about forty years he put up with them in the wilderness.
When he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, he gave them their land for an inheritance for about four hundred fifty years.
After these things, he gave them judges until Samuel the prophet.
Afterward they asked for a king, and God gave to them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years.
When he had removed him, he raised up David to be their king, to whom he also testified, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after my heart, who will do all my will.’
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The God of this people chose oure fathers and exalted the people when they dwelt as straugers in the londe of Egypt and with a mighty arme brought them oute of it
and aboute the tyme of.xl. yeares suffred he their maners in the wyldernes.
And he destroyed.vii. nacions in the londe of Canaan and devided their londe to them by lot.
And after warde he gave vnto them iudges aboute the space of.iiii.C. and.l. yeres vnto the tyme of Samuel the Prophet.
And after that they desyred a kinge and God gave vnto them Saul the sonne of Cis a man of the tribe of Beniamin by the space of.xl. yeres.
And after he had put him doune he set vp David to be their kynge of whome he reported sayinge: I have founde David the sonne of Iesse a man after myne awne hert he shall fulfill all my will.
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The God of this people of Israel chose our fathers, and exalted the people when they dwelt in the land of Egypt, and with an high arme brought them out thereof.
And about the time of fourtie yeeres, suffered he their maners in the wildernesse.
And he destroied seuen nations in the land of Chanaan, and deuided their lad to them by lot.
Then afterward he gaue vnto them Iudges about foure hundreth and fiftie yeeres, vnto the time of Samuel the Prophet.
So after that, they desired a King, and God gaue vnto them Saul, the sonne of Cis, a man of ye tribe of Beniamin, by the space of fourty yeres.
And after he had taken him away, he raised vp Dauid to be their King, of whom he witnessed, saying, I haue found Dauid the sonne of Iesse, a man after mine owne heart, which will doe all things that I will.
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Cross-references (116)
- 1 Samuel 13:13-14 (v22) Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of Yahweh your God, which he commanded you; for now Yahweh…
- 1 Kings 15:5 (v22) because David did that which was right in Yahweh’s eyes, and didn’t turn away from anything that he commanded him all the days of his life,…
- 1 Samuel 16:13 (v22) Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the middle of his brothers. Then Yahweh’s Spirit came mightily on David from that day…
- Psalms 78:70-72 (v22) He also chose David his servant, and took him from the sheepfolds; from following the ewes that have their young, he brought him to be the…
- 1 Samuel 16:1 (v22) Yahweh said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil,…
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- Deuteronomy 7:1 (v19) When Yahweh your God brings you into the land where you go to possess it, and casts out many nations before you—the Hittite, the…
- 1 Samuel 15:26 (v22) Samuel said to Saul, “I will not return with you; for you have rejected Yahweh’s word, and Yahweh has rejected you from being king over…
- 1 Samuel 15:28 (v22) Samuel said to him, “Yahweh has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today, and has given it to a neighbor of yours who is better than you.
- Ezekiel 37:24-25 (v22) “ ‘ “My servant David will be king over them. They all will have one shepherd. They will also walk in my ordinances, and observe my…
- 1 Samuel 10:1 (v21) Then Samuel took the vial of oil, and poured it on his head, and kissed him, and said, “Hasn’t Yahweh anointed you to be prince over his…
- Psalms 78:55 (v19) He also drove out the nations before them, allotted them for an inheritance by line, and made the tribes of Israel to dwell in their tents.
- Psalms 89:19-37 (v22) Then you spoke in vision to your saints, and said, “I have given strength to the warrior. I have exalted a young man from the people. I…
- Deuteronomy 7:6-8 (v17) For you are a holy people to Yahweh your God. Yahweh your God has chosen you to be a people for his own possession, above all peoples who…
- Hosea 13:10-11 (v22) Where is your king now, that he may save you in all your cities? And your judges, of whom you said, ‘Give me a king and princes?’ I have…
- Judges 2:16 (v20) Yahweh raised up judges, who saved them out of the hand of those who plundered them.
- 1 Samuel 15:23 (v22) For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as idolatry and teraphim. Because you have rejected Yahweh’s word, he has…
- 2 Samuel 2:4 (v22) The men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah. They told David, “The men of Jabesh Gilead were those…
- 2 Samuel 7:8 (v22) Now therefore tell my servant David this, ‘Yahweh of Armies says, “I took you from the sheep pen, from following the sheep, to be prince…
- 1 Kings 15:3 (v22) He walked in all the sins of his father, which he had done before him; and his heart was not perfect with Yahweh his God, as the heart of…
- Acts 7:36 (v18) This man led them out, having worked wonders and signs in Egypt, in the Red Sea, and in the wilderness for forty years.
- Acts 7:45 (v19) which also our fathers, in their turn, brought in with Joshua when they entered into the possession of the nations, whom God drove out…
- Acts 7:46 (v22) who found favor in the sight of God, and asked to find a habitation for the God of Jacob.
- Joshua 14:1 (v19) These are the inheritances which the children of Israel took in the land of Canaan, which Eleazar the priest, Joshua the son of Nun, and…
- Joshua 19:51 (v19) These are the inheritances, which Eleazar the priest, Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the fathers’ houses of the tribes of the…
- 2 Samuel 5:3-5 (v22) So all the elders of Israel came to the king to Hebron, and king David made a covenant with them in Hebron before Yahweh; and they anointed…
- 1 Chronicles 10:13 (v22) So Saul died for his trespass which he committed against Yahweh, because of Yahweh’s word, which he didn’t keep; and also because he asked…
- Genesis 17:8 (v19) I will give to you, and to your offspring after you, the land where you are traveling, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting…
- 1 Samuel 3:20 (v20) All Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of Yahweh.
- 1 Samuel 12:25 (v22) But if you keep doing evil, you will be consumed, both you and your king.”
- 1 Samuel 15:1 (v21) Samuel said to Saul, “Yahweh sent me to anoint you to be king over his people, over Israel. Now therefore listen to the voice of Yahweh’s…
- 1 Samuel 15:11 (v22) “It grieves me that I have set up Saul to be king; for he has turned back from following me, and has not performed my commandments.” Samuel…
- 1 Samuel 31:6 (v22) So Saul died, and his three sons, and his armor bearer, and all his men, that same day together.
- 2 Samuel 7:15 (v22) but my loving kindness will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before you.
- 1 Chronicles 28:4-5 (v22) However Yahweh, the God of Israel, chose me out of all the house of my father to be king over Israel forever. For he has chosen Judah to be…
- Psalms 2:6 (v22) “Yet I have set my King on my holy hill of Zion.”
- Jeremiah 33:26 (v22) then I will also cast away the offspring of Jacob, and of David my servant, so that I will not take of his offspring to be rulers over the…
- Hosea 3:5 (v22) Afterward the children of Israel shall return, and seek Yahweh their God, and David their king, and shall come with trembling to Yahweh and…
- Acts 15:8 (v22) God, who knows the heart, testified about them, giving them the Holy Spirit, just like he did to us.
- Hebrews 11:4-5 (v22) By faith, Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he had testimony given to him that he was righteous, God…
- Genesis 12:5 (v19) Abram took Sarai his wife, Lot his brother’s son, all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people whom they had acquired in…
- Exodus 16:2 (v18) The whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron in the wilderness;
- Exodus 16:35 (v18) The children of Israel ate the manna forty years, until they came to an inhabited land. They ate the manna until they came to the borders…
- Numbers 14:22 (v18) because all those men who have seen my glory, and my signs, which I worked in Egypt and in the wilderness, yet have tempted me these ten…
- Numbers 14:33-34 (v18) Your children shall be wanderers in the wilderness forty years, and shall bear your prostitution, until your dead bodies are consumed in…
- Numbers 26:53-56 (v19) “To these the land shall be divided for an inheritance according to the number of names. To the more you shall give the more inheritance,…
- Deuteronomy 1:31 (v18) and in the wilderness where you have seen how that Yahweh your God carried you, as a man carries his son, in all the way that you went,…
- Deuteronomy 9:7 (v18) Remember, and don’t forget, how you provoked Yahweh your God to wrath in the wilderness. From the day that you left the land of Egypt until…
- Deuteronomy 9:21-24 (v18) I took your sin, the calf which you had made, and burned it with fire, and crushed it, grinding it very small, until it was as fine as…
- Joshua 18:10 (v19) Joshua cast lots for them in Shiloh before Yahweh. There Joshua divided the land to the children of Israel according to their divisions.
- Joshua 24:11 (v19) “ ‘You went over the Jordan, and came to Jericho. The men of Jericho fought against you, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Canaanite, the…
- 1 Samuel 8:5–9:2 (v21) They said to him, “Behold, you are old, and your sons don’t walk in your ways. Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.” But…
- 1 Samuel 10:21-26 (v21) He brought the tribe of Benjamin near by their families; and the family of the Matrites was chosen. Then Saul the son of Kish was chosen;…
- 1 Samuel 11:15 (v21) All the people went to Gilgal; and there they made Saul king before Yahweh in Gilgal. There they offered sacrifices of peace offerings…
- 1 Samuel 12:12-19 (v21) “When you saw that Nahash the king of the children of Ammon came against you, you said to me, ‘No, but a king shall reign over us;’ when…
- Nehemiah 9:16-21 (v18) “But they and our fathers behaved proudly, hardened their neck, didn’t listen to your commandments, and refused to obey. They weren’t…
- Nehemiah 9:24 (v19) “So the children went in and possessed the land, and you subdued before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, and gave them…
- Psalms 78:17-42 (v18) Yet they still went on to sin against him, to rebel against the Most High in the desert. They tempted God in their heart by asking food…
- Psalms 95:8-11 (v18) Don’t harden your heart, as at Meribah, as in the day of Massah in the wilderness, when your fathers tempted me, tested me, and saw my…
- Psalms 105:23-24 (v17) Israel also came into Egypt. Jacob lived in the land of Ham. He increased his people greatly, and made them stronger than their adversaries.
- Psalms 106:13-29 (v18) They soon forgot his works. They didn’t wait for his counsel, but gave in to craving in the desert, and tested God in the wasteland. He…
- Psalms 135:11 (v19) Sihon king of the Amorites, Og king of Bashan, and all the kingdoms of Canaan,
- Isaiah 63:9-14 (v17) In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them. In his love and in his pity he redeemed them. He bore…
- Jeremiah 33:21 (v22) then may my covenant also be broken with David my servant, that he won’t have a son to reign on his throne; and with the Levites the…
- Ezekiel 20:10-17 (v18) So I caused them to go out of the land of Egypt, and brought them into the wilderness. I gave them my statutes, and showed them my…
- Ezekiel 34:23 (v22) I will set up one shepherd over them, and he will feed them, even my servant David. He will feed them, and he will be their shepherd.
- Amos 5:25-26 (v18) “Did you bring to me sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness forty years, house of Israel? You also carried the tent of your king and…
- Acts 7:2-53 (v17) He said, “Brothers and fathers, listen. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in…
- Acts 7:39-43 (v18) to whom our fathers wouldn’t be obedient, but rejected him, and turned back in their hearts to Egypt, saying to Aaron, ‘Make us gods that…
- Hebrews 3:7-10 (v18) Therefore, even as the Holy Spirit says, “Today if you will hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts, as in the rebellion, like as in the…
- Hebrews 3:16-19 (v18) For who, when they heard, rebelled? Wasn’t it all those who came out of Egypt led by Moses? With whom was he displeased forty years? Wasn’t…
- Genesis 12:1-3 (v17) Now Yahweh said to Abram, “Leave your country, and your relatives, and your father’s house, and go to the land that I will show you. I will…
- Genesis 17:7-8 (v17) I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to…
- Exodus 1:7-9 (v17) The children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and grew exceedingly mighty; and the land was filled with…
- Exodus 6:1-14 (v17) Yahweh said to Moses, “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh, for by a strong hand he shall let them go, and by a strong hand he…
- Exodus 13:14 (v17) It shall be, when your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What is this?’ that you shall tell him, ‘By strength of hand Yahweh brought…
- Exodus 13:16 (v17) It shall be for a sign on your hand, and for symbols between your eyes; for by strength of hand Yahweh brought us out of Egypt.”
- Exodus 15:1-21 (v17) Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to Yahweh, and said, “I will sing to Yahweh, for he has triumphed gloriously. He has…
- Exodus 18:11 (v17) Now I know that Yahweh is greater than all gods because of the way that they treated people arrogantly.”
- Deuteronomy 4:20 (v17) But Yahweh has taken you, and brought you out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to be to him a people of inheritance, as it is today.
- Deuteronomy 4:34 (v17) Or has God tried to go and take a nation for himself from among another nation, by trials, by signs, by wonders, by war, by a mighty hand,…
- Deuteronomy 4:37 (v17) Because he loved your fathers, therefore he chose their offspring after them, and brought you out with his presence, with his great power,…
- Deuteronomy 7:19 (v17) the great trials which your eyes saw, the signs, the wonders, the mighty hand, and the outstretched arm, by which Yahweh your God brought…
- Deuteronomy 9:5 (v17) Not for your righteousness or for the uprightness of your heart do you go in to possess their land; but for the wickedness of these nations…
- Deuteronomy 10:22 (v17) Your fathers went down into Egypt with seventy persons; and now Yahweh your God has made you as the stars of the sky for multitude.
- Deuteronomy 14:2 (v17) For you are a holy people to Yahweh your God, and Yahweh has chosen you to be a people for his own possession, above all peoples who are on…
- Judges 3:10 (v20) Yahweh’s Spirit came on him, and he judged Israel; and he went out to war, and Yahweh delivered Cushan Rishathaim king of Mesopotamia into…
- Ruth 1:1 (v20) In the days when the judges judged, there was a famine in the land. A certain man of Bethlehem Judah went to live in the country of Moab…
- 1 Samuel 4:8 (v17) Woe to us! Who shall deliver us out of the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods that struck the Egyptians with all kinds of…
- 1 Samuel 12:11 (v20) Yahweh sent Jerubbaal, Bedan, Jephthah, and Samuel, and delivered you out of the hand of your enemies on every side; and you lived in…
- 1 Samuel 28:16 (v22) Samuel said, “Why then do you ask me, since Yahweh has departed from you and has become your adversary?
- 2 Samuel 7:11 (v20) and as from the day that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel. I will cause you to rest from all your enemies. Moreover Yahweh…
- 2 Kings 23:22 (v20) Surely there was not kept such a Passover from the days of the judges who judged Israel, nor in all the days of the kings of Israel, nor of…
- 1 Chronicles 17:6 (v20) In all places in which I have walked with all Israel, did I speak a word with any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to be shepherd…
- Nehemiah 9:7-12 (v17) You are Yahweh, the God who chose Abram, brought him out of Ur of the Chaldees, gave him the name of Abraham, found his heart faithful…
- Psalms 77:13-20 (v17) Your way, God, is in the sanctuary. What god is great like God? You are the God who does wonders. You have made your strength known among…
- Psalms 78:12-13 (v17) He did marvelous things in the sight of their fathers, in the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan. He split the sea, and caused them to…
- Psalms 78:42-53 (v17) They didn’t remember his hand, nor the day when he redeemed them from the adversary; how he set his signs in Egypt, his wonders in the…
- Psalms 105:6-12 (v17) you offspring of Abraham, his servant, you children of Jacob, his chosen ones. He is Yahweh, our God. His judgments are in all the earth.…
- Psalms 105:26-39 (v17) He sent Moses, his servant, and Aaron, whom he had chosen. They performed miracles among them, and wonders in the land of Ham. He sent…
- Psalms 105:42-43 (v17) For he remembered his holy word, and Abraham, his servant. He brought his people out with joy, his chosen with singing.
100 distinct cross-references across this passage (116 total citations).
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv17, 18, 20, 21, 22 17. The God of this people. This preface did…
17. The God of this people. This preface did witness that Paul did go about no new thing, which might lead away the people from the law of Moses. There is but one God, who is God of all nations; but he calleth him God of that people, to whom he had bound himself, and who was worshipped amongst the posterity of Abraham, amongst whom alone true and pure religion was to be found. To the same end tendeth that which is added immediately, He chose our fathers. For he testifieth by these words that he seeketh nothing less than that they may fall away from the true and living God, who hath separated them from the residue of the world. Neither do I doubt but that he did more manifestly express that he did not preach to them an unknown or strange God, but the same who revealed himself long ago to their fathers; so that he doth briefly comprehend the sound knowledge of God, grounded in the law, that their faith, conceived out of the law and prophets, may continue firm.
Notwithstanding, he doth, in the mean season, commend and set forth the free love of God toward that people. For how came it to pass that only the children of Abraham were the Church and inheritance of God, save only because it pleased God to dissever them from other nations? For there was no worthiness to distinguish them; but the difference began at the love of God, wherewith he did freely love Abraham.
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Of this free love of God, Moses doth oftentimes put the Jews to mind, as Deuteronomy 4:7, 8, 10, 14, 32, 34, and in other places; wherein God did set before us a mirror of his wonderful counsel, in that finding no excellence in Abraham, an obscure person and miserable idolater, he doth, notwithstanding, prefer him before all the world. Furthermore, this election was common to all the people, as was also circumcision, whereby God did adopt to himself the seed of Abraham; but there was also a more hidden election, whereby severing to himself a few of many children of Abraham, he did declare, that not all who came of the seed of Abraham according to the flesh are reckoned in the spiritual stock.
He did drive out a people. Paul teacheth that all those benefits which God bestowed afterwards upon the Jews, did proceed and flow from that free favor which he did bear toward their fathers. For this was the cause that they were delivered by the wonderful power of God, and brought by his hand into the possession of the land of Canaan, after that he had driven out so many nations for their sake. For it is no small matter for the land to be deprived of her inhabitants, that she might receive strangers. This is the fountain and root of all good things whereunto Paul calleth us, that God chose the fathers. This was the reason and cause which moved God to so great patience, that he would not cast off that rebellious people, who should otherwise have destroyed themselves a thousand times with their own wickedness. Therefore, where the Scripture maketh mention that their sins were pardoned, it saith that God remembered his covenant. He saith that they were exalted, though they were strangers, that they may remember how worthy and gorgeous their deliverance was.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv17, 20, 21 Advanced and brought to honor.
Advanced and brought to honor.
Openly and with [much] force, breaking in pieces the enemies of his people.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv17–22 17 The God of this people of Israel chose…
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 high arm brought he them out of it.
Ver. 17. Chose our fathers] Separating them by a wonderful separation, as the Hebrew word signifieth, Exo 33:16.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv17–22 The God of this people of Israel; God was…
The God of this people of Israel; God was the God of Israel after a peculiar manner.
Chose our fathers; having chosen them before all nations, to make him known unto them, to be served and worshipped by them.
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And exalted the people; and God exalted them in the time of Joseph, and whilst the memory of that great preservation wrought by his means did continue, till another king arose that knew not Joseph.
An high arm; the many miracles done by the power of God towards the Israelites’ deliverance out of Egypt. By which the apostle would have them remember, that they owed all which they challenged from their progenitors to the grace and blessing of God only, and that God may do with his own as he please.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv17–22 The God of this people of Israel chose our…
The God of this people of Israel chose our fathers,.... Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and their seed after them, to be a peculiar people to himself; wherefore he is often, as here, styled their God, and whom he distinguished and blessed with many blessings, civil and religious, above all people upon the face of the earth. The apostle seems particularly to address himself to the Gentiles, the inhabitants of Antioch, and the proselytes of righteousness, now in the synagogue, Act 13:42 and, as it were, with his finger pointed to the native Jews present, the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, a part of the people whose God the Lord was:
and exalted the people when they dwelt as strangers in the land of Egypt as they did for many years, and as the Lord foretold to Abraham they should, Gen 15:13 This refers either to the great honour and dignity Joseph was advanced unto, and to the favours and privileges bestowed on Jacob and his family at the first of their sojourning in that land; or to the great increase of their posterity towards the close of it, even when they were the most oppressed and afflicted.
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And with an high arm he brought them out of it out of the land of Egypt, and out of their oppression in it; which was owing to, and was a wonderful display of his mighty power and great strength here expressed by an "high arm" for nothing short of that could have wrought deliverance for them.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv17, 18, 19, 21, 22 The God - By such a commemoration of God's…
The God - By such a commemoration of God's favours to their fathers, at once their minds were conciliated to the speaker, they were convinced of their duty to God, and invited to believe his promise, and the accomplishment of it. The six verses 17-22, contain the whole sum of the Old Testament. Of this people - Paul here chiefly addresses himself to those whom he styles, Ye that fear God: he speaks of Israel first; and ver. 26, speaks more directly to the Israelites themselves. Chose - And this exalted the people; not any merit or goodness of their own, Ezek. xx, 5. Our fathers - Abraham and his posterity. Isaiah i, 2.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv17–22 Verse 17. The God of - our fathers] The…
Verse 17. The God of - our fathers] The apostle begins his discourse with the Egyptian bondage, and their deliverance from it, as points the most remarkable and striking in their history; in which the providence and mighty power of God, exerted so frequently in their behalf, were peculiarly conspicuous.
Exalted the people] Even when they were strangers in the land, and greatly oppressed, God exalted them; made them a terror to their enemies, and multiplied them greatly.
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With a high arm] A literal translation of the Hebrew phrase, בזרוע רמה bezeroa ramah, with a lifted-up arm, to protect them and destroy their enemies. The meaning of the phrase is, a manifest display of the Divine power.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv17, 19, 21 Act 13:17-18. The God of this people, &c. —…
Act 13:17-18. The God of this people, &c. — Such a commemoration of God’s favours to their fathers, as he here gives, was at once calculated to conciliate their minds to the speaker, to convince them of their duty to God, and to invite them to believe his promise and its accomplishment. This paragraph contains the whole sum of the Old Testament. See the passages referred to in the margin, and the notes thereon. Chose our fathers — Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to be the objects of his special favour, and for their sakes was pleased to promise most important blessings to their offspring; and exalted the people — Wrought astonishing miracles in their behalf, and raised them from the state of bondage and depression in which they lay prostrate in Egypt; and with a high arm — With an evident and most extraordinary display of uncontrollable and almighty power; brought them out of it — In spite of all the efforts of Pharaoh and his host to detain them in slavery. And forty years suffered he their manners — Greek, ετροποφορησεν, he endured their behaviour; by which expression the apostle gives an oblique intimation of that perverseness and ingratitude which so early began to prevail among them. But, according to the Alexandrian and Cambridge manuscripts, and the Syriac, Arabic, Coptic, and Ethiopic versions, the genuine reading is, ετροφοφορησεν, he nursed, or cherished them: a sense which suggests a fine view of the conduct of Divine Providence toward them; and, as Dr. Hammond observes, is beautifully connected with the expression of taking them up, when they lay like an exposed infant. See Deu 1:31; Eze 16:4-8. The common reading, however, accords better with Psa 96:8-10; Heb 3:8-11, and a variety of other passages of Scripture, where the perverse and ungrateful behaviour of the Israelites toward God, and his great patience with them, are represented as being so extraordinary as to deserve peculiar attention; and therefore, it seems, that reading ought to be preferred; as also, because it is supported by a much greater number of manuscripts and versions.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv17–22 The God of this people - Who has manifested…
The God of this people - Who has manifested himself as the special friend and protector of this nation. This implied a belief that he had been particularly their God; a favorite doctrine of the Jews, and one that would conciliate their favor toward Paul.
Of Israel - The Jews.
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Chose our fathers - Selected the nation to be a chosen and special people to himself, Deu 7:6-7.
And exalted the people - Raised them up from a low and depressed state of bondage, to freedom, and to special privileges as a nation.
When they dwelt as strangers in the land of Egypt - ἐν τῇ παροικίᾳ en tē paroikia. This properly refers to their dwelling there as foreigners. They were always strangers there in a strange land. It was not their home. They never mingled with the people; never became constituent parts of the government; never used their language; never united with their usages and laws. They were a strange, separate, depressed people there; not less so than Africans are strangers and foreigners a depressed and degraded people in this land (America), Gen 36:7; Exo 6:4; Exo 22:21; Exo 23:9; Lev 19:34; Deu 10:19.
And with an high arm - This expression denotes “great power.” The arm denotes “strength,” as that by which we perform anything. A high arm, an arm lifted up, or stretched out, denotes that “strength exerted to the utmost.” The children of Israel are represented as having been delivered with an “outstretched arm,” Deu 26:8; Exo 6:6. “With a strong hand,” Exo 6:1. Reference is made in these places to the plagues inflicted on Egypt, by which the Israelites were delivered; to their passage through the Red Sea; to their victories over their enemies, etc.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv19–20 These seven nations are the Chanaanites, the Hethites, the…
These seven nations are the Chanaanites, the Hethites, the Hevites, the Pherezites, the Gergesites, and the Jebusites, and the Amorrhites. (Josue iii. 10. and elsewhere)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv18, 20, 21, 22 forty years suffered he their manners--rather, according to what…
forty years suffered he their manners--rather, according to what appears the true reading, "cherished he them" (as a nurse the infant in her bosom).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv17–22 17. Chose our fathers—These words send the thoughts back…
17. Chose our fathers—These words send the thoughts back to the dim beginning at the call of Abraham.
Exalted the people—Namely, exalted Israel, even in her slavery, over despotic Egypt, by inflicting plagues on the despots withheld from the bondsmen.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv17, 18, 19, 21, 22 17. The God of this people of Israel chose…
17. The God of this people of Israel chose our fathers] He commends his words to their hearing by dwelling on the historic facts of their national life as God’s chosen people.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv17–22 (17) The God of this people of Israel.—It will…
(17) The God of this people of Israel.—It will be observed that St. Paul, as far as the plan of his discourse is concerned, follows in the footsteps of St. Stephen, and begins by a recapitulation of the main facts of the history of Israel. It was a theme which Israelites were never tired of listening to. It showed that the Apostles recognised it as the history of God’s chosen people.
And exalted the people when they dwelt as strangers.—Literally, in their sojourning in the land of Egypt. The word for “exalt” is found in the Greek of Isa_1:2, where our version has, “I have nourished and brought up children,” and may fairly be considered as an echo from the lesson that had just been read. It may be noted that it was only in this sense, as increasing rapidly in population, that Israel could be spoken of as “exalted” in the house of bondage.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv17, 18, 19, 21, 22 Israel for of Israel, A.V., sojourned for dwelt as…
Israel for of Israel, A.V., sojourned for dwelt as strangers, A.V.; a for an, A.V.; led he them forth for brought he them out, A.V. The word uywsen, exalted, is thought by some to be borrowed from the LXX wr), Isa_1:2 (ytim) I have brought up" (A.V.), but this is very doubtful, as uJyow is frequently used in the New Testament in the sense of exalting from a low to a high estate. (see Mat_11:23 Mat_23:12; Luk_1:52 Luk_10:15 Luk_14:11; Act_2:33; see too Gen_41:52 (LXX, Cod. Vat.) and Gen_48:19) The resemblance of this exordium to that of Stephen"s speech in Acts 7. must strike every one. The natural conclusion is that that speech made a deep impression upon St. Paul when he heard it at Stephen"s trial. The common purpose in the two speeches is to conciliate and gain the attention of the Jewish hearers by dwelling upon the great events of the history of their fathers, of which they were proud, and claiming for Christians an equal heritage in that history. The speeches diverge in that Stephen sought to show in that history instances of the same stubborn unbelief in their fathers which had led the children to crucify the Lord of glory; but St. Paul rather sought to show how the promises made to their fathers had their fulfillment in that Jesus whom he preached unto them, and how the crucifixion of Christ by the Jerusalem Jews was an exact fulfillment of the Law and the prophets which had just been read to them in the synagogue. In both speeches it is a great point to exhibit Christianity as the true development of Judaism. (comp. Heb_1:1 and throughout)
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv17, 18, 22 The God of this people of Israel chose our…
Act_13:17-41
The God of this people of Israel chose our fathers.
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The hours on the worlds clock
1. Moving slowly forward as the hours of the Eternal God, with whom a thousand years are as one day, and of the long suffering God, whose patience has borne with this perverse world, as it did with Israel for forty years in the wilderness.
2. But unceasingly progressing to the end appointed of God--of the worlds redemption, and the worlds judgment. (K. Gerok.)
The history of the kingdom of God
The history of the world in the light of the gospel transfigured into the history of the kingdom of God.
I. Its place is sketched out before in the eternal counsels of Divine wisdom, power, and love.
II. Its sections of time are stations on the progress of humanity to its destination.
III. Its heroes are the vassals of Christ, and willingly or unwillingly the servants of His kingdom.
IV. Its end is the glorification of God in humanity. (K. Gerok.)
The providence of God in the history of Israel
An encouraging type of the Divine government of mankind.
I. Wherein this providence is recognised.
1. In the history of Israel.
2. In the history of the world.
II. What influence the certainty of this Divine government should have upon us.
1. We should be comforted with the sure confidence that the issue of things will be the best.
2. We should do our part, in order that the Divine plan of salvation may be more and more realised. (Lisco.)
Christ, the worlds Saviour
I. Foretold in the old testament (Act_13:16-25.)
II. Rejected by his people (Act_13:26-29.)
III. Preached as the salvation of believers (Act_13:30-41.)
(Lisco.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain On vv17, 20, 21, 22 17–19. Destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan.…
17–19. Destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan. For their names, see Deut. 7:1.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
William B. Godbey 1900 · Public Domain On v22 22. “Having deposed him,” i. e., King Saul. Why…
22. “Having deposed him,” i. e., King Saul. Why did God depose Saul and cast him away? Because he spared Agag, the king of the Amalekites. Why was this? Because the Amalekites fought against Israel and did their utmost to keep them out of the promised land. See this grand symbolic truth. You must destroy everything that keeps you from sanctification. Agag typifies inbred sin, which must be utterly destroyed. Saul spared Agag and lost the kingdom and his soul, dying a suicide; so if you do not destroy inbred sin in entire sanctification, you will forfeit the kingdom of God, commit spiritual suicide and lose your soul. Why was David a man after God’s own heart? He was not infallible. He fell in case of Uriah, but God wonderfully restored him. “I have found David, the son of Jesse, a man after my own heart, who will do all of my wishes.” Would you be a man after God’s own heart? Then you must do the whole will of God. King David was an exception to all the kings of the earth, in the fact that he did not his own will, but the will of God. David’s throne was unearthly, focalizing in heaven. He was simply the executive of the divine administration, sitting on the throne of the theocracy, ruling as God’s vicegerent. Hence the risen Jesus was crowned David’s Successor (as He is his heir) in heaven when He ascended (Act 2:30), and will be crowned David’s Successor on earth when He comes again (Act 2:35).
William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. W. McGarvey 1914 · Public Domain On vv17–22 17-24. After thus arresting the attention of his hearers,…
17-24. After thus arresting the attention of his hearers, he approaches his main theme, by a rapid glance at some of the most cherished events in Jewish history. (17) " The God of this people Israel chose our fathers, and exalted the people when they dwelt as strangers in the land of Egypt, and with a high hand led them out of it; (18) and about the time of forty years nourished them in the wilderness. (19) And having destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, he gave their land to them as an inheritance. (20) After these things, he gave them judges about four hundred and fifty years, until the prophet Samuel. (21) Then they desired a king, and God gave them Saul, the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, forty years. (22) And having removed him, he raised up to them David for a king, to whom he also gave testimony and said, I have found David, the son of Jesse, a man according to my own heart, who will do all my will. (23) From this man's offspring God has, according to his promise, raised up to Israel a Savior, Jesus; (24) John having preached, before his coming, the immersion of repentance to all the people of Israel. "
This glance at the history of history, from their departure out of Egypt to the reign of David, is a very circuitous method of approaching the announcement of Jesus as a Savior; but, instead of being a defect in the speech, it is one of its chief excellencies. Every speech must be judged with reference to the special character of the audience addressed. The Jews had a glorious history, of which they were justly proud; and any happily expressed allusions to its leading facts always awakened in their hearts the most lively emotions. These incidents furnished the inspiration of their songs, the themes of their orators, the foundation of their national pride, and their comfort in persecution. Whoever, of their own people, appeared most deeply touched by their memories, had the readiest access to their sympathies, and he who would treat them with indifference or contempt, incurred their utmost hatred. Before such an audience, if Paul had abruptly introduced the name and the new doctrine of Jesus, he might have appeared an apostate from the Jewish faith, seeking to supplant it by something entirely new, and would therefore have kindled the resentment of his Jewish hearers at once. But, beginning with a happy reference to the history of the chosen tribes, and the reign of their most glorious king, and catching up the promise made to David, on which their own most cherished hopes were based, he leads them, by almost imperceptible steps, to the favorable consideration of the fulfillment of that promise in the appearance of Jesus as a Savior to Israel. The reference to John, whom all the Jews now accredited as a prophet, served the same purpose, while it designated more specifically the period in which Jesus had first appeared as a Savior.
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The commentators have all noticed the striking similarity between this introduction of Paul's speech and that of Stephen before the Sanhedrim, of which Paul was probably a hearer. But the attentive reader of our comments upon the two speeches will observe that the similarity is merely in the facts referred to, not in the purpose for which the reference is made; Paul's object being merely to favorably introduce his main theme, while Stephen was gathering up a bundle of misdeeds in the history of the fathers, with which to lash the backs of sons who were so wickedly imitating their resistance to the Holy Spirit.
J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On v22 said See, 1Sa 13:14; Psa 89:20.
said See, 1Sa 13:14; Psa 89:20.
See Kingdom note, Zec 12:8; 1Co 15:28; 2Sa 7:8-17.
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(See Scofield "2Sa 7:16").
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv19, 21 General Information:
General Information:
Here the word "he" refers to God.
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General Information:
The words "their land" refer to the land the seven nations had previously occupied.
General Information:
The word "them" refers to the people of Israel. The word "our" refers to Paul and his audience. (See: Inclusive "We")
nations
Here the word "nations" refers to different people groups and not to geographical boundaries.
took place over four hundred and fifty years
"took more than 450 years to accomplish"
until Samuel the prophet
"until the time of the prophet Samuel"
translationWords
nation
Canaan
inherit
judge, judges
Samuel
prophet
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv17, 22 13:17-22 To establish common ground, Paul traced Jewish history…
13:17-22 To establish common ground, Paul traced Jewish history from the Exodus onward, stressing the Jews’ powerful deliverance from Egyptian bondage, the providential occupation of their inheritance in Canaan, the establishment of the monarchy, the removal of Saul, and the special place of David.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.