Connection
Idols in the wilderness
Amos accused Israel of carrying idols even in the wilderness years. Stephen used the prophet's words to show the council that resisting God's messengers was an old pattern.
Direct quotationHigh confidence
A New Testament passage quotes an earlier passage.
Direct quotation
New TestamentActs 7:42-43Open this recordRead the earlier witness
25“Did you bring me sacrifices and offerings forty years in the wilderness, people of Israel? 26You have lifted up the shrine of your king, the pedestal of your idols, the star of your god— which you made for yourselves. 27Therefore I will send you into exile beyond Damascus,” says the Lord, whose name is God Almighty. Read the later witness
42But God turned away from them and gave them over to the worship of the sun, moon and stars. This agrees with what is written in the book of the prophets: “ ‘Did you bring me sacrifices and offerings forty years in the wilderness, people of Israel? 43You have taken up the tabernacle of Molek and the star of your god Rephan, the idols you made to worship. Therefore I will send you into exile’ beyond Babylon. Why FaithGraph draws this line
Acts 7:42-43 quotes Amos 5:25-27.
Stephen quotes Amos on Israel's idolatry in the wilderness. Acts follows the Greek Old Testament, which names Rephan and says beyond Babylon, where the Hebrew names Sakkuth and Kaiwan and says beyond Damascus.
Evidence
Other responsible views
- Wording of the Greek and Hebrew texts. The names of the idols and the place of exile differ between the Hebrew text and the Greek version Stephen cites. The charge of wilderness idolatry and the sentence of exile are the same in both.
The explanation above is FaithGraph editorial content, not Scripture.