Acts 7:1
in Acts 7Then the high priest asked Stephen, “Are these charges true?”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the high priest said, Are these things so?
KJV
Then said the high priest, Are these things so?
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This verse in Acts 7
Commentary
10 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Then said the high priest - See the notes on Mat 2:4. In this case the high priest seems to have presided in the council. Are these things so? - To wit, the charge alleged against him of blasphemy against Moses and the temple, Act 6:13-14.
This site's exposition
Are these things so?
on Acts 7:1-2
The high priest asks only, are these things so, giving Stephen the floor to answer the charge of blasphemy against Moses and the temple. Stephen opens with courtesy, men, brethren, and fathers, hearken, and begins not with a defense but with a recital of Israel's own history, starting with the God of glory who appeared unto our father Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran. The bench notes that a man accused of despising Moses and the fathers chooses to speak of nothing else for the whole of his answer.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
"Then," it proceeds, "said the high-priest, Are these things so?" Observe, the question is put with mildness, that he may effect some great mischief. For this reason Stephen too begins his speech in a tone of gentleness.
"And he said," etc. He shows here, that the promise was made before the Place, before Circumcision, before Sacrifice, before the Temple, and that it was not of their merit that these received either Circumcision or Law, but that the land was the reward of obedience alone. Moreover, that neither on the giving of circumcision does the promise receive its fulfillment. Also, that these were figures, and so was both the leaving his country at God's command - not against the law (for home and country is where God shall lead).
"they saw his face." It even happens that someone who is in a lower rank appears graceful and splendid. Therefore, so that those to whom he was about to speak might be struck dumb by his words, he begins with a facial display, by which …
The Medieval Church1 voice
Then the high priest said. In the Greek text, it is added to Stephen; and then it is appended: "Are these things so?"
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
He was president, and, as such, the mouth of the court, and therefore he saith, "You, the prisoner at the bar, you hear what is sworn against you; what do you say to it?
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
3 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Then said the high priest,....
He applies this to those that prosecuted him, and sat in judgment upon him, sharply reproving them for their wickedness, by which they had brought upon themselves the ruin of their place and nation, and then could not bear to hear of it,
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Are these things so? - Hast thou predicted the destruction of the temple? And hast thou said that Jesus of Nazareth shall change our customs, abolish our religious rites and temple service? Hast thou spoken these blasphemous things against Moses, and against God? Here was some color of justice; for Stephen was permitted to defend himself. And, in order to do this he thought it best to enter into a detail of their history from the commencement of their nation; and thus show how kindly God had dealt with them, and how ungraciously they and their fathers had requited Him. And all this naturally led him to the conclusion, that God could no longer bear with a people the cup of whose iniquity had been long overflowing; and therefore they might expect to find wrath, without mixture of mercy. But how could St. Luke get all this circumstantial account? He might have been present, and heard the whole; or, more probably, he had the account from St. Paul, whose companion he was, and who was certainly present when St. Stephen was judged and stoned, for he was consenting to his death, and kept the clothes of them who stoned him. See Act 7:58; Act 8:1; Act 22:20.
The words behind it
8 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Εἶπεν | eipen | Asked | G2036 → | 925 times |
| δὲ | de | then | G1161 → | 2765 times |
| ὁ | ho | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| ἀρχιερεύς· | archiereus | high priest; | G749 → | 122 times |
| εἰ | ei | whether | G1487 → | 508 times |
| ταῦτα | tauta | these things | G3778 → | 1381 times |
| οὕτως | houtos | so | G3779 → | 208 times |
| ἔχει; | echei | are? | G2192 → | 707 times |
ΕἶπενAsked
eipenG2036 →925 times
δὲthen
deG1161 →2765 times
ὁthe
hoG3588 →19766 times
ἀρχιερεύς·high priest;
archiereusG749 →122 times
εἰwhether
eiG1487 →508 times
ταῦταthese things
tautaG3778 →1381 times
οὕτωςso
houtosG3779 →208 times
ἔχει;are?
echeiG2192 →707 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
About Acts
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Retractions on Acts; John Chrysostom, Homilies on the Acts of the Apostles; John Chrysostom, Homily on Acts 15; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Oecumenius, Commentary on Acts.