King James Version

What Does Acts 7:36 Mean?

“He brought them out, after that he had shewed wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, and in the Red sea, and in the wilderness forty years.”

Context

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.

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.

He brought them out, after that he had shewed wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, and in the Red sea, and in the wilderness forty years.

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; him shall ye hear. like: or, as myself

This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sina, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us:

Read full chapter →

Commentary

Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(36) **After that** **he had shewed wonders and signs.**—The two nouns are joined together, as in Deuteronomy 6:22, Matthew 24:24. The words express different relations, it may be, of the same phenomena, rather than phenomena specifically different;—the first emphasising the wonder which the miracle produces, and therefore answering more strictly to that word; the latter, the fact that the miracle is a token or evidence of something beyond itself. (See also Acts 2:22; Acts 6:8.) **In the Red sea.**—It may be worth while noting that the familiar name comes to us, not from the Hebrew word, which means, literally, *the Weed Sea, *but from the LXX. version, which Stephen, as a Hellenistic Jew, used, and which gave the word *Erythræan, *or red, which had been used by Greek travellers from Herodotus onward. Why the name was given is an unsolved problem. Some have referred it to the colour of the coast; some to that of the sea-weed; some to an attempt to give an etymological translation of its name as the Sea of Edom (Edom, meaning “red,” as in Genesis 25:25; Genesis 36:1); some to a supposed connection with an early settlement of Phœnicians, whose name had, with the Greeks, the same significance.

Charles John Ellicott (1819–1905). Public Domain.

Historical Context

This verse is found in the book of Acts. Understanding the historical and cultural background helps illuminate its meaning for the original audience and for us today.

Theological Significance

Acts 7:36 contributes to our understanding of God's character and His relationship with humanity. Consider how this verse connects to the broader themes of Scripture.