Study Desk

Now the high priest said, "Are these things so?"

And ^(F1)Stephen said, "Listen to me, ^(F2)(C1)brothers and fathers! ^(C2)The God of glory ^(C3)appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in ^(F3)Haran,

and He said to him, '^(C1)GO FROM YOUR COUNTRY AND YOUR RELATIVES, AND COME TO THE LAND WHICH I WILL SHOW YOU.'

"^(C1)Then he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in ^(F1)Haran. And ^(C2)from there, after his father died, God had him move to this country in which you are now living.

"But He gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot of ground, and yet, ^(C1)He promised that He would give it to him as a possession, and to his descendants after him, even though he had no child.

"But ^(C1)God spoke to this effect, that his DESCENDANTS WOULD BE STRANGERS IN A LAND THAT WAS NOT THEIRS, AND ^(F1)THEY WOULD ENSLAVE AND MISTREAT THEM FOR FOUR HUNDRED YEARS.

"'AND WHATEVER NATION TO WHICH THEY ARE ENSLAVED I MYSELF WILL JUDGE,' said God, 'AND ^(C1)AFTER THAT THEY WILL COME OUT AND ^(F1)SERVE ME IN THIS PLACE.'

"And He ^(C1)gave him ^(F1)the covenant of circumcision; and so ^(C2)Abraham fathered Isaac, and circumcised him on the eighth day; and ^(C3)Isaac fathered Jacob, and ^(C4)Jacob, the twelve ^(C5)patriarchs.

"The patriarchs ^(C1)became jealous of Joseph and sold him into Egypt. Yet God was with him,

and rescued him from all his afflictions, and ^(C1)granted him favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and he made him governor over Egypt and his entire household.

"Now ^(C1)a famine came over all Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction with it, and our fathers ^(F1)could find no food.

"But ^(C1)when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our fathers there the first time.

"And on the second visit, ^(C1)Joseph ^(F1)made himself known to his brothers, and ^(C2)Joseph's family was revealed to Pharaoh.

"Then ^(C1)Joseph sent word and invited his father Jacob and all his relatives to come to him, ^(C2)seventy-five ^(F1)(C3)people in all.

"And ^(C1)Jacob went down to Egypt, and he and our fathers died there.

"And they were brought back from there to ^(F1)(C1)Shechem and laid in the tomb which Abraham had purchased for a sum of money from the sons of ^(F2)Hamor in ^(F1)Shechem.

"But as the ^(C1)time of the promise which God had assured to Abraham was approaching, ^(C2)the people increased and multiplied in Egypt,

until ^(C1)ANOTHER KING AROSE OVER EGYPT WHO DID NOT KNOW JOSEPH.

"It was he who ^(C1)shrewdly took advantage of our nation and mistreated our fathers in order that they would ^(C2)abandon their infants in the Nile, so that they would not survive.

"At this time ^(C1)Moses was born; and he was beautiful to God. He was nurtured for three months in his father's home.

"And after he had been put outside, ^(C1)Pharaoh's daughter ^(F1)took him away and nurtured him as her own son.

"Moses was educated in all ^(C1)the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was proficient in ^(F1)speaking and action.