“And Joseph sent and called Jacob his father and all his
relatives, seventy-five souls; and Jacob went down into Egypt. And he died, he
and our fathers, and they were removed to Shechem and were laid in the tomb
that Abraham had bought for a sum of silver from the sons of Hamor in Shechem”
(Acts 7:14-16).
How did Stephen get away lying in front in front of the high Priest. Stephen
claims 75 people went down to Egypt, Stephen also claims Jacobs’s body was
carried into Shechem and placed in the tomb bought by Abraham from the
sons of Hamor at Shechem? This is a gross misinterpretation of what is
found in the Torah,
Jacob’s family that came down to Egypt, inclusive of Joseph and his
sons, numbered seventy persons, not seventy-five (Genesis 46:27, Exodus 1:5,
Deuteronomy 10:22). Notice how the Torah say’s 70 members came down to
Egypt not 75 as Stephen claims.
His sons carried him to the land of Canaan, and buried him in the cave
of the field of Machpelah, the field near Mamre, which Abraham had bought for a
burial site from Ephron the Hittite. (Genesis 50:13)
Notice how Jacob was taken to and buried in the cave of the field of Machpelah,
and not Shechem as Stephen claims. Genesis goes to tell us, Abraham
bought the site from Epron the Hittite, Stepen on the other claims Abraham
bought it from the sons of Hamor at Shechem? the problem is Jacob was not
buried in the city of Shechem, but in the cave of Machpelah, which is located
in the city of Hebron (Genesis 23:19; 49:29-30; 50:13).
The Jewish Scriptures do not give any indication that the forefathers of
the tribes of Israel were buried in Shechem. Only Joseph is said to have been buried
there. Joseph was buried at Shechem, in the piece of ground which Jacob had
purchased for a hundred silver shekels from the sons of Hamor (Genesis 33:19,
Joshua 24:32). According to Josephus, the other sons of Jacob were buried in
Hebron (Josephus, Jewish Antiquities II. 8. 2 [199]).
Abraham did not buy a tomb
in Shechem. He bought the cave of Machpelah, which he used as a burial place,
and which, as stated, is located in the city of Hebron (Genesis 23:19).
The cave of Machpelah was not bought from
the sons of Hamor, but from Ephron the Hittite (Genesis 23:17-18, 50:13).
Christians offer a number
of reasons for the differences between what is found in Genesis and what is
found in Stephen’s speech. Yet, whatever explanations are made it should be
understood that if he was under the influence of the “Holy Spirit” he would
have calmly said what needed to be said and no crowd would have been able to
touch him until he finished. He wouldn’t need to telescope the material for
brevity nor would he become confused. If the New Testament, generally, and this
passage, in particular, is the result of divine influence by the “Holy Spirit”
then Christian renderings of the Book of Genesis should surely reflect this in
their translations.
As it is, Stephen’s overall speech
expresses a Samaritan outlook and it is more than likely that these comments
were taken from a Samaritan source.
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