People of the Bible
Stephen
- Died
- Jerusalem
In the story
A dot is a moment; a bar is something that lasted, drawn to its length.
- Seven chosen to serve · 30 AD
- Stephen is seized · 30 AD
- Stephen addresses the council · 30 AD
- Stephen is stoned · 31 AD
- Saul persecutes the church · 31 AD
Easton’s Bible Dictionary
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.
From M. G. Easton, Illustrated Bible Dictionary (1893), in the public domain.
Named in 7 verses
The family, dates and events on this page come from Theographic, a knowledge graph of the Bible by Robert Rouse, used and shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. It is a work in progress, and its dates follow one reconstruction of biblical chronology among several. The dictionary article above is separately in the public domain.