Acts 7:21
in Acts 7When he was set outside, Pharaoh’s daughter took him and brought him up as her own son.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and when he was cast out, Pharaoh’s daughter took him up, and nourished him for her own son.
KJV
And when he was cast out, Pharaoh’s daughter took him up, and nourished him for her own son.
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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)
Was cast out - When he was exposed on the banks of the Nile, Exo 2:3. And nourished him - Adopted him, and treated him as her own son, Exo 2:10. It is implied in this that he was educated by her. An adopted son in the family of Pharaoh would be favored with all the advantages which the land could furnish for an education.
This site's exposition
At that time Moses was born
on Acts 7:20-22
Stephen adds that Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, beyond what Exodus states. Josephus and Philo record the tradition at greater length.
This site's exposition
Pharaoh’s daughter took him
John Wesley observes that the exposure meant to kill Moses brought him the education of a royal household. Chrysostom draws out Stephen's argument: God's care for Moses unfolds in a foreign palace, with no word of temple or sacrifice. Matthew Henry notes that Stephen's hearers prided themselves on the temple.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"And when he was cast out, Pharaoh's daughter took him up, and nourished him for her own son." Not a word of Temple, not a word of Sacrifice, while all these Providences are taking place. And he was nourished in a barbarian house.
The Medieval Church1 voice
And so they cast him in, and God inspires the daughter of Pharaoh, who knew nothing of this, to go out to the river. She went out, knowing nothing, and found what she was not seeking — she received the infant from the ark. And …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
And did he thus protect the child Moses? Much more will he secure the interests of his holy child Jesus (as he is called ch. iv. 27 ) from the enemies that are gathered together against him.
Pharaoh's daughter took him up - By which means, being designed for a kingdom, he had all those advantages of education, which he could not have had, if he had not been exposed.
And when he was cast out,....
2 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
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
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
In which time--of deepest depression. Moses was born--the destined deliverer. exceeding fair--literally, "fair to God" (Margin), or, perhaps, divinely "fair" (see on Heb 11:23).
The words behind it
14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ἐκτεθέντος | ektethentos | When was being exposed | G1620 → | 4 times |
| δὲ | de | then | G1161 → | 2765 times |
| αὐτοῦ | autou | he | G846 → | 5565 times |
| ἀνείλατο | aneilato | took up | G337 → | 24 times |
| αὐτὸν | auton | him | G846 → | 5565 times |
| ἡ | he | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| θυγάτηρ | thugater | daughter | G2364 → | 28 times |
| Φαραὼ | pharao | of Pharaoh | G5328 → | 5 times |
| καὶ | kai | and | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| ἀνεθρέψατο | anethrepsato | brought up | G397 → | 3 times |
| αὐτὸν | auton | him | G846 → | 5565 times |
| ἑαυτῇ | he'autea | for herself | G1438 → | 322 times |
| εἰς | eis | for | G1519 → | 1755 times |
| υἱόν. | huion | a son. | G5207 → | 377 times |
ἐκτεθέντοςWhen was being exposed
ektethentosG1620 →4 times
δὲthen
deG1161 →2765 times
αὐτοῦhe
autouG846 →5565 times
ἀνείλατοtook up
aneilatoG337 →24 times
αὐτὸνhim
autonG846 →5565 times
ἡthe
heG3588 →19766 times
θυγάτηρdaughter
thugaterG2364 →28 times
Φαραὼof Pharaoh
pharaoG5328 →5 times
καὶand
kaiG2532 →9120 times
ἀνεθρέψατοbrought up
anethrepsatoG397 →3 times
αὐτὸνhim
autonG846 →5565 times
ἑαυτῇfor herself
he'auteaG1438 →322 times
εἰςfor
eisG1519 →1755 times
υἱόν.a son.
huionG5207 →377 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
7 stopsEach 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
Hebrews 11:24By faith Moses, when he was grown, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter.
it leads to
- Exodus 2:10–11
When the child had grown older, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moses and explained, “I drew him out of the water.”
- Acts 7:21–24
When he was set outside, Pharaoh’s daughter took him and brought him up as her own son.
- Exodus 2:10–11
Through
Deuteronomy 32:26I would have said that I would cut them to pieces and blot out their memory from mankind,
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 28:64
Then the LORD will scatter you among all the nations, from one end of the earth to the other, and there you will worship other gods, gods of wood and stone, which neither you…
- Isaiah 63:16
Yet You are our Father, though Abraham does not know us and Israel does not acknowledge us. You, O LORD, are our Father; our Redeemer from Everlasting is Your name.
- Deuteronomy 28:25
The LORD will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You will march out against them in one direction but flee from them in seven. You will be an object of horror to…
- Psalms 34:16
But the face of the LORD is against those who do evil, to wipe out all memory of them from the earth.
- Deuteronomy 4:27
Then the LORD will scatter you among the peoples, and only a few of you will survive among the nations to which the LORD will drive you.
- Deuteronomy 28:64
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies38
On this verse
On this chapter
- Abraham
- Brit milah: circumcision on the eighth day
- Chaldea
- Circumcision of the Heart
- Egypt's Famine Years and the Land of Pharaoh
- Father, Forgive Them
Show the next 6 titles
Show the next 6 titles
- Types of Christ: Joseph and Joshua
- Joseph and the Tale of Two Brothers
- Joshua son of Nun
- Amos and the Courts at the Gate
- Love Your Enemies
- Mesopotamia
Show the next 6 titles
- Moses in the Bulrushes
- Mourning and Burial in Israel
- Outside the Camp
- Paul
- Prophet, Priest and King: The Threefold Office of Christ
- Scribes and the Sanhedrin
Show the next 6 titles
About Acts

This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on 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 16; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); John Lightfoot, Horae Hebraicae et Talmudicae; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Acts.
