The patriarchs were jealous of Joseph and sold him into Egypt; but God was with him and rescued him from all his afflictions, and gave him favor and wisdom in the eyes of Pharaoh the King of Egypt; and Pharaoh established him as governor over Egypt and all his household.
But there came a famine in all of Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction, and our fathers could find no food.
But Jacob, hearing that there was food in Egypt, sent our fathers on their first visit; and on the second visit Joseph was recognized by his brothers, and the origin of Joseph was made known to Pharaoh. And Joseph sent and summoned Jacob his father and all his family, some seventy- five souls, and Jacob went to Egypt. And he died, and so did our fathers, and they were transported to Shechem and buried in the tomb which Abraham had bought for a sum of silver from the sons of Hamor in Shechem.
When the time drew near for the promise which God had agreed to with Abraham, his people in Egypt increased and multiplied, until another king was set over Egypt, one who had not known Joseph. This one contrived against our people and did evil to our fathers by causing their babies to be exposed so that they should not survive. In this time Moses was born, and he was pleasing to God. He was reared for three months in the house of his father; and when he was exposed, the daughter of Pharaoh took him up and raised him as her own son. And Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was powerful, in words and actions.
And when he was fully forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brothers, the sons of Israel. And when he saw one of them being injuriously treated he came to the defense of the man abused, by striking the Egyptian down. He thought that his brothers understood that God through his hand was rescuing them; but they did not understand. And the next day he appeared to them as they were fighting each other, and he tried to reconcile them and make peace, saying: Sirs, you are brothers. Why are you injuring each other? But the man who had been injuring his neighbor thrust him away, saying: Who set you up as leader and judge over us? Could it be that you want to kill me the way you killed the Egyptian yesterday?
At that word Moses went into exile and lived as an alien in Midian, where he had two sons. And when forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the desert of Mount Sinai, in the flame of the burning bush. When Moses saw him he wondered at the vision, but as he approached to look, there came the voice of the Lord: I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abrah^ and Isaac and Jacob. Moses trembled and did not dare look; but the Lord said to him: Take off your shoes from your feet, for the place where you stand is holy. I looked and saw the evil done to my people in Egypt, and I heard their groaning, and I came do^ to bring them out; and now, come, I send you back to Egypt.
This was that Moses whom they had denied, saying: Who set you up as leader and judge? This was he whom God sent as leader and deliverer, helped by the hand of the angel who appeared to him at the bush. He led them out, after accomplishing portentous things and miracles in Egypt and in the Red Sea and in the desert for forty years. This is the Moses who said to the sons of Israeclass="underline" God will raise up a prophet for you from among your brothers; as he did me. This is he who was in the congregation in the desert, with the angel who talked with him on Mount Sinai and with our fathers.
He received living oracles to give you. But our fathers would not obey him, but they thrust him away and turned in their hearts toward Egypt, saying to Aaron: Make us gods who will go before us; for as for this Moses who led us out of Egypt, we do not know what became of him. And they made the calf in those days, and they sacrificed to the idol, and they were pleased with the work of their hands. But God turned them about and committed them to the worship of the host of the sky, as it is written in the book of the prophets: House of Israel, did you bring me victims and sacrifices for forty years in the desert? No, but you took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of the god Rhompha, the figures you made, to worship them. And I will move you beyond Babylon.
Our fathers had the tabernacle of testimony in the desert, as he who talked with Moses told him to make it in the image of what he had seen; and our fathers inherited it and also brought it here when with Joshua they dispossessed the Gentiles, whom God drove from the sight of our fathers. Until the days of David; and David found favor in the eyes of God and asked leave to devise a tabernacle for the God of Jacob. But Solomon built him a house. But the Highest does not live in what has been made by hands; as the prophet says: Heaven is my throne, and the earth is a footstool for my feet; what kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord, or what place will be my resting place? Did not my hand make all these things?
Stiff-necked, like the uncircumcised in your hearts and ears, you struggle always against the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. Which one of the prophets did your fathers not drive out? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the righteous one whose betrayers and murderers you are now shown to be. You received the law on the orders of angels, and you did not keep it.
When they heard this they were convulsed with rage in their hearts and gnashed their teeth at him. But, filled with the Holy Spirit, he gazed into the sky and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of
God, and he said: See, I behold the heavens opened and the son of man standing on the right hand of God. They cried aloud in a great voice and covered their ears, and they made a concerted rush at him and threw him out of the city and began to stone him. And the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul. And they stoned Stephen as he made his invocation and said: Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. Then he fell on his knees and cried out in a great voice: Lord, do not hold this sin against them. And as he said this, he fell asleep.
1 And Saul approved of their killing him.
And on that day a great persecution began against the church in Jerusalem; and all, except the apostles, were scattered about the countryside of Judaea and Samaria. Certain devout men buried Stephen and made a great lament over him. But Saul continued to outrage the church, breaking into houses, dragging out men and women, and sending them to prison.
Those who had been scattered went about procl^ming the word of the gospel. Philip went to the city of Samaria and preached the Christ to the people. And the masses followed the sayings of Philip with enthusiasm as they listened to n. m and saw what miracles he was working. For many who had unclean spirits were relieved of them, crying aloud as they went, and many who were paralysed and many who were lame were made whole. And there was great joy in that city.
But a certain man named Simon had been in the city before Philip, practicing sorcery and astonishing the people of Samaria, claiming to be a great man, and all followed him, from the small to the great, saying: This is the power of God which is called great. They followed