Acts 7 3

Acts 7:3 kjv

And said unto him, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall shew thee.

Acts 7:3 nkjv

and said to him, 'Get out of your country and from your relatives, and come to a land that I will show you.'

Acts 7:3 niv

'Leave your country and your people,' God said, 'and go to the land I will show you.'

Acts 7:3 esv

and said to him, 'Go out from your land and from your kindred and go into the land that I will show you.'

Acts 7:3 nlt

God told him, 'Leave your native land and your relatives, and come into the land that I will show you.'

Acts 7 verses

Acts 7 3 Meaning

The verse instructs Abraham to leave his homeland, his relatives, and his father's household to go to a land that God will show him. This is a divine command initiating a pivotal journey of faith for Abraham, establishing the foundation of God's covenant with him.

Acts 7 3 Context

This verse appears in Acts chapter 7, where Stephen is delivering his defense before the Sanhedrin. He recounts the history of Israel, beginning with Abraham. The primary context is Stephen's sermon, defending his actions and challenging the accusations against him by recounting God's faithfulness to Israel, even in their disobedience. The specific context for verse 3 is Stephen tracing the origins of Abraham's migration from Ur of the Chaldeans, following God's command. This sets the stage for illustrating Abraham's faith and God's call upon him, a theme that Stephen uses to contrast with the people's rejection of Jesus. The historical and cultural context involves the Jewish understanding of their patriarchs and the land of Canaan as central to their identity and God's covenant. Stephen's audience would have been intimately familiar with these narratives.

Acts 7 3 Word Analysis

• καὶ (kai): "and" - A conjunction used to connect clauses, indicating progression and sequence. Here it connects the preceding statement (presumably referring to God's speaking to Abraham or Abraham's existence) to the command.
• εἶπεν (eipen): "said" - From the verb λέγω (lego), meaning to speak or say. This is the third-person singular aorist indicative active, indicating a completed action in the past. It highlights God's direct verbal instruction.
• πρὸς (pros): "to" - A preposition indicating direction toward a person or place. It shows that the following statement was addressed directly to Abraham.
• τὸν (ton): "the" - The definite article, masculine accusative singular, referring to Abram (Abraham).
• Ἀβράμ (Abram): "Abram" - The Hebrew name, meaning "exalted father." God later changed his name to Abraham, meaning "father of a multitude." This initial name is used here as found in the Old Testament narrative.
• ἐξελθεῖν (exelthein): "to go out" - The infinitive aorist active of ἐξέρχομαι (exerchomai), meaning to come out or go forth. This infinitive signifies the purpose or result of God's command.
• ἐκ (ek): "from" - A preposition indicating origin or separation. It marks the point from which Abraham was to depart.
• τῆς (tes): "the" - The definite article, feminine genitive singular, referring to "country."
• γῆς (ges): "land" or "country" - Referring to Abraham's native territory. In the broader context, it means the land of his birth.
• σου (sou): "your" - The possessive pronoun, second person singular, referring to Abraham.
• καὶ (kai): "and" - Connective.
• ἐκ (ek): "from" - Indicating origin.
• τῆς (tes): "the" - Definite article, feminine genitive singular, referring to "kindred."
• συγγενείας (suggeneias): "kindred" or "relatives" - From σύγγενεια (suggeneia), meaning a relationship by birth, kindred, relations, countrymen. It encompasses extended family and those of the same nationality.
• σου (sou): "your" - Possessive pronoun.
• καὶ (kai): "and" - Connective.
• ἐκ (ek): "from" - Indicating origin.
• τοῦ (tou): "the" - Definite article, masculine genitive singular, referring to "father's house."
• οἴκου (oikou): "house" - From οἶκος (oikos), meaning house, home, household.
• τοῦ (tou): "the" - Definite article, masculine genitive singular.
• πατρὸς (patros): "father's" - From πατήρ (pater), meaning father. Genitive case.
• σου (sou): "your" - Possessive pronoun.
• εἰς (eis): "to" or "into" - A preposition indicating motion toward a place.
• τὴν (ten): "the" - Definite article, feminine accusative singular, referring to "land."
• γῆν (gen): "land" - From γῆ (ge), the same word for "land" as before, but here it is the destination.
• ἣν (hen): "which" or "that" - Relative pronoun, feminine accusative singular, introducing the relative clause describing the land.
• ἂν (an): "if" or "ever" or "would" - An untranslatable particle often used with the subjunctive or conditional mood. Here, it softens the statement, suggesting "whatever land" or "whichever land."
• ἐνδείξωμαι (endeixōmai): "I will show" - From ἐνδείκνυμι (endeiknymi), meaning to show, point out, make known. First-person singular aorist subjunctive middle, indicating a future action that God will perform or reveal.

Word Group Analysis:

• "Go out from your country, and from your kindred, and from your father's house": This tripartite phrase emphasizes the totality of the separation required. It's not just geographical distance, but a severing of deep cultural, familial, and ancestral ties. This represents a profound uprooting and dependency on divine guidance.
• "to the land which I will show you": This clause highlights the unknown nature of the destination and Abraham's complete reliance on God's direct revelation. The land is not predetermined in terms of specific geographical knowledge for Abraham at this point; it's a land God will show him.

Acts 7 3 Bonus Section

This command to Abraham parallels the experience of God's people throughout scripture. Just as Abraham was called out from Ur, so too were the Israelites called out of Egypt. Later, Christians are called out of a spiritual Egypt of sin and idolatry into God's kingdom. The emphasis on leaving behind kindred and father's house signifies a prioritizing of God's will above all earthly relationships, a concept echoed by Jesus himself (Matthew 10:37). The "land I will show you" also prefigures the spiritual promised land and eternal inheritance that believers receive through faith in Christ. This verse is foundational to understanding election, covenant, and the nature of obedient faith.

Acts 7 3 Commentary

This verse encapsulates the core of Abrahamic faith: a call to leave the familiar and step into the unknown, guided solely by God's promise and directive. It’s a paradigm shift from ancestral security to divine dependence. Abraham's response, detailed later in Genesis, demonstrates extraordinary faith, obeying without hesitation or full knowledge. Stephen uses this to illustrate that God's calling often involves leaving behind established certainties for an obedience rooted in trust in the unseen. The command's comprehensiveness—leaving country, kindred, and father's house—underscores the radical nature of God's call to His chosen servants. This preempts any claim of innate status or familial right, placing the covenant purely on faith and obedience to God's direct word.