Acts 7 - Introduction

Acts 7. Speech of Stephen. The speech of Stephen stands after the introduction of the Hellenists, and in the course of the attack on them which led to their persecution and withdrawal from Jerusalem. This explains its tenor. It is an impeachment of the Jews based on their history; they are the true rebels against God and contemners of His will; the true believers in Christ must leave them alone. There are many discrepancies between the speech and the OT narrative, some due to the use of the LXX instead of the Heb., many to the growth of the Haggadah or OT legend in the period after the Exile. Additional difficulty arises from the lack of divisions in the speech, the aim of which is never stated, and which flows on in historical sequence and reveals its point only towards the end.