Bible Strands
Acts 7:16
Their bones were carried back to Shechem and placed in the tomb that Abraham had bought from the sons of Hamor at Shechem for a price he paid in silver.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Stephen addresses the Sanhedrin during his trial, recounting Israel's history as he moves from Jacob's descent into Egypt to the impending fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham (Acts 7:15; Acts 7:17).
The words — The Greek verbs μετετέθησαν (metetethēsan) and ἐτέθησαν (etethēsan) literally mean "were carried over" and "were placed," describing the physical transfer and interment of the patriarchs' remains.
The thread — This burial location at Shechem connects to the plot Jacob purchased for his family (Joshua 24:32) and echoes the earlier patriarchal land acquisitions recorded in Genesis 23:16.
Why it lands — The text explicitly reports the physical handling and burial of the bones, establishing a tangible link between the patriarchs' faith and the promised land. It asks the reader to recognize how God's covenant promises are anchored in historical reality rather than abstract speculation.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
And were carried over into Sychem, and laid in the sepulchre that Abraham bought for a sum of money of the sons of Emmor the father of Sychem.
Cross-references
- Joshua 24:32 And the bones of Joseph, which the Israelites had brought up out of Egypt, were buried at Shechem in the plot of land that Jacob had purchased from the sons of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for a hundred pieces of silver. So it became an inheritance for Joseph’s descendants.
- Genesis 23:16 Abraham agreed to Ephron’s terms and weighed out for him the price he had named in the hearing of the Hittites: four hundred shekels of silver, according to the standard of the merchants.
- Exodus 13:19 Moses took the bones of Joseph with him because Joseph had made the sons of Israel swear a solemn oath when he said, “God will surely attend to you, and then you must carry my bones with you from this place.”
- Genesis 33:9 “I already have plenty, my brother,” Esau replied. “Keep what belongs to you.”
- Genesis 34:2 When Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the region, saw her, he took her and lay with her by force.
- Genesis 49:29 Then Jacob instructed them, “I am about to be gathered to my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite.
- Genesis 50:13 They carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave at Machpelah in the field near Mamre, which Abraham had purchased from Ephron the Hittite as a burial site.
- Genesis 35:19 So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).