PAUL AND THE RHETORIC OF REVERSAL: KERYGMATIC ...

A summary of Israel’s history by Stephen: Acts 7
According to Acts 7, Stephen’s speech 32 presents the history of Israel as a series of
significant persecutions (of individual righteous people), most of which are followed by
divine vindication. Firstly (7:1-8), Abraham is depicted as being promised that his
descendants will be mistreated and enslaved, before God judges their captors and gives
them the land of inheritance. Secondly (7:9-16), Joseph is depicted as being sold, before
God rescues him from affliction and appoints him to a position of favour. Thirdly (7:17-
22), Moses is depicted as being abandoned as a baby, before being adopted into royalty.
Fourthly (7:23-36), the adult Moses is depicted as being misunderstood and rejected by his
fellow Israelites, before being appointed by God to liberate the people from slavery.
Fifthly (7:37-43), Israel is depicted as rejecting Moses in favour of idolatry – and no
vindication is mentioned. In 7:44-50, the impossibility of humans providing for God is
emphasised. Finally, in 7:51-53, the pattern of persecution of the righteous is applied to
Jesus, “the Righteous one”. Jesus’ vindication is hinted at in Stephen’s subsequent vision
of Jesus “at the right hand of God”; and Stephen’s own death (without apparent
vindication) is reported immediately subsequent to this.
The pattern of persecution-vindication is clearly used to read Israel’s history; but it is
evident that for Christ and his followers, full vindication is still awaited.
32 Views on Acts 7 range from the opinion that it is an historically reliable record of
Stephen’s speech to the opinion that it is a Lukan composition. My argument here neither
depends upon nor denies an earlier date for this material than the date of the composition
of Acts, such as the view of Marcel Simon, St. Stephen and the Hellenists in the Primitive
Church (London: Longmans, 1958). My broad intention is to demonstrate that various
interpretations of Hebrew history, even into the Christian period, utilise the motif of
reversal. With regard to Stephen’s speech in particular I seek to draw attention to the fact
that the episodes depict not only popular rejection of the prophets, but also divine
vindication. As Charles H. Talbert notes, “it was the rejected one whom God made ruler
and deliverer for them”. Charles H. Talbert, Reading Acts: A Literary and Theological
Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles. (2 nd ed.; RNT; Macon, Ga.: Smyth & Helwys,
2005), 62.
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