<p>7:22 <i>And Moses was i<em>nstructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians- </em></i>Moses and Daniel were in such a similar situation; Daniel appears to have slipped away into the shadows whenever he was promoted to greatness in Babylon, and surely he took inspiration from Moses. There are similarities intended to be discerned between our lives and those of others; and we are to respond. Paul says he was &quot;<em>taught</em> according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers&quot; (Acts 22:3) by Gamaliel, receiving the highest wisdom possible in the Jewish world; but he uses the same word as Stephen in Acts 7:22, describing how Moses was <em>&quot;learned</em>&quot; in all the wisdom of Egypt. Paul perceived his Jerusalem education as equivalent to that received by Moses in Egypt; he saw the very doyen of Judaism as no better than pagan Egypt. And Stephen through his allusions likewise had several times suggested that Judaism was no better than paganism. This speech had a huge effect on Paul, even though Stephen would not have noticed anything at the time.</p><p><em>&ldquo;The wisdom</em>&rdquo; is Gk. <em>sophia</em>. The same word is used in the construction which is translated &quot;dealt craftily&quot; in :19; the wisdom of Egypt was to persecute the Hebrews.</p><p><em>And he was mighty in his words and works</em>- The very phrase used by Luke about the Lord (Lk. 24:19). If Moses was indeed handsome (see on :20) and also mighty in words and works, he really would have been very eligible as the next Pharaoh, being the Pharaoh's adopted grandson. Moses really did despise so much worldly advantage for the sake of the far less glamorous calling of God. &quot;Mighty in his words and works&quot; is very much the language which has been used to describe Stephen himself in 6:8-10. Stephen took comfort from the rejection of Moses, and saw himself in Moses' experiences. This is how we too can make Biblical history a living word to us. Indeed, the Biblical examples which Stephen selects include Joseph who were rejected by the children of Israel despite his &quot;wisdom&quot; (:10), and Moses who also had &quot;wisdom&quot; of the Egyptians but was rejected by Israel- and wisdom was the great characteristic of Stephen (6:10). The way God made Stephen's face to shine as if he were an Angel (6:15) is effectively showing how God confirms Stephen in feeling as Moses; for the Angel's glory shone off the face of Moses too (Ex. 34:29).</p><p>&quot;I am not eloquent (mg. a man of words) ... I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue&quot; (Ex. 4:10); this is how Moses felt he would be perceived, although actually he was formally quite fluent when in the court of Pharaoh (Acts 7:22). Paul would have remembered Stephen saying how Moses was formerly full of worldly <em>wisdom</em> and &quot;mighty in words&quot;. Paul felt that he too had been through Moses' experience- once mighty in words as the rising star of the Jewish world, but now like Moses he had left all that behind in order to try to save a new Israel from Judaism and paganism.</p>