Acts 7:2

He said. Stephen’s reply was a declaration of faith. It was also an indictment of his accusers. See Additional Notes at end of chapter, Note 1.

Men, brethren, and fathers. Stephen’s address is dignified, yet on a more familiar basis than Peter’s (cf. ch. 4:8). The accused man addresses the Jewish leaders as brethren, and pays respect to the elders. Paul used the same words when he addressed the throng from the castle stairs (ch. 22:1).

God of glory. Literally, “God of the glory,” that is, the God manifested to Israel in the glory of the pillars of cloud and fire and of the Shekinah (Ex. 13:21, 22; Ex. 40:34, 35). The glory of God is His character (see on Ex. 34:6). This was impressively revealed in the life and work of Jesus Christ (see on Isa. 40:5; John 1:14; cf. James 2:1). The phrase “God of glory” forms a wise opening to Stephen’s speech. It rebuts the charge of blasphemy and prepares the way for a fresh concept of the God whom the Jews claimed to worship.

Appeared. Showing that God manifested Himself before the Temple existed. Genesis lists five manifestations to Abraham, aside from those connected with the calls to leave his family and homeland (chs. 12:1-3; 15:7): the promise (Gen. 12:7), the covenant (Gen. 13:14-17), the covenant sealed (Gen. 15), the covenant of circumcision (Gen. 17:10), the covenant renewed at Mamre (Gen. 18:1).

Mesopotamia. Literally, “between the rivers,” the name used for the country lying between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers (cf. on Gen. 24:10). Stephen seems to limit the name to the southern area, above the Persian Gulf. The ancestral home of Abraham is called “Ur of the Chaldees” (Gen. 11:31; see Acts 7:4), and is spoken of as “on the other side of the flood” (Joshua 24:2, 3), that is, beyond the Euphrates. The site of Ur has not yet been identified with certainty.

Charran. The Greek form of the OT Haran (see on Gen. 11:31). Stephen appears to separate Haran from Mesopotamia, although the city was actually in the northwestern part of what is loosely called Mesopotamia.