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And our fathers who received it brought it in with Joshua when they dispossessed the nations God drove out before them. It remained until the time of David,
Acts 7:45 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB which also our fathers, in their turn, brought in with Joshua when they entered into the possession of the nations, whom God drove out before the face of our fathers, to the days of David,
  • KJV Which also our fathers that came after brought in with Jesus into the possession of the Gentiles, whom God drave out before the face of our fathers, unto the days of David;
  • NKJV which our fathers, having received it in turn, also brought with Joshua into the land possessed by the Gentiles, whom God drove out before the face of our fathers until the days of David,
  • NASB Our fathers in turn received it, and they also brought it in with Joshua upon dispossessing the nations that God drove out from our fathers, until the time of David.
  • NLT Years later, when Joshua led our ancestors in battle against the nations that God drove out of this land, the Tabernacle was taken with them into their new territory. And it stayed there until the time of King David.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

The next generation brought the tabernacle into the Promised Land under Joshua, where it remained until David. God's dwelling accompanied His people through the conquest and settlement.

Overview

Stephen traces the tabernacle from the wilderness, into Canaan under Joshua as God drove out the nations, down to David's time (Joshua 3; 18:1). This shows that God's presence was not tied to a fixed place but moved with His people. The history sets up the contrast between a tent and the later temple.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 18

  • Ps 44:2With Your hand You drove out the nations and planted our fathers there; You crushed the peoples and cast them out.
  • Josh 18:1Then the whole congregation of Israel assembled at Shiloh and set up the Tent of Meeting there. And though the land was subdued before them,
  • Josh 23:9The LORD has driven out great and powerful nations before you, and to this day no one can stand against you.
  • Josh 24:18And the LORD drove out before us all the nations, including the Amorites who lived in the land. We too will serve the LORD, because He is our God!”
  • Josh 3:11–17Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth will go ahead of you into the Jordan.
  • 1 Sam 4:4So the people sent men to Shiloh, and they brought back the ark of the covenant of the LORD of Hosts, who sits enthroned between the cherubim. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.
  • 1 Chr 16:39And David left Zadok the priest and his fellow priests before the tabernacle of the LORD at the high place in Gibeon
  • Neh 9:24So their descendants went in and possessed the land; You subdued before them the Canaanites dwelling in the land. You delivered into their hands the kings and peoples of the land, to do with them as they wished.
  • Judg 18:31So they set up for themselves Micah’s graven image, and it was there the whole time the house of God was in Shiloh.
  • 1 Kgs 8:4and they brought up the ark of the LORD and the Tent of Meeting with all its sacred furnishings. So the priests and Levites carried them up.
  • Acts 13:19And having vanquished seven nations in Canaan, He gave their land to His people as an inheritance.
  • Josh 3:6–7And he said to the priests, “Take the ark of the covenant and go on ahead of the people.” So they carried the ark of the covenant and went ahead of them.
  • Heb 4:8For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day.
  • 2 Sam 6:1–23David again assembled the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand in all.
  • Deut 32:49“Go up into the Abarim Range to Mount Nebo, in the land of Moab across from Jericho, and view the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites as their own possession.
  • Ps 78:55He drove out nations before them and apportioned their inheritance; He settled the tribes of Israel in their tents.
  • 1 Chr 15:1–17David constructed buildings for himself in the City of David, and he prepared a place for the ark of God and pitched a tent for it.
  • 1 Chr 21:29For the tabernacle of the LORD that Moses had made in the wilderness and the altar of burnt offering were presently at the high place in Gibeon,

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Acts videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Acts 7:45YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on ActsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Acts is the risen Christ continuing his work by the Spirit through the church, as the apostles preach that there is salvation in no other name under heaven.

How Acts 7:45 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.