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Acts 7:40

KJV

Saying unto Aaron, Make us gods to go before us: for as for this Moses, which brought us out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.

Read it in context Moses and Israel's resistance
Start reading at Acts 7:17 (Acts 7:17 to Acts 7:43). An editorial reading unit, not a claim that the surrounding context stops here. Book background below applies to the shared passage; individual verses may need more specific explanation.

The account of Moses emphasizes God's appointment alongside repeated resistance, developing the pattern behind Stephen's answer to his accusers.

  1. 7:17 But when the time of the promise drew nigh, which God had sworn to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt,
  2. 7:18 Till another king arose, which knew not Joseph.
  3. 7:19 The same dealt subtilly with our kindred, and evil entreated our fathers, so that they cast out their young children, to the end they might not live.
  4. 7:20 In which time Moses was born, and was exceeding fair, and nourished up in his father's house three months:
  5. 7:21 And when he was cast out, Pharaoh's daughter took him up, and nourished him for her own son.
  6. 7:22 And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds.
  7. 7:23 And when he was full forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren the children of Israel.
  8. 7:24 And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended him, and avenged him that was oppressed, and smote the Egyptian:
  9. 7:25 For he supposed his brethren would have understood how that God by his hand would deliver them: but they understood not.
  10. 7:26 And the next day he shewed himself unto them as they strove, and would have set them at one again, saying, Sirs, ye are brethren; why do ye wrong one to another?
  11. 7:27 But he that did his neighbour wrong thrust him away, saying, Who made thee a ruler and a judge over us?
  12. 7:28 Wilt thou kill me, as thou diddest the Egyptian yesterday?
  13. 7:29 Then fled Moses at this saying, and was a stranger in the land of Madian, where he begat two sons.
  14. 7:30 And when forty years were expired, there appeared to him in the wilderness of mount Sina an angel of the Lord in a flame of fire in a bush.
  15. 7:31 When Moses saw it, he wondered at the sight: and as he drew near to behold it, the voice of the LORD came unto him,
  16. 7:32 Saying, I am the God of thy fathers, the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Then Moses trembled, and durst not behold.
  17. 7:33 Then said the Lord to him, Put off thy shoes from thy feet: for the place where thou standest is holy ground.
  18. 7:34 I have seen, I have seen the affliction of my people which is in Egypt, and I have heard their groaning, and am come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send thee into Egypt.
  19. 7:35 This Moses whom they refused, saying, Who made thee a ruler and a judge? the same did God send to be a ruler and a deliverer by the hand of the angel which appeared to him in the bush.
  20. 7:36 He brought them out, after that he had shewed wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, and in the Red sea, and in the wilderness forty years.
  21. 7:37 This is that Moses, which said unto the children of Israel, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear.
  22. 7:38 This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sina, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us:
  23. 7:39 To whom our fathers would not obey, but thrust him from them, and in their hearts turned back again into Egypt,
  24. 7:40 Saying unto Aaron, Make us gods to go before us: for as for this Moses, which brought us out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.
  25. 7:41 And they made a calf in those days, and offered sacrifice unto the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their own hands.
  26. 7:42 Then God turned, and gave them up to worship the host of heaven; as it is written in the book of the prophets, O ye house of Israel, have ye offered to me slain beasts and sacrifices by the space of forty years in the wilderness?
  27. 7:43 Yea, ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your god Remphan, figures which ye made to worship them: and I will carry you away beyond Babylon.

Who

What

When

Where

How

Cited: Acts 7:17, Acts 7:43, Acts 1:8, Acts 2:38, Acts 10:44, Acts 10:48, Acts 19:5, Acts 19:6

Who wrote it, and how we know

Luke Named in Scripture
What Scripture saysThe book opens by referring to the author's former treatise to Theophilus, tying it to Luke, and shifts into first-person plural in the travel accounts. Acts 1:1Acts 16:10
Early traditionEarly testimony names Luke.
What is debatedThe name is not in the text.

Related passages

Cross references from CrossReferences-org (CC BY 4.0).

Time covered by Acts

About 30 years
  1. AD 30 or 33Approximate beginning · Acts 1

    The risen Jesus instructs His apostles

    Acts begins after Jesus’ resurrection and describes His ascension.
  2. About AD 62Approximate ending · Acts 28

    Paul teaches while confined in Rome

    The account closes with Paul receiving visitors and teaching during two full years in his rented lodging.
The narrative moves from Jerusalem to Rome over roughly three decades. Chapters do not represent equal amounts of time.
View historical notes and sources
Using a beginning in AD 30 or 33 and an ending around AD 62 gives approximately 29–32 years. These are reconstructed dates for the events, not a date for the writing of Acts. The book does not explicitly total its elapsed years.

Macro-Structure

See how this passage fits the chapter and the book.

Acts 7

Acts addresses Theophilus as a continuation of the earlier account and follows the witnesses empowered by the Holy Ghost. Acts 1:8 supplies an important geographical frame: Jerusalem, Judaea and Samaria, and the uttermost part of the earth. Stephen's speech answers the accusations and council setting introduced in Acts 6.

Acts 1:1 Acts 1:8

Abraham and Joseph
Acts 7:1–16

FocusPromise beyond settled possession

Connection to the wholeStephen begins with God's dealings before Israel possessed the land, establishing a history of promise, movement, and deliverance.
interpretation
Moses and Israel's resistance
Acts 7:17–43 You are here · 7:40

FocusThe rejected deliverer

Connection to the wholeThe account of Moses emphasizes God's appointment alongside repeated resistance, developing the pattern behind Stephen's answer to his accusers.
interpretation
The dwelling place and the charge
Acts 7:44–53

FocusResistance to the Holy Ghost

Connection to the wholeStephen moves from the tabernacle and temple to a direct accusation that his hearers continue the rejection of God's messengers.
interpretation
Stephen's witness unto death
Acts 7:54–60

FocusVision, rejection, and forgiveness

Connection to the wholeThe council's violent response and Stephen's final testimony bring the speech to its climax and introduce Saul into the narrative.
interpretation

Suggested literary divisions. Headings summarize the passage; they are not part of the biblical text.

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