Acts 7 · Verse 16

Acts 7:16

And were carried over into Sychem, and laid in the sepulchre that Abraham bought for a sum of money of the sons of Emmor the father of Sychem.
Acts 7:16, King James Version

Acts 7:16 in other translations

BSBTheir bones were carried back to Shechem and placed in the tomb that Abraham had bought from the sons of Hamor at Shechem for a price he paid in silver.
WEBand they were brought back to Shechem and laid in the tomb that Abraham bought for a price in silver from the children of Hamor of Shechem.
ASVand they were carried over unto Shechem, and laid in the tomb that Abraham bought for a price in silver of the sons of Hamor in Shechem.
YLTand they were carried over into Sychem, and were laid in the tomb that Abraham bought for a price in money from the sons of Emmor, of Sychem.
DARBYand were carried over to Sychem and placed in the sepulchre which Abraham bought for a sum of money of the sons of Emmor the father of Sychem.
BBEAnd they were taken over to Shechem, and put to rest in the place which Abraham got for a price in silver from the sons of Hamor in Shechem.
WebsterAnd were carried over into Sychem, and laid in the sepulcher that Abraham bought for a sum of money of the sons of Emmor the father of Sychem.

What does Acts 7:16 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Acts 7:9-16

9-16. the patriarchs, moved with envy, sold Joseph into Egypt, but God was with him--Here Stephen gives his first example of Israel's opposition to God's purposes, in spite of which and by means of which those purposes were accomplished.

Read the full comment on Acts 7:9-16 →

Barnes' Notes
Verse 16.

(a) "Was carried over into Sychem" Josh 24:32 (*) "Sychem" "Shechem" (+) "Emmor" "Hamor"

Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 16 And were carried over to Sychem - "It is said, Gen 50:13, that Jacob was buried in the cave of the field of Machpelah before Mamre. And in Jos 24:32, and Exo 13:19, it is said that the bones of Joseph were carried out of Egypt by the Israelites, and buried in Shechem, which Jacob bought from the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem. As for the eleven brethren of Joseph, we are told by Josephus, Ant. lib. ii. cap. 8. sect. 2, that they were buried in Hebron, where their father had been buried. But, since the books of the Old Testament say nothing about this, the authority of Stephen (or of Luke here) for their being buried in Sychem is at least as good as that of Josephus for their being buried in Hebron." - Bp. Pearce. We have the uniform consent of the Jewish writers that all the patriarchs were brought out of Egypt, and buried in Canaan, but none, except Stephen, mentions their being buried in Sychem. As Sychem belonged to the Samaritans, probably the Jews thought it too great an honor for that people to possess the bones of the patriarchs; and therefore have carefully avoided making any mention of it. This is Dr. Lightfoot's conjecture; and it is as probable as any other. That Abraham bought for a sum of money - Two accounts seem here to be confounded: 1. The purchase made by Abraham of the cave and field of Ephron, which was in the field of Machpelah: this purchase was made from the children of Heth, Gen 23:3, Gen 23:10, Gen 23:17. 2. The purchase made by Jacob, from the sons of Hamor or Emmor, of a sepulchre in which the bones of Joseph were laid: this was in Sychem or Shechem, Gen 33:19; Jos 24:32. The word Abraham, therefore, in this place, is certainly a mistake; and the word Jacob, which some have supplied, is doubtless more proper. Bp. Pearce supposes that Luke originally wrote, ὁ ωνησατο τιμης αργυριου, which he bought for a sum of money: i.e. which Jacob bought, who is the last person, of the singular number, spoken of in the preceding verse. Those who saw that the word ωνησατο, bought, had no nominative case joined to it, and did not know where to find the proper one, seem to have inserted Αβρααμ, Abraham, in the text, for that purpose, without sufficiently attending to the different circumstances of his purchase from that of Jacob's.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Acts 7:1-16

Stephen was charged as a blasphemer of God, and an apostate from the church; therefore he shows that he is a son of Abraham, and values himself on it. The slow steps by which the promise made to Abraham advanced toward performance, plainly show that it had a spiritual meaning, and that the land intended was the heavenly. God owned Joseph in his troubles, and was with him by the power of his Spirit, both on his own…

Read the full comment on Acts 7:1-16 →

Acts 7:16 in the original Greek

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

καὶkaiandG2532
μετετέθησανmetetethēsanthey were carried overG3346
εἰςeisintoG1519
ΣυχὲμSuchemShechemG4966
καὶkaiandG2532
ἐτέθησανetethēsanwere placedG5087
ἐνeninG1722
τῷtōtheG3588
μνήματιmnēmatitombG3418
ᾧhōwhichG3739
ὠνήσατοōnēsatoboughtG5608
ἈβραὰμAbraamAbrahamG11
τιμῆςtimēsfor a sumG5092
ἀργυρίουarguriouof silverG694
παρὰparafromG3844
τῶνtōntheG3588
υἱῶνhuiōnsonsG5207
ἙμμὼρHemmōrof HamorG1697
ἐνeninG1722
Συχέμ.SuchemShechem.G4966

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Acts 7:16

  • Joshua 24:32

    And the bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel brought up out of Egypt, buried they in Shechem, in a parcel of ground which Jacob bought of the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for an hundred pieces of silver: and it became the inheritance of the children of Joseph.

  • Genesis 23:16

    And Abraham hearkened unto Ephron; and Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver, which he had named in the audience of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, current money with the merchant.

  • Exodus 13:19

    And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him: for he had straitly sworn the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you; and ye shall carry up my bones away hence with you.

  • Genesis 34:2-31

    And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he took her, and lay with her, and defiled her. And his soul clave unto Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the damsel, and spake kindly unto the damsel. And Shechem spake unto his father Hamor, saying, Get me this damsel to wife. And Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah his daughter: now his sons were with his cattle in the field: and Jacob held his peace until they were come. …

  • Genesis 50:13

    For his sons carried him into the land of Canaan, and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, which Abraham bought with the field for a possession of a buryingplace of Ephron the Hittite, before Mamre.

  • Genesis 33:9-20

    And Esau said, I have enough, my brother; keep that thou hast unto thyself. And Jacob said, Nay, I pray thee, if now I have found grace in thy sight, then receive my present at my hand: for therefore I have seen thy face, as though I had seen the face of God, and thou wast pleased with me. Take, I pray thee, my blessing that is brought to thee; because God hath dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough. And he urged him, and he took it. And he said, Let us take our journey, and let us go, and I will go before thee. …

  • Genesis 49:29-32

    And he charged them, and said unto them, I am to be gathered unto my people: bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, In the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite for a possession of a buryingplace. There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah. The purchase of the field and of the cave that is therein was from the children of Heth.

  • Genesis 35:19

    And Rachel died, and was buried in the way to Ephrath, which is Beth–lehem.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
were.Of the two burying-places of the patriarchs, one was at Hebron, the cave and field which Abraham purchased of Ephron the Hittite, (Ge 23:16, etc.); the other in Sychem, which Jacob (not Abraham) bought of the sons of Emmor, (Ge 33:19.) To remove this glaring discrepancy, Markland interprets [para ,] from, as it frequently signifies with a genitive, and renders, "And were carried over to Sychem; and afterwards from among the descendants of Emmor, the father, or son, of Sychem, they were laid in the sepulchre which Abraham bought for a sum of money." This agrees with the account which Josephus gives of the patriarchs; that they were carried out of Egypt, first to Sychem, and then to Hebron, where they were buried.
Ex 13:19; Jos 24:32
the sepulchre.
Ge 33:9-20; 35:19; 49:29-32
Emmor.
Ge 34:2-31
Hamor, Shechem.

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Acts 7:15

    So Jacob went down into Egypt, and died, he, and our fathers,

  • Acts 7:16

    And were carried over into Sychem, and laid in the sepulchre that Abraham bought for a sum of money of the sons of Emmor the father of Sychem.

  • Acts 7:17

    But when the time of the promise drew nigh, which God had sworn to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt,

Read all of Acts 7

Acts 7:16 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Los cuales fueron trasladados á Sichêm, y puestos en el sepulcro que compró Abraham á precio de dinero de los hijos de Hemor de Sichêm.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		et ils furent transportés à Sichem, et mis dans le sépulcre qu’Abraham avait acheté à prix d’argent des fils d’Emmor, le père de Sichem.
German
Elberfelder 1871		und sie wurden nach Sichem hinübergebracht und in die Grabstätte gelegt, welche Abraham für eine Summe Geldes von den Söhnen Hemors, des Vaters Sichems, kaufte.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Et translati sunt in Sichem, et positi sunt in sepulchro, quod emit Abraham pretio argenti a filiis Hemor filii Sichem.