Acts 7:27
in Acts 7But the man who was abusing his neighbor pushed Moses aside and said, ‘Who made you ruler and judge over us?
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
But he that did his neighbor wrong thrust him away, saying, Who made thee a ruler and a judge over us?
KJV
But he that did his neighbour wrong thrust him away, saying, Who made thee a ruler and a judge over us?
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This verse in Acts 7
Commentary
10 notes on this verseBut pay attention to the response: "Who made you a ruler and judge over us?" The very same words that were later said to Christ. To repay good with insult — that is in the spirit of the Jews.
This site's exposition
two Israelites who were fighting
on Acts 7:26-29
An Israelite rebuffs Moses's attempt to reconcile, asking who made him ruler and judge, and the rejection drives Moses to Midian. Moses is refused as the patriarchs sold Joseph, and as this council has delivered up Jesus.
This site's exposition
Who made you ruler and judge
Barnes observes that the man in the wrong is usually the one who refuses peace. Chrysostom and Theophylact hear in this challenge the same words later thrown at Christ. Bede reads the whole speech as proving that Israel resisted Moses from the start.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
"But he that did his neighbor wrong thrust him away, saying, Who made thee a ruler and a judge over us?" Mark; the very words which they said to Christ: "Who made Thee ruler and judge over us?" So habitual a thing was it for Jews to wrong their benefactors when in the act of receiving benefits!
He declares, then, that this ingratitude arose from here, and against the benefactors [εὐεργέτας] it was treacherous among the Jews. For Moses, who in anger once struck down the wrongdoer, his fellow-countryman, is now treated with leniency toward the wrongdoer. But he who used his …
The Medieval Church1 voice
Who made you a ruler and judge over us? In his entire speech, he convicted them, already then being contrary to the law and Moses.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
), would not bear the reproof, though a just and gentle one, but was ready to fly in his face, with, Who made thee a ruler and a judge over us? Proud and litigious spirits are impatient of check and control.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
But he that did his neighbour wrong,....
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
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
But he that did ... - Intent on his purpose, filled with rage and passion, he rejected all interference, and all attempts at peace. It is usually the man that does the injury that is unwilling to be reconciled; and when we find a man that regards the entreaties of his friends as improper interference, when he becomes increasingly angry when we exhort him to peace, it is usually a strong evidence that he is conscious that he has been at fault. If we wish to reconcile parties, we should go first to the man that has been injured.
The words behind it
16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ὁ | ho | The [one] | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| δὲ | de | however | G1161 → | 2765 times |
| ἀδικῶν | adikon | mistreating | G91 → | 28 times |
| τὸν | ton | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| πλησίον | plesion | neighbour | G4139 → | |
| ἀπώσατο | aposato | pushed away | G683 → | 6 times |
| αὐτὸν | auton | him | G846 → | 5565 times |
| εἰπών· | eipon | having said; | G2036 → | 925 times |
| τίς | tis | Who | G5101 → | 563 times |
| σε | se | you | G4771 → | 2973 times |
| κατέστησεν | katestesen | appointed | G2525 → | 21 times |
| ἄρχοντα | archonta | ruler | G758 → | 37 times |
| καὶ | kai | and | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| δικαστὴν | dikasten | judge | G1348 → | |
| ἐφ᾽ | eph᾽ | over | G1909 → | 883 times |
| ἡμῶν; | hemon | us? | G3165 → | 1936 times |
ὁThe [one]
hoG3588 →19766 times
δὲhowever
deG1161 →2765 times
ἀδικῶνmistreating
adikonG91 →28 times
τὸνthe
tonG3588 →19766 times
πλησίονneighbour
plesionG4139 →
ἀπώσατοpushed away
aposatoG683 →6 times
αὐτὸνhim
autonG846 →5565 times
εἰπών·having said;
eiponG2036 →925 times
τίςWho
tisG5101 →563 times
σεyou
seG4771 →2973 times
κατέστησενappointed
katestesenG2525 →21 times
ἄρχονταruler
archontaG758 →37 times
καὶand
kaiG2532 →9120 times
δικαστὴνjudge
dikastenG1348 →
ἐφ᾽over
eph᾽G1909 →883 times
ἡμῶν;us?
hemonG3165 →1936 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 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
Acts 7:39But our fathers refused to obey him. Instead, they rejected him and in their hearts turned back to Egypt.
it leads to
- Numbers 14:3–4
Why is the LORD bringing us into this land to fall by the sword? Our wives and children will become plunder. Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?”
- Numbers 11:5
We remember the fish we ate freely in Egypt, along with the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic.
- Numbers 14:3–4
Through
Luke 12:14But Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed Me judge or executor between you?”
it leads to
- Romans 2:3
So when you, O man, pass judgment on others, yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment?
- Romans 9:20
But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? Shall what is formed say to Him who formed it, “Why did You make me like this?”
- Romans 2:1
You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on another. For on whatever grounds you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.
- John 6:15
Then Jesus, realizing that they were about to come and make Him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by Himself.
- Romans 2:3
Through
Acts 7:35This Moses, whom they had rejected with the words, ‘Who made you ruler and judge?’ is the one whom God sent to be their ruler and redeemer through the angel who appeared to him…
it leads to
- Luke 19:14
But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We do not want this man to rule over us.’
- Psalms 118:22–23
The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.
- Luke 19:14
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

Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
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, Commentary on Acts; John Chrysostom, Homily on Acts 16; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Oecumenius, Commentary on Acts and Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Acts.
