Acts 7:22

22 And Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was powerful in his words and deeds.

Acts 7:22 Meaning and Commentary

Acts 7:22

And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians,
&c,] Which was reckoned very considerable: ( 1 Kings 4:30 ) Philo the Jew says F5 that he learned arithmetic, geometry, and every branch of music, the hieroglyphics, the Assyrian language, and the Chaldean knowledge of the heavens, and the mathematics; yet was not a magician, or skilled in unlawful arts, as Justin suggests F6:

and was mighty in words;
he had a command of language, and a large flow of words, and could speak properly and pertinently upon any subject; for though he was slow of speech, and of tongue, and might have somewhat of a stammering in speaking, yet he might have a just diction, a masculine style, and a powerful eloquence, and the matter he delivered might be very great and striking:

and in deeds;
or in "his deeds", as the Alexandrian copy, the Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Ethiopic versions read: he was a man of great abilities, and fit for business both in the cabinet and in the field. Josephus F7 relates an expedition of his against the Ethiopians, whilst he was in Pharaoh's court, in which he obtained victory over them, when the Egyptians had been greatly oppressed by them; in which his prudence and fortitude were highly commended.


FOOTNOTES:

F5 De Vita Mosis, l. 1. p. 606. Clement. Alex. Strom. l. 1. p. 343.
F6 L. 36. c. 2.
F7 Antiqu l. 2. c. 10. sect. 1. 2. 3.

Acts 7:22 In-Context

20 At this time Moses was born, and he was beautiful to God. {He} was brought up [for] three months in [his] father's house,
21 and [when] he was abandoned, the daughter of Pharaoh took him [up] and brought him [up] {as her own son}.
22 And Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was powerful in his words and deeds.
23 "But when {he was forty years old}, it entered in his heart to visit his brothers, the sons of Israel.
24 And [when he] saw one of them being unjustly harmed, he defended [him] and {avenged} the one who had been oppressed [by] striking down the Egyptian.
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