Acts 7:22Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

"And he was mighty in words and deeds." By these words he expresses that Moses was their deliverer, while they were ungrateful toward their benefactor.

"And Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians." Neither Moses, nor Ananias and Daniel with their companions, would have received foreign education if necessity and the violence of despots had not compelled them. It was of no use to them. Perhaps someone might say that it was good for them to receive education in order to root out the Egyptians' errors.

Thus Moses leads the people out of Egypt. And everyone who follows in the footsteps of Moses likewise frees from Egyptian tyranny all who obey him. By Egyptian tyranny the devil is understood allegorically. I think that those who follow the guide toward virtue should not refuse Egyptian wealth or deprive themselves of the treasures of foreigners. They should receive, as though on loan, everything the adversary formerly possessed, just as Moses commanded the people to do. Those who pass over to a free and virtuous life are instructed to store up the wealth of pagan learning, with which those alien to the faith adorn themselves.

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).

"He was instructed in all the wisdom of Egypt." Neither in the Pentateuch of Moses nor in the other books of the Old Testament is there any mention of this. Yet it was a most ancient tradition, recorded by Philo in Vita Mosis. There is nothing improbable in the fact that Moses the Hebrew, being as a son to the king's daughter, received the highest and most many-sided education then available to Egyptians. Egyptian education then consisted chiefly in the study of the natural sciences, together with magic, astronomy, medicine, and mathematics. Its representatives were chiefly the priests. In God's hands, the external wisdom of Moses was to become one of the instruments in the work of his great service to God's truth.

Moses' instruction in wisdom was joined to his general and all-sided development, both mental and physical. Egyptian wisdom consisted chiefly in knowledge of the properties of various things in nature, especially mysterious properties, and of their effects on men. It also included knowledge of the course of the heavenly bodies, to whose influence on men especially great importance was ascribed. Today the sciences concerning these subjects are called medicine, astrology, and magic. The statement about Moses' power in word shows that he was also instructed in the verbal art, that is, rhetoric. What is said about his power in deeds may be referred also to bodily exercises, or gymnastics. Many ancient peoples loved to practice these, with frequent military needs in view.