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Acts 7:4

in Acts 7

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.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

Then came he out of the land of the Chaldæans, and dwelt in Haran: and from thence, when his father was dead, God removed him into this land, wherein ye now dwell:

KJV

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.

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This verse in Acts 7

Commentary

12 notes on this verse
Land of the Chaldeans - From Ur of the Chaldees, Gen 11:31. When his father was dead - This passage has given rise to no small difficulty in the interpretation. The difficulty is this: From Gen 11:26, it would seem that Abraham was born when Terah was 70 years of age. “And Terah lived seventy years, and begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran.” From Gen 12:4, it seems that Abraham was 75 years of age when he departed from Haran to Canaan. The age of Terah was therefore but 145 years.

This site's exposition

and told him

on Acts 7:3-4

Stephen places God's call before the move to Haran, and says Abraham left Haran after his father died. The speech's concern is a promise held by a landless sojourner.

This site's exposition

After his father died

Barnes sets out a known difficulty from Genesis 11:26 and 12:4. Terah was only 145 when Abraham left Haran, though Stephen says his father had already died. Jamieson, Fausset & Brown answer that Stephen dates the settlement in Canaan from a dealing between God and Abraham alone.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers3 voices

A commentator

John Chrysostom

Homily on Acts 15 · Written before 407.

proposed

"Then came he out," it says, of the land of the Chaldeans: and that if one look closely into the matter, the Jews are of Persian origin: and that, without miracles, one must do as God bids, whatever hardships be the consequence; since the Patriarch left both the grave of his father and all that he had, in obedience to God's command. But if Abraham's father was not allowed to take part with him in the privilege of migrating to Palestine, because he was unworthy: much more shall the children be excluded at last, for all that they may have gone a good distance on the way.

A commentator

Oecumenius

Commentary on Acts · Written before 550.

proposed

In another way. See how he leads them away from bodily things, and meanwhile from place, attributing glory to God, not to place. For he himself is the source of glory, not in need of the glory which is by us through the temple. But …

A commentator

John Chrysostom

Homily on Acts 15 · Written before 407.

proposed

"Then came he out of the land of the Chaldaeans, and dwelt in Charran: and from thence, when his father was dead, He removed him into this land, wherein ye now dwell." See how he raises their thoughts away from their possession of the land. For if He said that He will give: clearly all came from Him, and nothing from themselves. For he came, having left both kindred and country. Wherefore then did He not give it to him? Truly it was a figure of another land.

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

31 ), and thence five years after, when his father was dead, he removed him into the land of Canaan, wherein you now dwell. It should seem, the first time that God spoke to Abraham, he appeared in some visible display of the divine presence, as the God of glory (

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-citation-number

Then came he out of the land of the Chaldeans,....
4 more voices on this verse

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

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 Century3 voices

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

It is the glory of absolutely free grace. appeared unto our father Abraham before he dwelt in Charran, and said, &c.--Though this first call is not expressly recorded in Genesis, it is clearly implied in Ge 15:7 and Ne 9:7; and the Jewish writers speak the same language.

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

when his father was dead, he removed into this land--Though Abraham was in Canaan before Terah's death, his settlement in it as the land of promise is here said to be after it, as being in no way dependent on the family movement, but a transaction purely between Jehovah and Abraham himself.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

When his father was dead - See the note on Gen 11:26.

The words behind it

26 Greek words

Every 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.

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

11 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Genesis 12:4–5So Abram departed, as the LORD had directed him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran.7 worksGenesis 11:31–32And 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.3 worksGenesis 12:5And Abram took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all the possessions and people they had acquired in Haran, and set out for the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan,3 worksGenesis 29:4“My brothers,” Jacob asked the shepherds, “where are you from?” “We are from Haran,” they answered.3 worksIsaiah 41:9I 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.2 worksIsaiah 41:2Who 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.2 works
The other 5 cross-references, with their words ▾
Ezekiel 27:23Haran, Canneh, and Eden traded with you, and so did the merchants of Sheba, Asshur, and Chilmad.2 works2 Kings 19:12Did the gods of the nations destroyed by my fathers rescue those nations—the gods of Gozan, Haran, and Rezeph, and of the people of Eden in Telassar?2 worksJeremiah 50:1This is the word that the LORD spoke through Jeremiah the prophet concerning Babylon and the land of the Chaldeans:2 worksIsaiah 23:13Look at the land of the Chaldeans—a people now of no account. The Assyrians destined it for the desert creatures; they set up their siege towers and stripped its palaces. They brought it to ruin.2 worksEzekiel 23:23the Babylonians and all the Chaldeans, the men of Pekod, Shoa, and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them—all desirable young men, governors and commanders, officers and men of renown, mounted on horses.2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    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.

    it leads to

    • 1 Samuel 12:22

      Indeed, for the sake of His great name, the LORD will not abandon His people, because He was pleased to make you His own.

    • Psalms 94:14

      For the LORD will not forsake His people; He will never abandon His heritage.

    • Deuteronomy 7:6–7

      For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for His prized possession out of all peoples on the face of…

    • Joshua 24:2–4

      And Joshua said to all the people, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Long ago your fathers, including Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the Euphrates and…

    • James 2:5

      Listen, my beloved brothers: Has not God chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom He promised those who love Him?

  • Through

    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,…

    it leads to

    • Isaiah 45:1

      This is what the LORD says to Cyrus His anointed, whose right hand I have grasped to subdue nations before him, to disarm kings, to open the doors before him, so that the gates…

    • 2 Samuel 22:43

      I ground them as the dust of the earth; I crushed and trampled them like mud in the streets.

    • Ezra 1:2

      “This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: ‘The LORD, the God of heaven, who has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, has appointed me to build a house for Him at…

Where this verse is studied

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About Acts

The Pentecost, El Greco, about 1600, Museo del Prado. Public domain.
The Pentecost, El Greco, about 1600, Museo del Prado. Public domain.
Acts: the study guide →Read Acts 7 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on Acts; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; 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.

Read on in Acts 7 →