The Meaning of Acts 7:10 Explained

Acts 7:10

KJV: And delivered him out of all his afflictions, and gave him favour and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and he made him governor over Egypt and all his house.

YLT: and did deliver him out of all his tribulations, and gave him favour and wisdom before Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he did set him -- governor over Egypt and all his house.

Darby: and delivered him out of all his tribulations, and gave him favour and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he appointed him chief over Egypt and all his house.

ASV: and delivered him out of all his afflictions, and gave him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh king of Egypt; and he made him governor over Egypt and all his house.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And  delivered  him  out of  all  his  afflictions,  and  gave  him  favour  and  wisdom  in the sight  of Pharaoh  king  of Egypt;  and  he made  him  governor  over  Egypt  and  all  his  house. 

What does Acts 7:10 Mean?

Context Summary

Acts 7:1-13 - Stephen's Defense: God's First Called Ones
There are several touches in this eloquent apology which deserve notice. Acts 7:2 : "The God of glory." This chapter begins and ends with glory. See Acts 7:55. Note that God appeared to Abraham in Ur, before he had come to Haran at the divine bidding. It is interesting to have this discrimination between the different appearances of God to the patriarch. Acts 7:3 : We often have to leave our land before God shows us another. Acts 7:6 : God's promises lighted up the weary bondage of Egypt. Acts 7:10 : It is God that delivers us out of our afflictions and gives us favor with people.
The drift of the whole speech, which must be borne in mind as we read it, is that again and again the Chosen People had rejected their God-sent deliverers and prophets, and had taken their own evil courses. The rejection of the Savior was only a parallel to that of Joseph by his brethren, and that of Moses by the nation. Israel had always been stiffnecked and froward, and ought not history to warn Stephen's hearers against taking a similar attitude towards Jesus of Nazareth? Might not Jesus prove to be as great a blessing in that generation as Joseph or Moses had been in his? The parallel will be complete when Jesus returns in power and glory. [source]

Chapter Summary: Acts 7

1  Stephen, permitted to answer to the accusation of blasphemy,
2  shows that Abraham worshipped God rightly, and how God chose the fathers,
20  before Moses was born, and before the tabernacle and temple were built;
37  that Moses himself witnessed of Christ;
44  and that all outward ceremonies were ordained to last but for a time;
51  reprehending their rebellion, and murdering of Christ, whom the prophets foretold
54  Whereupon they stone Stephen to death,
59  who commends his soul to Jesus, and humbly prays for them

Greek Commentary for Acts 7:10

Delivered him out [εχειλατο αυτον εκ]
First aorist middle indicative of εχαιρεω — exaireō old verb to take out, snatch out. Note repetition of εκ — ek [source]
Pharaoh King of Egypt [Παραω βασιλεως Αιγυπτου]
Pharaoh is not a name, but a title, the Egyptian perāā meaning great house. [source]
Afflictions [θλίψεων]
See on Matthew 13:21. [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Acts 7:10

Acts 28:17 When they were come together [συνελτοντων αυτων]
Genitive absolute again. Paul could not go to the synagogue, as his custom was, being a bound prisoner. So he invited the Jewish leaders to come to his lodging and hear his explanation of his presence in Rome as a prisoner with an appeal to Caesar. He is anxious that they may understand that this appeal was forced upon him by Festus following Felix and lot because he has come to make an attack on the Jewish people. He was sure that false reports had come to Rome. These non-Christian Jews accepted Paul‘s invitation. Nothing against (ουδεν εναντιον — ouden enantion). Adjective here as in Acts 26:9, not preposition as in Acts 7:10; Acts 8:32. From εν — en and αντιος — antios (αντι — anti), face to face. Concessive participle ποιησας — poiēsas as in Acts 28:4 (διασωτεντα — diasōthenta) which see. Yet was I delivered prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans This condensed statement does not explain how he “was delivered,” for in fact the Jews were trying to kill him when Lysias rescued him from the mob (Acts 22:27 -36). The Jews were responsible for his being in the hands of the Romans, though they had hoped to kill him first. [source]
Acts 28:17 Nothing against [ουδεν εναντιον]
Adjective here as in Acts 26:9, not preposition as in Acts 7:10; Acts 8:32. From εν — en and αντιος — antios (αντι — anti), face to face. Concessive participle ποιησας — poiēsas as in Acts 28:4 (διασωτεντα — diasōthenta) which see. [source]
Romans 5:19 Were made [κατεστάθησαν]
See on James 3:6. Used elsewhere by Paul only at Titus 1:5, in the sense of to appoint to office or position. This is its most frequent use in the New Testament. See Matthew 24:25; Acts 6:3; Acts 7:10; Hebrews 5:1, etc. The primary meaning being to set down, it is used in classical Greek of bringing to a place, as a ship to the land, or a man to a place or person; hence to bring before a magistrate (Acts 17:15). From this comes the meaning to set down as, i.e., to declare or show to be; or to constitute, make to be. So 2 Peter 1:8; James 4:4; James 3:6. The exact meaning in this passage is disputed. The following are the principal explanations: 1. Set down in a declarative sense; declared to be. 2. Placed in the category of sinners because of a vital connection with the first tranegressor. 3. Became sinners; were made. This last harmonizes with sinned in Romans 5:12. The disobedience of Adam is thus declared to have been the occasion of the death of all, because it is the occasion of their sin; but the precise nature of this relation is not explained. [source]

What do the individual words in Acts 7:10 mean?

and rescued him out of all the tribulations of him gave him favor wisdom before Pharaoh king of Egypt he appointed ruler over Egypt over all the house
καὶ ἐξείλατο αὐτὸν ἐκ πασῶν τῶν θλίψεων αὐτοῦ ἔδωκεν αὐτῷ χάριν σοφίαν ἐναντίον Φαραὼ βασιλέως Αἰγύπτου κατέστησεν ἡγούμενον ἐπ’ Αἴγυπτον [ἐφ’] ὅλον τὸν οἶκον

ἐξείλατο  rescued 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Middle, 3rd Person Singular
Root: ἐξαιρέω  
Sense: to pluck out, draw out, i.
ἐκ  out  of 
Parse: Preposition
Root: ἐκ 
Sense: out of, from, by, away from.
θλίψεων  tribulations 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Feminine Plural
Root: θλῖψις  
Sense: a pressing, pressing together, pressure.
αὐτοῦ  of  him 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Genitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
Root: αὐτός  
Sense: himself, herself, themselves, itself.
ἔδωκεν  gave 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: διδῶ 
Sense: to give.
χάριν  favor 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Feminine Singular
Root: χάρις  
Sense: grace.
σοφίαν  wisdom 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Feminine Singular
Root: σοφία  
Sense: wisdom, broad and full of intelligence; used of the knowledge of very diverse matters.
ἐναντίον  before 
Parse: Preposition
Root: ἐναντίον  
Sense: over against, opposite.
Φαραὼ  Pharaoh 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root: Φαραώ  
Sense: was a common title of the native kings of Egypt.
βασιλέως  king 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root: βασιλεύς  
Sense: leader of the people, prince, commander, lord of the land, king.
Αἰγύπτου  of  Egypt 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Feminine Singular
Root: Αἴγυπτος  
Sense: a country occupying the northeast angle of Africa.
κατέστησεν  he  appointed 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: καθιστάνω 
Sense: to set, place, put.
ἡγούμενον  ruler 
Parse: Verb, Present Participle Middle or Passive, Accusative Masculine Singular
Root: ἐπιτροπεύω 
Sense: to lead.
ἐπ’  over 
Parse: Preposition
Root: ἐπί  
Sense: upon, on, at, by, before.
Αἴγυπτον  Egypt 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Feminine Singular
Root: Αἴγυπτος  
Sense: a country occupying the northeast angle of Africa.
[ἐφ’]  over 
Parse: Preposition
Root: ἐπί  
Sense: upon, on, at, by, before.
οἶκον  house 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Masculine Singular
Root: οἶκος  
Sense: a house.