This man led them out, performing wonders and signs in Egypt and at the Red Sea and in the wilderness for forty years.
English Standard Version (ESV)
Stephen highlights that "wonders and signs" weren't just spectacular events, but divine evidence pointing to God's power, emphasizing His faithfulness to Israel despite their continued rejection of His messengers. This narrative thread culminates in his pointed comparison to Jesus, whom they also rejected.
This man led them out, performing wonders and signs in Egypt and at the Red Sea and in the wilderness for forty years.
English Standard Version (ESV)
Stephen continues his bold recounting of Israel's history, emphasizing that Moses, the very leader they rejected, was God's chosen instrument for their deliverance. He highlights the powerful signs and wonders God performed through Moses in Egypt, at the Red Sea, and throughout their forty years in the wilderness, setting the stage for his comparison to Jesus.
Stephen isn't just recounting history; he's highlighting the sheer power of God at work. What's the difference between 'wonders' and 'signs' in this context?
Stephen emphasizes that Moses didn't lead the Israelites out of Egypt by his own might, but by the undeniable power of God, expressed through 'wonders and signs'.
Divine Power and Purpose
Think of the plagues in Egypt – they were terrifying wonders, but they were also signs that God was judging Egypt and delivering His people.
The Scope of Miracles
Stephen then traces this divine power through three critical phases:
This wasn't a one-time event; it was a continuous demonstration of God's faithfulness and power.
Ask a follow-up
Stephen is building a powerful case against his accusers by drawing parallels between their ancestors' actions and their own. What does the rejection of Moses reveal?
Stephen masterfully connects the miraculous deliverance through Moses with the very people who are now rejecting Jesus. He points out a troubling pattern of rejection throughout Israel's history.
Moses: Rejected, Yet Sent by God
Stephen highlights that the very Moses who performed these incredible acts – God's chosen leader – was initially rejected by the Israelites. They questioned his authority, asking, 'Who made you a ruler and a judge?' (Acts 7:35).
The Parallel to Jesus
This rejection of Moses served as a stark warning to Stephen's audience. He implies that their rejection of Jesus, who performed greater 'wonders and signs' (as seen in the Gospels), was a repeat of their ancestors' stubbornness.
God's Unstoppable Grace
Despite the people's resistance, God's plan moved forward through Moses. Similarly, even though the Jewish leaders rejected Jesus, God's redemptive work continued through Him. Stephen's message was a call for them to recognize that rejecting God's appointed deliverer leads only to destruction, not deliverance.
Understand the original words
teras · Greek Noun
An act or event that defies the laws of nature, intended to manifest God's power and validate a divine message or messenger.
sēmeion · Greek Noun
An object, event, or action that serves as a divine signal or evidence of God's presence, authority, or future purpose.
Stephen highlights Moses' God-ordained leadership, emphasizing the spectacular miracles of the Exodus and the wilderness. This grounds his argument that just as God appointed Moses to deliver Israel, He has now sent Jesus, whom his audience has rejected, to bring spiritual deliverance.
c. 1446 BC— this verse
The Exodus from Egypt
Under Moses' leadership, God miraculously freed the Israelites from over 400 years of slavery in Egypt, marked by the ten plagues and the parting of the Red Sea.
c. 1446-1406 BC
Wilderness Wanderings
Following the Exodus, the Israelites wandered in the desert for 40 years due to their disobedience, during which God sustained them with miracles like manna and water from a rock.
c. 1406 BC
Conquest of Canaan Begins
After 40 years of wandering, the Israelites, now led by Joshua, began the conquest of the Promised Land, fulfilling God's promises to Abraham and his descendants.
This passage details the 'wonders and signs' performed in Egypt through Moses' staff, directly illustrating the first part of Stephen's statement in Acts 7:36.
Numbers 14:33This verse directly connects the forty years in the wilderness with God's judgment, echoing Stephen's mention of the forty-year period of signs and wonders in the wilderness in Acts 7:36.
Deuteronomy 18:15Stephen quotes this verse later in his speech (Acts 7:37), directly linking Moses' leadership and divine signs to the coming Prophet, Jesus Christ, reinforcing the significance of Moses' miraculous acts mentioned in Acts 7:36.
ellicottActs 7:36: "He brought them out, after that he had shewed wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, and in the Red sea, and in the wilderness forty years."
(36) After that he had shewed wonders and signs. —The two nouns are joined together, as in Deuteronomy 6:22 , Matthew 24:24 . The words express different relations, it may be, of the same phenomena, rather than phenomena specifically different;—the first emphasising the wonder which the miracle produces, and therefore answering more strictly t…
clarkeActs 7:36: "He brought them out, after that he had shewed wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, and in the Red sea, and in the wilderness forty years."
He brought them out, after that he had showed wonders, etc. - Thus the very person whom they had rejected, and, in effect, delivered up into the hands of Pharaoh that he might be slain, was the person alone by whom they were redeemed from their Egyptian bondage. And does not St. Stephen plainly say by this, that the very person, Jesus Christ,…
Stephen highlights that "wonders and signs" weren't just spectacular events, but divine evidence pointing to God's power, emphasizing His faithfulness to Israel despite their continued rejection of His messengers. This narrative thread culminates in his pointed comparison to Jesus, whom they also rejected.
Stephen continues his bold recounting of Israel's history, emphasizing that Moses, the very leader they rejected, was God's chosen instrument for their deliverance. He highlights the powerful signs and wonders God performed through Moses in Egypt, at the Red Sea, and throughout their forty years in the wilderness, setting the stage for his comparison to Jesus.
Stephen continues his bold recounting of Israel's history, emphasizing that Moses, the very leader they rejected, was God's chosen instrument for their deliverance. He highlights the powerful signs and wonders God performed through Moses in Egypt, at the Red Sea, and throughout their forty years in the wilderness, setting the stage for his comparison to Jesus.
"This man led them out, performing wonders and signs in Egypt and at the Red Sea and in the wilderness for forty years." — Stephen highlights that "wonders and signs" weren't just spectacular events, but divine evidence pointing to God's power, emphasizing His faithfulness to Israel despite their continued rejection of H…
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Last reviewed October 2026