Acts 7:43Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

The image of the morning star was prepared by craftsmen. Thus, "you took up the tabernacle of Moloch" means the tabernacle of your king.

And what sort of king was he? "The star of your god Remphan," which translated means "darkening" or "blindness." Thus they worshiped the morning star as rising before the radiance of the sun appeared.

Yet with these worshipers there came blindness, or Remphan. This was not because the star produced this blindness, but because this veneration became the cause of such darkening.

"And I will carry you away beyond Babylon." The prophet said, "I will carry you away beyond Damascus" (Amos 5:27). Luke said, "beyond Babylon," following the account of the Hebrews, or because Babylon is the boundary of the land of the Damascenes.

The Seventy translators, however, said, "beyond Damascus."

"Because of these blasphemies," he says, "you will be taken captive and carried away, not only to Babylon, but even beyond Babylon." Nor should one think that the Protomartyr erred when, instead of what is written in the prophet, "beyond Damascus" (Amos 5:27), he said, "beyond Babylon." He was concerned more for the meaning than for the exact wording. For beyond Damascus they were led into Babylon, or even beyond Babylon.

Then the person of Moses is fully valued according to his dignity and significance. This begins when his calling by God to the work of Israel's deliverance is described (vv. 30-35). It continues with the deliverance itself, and with his leading Israel into the promised land with many signs and wonders (v. 36).

To express the dignity of Moses still more fully, Stephen points to him as a type of the Messiah, a converser with angels, and a mediator between God and Israel (vv. 37-38). By this alone Stephen's whole 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, however, this speech is also accusatory. While reading it, one cannot fail to notice that Stephen tries, wherever possible, to set the benefactions of the saving God against 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).

Reproaching the Jews for idolatry, God says through the prophet that in the wilderness they took up the tabernacle of Moloch. More exactly, they lifted it up in order to carry it before themselves from camp to camp. This was probably a portable cultic tent dedicated to Moloch. In it, of course, there was also an image of this supposed deity. It was carried from camp to camp, like the tabernacle of witness, or the tabernacle of the true God, Jehovah.

"The star," or the image of the star, "of your god Remphan" means the planet Saturn. Clearly they deified this planet not under the form of an idol, but under that of a star, corresponding to the outward appearance of the planet.

"The images which," and so forth, means the images of the star and of the tabernacle. This term applies to the latter insofar as one may suppose that the idol of Moloch was in it.

In the Pentateuch of Moses there is no mention of the Jews serving Moloch and Remphan in the wilderness in the form described by the prophet Amos. Therefore one may think that the prophet speaks in God's name according to the most ancient tradition preserved among the Jewish people. This is one example showing that even the prophets made use of ancient traditions.

Still, in Leviticus there is a prohibition against serving Moloch (Lev 18:21; Lev 20:2). This points to the existence of service to this supposed deity.

This whole prophetic saying is cited almost exactly according to the Septuagint. Yet the Septuagint does not fully agree with the original text in the names of the indicated deities. Instead of Moloch, the original has "your king," and instead of Remphan, "Kiyyun." It also differs generally in the construction of the speech.

But this disagreement does not touch the substance. It seems to have arisen because the LXX did not translate this passage literally, but clarified its not entirely intelligible original text.

"I will carry you away beyond Babylon." In the original and in the LXX translation of Amos, who lived before the Babylonian captivity, it says "beyond Damascus." God threatened the Jews of Amos's time that they would be carried there for their impiety and inclination toward idolatry.

Stephen replaces Damascus with Babylon, undoubtedly because the Babylonian captivity was better known to his hearers than the Syrian captivity. In this way God's threat for idolatry appeared stronger and more impressive, without changing its essence.

For the idol Moloch, something like a tabernacle had been made. It was a tent in which shameful acts of worship were performed. The star of Remphan could be kept more simply. It was a pagan symbol of time.

The Pentateuch does not mention the star of Remphan. From this it is clear that God's prophet, who lived so long after Moses, knew of it by tradition. He honored that tradition as he honored Scripture. Saint Archdeacon Stephen follows him in this.

Therefore we too must regard this testimony as fully true. We should not be troubled that in the Hebrew text of the prophet Amos the word "Moloch" is replaced by "Melech," that is, "your king." Here, clearly, the desire of later correctors was expressed, in order somewhat to weaken the force of the accusation against their fathers.

In the prophet it is said that for impiety the Jews would be punished by being resettled beyond Damascus. Here it says, "beyond Babylon." This substitution may be explained by the desire to recall the fulfillment of this threat. For the Jews were resettled not only beyond Damascus, but also beyond Babylon.

Blessed Theophylact justifies this substitution either by Stephen's following the Jewish exposition, or by saying that "Babylon is the boundary of the land of the Damascenes."

The English professor Bartlett finds that the substitution of Babylon for Damascus is explained by the fact that one of the named deities was Babylonian. This deity was Rempu and Ken, in whom, both in the Hebrew text and in the Septuagint, a male and female god were combined into one Remphan or Kupp. See his Commentary on Acts, published in London in 1901.

It should also be noted that he calls Moloch Ammon (see Lev 18:21; 4 Kgs 23:10), and notes the similarity between the word "Moloch" and the word "Melech," meaning king.

"Moloch and Remphan are names of idols," says Blessed Theodoret. Ephrem the Syrian reads Chiun instead of Remphan. He explains: "Instead of My tabernacle, they made for themselves the tabernacle of Moloch. Instead of the pillar of fire, they made for themselves the star of your god Chiun, and worshiped it."

The LXX translated Remphan instead of Chiun or Kiun. That is, you also carried the star of your god, namely Remphan.

Therefore one may think that Remphan, or Kiun, was a pagan deity. It was one of the lights or stars of heaven. Its image, which the Hebrews honored and carried in the wilderness, was a star.

For all your lawless deeds shown above, I, through the Assyrians, will remove you beyond Damascus.

"Since," says Blessed Theodoret, "they could scarcely endure servitude to the neighboring Syrians, He wished to frighten them by this prediction. He foretells a more distant bondage, meaning bondage to the Assyrians."

In the speech of the holy Protomartyr Stephen to the Hebrew people, instead of the words "beyond Damascus," it says, "I will remove you beyond Babylon."

One may think that St. Stephen explains the meaning of the words of the holy prophet Amos. God threatened to remove the Israelites not only beyond Damascus, the capital of Coele-Syria, but also beyond Babylon.

This is entirely correct, because Media and Armenia, where the Israelites were resettled (4 Kgs 17:6-23), lie beyond Damascus and Babylon.

The Egyptians and other pagan nations had the custom, while traveling, of carrying their deities in portable tents. The Hebrews did the same, taking idols with them from Egypt.

On Moloch, see our introduction to the interpretation of the holy prophet Hosea. Blessed Jerome, Remigius, Rupert, et alii censent Hebraeos in deserto coluisse Moloch, that is, they think the Hebrews honored Moloch in the wilderness.

Josephus, Antiq. IV, 6, says that the Hebrews in the wilderness honored not one god, but many, multos deos coluisse. See Cornelius a Lapide here.

Chiun, in Hebrew Kiun or Chiun, is read so by Aquila and Symmachus. "Chiun is the name of a deity," says Gesenius, "which the Israelites honored in the wilderness." It was one of the lights or stars worshiped in Egypt.

Stockius says, Chion esse nomen idoli proprium, and further, esse stellam saturnum. That is, "it is the proper name of an idol and, according to some interpreters, denotes the star Saturn, which the Persians called Chivan, and in whose honor they made images."

The holy Protomartyr Stephen also understands here the worship of the heavenly host, that is, of the luminaries and stars.

The LXX translated Ραιμφαν, or Ραιφαν, as it is read in Loch's edition. In general, interpreters suppose that this word in the LXX was altered by copyists. Instead of Chevan or Chiun they put Rephan.

Here Chiun, Chevan, Remphan, and Rephan are one deity. Under this name one of the luminaries was honored, and its visible image was a star, which the Hebrews carried in the wilderness.

"Blessed Jerome, Albert, Remigius, Bede, Lyra, and others," says Cornelius a Lapide, "think more probably that this was the star Venus. In the morning it is called Lucifer, the morning star, and in the evening Hesperus, the evening star."