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Answer: In his speech, Stephen states: "And Joseph sent
and called Jacob his father and all his relatives, seventy-five
souls; and Jacob went down into Egypt. And he died,
he and our fathers, and they were removed to Shechem
and were laid in the tomb that Abraham had bought for
a sum of silver from the sons of Hamor in Shechem" (Acts
7:14-16).
Jacob's family that came down to Egypt, inclusive
of Joseph and his sons, numbered seventy persons, not
seventy-five (Genesis 46:27, Exodus 1:5, Deuteronomy
10:22).
Jacob was not buried in the city of Shechem, but in
the cave of Machpelah, which is located in the city
of Hebron (Genesis 23:19; 49:29-30; 50:13).
The Jewish Scriptures do not give any indication that
the forefathers of the tribes of Israel were buried
in Shechem. Only Joseph is said to have been buried
there. Joseph was buried at Shechem, in the piece of
ground which Jacob had purchased for a hundred silver
shekels from the sons of Hamor (Genesis 33:19, Joshua
24:32). According to Josephus, the other sons of Jacob
were buried in Hebron (Josephus, Jewish Antiquities
II. 8. 2 [199]).
Abraham did not buy a tomb in Shechem. He bought the
cave of Machpelah, which he used as a burial place,
and which, as previously stated, is located in the city
of Hebron (Genesis 23:19).
The cave of Machpelah was not bought from the sons
of Hamor, but from Ephron the Hittite (Genesis 23:17-18,
50:13).
Christians offer a number of reasons for the differences
between what is found in Genesis and what is found in
Stephen's speech. Yet, whatever explanations are made
it should be understood that if he was under the influence
of the "Holy Spirit" he would have calmly said what
needed to be said and no crowd would have been able
to touch him until he finished. He wouldn't need to
telescope the material for brevity nor would he become
confused. If the New Testament, generally, and this
passage, in particular, is the result of divine influence
by the "Holy Spirit" then Christian renderings of the
Book of Genesis should surely reflect this in their
translations.
As it is, Stephen's overall speech expresses a Samaritan
outlook and it is more than likely that these comments
were taken from a Samaritan source. |