Bible Strands
Acts 7:4
So Abraham left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. After his father died, God brought him out of that place and into this land where you are now living.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Stephen addresses the Sanhedrin, recounting Israel’s patriarchal history to explain the rejection of Jesus. He states that Abraham departed Ur of the Chaldeans, settled in Haran, and was subsequently relocated to Canaan after his father’s death.
The words — The Greek participle ἐξελθὼν (exelthōn) means “having gone out,” marking Abraham’s completed departure from the land of the Chaldeans (γῆς Χαλδαίων). The verb κατῴκησεν (katōkēsen) denotes his settled residence in Haran before the next divine movement.
The thread — This migration sequence is recorded in Genesis 11:31, where Terah initiates the journey, and Genesis 12:4, where Abram obeys the call to leave. Stephen’s summary compresses the timeline to emphasize that God orchestrates the relocation.
Why it lands — The text requires readers to acknowledge that divine promises advance through specific, timed movements rather than human initiative. It demands obedience to God’s direction even when the promised inheritance remains unsecured.
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
Then came he out of the land of the Chaldeans, and dwelt in Charran: and from thence, when his father was dead, he removed him into this land, wherein ye now dwell.
Cross-references
- Genesis 12:4 So Abram departed, as the LORD had directed him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran.
- Genesis 11:31 And Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai the wife of Abram, and they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans for the land of Canaan. But when they arrived in Haran, they settled there.
- Isaiah 41:2 Who has aroused one from the east and called him to his feet in righteousness? He hands nations over to him and subdues kings before him. He turns them to dust with his sword, to windblown chaff with his bow.
- Isaiah 41:9 I brought you from the ends of the earth and called you from its farthest corners. I said, ‘You are My servant.’ I have chosen and not rejected you.