"that of the ten portions of wisdom which came into the world, the Egyptians had nine, and that all the inhabitants of the earth, had only the remaining portion." Much of the same nature may be seen in the Rabbins, though they apply the term wisdom here, to magic.

of his being general of an Egyptian army, defeating the Ethio-
pians who had invaded Egypt, driving them back into their
own country, and taking Saba their capital, which was after-
wards called Meroe. But this, like many other tales of the
same writer, is worthy of little credit.
Verse 23.

Verse 18. Which knew not Joseph.] That is, did not approve of him, of his mode of governing the kingdom, nor Was mighty in words and in deeds.] This may refer to of his people, nor of his God. See the note on Exod. i. 8. the glorious doctrines he taught, and the miracles he wrought in Verse 19. The same dealt subtilly] Ouros xaraσopioa-Egypt. Josephus Ant. lib. ii. cap. x. sect. 1. gives an account Mevos, a word borrowed from the Septuagint, who thus translate the Hebrew na 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. xxvii. 35. thy brother came with subtilty, which the Targumist explains by ɔ be-chokma, with wisdom, that is cunning and deceit. For this the Egyptians were so remarkable, that ayuntiα to egyptize, signified, to act cunningly, and to use wicked devices. Hence the Jews compared them to foxes, and it is of them that Cant. chap. ii. 15. is understood by the Rabbins. Take us the little foxes which spoil our vines; destroy the Egyptians, who having slain our male children, sought to destroy the name of Israel from the face of the earth. To the end they might not live.] Might not grow up and propagate, and thus build up the Hebrew nation.

Verse 20. Moses—was exceeding fair] A58105 Tw ew, was fair to God, i. e. was divinely beautiful. See the note on Exod. ii. 2.

When he was full forty years old] This was a general tradition among the Jews: "Moses was 40 years in Pharaoh's court, 40 years in Midian, and 40 years he served Israel.”

To visit his brethren] Probably on the ground of trying to deliver them from their oppressive bondage. This desire seems to have been early infused into his mind by the Spirit of God: and the effect of this desire to deliver his oppressed countrymen, was his refusing to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter; see Heb. xi. 24. and thus renouncing all right to the Egyptian crown, choosing rather to endure affliction with the people of God, than enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season.

Verse 24.
Exod. ii. 11, 12.

Smote the Egyptian] See this explained,

Verse 22. In all the wisdom of the Egyptians] Who were at that time, the most intelligent and best instructed people in the universe. Philo says, Moses was taught arith- Verse 25. He supposed his brethren would have understood, metic, geometry, poetry, music, medicine, and the knowledge &c.] He probably imagined, that, as he felt from the divine inof hieroglyphics. In Sohar Kadash, fol. 46. it is said,fluence, he was appointed to be their deliverer, they would

And of the deliverance

A. M. cir. 4035.
A. D. cir. 31.

cir. CCIL. 3.

a

26 And the next day he shewed thy shoes from thy feet: for the A. M.cir. 4035. place where thou standest is holy An. Olymp. ground.

An. Olymp. 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?

27 But he that did his neighbour wrong thrust him away, saying, 'Who made thee a ruler and a judge over us?

28 Wilt thou kill me, as thou killedst the Egyptian yesterday?

29 Then fled Moses at this saying, and was a stranger in the land of Madian, where he begat

two sons.

A. D. cir. 31.

cir. CCII. 3.

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.

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.

30 And when forty years were expired, there 36 He brought them out, after that he had appeared to him in the wilderness of mount Sina, ||* shewed wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, 'and in the Red sea, "and in the wilderness forty years.

an angel of the Lord in a flame of fire in a bush. 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,

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.

33

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; Phim shall ye hear.

38 This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him

Then said the Lord to him, Put off in the mount Sina, and with our fathers: who

Verse 26. Unto them as they strove] Two Hebrews. announced that very prophet whom ye have lately put to See on Exod. ii. 13, &c.

Verse 30. In a flame of fire in a bush.] See this and the following verses largely explained in the notes on Exod. iii.

1-8.

Verse 36. He brought them out, after that he had shewed wonders, &c.] Thus the very person whom they had rejected, and in effect, delivered up into the hands of Pharaoh that he might be slain; was the person alone, by whom they were redeemed from their Egyptian bondage. And does not St. Stephen plainly say by this, that the very person Jesus Christ, whom they had rejected and delivered up into the hands of Pilate to be crucified, was the person alone, by whom they could be delivered out of their spiritual bondage,

death. See the observations at the end of Deut. xviii.

Verse 38. With the angel which spake to him] Stephen shews that Moses received the law by the ministry of angels; and that he was only a mediator between the angel of God and them.

The lively oracles] Aoyia (wyra, the living oracles. The doctrines of life, those doctrines, obedience to which entitled them, by the promise of God, to a long life upon earth, which spoke to them of that spiritual life which every true believer has in union with his God: and promised that eternal life which those who are faithful unto death, shall enjoy with him in the realms of glory.

The Greek word λoyov, which we-translate oracle, signifies

Stephen relates also the

A. D. cir. 31.

Au. Olymp. cir. CCII. 3.

unto us:

a

THE ACTS.

39 To whom our fathers would not obey, but thrust him from them, and in their hearts turned back again into Egypt,

idolatry of the Israelites:

A. D. cir. 31.

A. M.cir.4035. received the lively oracles to give in the works of their own hands. A. M.cir. 4035. 42 Then God turned, and gave An. Olymp. them up to worship the host of hea- cir. CCII. 3. ven; 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?

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.

a divine revelation, a communication from God himself, and is here applied to the Mosaic law; to the Old Testament in general, Rom. iii. 2. Heb. v. 12. and to divine revelation in general, 1 Pet. iv. 11.

Verse 39. In their hearts turned back again into Egypt] Became idolaters, and preferred their Egyptian bondage and their idolatry to the promised land, and the pure worship of God. See the whole of these transactions explained at large in the notes on Exod. xxxii.

Verse 42. Then God turned, and gave them up, &c.] He left them to themselves, and then they deified and worshipped the sun, moon, planets, and principal stars.

In the book of the prophets] As this quotation is found in Amos chap. v. 25. by the book of the prophets, is meant the twelve minor prophets; which in the ancient Jewish division of the sacred writings, formed only one book.

Have ye offered to me slain beasts] It is certain, that the Israelites did offer various sacrifices to God, while in the wilderness and it is as certain, that they scarcely ever did it with an upright heart. They were idolatrous either in heart or act, in almost all their religious services, these were therefore so very imperfect, that they were counted for nothing in the sight of God; for this seems to be strongly implied in the || question here asked, have ye offered to ME (exclusively and with an upright heart,) slain beasts and sacrifices by the space of forty years? on the contrary, these forty years were little else than a tissue of rebellion and idolatry.

f

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.

* Deut. 4. 19. & 17. 3. 2 Kings 17. 16. & 21. 3. Jer. 19. 13. Amos 5. 25, 26.

up the tabernacle of your MOLEK), as some have done. The place is indeed very obscure, and the two texts do not tend to cast light on each other. The Rabbins say sikuth, which we translate tabernacle, is the name of an idol. Molech is generally understood to mean the sun; and several persons of good judgment, think that by Remphan or Raiphan is meant the planet Saturn, which the Copts call Pyoav Rephan. It will be seen above that instead of Remphan, or as some of the best MSS. have it Rephan, the Hebrew text has prɔ Chiun, which might possibly be a corruption of 15" Reiphan, as it would be very easy to mistake the caph for resh, and the vau shurek for pe. This emendation would bring the Hebrew, Septuagint, and the text of Luke, nearer together; but there is no authority either from MSS. or Versions for this correction: however, as Chiun is mentioned in no other place, though Molech often occurs, it is the more likely that there might have been some very early mistake in the text; and that the Septuagint has preserved the true reading.

It was customary for the idolaters of all nations to carry images of their gods about them in their journies, military expeditions, &c. and these being very small, were enclosed in little boxes, perhaps some of them in the shape of temples, called tabernacles; or as we have it. Acts xix. 24. shrines. These little gods were the penates and lares among the Romans; and the telesms or talismans among the ancient eastern idolaters. The Hebrew text seems to refer to these when it Verse 43. Ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star says, the tabernacle of your Molech, and Chiun your images, of your god Remphan, figures which ye made to worship on tsalmeycem, your telesms, TOUS TUTOS, the types or sithem.] This is a literal translation of the place, as it stands mulachres of your gods. See the note on Gen. xxxi. 19. in the Septuagint: but in the Hebrew text it stands thus: Many of those small portable images are now in my own colye have borne the tabernacle of your Moloch, and Chiunlection, all of copper or brass; some of them the identical your images, the star of your god which ye made to your-penates of the ancient Romans; and others the offspring of selves. This is the simple version of the place, unless we the Hindoo idolatry; they are from an ounce weight to half a pound. Such images as these, I suppose the idolatrous Ismalkekem, ye took SIKUTH your king, (instead of ye took || raelites, in imitation of their neighbours, the Moabites, Am

but

venasutem eth Sicuth ונשאתם את סכות מלככס should translate

Mentions likewise the building of

A. M.cir.4035

A. D. cir. 31.
An. Olymp.

44

A. D. cir. 31.
An. Olymp.

Our fathers had the taberna- | sired to find a tabernacle for the God A. M.cir.4035. cle of witness in the wilderness, as he of Jacob. cir. CC11. 3. had appointed, "speaking unto Moses, that he should make it according to the fashion that he had seen.

b

47 But Solomon built him a house. cir. CCII. 3. 48 Howbeit, 'the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet,

k

49 Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool: what house will ye build me? saith the Lord: or what is the place of my de- || rest?

monites, &c. to have carried about with them: and to such in heart. Thus he proves that neither tabernacle nor temple the prophet appears to me, unquestionably to allude.

I will carry you away beyond Babylon.] You have carried your idolatrous images about; and I will carry you into captivity, and see if the gods in whom ye have trusted can deliver you from my hands. Instead of beyond Babylon, Amos, from whom the quotation is made, says, I will carry you be- || yond Damascus. Where they were carried, was into Assyria and Media; see 2 Kings xvii. 6. now this was not only beyond Damascus, but beyond Babylon itself; and as Stephen knew this to be the fact, he states it here, and thus more precisely fixes the place of their captivity. The Holy Spirit in his farther revelations, has undoubted right to extend or illustrate those which he had given before. This case frequently occurs, when a former prophecy is quoted in later

times.

as

Verse 44. Our fathers had the tabernacle of witness in the wilderness] That is, the tabernacle in which the two tables of stone written by the finger of God were laid up, a testimony that he had delivered these laws to the people; and that they had promised to obey them. As one great design of St. Stephen was to shew the Jews that they placed too much dependence on outward privileges; and had not used the law, the tabernacle, the temple, nor the temple-service, for the purpose of their institution; he labours to bring them to a due sense of this, that conviction might lead to repentance and conversion. And he farther shews, that God did not confine his worship to one place, or form. He was worshipped without any shrine, in the times of the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, &c. He was worshipped with a tabernacle, or portable temple in the wilderness. He was worshipped also in the fixed temple projected by David, but built by Solomon: he asserts farther that his infinite majesty cannot be confined to temples made by human hands; and where there is neither tabernacle nor temple, (in any part of his vast dominions,) he may be worshipped acceptably by the upright

are essentially requisite for the true worship of the true God. Concerning the tabernacle to which St. Stephen here refers, the Reader is requested to consult the notes on Exod. xxv. 8, &c. and the subsequent chapters.

Speaking unto Moses] O λaλwv who spake, as in the margin; signifying the angel of God who spake to Moses, or God himself. See Exod. xxv. 40. Verse 45. Brought in with Jesus] That is, with JOSHUA, whom the Greek version, quoted by St. Stephen, always writes Inoous JESUS; but which should constantly be written Joshua in such cases as the present, in order to avoid ambiguity and confusion.

Possession of the Gentiles] Twy s0vwv of the heathens, whom Joshua conquered, and gave their land to the children of Israel.

Verse 46. Desired to find a tabernacle] This was in David's heart, and it met with the divine approbation. See 2 Sam. vii. 2, &c. and see the purpose, Psal. cxxxii. 2—5. but as David had been a man of war, and had shed much blood, God would not permit him to build the temple; but he laid the plan and made provision for it, and Solomon executed the design.

Verse 48. The Most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands] Here St. Stephen evidently refers to Solomon's speech, 1 Kings viii. 27. But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, the heaven, and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee, how much less this house that I have builded? Both Solomon and St. Stephen mean, that the majesty of God could not be contained, not even in the whole vortex of nature; much less in any temple which human hands could erect. As saith the prophet] The place referred to, is Isai. lxvi. 1, 2. Thus saith the Lord, the heaven is my throne, and the earth my footstool. Where is the house that ye build unto me? And where is the place of my rest, &c. with which the quotation by Stephen, agrees.

50 Hath not my hand made all these || cised in heart and ears, ye do always A.M.cir.9035.
resist the Holy Ghost: as your fa-
51 Ye stiff-necked and uncircum- thers did, so do ye.

"1. Uncircumcision of the EAR. Behold their EAR is uncir- tain quantum of the vis inertiæ, possessed by the subject, on cumcised, and they cannot hearken, Jer. vi. 10.