Acts 7 verse 2

Acts 7:2

And he said, Men, brethren, and fathers, hearken; The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran, . . . (KJV)

And he said, Men, brothers, and fathers, listen!  The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham, being in Mesopotamia before he lived in Haran; . . .  (IB)

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Retranslation: And [Stephen] said: Those who think they are born of mortals, listen! Understand! God was very apparent to Abraham; She shewed Herself to him,------She was no longer a secret to him, She was not hidden; She was unquestionable, laid open, too plain for him to admit of any doubt as to what She was; She was clearly known to him, a subject of constant observation and comprehension; and he gazed at Her with eyes wide open as upon Something Remarkable, discerning Her clearly in all Her glory; therefore, he existed in the midst of Her, experiencing Her as the River of Life, before he “lived” in Charran, the parched “desert of human hopes”! *

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• SH 566:3  “. . . as [the children of Israel] were led through the wilderness, walking wearily through the great desert of human hopes, and anticipating the promised joy,----so shall the spiritual idea guide all right desires in their passage from sense to Soul, from a material sense of existence to the spiritual, up to the glory prepared for those who love God.” (Emphasis added.)

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NOTE:

1. Abraham represents the individual who is faithful to God, the one who loves and trusts God. Do I maintain what God shews me?  Do I stay in the Remarkable River or do I play the harlot with my mortal mind and cavort with the matter-god, thus missing Something Remarkable and experiencing only the un-spiritual, un-real, un-God-like, parched, glory-less, matter-filled experience?  O God, show me what You are so that I may be like Abraham and gaze at You as upon Something Remarkable so that I might never turn my gaze away!

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Men 435

brothers 80

fathers 3962 pater, apparently a primary word; a “father” (literal or figurative, near or more remote):------father, parent.

hear 191 akouo, a primary verb; to hear (in various senses):----give (in the) audience (of), come (to the ears), (shall) hear, hearer, hearken, be noised, be reported, understand.

God 2316 theos, of uncertain affinity; a deity, especially (with 3588) the supreme Divinity; figuratively a magistrate; by Hebrew very:-----God, god, godly, godward, exceeding.

glory 1391 doxa, from the base of Greek dokeo; glory (as very apparent), in a wide application (literally or figuratively, objectively or subjectively):----dignity, honour, praise, worship, glory, glorious.

apparent (1828 Dict. def.): [See Appear. L. appareo, ad + pareo, to appear, or to be manifest.]

1. That may be seen, or easily seen; visible to the eye; within sight or view.
2. Obvious; plain; evident; indubitable; as, the wisdom of the creator is apparent in his works.
3. Visible, in opposition to hid or secret; as, a man’s apparent conduct is good.
4. Visible; appearing to the eye; seeming, in distinction from true or real; as, the apparent motion or diameter of the sun.

appear (ibid.)

1. To come or be in sight; to be in view; to be visible. The leprosy appeareth in the skin of the flesh. Lev. xiii.
2. To become visible to the eye, as a spirit, or to the apprehension of the mind; a sense frequent in scripture. The Lord appeared to Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the Lord, who appeared unto him. Gen. xii.  The angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of the bush. Ex. iii.
3. To stand in presence of, as parties or advocates before a court, or an persons to be tried. The defendant, being called, did not appear.  We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ. 2 Cor. v.
4. To be obvious; to be known, as a subject of observation or comprehension. Let thy work appear unto thy servant. Ps. xc. It doth not yet appear what we shall be. 1 John iii.
5. To be clear or made clear by evidence; as, this fact appears by ancient records. But sin that it might appear sin. Rom. vii.
6. To seem, in opposition to reality. They disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to fast. Matt. vi.
7. To be discovered, or laid open. That thy shame may appear. Jer. xiii.

indubitable (1828 Dict. def.): [L. indubitablis, in, not + dubito, to doubt.]

1. Not to be doubted; unquestionable; evident; apparently certain; too plain to admit of doubt.

appeared H7200 ra, a primitive root; to see, literally or figuratively (in numerous application, direct and implied, transitively, intransitively and causatively):----shew, shew self, view, visions, look on, look one on another, gaze, take heed, discern, behold, have experience, look one upon another, look up, look upon, mark, meet, perceive, present, regard, see one another, stare, appear, consider, be near, respect, have respect, forsee, cause to see, let see, seer, seem, make to enjoy, advise self, approve, certainly, surely, espy, spy, sight of others.

appeared 3700 optanomai, a (middle) prolonged form of the primary (middle) optomai which is used for it in certain tenses; and both as an alternate of 3708; to gaze (i.e. with wide-open eyes, as at something remarkable; and thus differing from 991, which denotes simply voluntary observation; and from 1492, which expresses merely mechanical, passive or casual vision; while 2300, and still more emphatically its intensive 2334, signifies an earnest but more continued inspection; and 4648 a watching from a distance):---look, see, shew self, appear.

3708 horao; properly to stare at [compare 3700], i.e. (by implication) to discern clearly (physically or mentally); by extension to attend to; by Hebrew to experience; passive to appear:----behold, perceive, see, take heed.

father 3962

of us 2257

Abraham 11 Abraam, of Hebrew origin [85]; Abraham, the Hebrew patriarch:---Abraham.

H85 abraham, contracted from H1 and an unused root (probably meaning to be populous); father of a multitude; Abraham, the later name of Abram:----Abraham.

H1 ab, a primitive word; father (in a literal and immediate, or figurative and remote application):----father, forefather, chief, patrimony, principal. Compare names in “Abi-”

Abraham. Fidelity; faith in the divine Life and in the eternal Principle of Being.

This patriarch illustrated the purpose of Love to create trust in good, and showed the life-preserving power of spiritual understanding.  (emphasis added)  SH 579:10

being 5607

in 1722

Mesopotamia 3318 Mesopotamia, from 3319 and 4215; Mesopotamia (as lying between the Euphrates and the Tigris; compare H763), a region of Asia:-----Mesopotamia.

3319 meso, from 3326; middle (as adjective or [neuter] noun):----among, before them, between, forth, midday, midnight, midst, way.

3326 meta, a primary preposition (often used adverbially); properly denoting accompaniment; “amid” (locally or causally); modified variously according to the case (genitive, association, or accusative succession) with which it is joined; occupying an intermediate position between 575 or 1537 and 1519 or 4314; less intimate than 1722, and less close than 4862. Often used in compounds, in substantially the same relations of participation or proximity, and transfer or sequence:------together, with, follow, after, afterward, hence, hereafter, in, of, on, upon, our, since, to unto, when that be again, against, among, and, without.

4215 potamos, probably from a derivative of the alternate of 4095 (compare 4224); a current, brook or freshet (as drinkable), i.e. running water:-----river, stream, water, flood.

before 4250 

even 2228

dwelt 2730 katoikeo, from 2596 and 3611; to house permanently, i.e. reside (lit. or fig.):---dwell, dweller, inhabitant, inhabiter.

3611 oikeo, from 3624; to occupy a house, i.e. reside (figuratively to inhabit, remain, inhere); by implication to cohabit:-----dwell. See also 3625.

in 1722

Haran 5488 Charran, of Hebrew origin [H2771]; Charrhan (i.e. Charan). a place in Mesopotamia:-----Charran.

H2771 haran, from 2787; parched; Charan, the name of a man and also of a place:---Haran.

H2787 harar, a primitive root; to glow, i.e. literally (to melt, burn, dry up) or figuratively (to show or incite passion):-----be angry, burn, dry, kindle.