At the same time was Moses born: and he was acceptable to God. Who was nourished three months in his father's house.
εν ω καιρω εγεννηθη μωσης και ην αστειος τω θεω ος ανετραφη μηνας τρεις εν τω οικω του πατρος
5 Church Fathers comment on this verse
Showing in this the wisdom of God, Stephen continues: "At this time Moses was born, and was beautiful before God." The wonderful thing is that the future deliverer is born neither before nor after, but in the midst of the very calamity.
If, in the case of Joseph, it is worthy of wonder that he was sold by his brothers and, after being sold, delivered them from famine, it is still more wonderful that the king raised the one who was to undermine his power, that is, Moses. The one who was to be slain by the very man who had condemned him to death was educated and raised in order to overthrow his fosterer. The expression, "that they should cast out their infants, so that they might not live," hints that he, the king, did not wish the killing of the infants to be carried out openly. And observe this. The promise of God was strengthened through the very circumstances by which the devil strove to undermine it. For Israel was afflicted, yet it grew and multiplied.
For this reason Moses also is received, raised, and educated in the king's house, and then flees again. Yet during his flight he is deemed worthy of a vision, and the leadership of the people is entrusted to him. Thus God brings it about that the one sold into slavery becomes king in the very place where he was a slave. As for the word "beautiful," it is used in the sense of "pleasing" to God.
Then, in order to defend himself against the charge of insulting Moses and his law, Stephen dwells at length on this great Old Testament figure (vv. 20-43). He strives to show all his reverence both for Moses and for the law given through him. In God's special providence over the salvation and destiny of Moses, his particular calling is already revealed (vv. 20-22). Stephen shows that Moses, even while at Pharaoh's court, already foresaw his vocation. No doubt, he did so by reflecting on the extraordinary circumstances of his life. This vocation was to be the deliverer of his people from the Egyptian yoke (v. 25). Then the person of Moses is fully assessed in his dignity and significance. This begins with the depiction of his calling by God to the work of delivering Israel (vv. 30-35).
It continues with the deliverance itself and his leading of Israel into the promised land, with many signs and wonders (v. 36). To express the dignity of Moses still more, Stephen points to him as a type of the Messiah, as one who conversed with angels, and as mediator between God and Israel (vv. 37-38). By this alone Stephen's reverence for the law of Moses is fully expressed. Yet it is expressed still more in his calling this law "living words" (v. 38). At the same time, this speech is also a rebuke. In reading it, one cannot fail to notice that Stephen strives, wherever possible, to contrast the benefactions of the saving God with the ingratitude and unbelief of the Israelites. Thus, already in the life of the patriarchs, he points to Joseph's suffering from the envy of his brothers, the forefathers of the Israelite people (v. 9). In Egypt, the descendants of these sons of Jacob reject the saving hand of Moses (vv. 25-28, 35). In the wilderness they reject Moses and God (vv. 39-43).
"He was beautiful before God": in the Book of Exodus (Ex 3:2) it simply says "beautiful." Stephen adds, "before God." The infant's natural beauty expressed the perfection of God's creation to such a degree that, being considered beautiful by his mother, he was especially beautiful before God above other men. The accounts preserved by Philo in vita Mos. and Josephus in Antt. 11, 9.7 speak of the infant Moses' beauty even more strongly than the Bible. "And when he was cast out": see verse 19.
Archdeacon Stephen devotes comparatively much attention to Moses. He speaks of the great danger to which Moses was exposed in infancy, when he was cast into the Nile. He speaks also of his upbringing, instruction, flight, his vision of the bush, his bringing the Hebrews out of Egypt, his receiving of the law, and so forth (vv. 20-44). But first of all, he testifies that Moses was beautiful before God, that is, pleasing to Him. This was not according to outward appearance, as it was for his mother (see Ex 3:2), but according to those spiritual gifts expressed in his outward appearance. His appearance was undoubtedly pleasing also to Pharaoh's daughter. Later she valued much else in him, for which she raised him as a son.
Yet he did not prove to be one, since for her he was evidently no more than a dear amusement. It is worthy of note that the word "beautiful" in the Greek text is expressed by the word αστείος, which also means "urban," as the princess's maidservants might have considered Moses. Thus, enjoying his childish charm, she received him as her own. "If, in the case of Joseph, it is worthy of wonder that he was sold by his brothers and delivered them from famine, it is still more wonderful that the king raised the one who would undermine his power, that is, Moses. The one who was to be slain by the person who had condemned him to death was educated and raised in order to overthrow his fosterer." "The wonder is that the future deliverer is born neither before nor after, but in the very midst of the calamity. When all human hopes were exhausted and he had been cast out, then the divine economy of God appeared in full light," says St. John Chrysostom.
Passages read together with this verse.
Greek text, 19 words with lemma, transliteration and Strong’s number. Tap to expand.
THEOSIS