The New Testament writers used a variety of literary and grammatical devices to help guide the reader. Some of these devices were intended to attract attention to important information, while others served to push less-important information into the background.
Some were used simply to grab your attention, alerting you that something important or surprising was about to happen.
42 But God turned away and gave them over to worship the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets: • Did you bring to me slain beasts and sacrifices, during the forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?
43 • You took up the tent of Moloch and the star of your god Rephan, Bullet the images that you made to worship • ; and I will send you into exile beyond Babylon.’
44 “Our fathers had the tent of witness in the wilderness, just as he who spoke to Moses directed him to make it, according to the pattern that he had seen.
45 Our fathers in turn brought it in with Joshua when they dispossessed the nations that God drove out before our fathers. So, it was until the days of David, Sentence
46 who found favor in the sight of God Sentence and asked to find a dwelling place for the God of Jacob.
47 But it was Solomon who built a house for him.
Runge, S. E. (2008–2014). The Lexham High Definition New Testament: ESV Edition (Ac 7:42–47). Lexham Press.
Faithlife Study Bible (FSB) is your guide to the ancient world of the Old and New Testaments, with study notes and articles that draw from a wide range of academic research. FSB helps you learn how to think about interpretation methods and issues so that you can gain a deeper understanding of the text.
7:42 God turned away Yahweh allowed the people to continue the path they chose for themselves, giving them over to their idolatry.
host of heaven God had warned the people through Moses that they must not turn away from exclusive devotion to Him and begin worshiping or trusting in heavenly bodies and false deities like all the other nations did (Deut 4:19). The history of the nation proves that they frequently failed to heed His warning (e.g., 2 Kgs 17:16; 21:3; Jer 19:13).
in the book of the prophets This is a reference to the twelve minor prophets (Hosea to Malachi) being transmitted on one scroll, as seen among the Dead Sea Scrolls (circa 250 bc–ad 50).
7:43 tabernacle The religious leaders had accused Stephen—and Jesus—of threatening the temple (Acts 6:13), which was the permanent successor to the tabernacle (or tent) Yahweh had instructed them to build to accompany them in the wilderness (Exod 26; compare Acts 7:44). Stephen reminds them that, by turning to the tabernacles of other gods, Israel has consistently failed to respond in faith to the one true God present in their midst.
Moloch A deity whose worship likely originated in Canaan and involved child sacrifice (Lev 18:21; 20:2–5).
Pagan Deities in the New Testament
| Deity | Reference | Note |
| Moloch | Acts 7:43 | Quotation of Amos 5:25–27 (LXX) |
| Rephan | Acts 7:43 | Quotation of Amos 5:25–27 (LXX) |
| The god called “Great” | Acts 8:10 | — |
| Herod Agrippa I declared a god | Acts 12:22 | — |
| Zeus | Acts 14:11–13 | The people of Lystra mistook Barnabas for Zeus |
| Hermes | Acts 14:11–13 | The people of Lystra mistook Paul for Hermes |
| “An Unknown God” | Acts 17:23 | Paul asserted this is the God of Israel |
| Artemis | Acts 19:23, 27, 28, 34, 35 | There was a large temple dedicated to Artemis in Ephesus |
Pagan Deities in the Old Testament
beyond Babylon Amos 5:27, which Stephen is quoting here, originally read “beyond Damascus,” referring to the Assyrian deportation of the northern kingdom of Israel. In an interpretive move, Stephen refers to an exile “beyond Babylon,” referring to the later deportation of Judah to Babylon. The reference to the exile of Judah may have been more relevant for Stephen’s Jerusalem audience. Both events were brought about by disloyalty to Yahweh.
7:45 when they dispossessed See Josh 6–12.
of David Stephen has described how Yahweh has accomplished His purposes and kept His promises—despite Israel’s failings—through Abraham, Joseph, and Moses. Stephen now introduces David’s role in the history of Israel.
7:46 a habitation Instead of allowing David to build Him a house (the temple), Yahweh told David that He will build David a house, or dynasty. See 2 Sam 7.
7:47 a house Solomon built the temple as a permanent tabernacle where Yahweh’s presence would dwell in a special way among His people (1 Kgs 6; see Acts 7:43 and note).
Barry, J. D., Mangum, D., Brown, D. R., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Ritzema, E., Whitehead, M. M., Grigoni, M. R., & Bomar, D. (2012, 2016). Faithlife Study Bible (Ac 7:43). Lexham Press.
The Lexham Context Commentary: New Testament surveys each book of the New Testament at several levels—Book, Division, Section, Pericope, Paragraph, and Unit—providing contextually appropriate commentary on each level. The reader of the commentary can easily ascertain the contextual importance of any larger section, or pericope, or even a particular verse of Scripture.
7:42 Stephen describes God’s response to Israel’s rejection of Moses and their worship of the idol they constructed (7:41): God abandoned Israel to their idol worship, as the prophets recalled and condemned (7:42; Amos 5:25 LXX).
7:43 This verse is the continuation of the Amos prophecy quoted in 7:42: because Israel made and worshiped images in the wilderness, Yahweh, the prophet recalls, promised to exile them beyond Babylon (7:43; Amos 5:26–27 LXX).
God’s True Tabernacle (7:44–50)
Stephen recounts how God directed Moses to construct the tent of meeting, which the ancestors carried into the land they dispossessed under Joshua’s leadership (7:44–45). King David desired to locate a habitation for Yahweh, but Solomon built it (7:46–47). Yet, Stephen asserts that God does not dwell in human-made houses; God inhabits and creates all space (7:48–49).
7:44 While Israel was worshiping the idol they instructed Aaron to build in the wilderness in Moses’ absence (7:40–43), God instructed Moses (while on Sinai) to construct the tent of meeting according the pattern God revealed to him. This same tabernacle was carried by their ancestors in the wilderness.
7:45 Not only did the ancestors carry the tent of meeting with them in the wilderness (7:44), but under Joshua’s leadership they brought it into the promised land when God expelled the nations; it remained there until David’s reign in Judah.
7:46 Stephen further asserts that David asked God for permission to build a permanent residence for the “house of Jacob” to replace the tent of meeting that the ancestors carried into the promised land and that remained until his reign (7:45).
7:47 Stephen states that although David sought God’s permission to build the house of Jacob (7:46), it was his son Solomon who built a house for Yahweh.
Mangum, D., ed. (2020). Lexham Context Commentary: New Testament (Ac 7:44–50). Lexham Press.
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