Man living at the time of the New Testament
Stephen, one of the seven deacons chosen by the early church, was full of faith and the Holy Spirit, performed miracles, and became the first Christian martyr after his powerful testimony before the Sanhedrin.
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Stephen was one of the seven men chosen by the early church in Jerusalem to serve as deacons, responsible for the daily distribution of food to widows (Act.6.1-6). He is described as being full of faith, wisdom, and the Holy Spirit (Act.6.5, 8).
As Stephen continued to perform wonders and signs among the people, he faced opposition from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen, who disputed with him (Act.6.9). However, they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke (Act.6.10).
Consequently, they brought false charges against Stephen, accusing him of blasphemy against Moses and God (Act.6.11-14). When brought before the Sanhedrin (the Jewish high court), Stephen's face was said to have appeared like the face of an angel (Act.6.15).
In his defense, Stephen delivered a powerful speech recounting Israel's history and their rejection of God's prophets, culminating in their rejection of Jesus as the Righteous One (Act.7.1-53). He accused his hearers of resisting the Holy Spirit and persecuting the prophets, just as their fathers had done (Act.7.51-52).
Enraged by his words, the members of the Sanhedrin gnashed their teeth at Stephen, but he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God (Act.7.54-55). When he declared this vision, they dragged him out of the city and stoned him to death, with a young man named Saul (later known as Paul) guarding the garments of those who carried out the execution (Act.7.56-60).
As he was being stoned, Stephen called out to the Lord Jesus to receive his spirit and, echoing Jesus' words on the cross, asked God not to hold this sin against his persecutors (Act.7.59-60). Devout men buried Stephen and lamented deeply over him (Act.8.2).
Stephen's martyrdom marked a significant turning point in the early church, as it sparked a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, leading to the dispersion of believers throughout Judea and Samaria (Act.8.1, 11:19). This dispersion ultimately led to the spread of the gospel beyond Jerusalem, fulfilling Jesus' command to be his witnesses to the ends of the earth (Act.1.8).
Part of: Paul's Circle · The Jerusalem Church
The witnesses laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul, who approved of Stephen's killing. Paul later confesses standing by and guarding the clothes of those who killed him.
Sources: Scripture
Stephen disputed with members of the synagogue of Freedmen, Cyrenians, Alexandrians, and those from Cilicia and Asia. Tarsus is in Cilicia, so some think Saul took part. Acts does not name him until the stoning.
Sources: Scripture
The Seven were chosen to serve tables for the Greek-speaking widows, and all have Greek names. Philip later evangelized Samaria, and Acts 21:8 calls him one of the Seven.
Sources: Scripture
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One of the seven deacons, who became a preacher of the gospel. He was the first Christian martyr. His personal character and history are recorded in Acts 6. “He fell asleep” with a prayer for his persecutors on his lips (7:60). Devout men carried him to his grave (8:2). It was at the feet of the young Pharisee, Saul of Tarsus, that those who stoned him laid their clothes (comp. Deut. 17:5-7) before they began their cruel work. The scene which Saul then witnessed and the words he heard appear to have made a deep and lasting impression on his mind (Acts 22:19, 20). The speech of Stephen before the Jewish ruler is the first apology for the universalism of the gospel as a message to the Gentiles as well as the Jews. It is the longest speech contained in the Acts, a place of prominence being given to it as a defence.
the first Christian martyr, was the chief of the seven (commonly called Deacons) appointed to rectify the complaints in the early Church of Jerusalem, made by the Hellenistic against the hebrew Christians. His Greek name indicates his own Hellenistic origin. His importance is stamped on the narrative by a reiteration of emphatic, almost superlative, phrases: “full of faith and of the Holy Ghost,” (Acts 6:5) “full of grace and power,” ibid. (Acts 6:8) irresistible “spirit and wisdom,” ibid (Acts 6:10) “full of the Holy Ghost.” (Acts 7:55) He shot far ahead of his six companions, and far above his particular office. First, he arrests attention by the “great wonders and miracles that he did.” Then begins a series of disputations with the Hellenistic Jews of north Africa, Alexandria and Asia Minor, his companions in race and birthplace. The subject of these disputations is not expressly mentioned; but from what follows it is obvious that he struck into a new vein of teaching, which evidently caused his martyrdom. Down to this time the apostles and the early Christian community had clung in their worship, not merely to the holy land and the holy city but to the holy place of the temple. This local worship, with the Jewish customs belonging to it, Stephen denounced. So we must infer from the accusations brought against him confirmed as they are by the tenor of his defence. He was arrested at the instigation of the Hellenistic Jews, and brought before the Sanhedrin. His speech in his defence, and his execution by stoning outside the gates of Jerusalem, are related at length in Acts 7. The frame work in which his defence is cast is a summary of the history of the Jewish Church. In the facts which he selects from his history he is guided by two principles. The first is the…
STE'PHEN (crown), usually known as the first martyr, was one of the seven men of honest report who were elected, at the suggestion of the twelve apostles, to relieve them of a particular class of their labors. Acts 6:5. He was a forerunner of the apostle Paul. He is described as a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost. Acts 6:8, 1 Kgs 16:10. He argued for the new faith with convincing power. It was to stop lips so eloquent that he was arrested and placed before the "council," the Sanhedrin. But as he realized his position the prospect of testifying in that assemblage of the chief of his people to the love and work of Jesus so wrought upon him that his spirit rose within him, and his face had such beauty and purity, such thoughtfulness and manliness, that he awed his judges, for on him, their victim, they beheld the angel-face. His defence was a calm historical proof of the two points: 1. God had not limited his favor to the Holy Land or to the temple; 2. The Jews had always opposed to this free spirit of their God a narrow, bigoted spirit. How long he would have spoken none can say, but the manner in which these quiet and truthful words were received caused him to break off" abruptly into fierce invective and reproach; but so direct was its appeal to the consciences of the populace that they were excited to madness, Acts 7:54, and fell upon Stephen like wild beasts, shouting and stopping their ears; and after they had forced him beyond the walls of the city, they stoned him to death, Saul being present and conspicuous in this tumultuous transaction. The last breath of the martyr was spent, like that of his divine Master, in prayer for the forgiveness of his murderers. It is worthy of remark that this prayer of Stephen is directed to the Lord Jesus, or rather it seems…
STE'PHEN (crown), usually known as the first martyr, was one of the seven men of honest report who were elected, at the suggestion of the twelve apostles, to relieve them of a particular class of their labors. Acts 6:5. He was a forerunner of the apostle Paul. He is described as a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost. Acts 6:8, 1 Kgs 16:10. He argued for the new faith with convincing power. It was to stop lips so eloquent that he was arrested and placed before the "council," the Sanhedrin. But as he realized his position the prospect of testifying in that assemblage of the chief of his people to the love and work of Jesus so wrought upon him that his spirit rose within him, and his face had such beauty and purity, such thoughtfulness and manliness, that he awed his judges, for on him, their victim, they beheld the angel-face. His defence was a calm historical proof of the two points: 1. God had not limited his favor to the Holy Land or to the temple; 2. The Jews had always opposed to this free spirit of their God a narrow, bigoted spirit. How long he would have spoken none can say, but the manner in which these quiet and truthful words were received caused him to break off" abruptly into fierce invective and reproach; but so direct was its appeal to the consciences of the populace that they were excited to madness, Acts 7:54, and fell upon Stephen like wild beasts, shouting and stopping their ears; and after they had forced him beyond the walls of the city, they stoned him to death, Saul being present and conspicuous in this tumultuous transaction. The
last breath of the martyr was spent, like that of his divine Master, in prayer for the forgiveness of his murderers. It is worthy of remark that this prayer of Stephen is directed to the Lord Jesus, or rather it…
Easton (1897), Smith (1863), Hitchcock (1869), Hastings (1898) and Schaff are in the public domain. Parsed text: neuu-org/bible-dictionary-dataset (CC BY 4.0). Headwords and whitespace normalised for this site.
7 verses in 1 book · English text: BSB (change it from the menu at the top) · Strong’s G4736
This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, as well as Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism.
Now Stephen, who was full of grace and power, was performing great wonders and signs among the people.
But resistance arose from what was called the Synagogue of the Freedmen, including Cyrenians, Alexandrians, and men from the provinces of Cilicia and Asia. They disputed with Stephen,
While they were stoning him, Stephen appealed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”
God-fearing men buried Stephen and mourned deeply over him.
Meanwhile those scattered by the persecution that began with Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, speaking the message only to Jews.
And when the blood of Your witness Stephen was shed, I stood there giving my approval and watching over the garments of those who killed him.’
Names, family links and references: STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). Short descriptions were drafted with AI assistance by STEPBible. Family links follow STEPBible’s scholarly decisions where genealogies are ambiguous.