“The patriarchs became jealous of Joseph and sold him into Egypt. Yet God was with him,
Parallel translations
- WEB “The patriarchs, moved with jealousy against Joseph, sold him into Egypt. God was with him,
- KJV And the patriarchs, moved with envy, sold Joseph into Egypt: but God was with him,
- BSB Because the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph, they sold him as a slave into Egypt. But God was with him
- NKJV “And the patriarchs, becoming envious, sold Joseph into Egypt. But God was with him
- NLT “These patriarchs were jealous of their brother Joseph, and they sold him to be a slave in Egypt. But God was with him
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 patriarchs, jealous of Joseph, sold him into Egypt, yet God was with him. God remains faithful even when His own people sin against His chosen.
Overview
Stephen introduces a recurring theme: Israel's forefathers rejected the very ones God favored. Joseph, sold by jealous brothers, prefigures Christ, rejected by His own yet exalted by God. 'God was with him' assures that divine purpose prevails over human betrayal.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Gen 39:2Yahweh was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man. He was in the house of his master the Egyptian.
- Ps 105:17He sent a man before them. Joseph was sold for a slave.
- Isa 43:2When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned, and flame will not scorch you.
- Isa 41:10Don’t you be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you. Yes, I will uphold you with the right hand of my righteousness.
- Gen 45:4Joseph said to his brothers, “Come near to me, please.” They came near. “He said, I am Joseph, your brother, whom you sold into Egypt.
- Gen 39:5From the time that he made him overseer in his house, and over all that he had, Yahweh blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake. Yahweh’s blessing was on all that he had, in the house and in the field.
- Gen 37:18–29They saw him afar off, and before he came near to them, they conspired against him to kill him.
- Matt 27:18For he knew that because of envy they had delivered him up.
- Gen 49:23–24The archers have severely grieved him, shot at him, and persecute him:
- Gen 39:21–23But Yahweh was with Joseph, and showed kindness to him, and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison.
- Gen 37:4–11His brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, and they hated him, and couldn’t speak peaceably to him.
- Gen 50:15–20When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “It may be that Joseph will hate us, and will fully pay us back for all the evil which we did to him.”
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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 7:9 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
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