Acts 7:9-14·~1 min

Joseph Sold into Egypt

Jealous patriarchs sell Joseph into Egypt, but God stays with him, rescues him from his troubles, and gives him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh. Pharaoh then appoints him over Egypt and his whole household.

B⁹ecause the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph, they sold him as a slave into Egypt. But God was with him ¹⁰and rescued him from all his troubles. He granted Joseph favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt, who appointed him ruler over Egypt and all his household.

Famine spreads through Egypt and Canaan, and Jacob's sons go to Egypt for grain. On the second visit Joseph reveals himself, and Jacob with seventy-five relatives is brought down into Egypt.

¹¹Then famine and great suffering swept across Egypt and Canaan, and our fathers could not find food. ¹²When Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our fathers on their first visit. ¹³On their second visit, Joseph revealed his identity to his brothers, and his family became known to Pharaoh. ¹⁴Then Joseph sent for his father Jacob and all his relatives, seventy-five in all.

Section summaryStephen next turns to Joseph, whom the patriarchs sell out of jealousy though God remains with him in Egypt. Joseph rises under Pharaoh, famine brings his brothers back, and what began in rejection becomes the means by which Jacob and the whole family are gathered.

Role in the chapterThis section deepens a pattern Stephen will keep pressing: the one rejected by Israel's fathers becomes the one through whom God preserves them. Joseph foreshadows both Moses and the Righteous One Stephen will later name directly.