Understanding Acts 7:14-15: Called to Survive

Joseph's Family Moves to Egypt

This moment in Acts 7:14-15 picks up the story of Jacob’s family during their move to Egypt, a pivotal step in God’s plan for Israel.

Stephen is recounting how Joseph, after being sold into slavery by his brothers but later raised to power in Egypt, sent for his father Jacob and all their relatives when famine struck. Seventy-five members of the family eventually settled in Egypt, where Jacob later died along with his sons.

This migration fulfilled God’s earlier promise to Abraham that his descendants would live as foreigners in a land not their own - a key part of the covenant that would lead to the Exodus and the giving of the Law.

Honor, Family, and the Number 75 in God's Plan

This moment was about more than finding food; it showed God honoring His promise by preserving Jacob’s family in a foreign land.

In the ancient world, a father’s honor was tied to his household’s survival and unity, so Joseph bringing his entire family to Egypt was a powerful act of respect and responsibility. The specific number 75 - cited from the Greek version of the Old Testament, the Septuagint - includes more descendants than the 70 in Genesis 46, possibly counting additional generations born later, showing how the family grew even in exile. This detail matters because Stephen, speaking to a Greek-speaking audience, uses the version they knew, affirming that every person counted in God’s plan.

What looked like a survival move was actually God preserving His people with purpose.

Jacob’s death in Egypt didn’t end the story - it set the stage for God to grow a nation from a single family. The fact that Stephen highlights both the move and the deaths shows that God’s promises aren’t rushed. They unfold over generations, even through hardship.

God's Providence in Preserving Israel

This move to Egypt, though prompted by famine, was actually God’s quiet act of keeping His promise alive - preserving His people until the right time.

God had already told Abraham that his family would live as foreigners in a land not their own (Genesis 15:13), and this moment in Egypt was that promise unfolding. Even in a foreign land, God was at work - protecting, multiplying, and preparing Israel for the day He would deliver them with mighty power.

The story shows that God’s plans aren’t stopped by hardship or exile. He uses both to bring about His good purposes, setting the stage for the Exodus and the giving of the Law at Sinai.

From Egypt to Shechem: Tracing God's Faithful Journey Across Generations

This migration to Egypt, first mentioned in Acts 7:14-15, echoes Exodus 1:5, which records that seventy-five members of Jacob’s family entered Egypt - each named and known by God - showing how He preserves His people even in exile.

Stephen later connects this story to the burial of the patriarchs in Shechem (Acts 7:16), drawing a line from the promise to Abraham, through the sojourn in Egypt, to the eventual possession of the land. Though Jacob and his sons died far from home, their bodies were returned, symbolizing that God’s promise of inheritance was not forgotten - even death could not stop His plan.

In the same way, Jesus entered a world of exile and suffering, not to preserve life only for a time, but to conquer death and secure an eternal inheritance for all who trust in Him.

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