Acts 7:35–37

7:35 This same94 Moses they had rejected, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and judge?’95 God sent as both ruler and deliverer96 through the hand of the angel97 who appeared to him in the bush. 7:36 This man led them out, performing wonders and miraculous signs98 in the land of Egypt,99 at100 the Red Sea, and in the wilderness101 for forty years. 7:37 This is the Moses who said to the Israelites,102 ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers.’103

94	sn This same. The reference to “this one” occurs five times in this speech. It is the way the other speeches in Acts refer to Jesus (e.g., Acts 2:23).
95	sn A quotation from Exod 2:14 (see Acts 7:27). God saw Moses very differently than the people of the nation did. The reference to a ruler and a judge suggests that Stephen set up a comparison between Moses and Jesus, but he never finished his speech to make the point. The reader of Acts, however, knowing the other sermons in the book, recognizes that the rejection of Jesus is the counterpoint.
96	tn Or “liberator.” The meaning “liberator” for λυτρωτήν (lutrōtēn) is given in L&N 37.129: “a person who liberates or releases others.”
97	tn Or simply “through the angel.” Here the “hand” could be understood as a figure for the person or the power of the angel himself. The remark about the angel appearing fits the first century Jewish view that God appears to no one (John 1:14–18; Gal 3:19; Deut 33:2 LXX).
98	tn Here the context indicates the miraculous nature of the signs mentioned. sn Performing wonders and miraculous signs. Again Moses acted like Jesus. The phrase appears 9 times in Acts (2:19, 22, 43; 4:30; 5:12; 6:8; 7:36; 14:3; 15:12).
99	tn Or simply “in Egypt.” The phrase “the land of” could be omitted as unnecessary or redundant.
100	tn Grk “and at,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.
101	tn Or “desert.”
102	tn Grk “to the sons of Israel.”
103	sn A quotation from Deut 18:15. This quotation sets up Jesus as the “leader-prophet” like Moses (Acts 3:22; Luke 9:35).