Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Acts 13:19

"And when he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, he gave [them] their land for an inheritance, for about four hundred and fifty years:" — Acts 13:19 (ASV)

Paul’s exhortation begins with a review of Israel’s history that emphasizes the pattern of God’s redemptive activity from Abraham to David. It is an approach in line with Jewish interests and practices and can be paralleled by Stephen’s defense before the Sanhedrin, by the argument of the Letter to the Hebrews, and by the underlying structure of Matthew’s gospel.

Highlighted is a four-point confessional summary that for Jews epitomized the essence of their faith: (1) God is the God of the people of Israel; (2) he chose the patriarchs for himself; (3) he redeemed his people from Egypt, leading them through the desert; and (4) he gave them the land of Palestine as an inheritance. To such a confessional recital, Jews often added God’s choice of David to be king and the promises made to him and his descendants (cf. Pss 78:67–72; 89:3– 4, 19–37). Paul proclaims these great confessional truths of Israel’s faith, which speak of God’s redemptive concern for his people and undergird the Christian message.

Of importance also is the fact that underlying Paul’s treatment of David is 2 Samuel 7:6–16, the passage that speaks of David’s descendant as God’s “son.” By anchoring Israel’s kerygma in the messianically relevant “son” passage of 2Sa 7, Paul has begun to build a textual bridge for the Christian kerygma, which he will root in the messianic “son” passage of Ps 2:7. And by drawing these two passages together, he will draw together Israel’s confession and the church’s confession, thereby demonstrating both continuity and fulfillment.