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The story of Jacob and Joseph:
v. 9. And the patriarchs, moved with envy, sold Joseph into Egypt; but God was with him,
v. 10. and delivered him out of all his afflictions, and gave him favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh, king of Egypt; and he made him governor over Egypt and all his house.
v. 11. Now there came a dearth over all the land of Egypt and Canaan and great affliction, and our fathers found no sustenance.
v. 12. But when Jacob heard that there was corn in Egypt, he sent out our fathers first.
v. 13. And at the second time Joseph was made known to his brethren; and Joseph's kindred was made known unto Pharaoh.
v. 14. Then sent Joseph and called his father Jacob to him and all his kindred, threescore and fifteen souls.
v. 15. So Jacob went down into Egypt, and died, he and our fathers,
v. 16. and 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.
The account moves forward with the same interesting, graphic force as before, and is just as skillfully abridged. The brothers of Joseph were jealous of the favor in which his father held him, and in a fit of envy sold him to the Midianitea and thus, through them, into Egypt, Gen_37:4; Gen_11:28. But here again, as Stephen emphasizes, God was with Joseph, delivering him out of all his misfortunes and tribulations, which befell him also in the land of his bondage, and giving him both favor and wisdom before Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. The Hebrew slave, unknown a few hours before, was made the ruler of Egypt and the manager of the king's house as well. Then came the famine, striking not only Egypt, but Canaan as well, and causing great suffering, making not only the ordinary bread scarce, but all food made of corn. But the news having been brought that Egypt was provided with grain for food, Jacob sent his sons down there for the first time, Gen_42:1. At their second coming Joseph made himself known to his brethren, a fact which also made the family and the origin of Joseph known to Pharaoh. It was then that Joseph sent to fetch his aged father to Egypt and his entire relationship. Stephen here does not speak in opposition to Gen_46:27, where only seventy souls are mentioned, but follows the Greek translation of the Old Testament, the so-called Septuagint, which is thus substantiated by the Spirit of God. For by taking the number seventy-five, the text follows the manner of the Genesis account, and includes the two sons of Manasseh, the two sons of Ephraim, and the grandson of the latter. Jacob, having removed to Egypt, died there in due time, and all his sons died there as well. By a special request and promise which Jacob had taken from Joseph with an oath, his body was taken to Canaan and buried in the cave of the field of Machpelah, Gen_50:13. This cave Abraham had purchased from Ephron the Hittite, Gen_23:16. Jacob had purchased a parcel of ground from Emmor, or Hamor, the father of Schechem, after whom the entire countryside was named, Gen_33:19. There Joseph was buried, and very probably all the other sons of Jacob as well, Jos_24:32, as Jerome, who lived in Palestine in the fourth century, reports. Thus the two accounts are contracted into one in the brief account of Stephen.