Acts 7:59 - Did Stephen Call Upon God?

(We are in the process of updating this study -- Ronald R. Day, Sr.)

From time to time, Acts 7:59 is cited from the King James Version as proof of the trinity doctrine. Oneness believers may also cite this verse from the KJV as proof that Jesus is God. The KJV reads:

And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.

The claim is made that Stephen called upon God, who is "Lord Jesus". The trinitarian may claim that this proves the trinity doctrine, although in reality there is nothing in the verse as it appears in the King James Version that speaks of Jehovah, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as being more than one person, or that Jesus is a person of Jehovah. As throughout the Bible, the trinitarian dogma has forced into what Phillip stated.

We should certainly note that in the King James Version, the word "God" is in italics in Acts 7:59, which means that even in the Textus Receptus, there is no word in the Greek text to correspond with God. The word that denotes God in the Greek New Testament is often transliterated as THEOS. We do not find any form of this word in Acts 7:59.

Let us note what Ellicott states concerning this:

The word “God,” in the sentence “calling upon God,” it should be noted, is, as the italics show, an insertion to complete the sense.

Ellicot states the King James translators added "God" to complete the thought. Nevertheless, is this the thought Stephen had? Was he thinking that he was calling out to God Almighty? This wouldn't actually make sense, since in Acts 7:56 he had just referred to God as only one person (Jesus' Father) and distinguished Jesus from being God. Thus, the insertion of "God" into verse 59 makes it appear that Stephen was calling out to the Father of Jesus, thus making Jesus his own Father.  Oneness believers may support the KJV on this because of this point, but trinitarians do not usually present Jesus as being his Father. The fact is, however, that Stephen was addressing Jesus, the Son of God, not God at all, and thus the King James translators should not have inserted "God" into what Stephen said.

The reality is that THEOS is not found in any of the Greek manuscripts of Acts 7:59, nor any word for GOD found in ancient manuscripts translated into other languages. While one can find the word "God" left in some revisions made to the King James Version, no other translations we know of inserts "God" into Acts 7:59.

Concerning Acts 7:59, Adam Clarke tells us:

The word God is not found in any MS. or version, nor in any of the primitive fathers except Chrysostom. It is not genuine, and should not be inserted here: the whole sentence literally reads thus: And they stoned Stephen, invoking and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit! 

One should note that we do not have Chrysostom's original manuscripts. Evidently what is being referred to is from later copies of translations of his writings into other languages. We have no way of knowing if Chrysostom actually wrote that Stephen called upon God, or whether such was added in translation or in copying. **** below needs to be edited.

The word God is not in the original, and should not have been in the translation. It is in none of the ancient mss. or versions. It should have been rendered, “They stoned Stephen, invoking, or calling upon, and saying, Lord Jesus,” etc. -- Albert Barnes.

There is no Ellipsis of the word God. See Revised Version. Stephen called upon and invoked the Lord. -- E. W. Bullinger.

The word God is not in the original, as its being printed in italics shows. -- Justin Edwards.

An unhappy supplement of our translators is the word “God” here; as if, while addressing the Son, he was really calling upon the Father. -- Jameison-Faussett-Brown.

The word God is not in the original. -- Joseph Benson.

In the original we have simply e? p??a???´ µe???, invoking or calling upon. The word to be supplied is evidently ‘the Lord,’ from the next clause, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.’ This is better than supplying ‘God,’ as in the English Version, which slightly confuses the reader. -- Philip Schaff.

Omit God. Lit. And were stoning Stephen as he was invoking and saying, Lord Jesus, give welcome unto my spirit. -- C. I. Scofield.

There is nothing for the word God in the original. -- Thomas Coke.

The Lord (in italics) for God (in italics), A.V. The A.V. is certainly not justified by the context, because the words which follow, "Lord Jesus," show to whom the invocation was made, even to him whom he saw standing at the right hand of God. -- Excell, Spence Jones and Maurice, The Pulpit Commentary.

God is not in the Greek. From the vision just described, and from the prayer which follows, it is evident that Jesus is meant. -- Marvin R. Vincent.

And they stoned Stephen, invoking and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit - This is the literal translation of the words, the name of God not being in the original. -- John Wesley.

God—A word strangely inserted by the translators, and obscuring the fact that Stephen called upon Jesus. -- Daniel Whedon.

See these and many other commentators at:
https://www.studylight.org/commentary/acts/7-59.html
https://biblehub.com/commentaries/acts/7-59.htm
https://www.biblecomments.org/b/acts/7/59

Greek analysis of Acts 7:59