Acts 7:33
in Acts 7Then the Lord said to him, ‘Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the Lord said unto him, Loose the shoes from thy feet: for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.
KJV
Then said the Lord to him, Put off thy shoes from thy feet: for the place where thou standest is holy ground.
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This verse in Acts 7
Commentary
13 notes on this verseIt is upon us who continue in this quiet and peaceful course of life that the truth will shine, illuminating the eyes of our soul with its own rays. This truth, which was then manifested by the ineffable and mysterious illumination that came to Moses, is God. And if the flame by which the soul of the prophet was illuminated was kindled from a thorny bush, even this fact will not be useless for our inquiry.
This site's exposition
After forty years had passed
on Acts 7:30-34
An angel appeared to Moses in a burning bush near Mount Sinai, yet the voice names itself the God of his fathers. God calls the ground holy because of the presence that meets Moses there.
This site's exposition
is holy ground
Wesley and Gill agree that the ground was holy because God was present, and Gill adds that it stayed holy only while His presence remained. Matthew Henry reads this as Stephen's answer to pride in the temple. God met Moses in a remote wilderness.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
What then is the riddle signified by the sandal? It is necessary to say that the sandal is a sign of death and corruption. For every sandal is a remnant of an animal already dead. Therefore the mind attempting to ascend to the divine contemplations …
"I am the God of thy fathers, the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." Lo! how He shows that He is none other than "the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob"--He, "the Angel of the Great Counsel." Here he shows what great loving-kindness God herein exhibits. "Then Moses trembled, and durst not behold. Then said the Lord to him, Put off thy shoes from thy feet; for the place where thou standest is holy ground." Not a word of Temple, and the place is holy through the appearance and operation of Christ. Far more wonderful this than the place which is in the Holy of Holies: for there God is nowhere said to have appeared in this manner, nor Moses to have thus trembled. And then the greatness of His tender care.
Even if the voice as worded in Exodus does not appear to be exactly the same, nevertheless it is equivalent. For the one who trembles is not far from becoming fearful. These things are said about the vision of the bush, the same distinction between …
The Medieval Church2 voices
"Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you stand is holy ground." The place is holy because of the appearance of Christ and is worthy of greater wonder than that which was in the Holy of Holies, because there was never …
"Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you stand is holy ground." The place is holy because of the appearance of Christ and is worthy of greater wonder than that which was in the Holy of Holies, because there was never …
5 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
Then said the Lord, Loose thy shoes - An ancient token of reverence; for the place is holy ground - The holiness of places depends on the peculiar presence of God there.
), which Stephen takes notice of, as a check to those who prided themselves in the temple, that holy place, as if there were no communion to be had with God but there; whereas God met Moses, and manifested himself to him, in a remote obscure place in the wilderness of Sinai.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
Then said the Lord to him,.... To Moses, who through curiosity had made too near an approach: put off thy shoes from thy feet; in token of humility, obedience, and reverence: for the place where thou standest is holy ground; not really, but relatively, on account of the divine presence in it, and only so long as that continued.
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
Then said the Lord ... - In Exo. 3 this is introduced in a different order, as being spoken “before” God said “I am the God,” etc. Put off thy shoes ... - Exo 3:5. To put off the shoes; or sandals, was an act of reverence. The ancients were especially not permitted to enter a temple or holy place with their shoes on. Indeed, it was customary for the Jews to remove their shoes whenever they entered any house as a mere matter of civility. Compare the notes on Joh 13:
The words behind it
20 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 | Said | G2036 → | 925 times |
| δὲ | de | then | G1161 → | 2765 times |
| αὐτῷ | auto | to him | G846 → | 5565 times |
| ὁ | ho | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| κύριος· | kurios | Lord; | G2962 → | 711 times |
| λῦσον | luson | do take off | G3089 → | 42 times |
| τὸ | to | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| ὑπόδημα | hupodema | sandal | G5266 → | |
| τῶν | ton | of the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| ποδῶν | podon | feet | G4228 → | 93 times |
| σου· | sou | of you; | G4771 → | 2973 times |
| ὁ | ho | <the> | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| γὰρ | gar | for | G1063 → | 1039 times |
| τόπος | topos | the place | G5117 → | 94 times |
| ἐφ᾽ | eph᾽ | on | G1909 → | 883 times |
| ᾧ | ho | which | G3739 → | 1405 times |
| ἕστηκας | hestekas | you have stood | G2476 → | 153 times |
| γῆ | ge | ground | G1093 → | 248 times |
| ἁγία | hagia | holy | G40 → | 220 times |
| ἐστίν. | estin | is. | G1510 → | 2333 times |
εἶπενSaid
eipenG2036 →925 times
δὲthen
deG1161 →2765 times
αὐτῷto him
autoG846 →5565 times
ὁthe
hoG3588 →19766 times
κύριος·Lord;
kuriosG2962 →711 times
λῦσονdo take off
lusonG3089 →42 times
τὸthe
toG3588 →19766 times
ὑπόδημαsandal
hupodemaG5266 →
τῶνof the
tonG3588 →19766 times
ποδῶνfeet
podonG4228 →93 times
σου·of you;
souG4771 →2973 times
ὁ<the>
hoG3588 →19766 times
γὰρfor
garG1063 →1039 times
τόποςthe place
toposG5117 →94 times
ἐφ᾽on
eph᾽G1909 →883 times
ᾧwhich
hoG3739 →1405 times
ἕστηκαςyou have stood
hestekasG2476 →153 times
γῆground
geG1093 →248 times
ἁγίαholy
hagiaG40 →220 times
ἐστίν.is.
estinG1510 →2333 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
Exodus 3:5“Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”
it leads to
- Joshua 5:15
The Commander of the LORD’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Genesis 28:16–17
When Jacob woke up, he thought, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was unaware of it.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Exodus 19:12
And you are to set up a boundary for the people around the mountain and tell them, ‘Be careful not to go up on the mountain or touch its base. Whoever touches the mountain…
- Ecclesiastes 5:1
Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Draw near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong.
- Joshua 5:15
Through
Ecclesiastes 5:1Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Draw near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong.
it leads to
- James 1:19
My beloved brothers, understand this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger,
- Hebrews 12:28–29
Therefore, since we are receiving an unshakable kingdom, let us be filled with gratitude, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe.
- Proverbs 15:8
The sacrifice of the wicked is detestable to the LORD, but the prayer of the upright is His delight.
- James 1:19
Through
Joshua 5:15The Commander of the LORD’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.
it leads to
- Exodus 3:5
“Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Exodus 3:5
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); Gregory of Nyssa, LIFE OF MOSES 2.19-22; 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 Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Oecumenius, Commentary on Acts and Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Acts.