Bible Strands
Acts 7:17
As the time drew near for God to fulfill His promise to Abraham, our people in Egypt increased greatly in number.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Stephen addresses the Jewish council, shifting his historical recount from the patriarchs' burial in Shechem to the Egyptian sojourn. He marks the narrative pivot where God’s promised fulfillment begins to manifest in Israel’s history.
The words — ἤγγιζεν (ēngizen) means “was drawing near” and χρόνος (chronos) means “time,” together describing an approaching deadline. ἐπαγγελίας (epangelias) translates literally as “promise,” specifying the exact commitment awaiting fulfillment.
The thread — The demographic surge mirrors Exodus 1:7, which records Israel’s rapid multiplication in Egypt. The unfulfilled prophecy appears in Genesis 15:13, while Psalms 105:24 confirms the Lord’s direct action in multiplying His people beyond their foes.
Why it lands — The text states that population growth coincided with God’s appointed moment to fulfill His word to Abraham. It requires the reader to observe how historical expansion serves divine commitment rather than human strategy.
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
But when the time of the promise drew nigh, which God had sworn to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt,
Cross-references
- Exodus 1:7 but the Israelites were fruitful and increased rapidly; they multiplied and became exceedingly numerous, so that the land was filled with them.
- Genesis 15:13 Then the LORD said to Abram, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years.
- Psalms 105:24 And the LORD made His people very fruitful, more numerous than their foes,
- Acts 7:6 God told him that his descendants would be foreigners in a strange land, and that they would be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years.
- Acts 13:17 The God of the people of Israel chose our fathers. He made them into a great people during their stay in Egypt, and with an uplifted arm He led them out of that land.
- Exodus 1:20 So God was good to the midwives, and the people multiplied and became even more numerous.
- 2 Peter 3:8 Beloved, do not let this one thing escape your notice: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.