The God of glory appeared and conversed with a man, as a friend with a friend

According to the stephen's speech in Acts 7 God appeared to abe on several different occasions like first while in ur then after the arrival in the land of Canaan, then to speak of his children's moving in and out of Egypt, etc. What are the approximate time of the century of each appearance?

Stephen’s speech in Acts 7 compresses several appearances of God to Abraham into a short narrative, but if we compare it with Genesis, we can place each appearance roughly in its historical and century context.

Here’s the sequence and approximate dating (centuries BC), assuming a conservative biblical chronology where Abraham lived around the early–mid 2nd millennium BC (likely between 2100–1900 BC depending on dating model):

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1. First Appearance — While in Mesopotamia (“in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran”)

Reference: Acts 7:2; Genesis 12:1 (cf. Joshua 24:2–3)

Location: Ur of the Chaldeans (southern Mesopotamia)

Event: God calls Abram to leave his country and kindred for a land He will show him.

Approx. Date: c. 21st century BC (around 2100 BC in a traditional biblical chronology; could be ~2000 BC in alternate chronologies)

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2. Second Appearance — After Leaving Haran and Arriving in Canaan

Reference: Acts 7:4; Genesis 12:7

Location: Shechem (in Canaan)

Event: God appears to Abram, promises the land to his offspring.

Approx. Date: c. 21st–20th century BC (about 5–10 years after leaving Ur; ~2090–2080 BC in traditional chronology)

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3. Third Appearance — Covenant & Prophecy of Descendants in Egypt

Reference: Acts 7:6–7; Genesis 15:1–21

Location: Possibly Hebron or nearby (after rescuing Lot and meeting Melchizedek)

Event: God appears in a vision, confirms the covenant, foretells Israel’s 400 years of sojourning and oppression in a foreign land (Egypt), followed by deliverance.

Approx. Date: c. 20th century BC (~2080–2060 BC depending on the interval between earlier events)

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4. Fourth Appearance — Name Change and Covenant Sign

Reference: Genesis 17:1–22 (not directly quoted in Acts 7, but part of the overall sequence Stephen compresses)

Location: Canaan (perhaps near Hebron)

Event: God appears to Abram (age 99), changes his name to Abraham, institutes circumcision as a covenant sign, promises Isaac’s birth.

Approx. Date: c. 20th century BC (~2067 BC in traditional chronology)

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Summary Table

Appearance Scripture (Acts / Genesis) Place Key Event Approx. Century BC

1 Acts 7:2; Gen 12:1; Josh 24:2–3 Ur (Mesopotamia) Initial call 21st c. BC

2 Acts 7:4; Gen 12:7 Shechem (Canaan) Land promise 21st–20th c. BC

3 Acts 7:6–7; Gen 15 Hebron area Covenant & Egypt prophecy 20th c. BC

4 Gen 17 Canaan (Hebron) Name change, circumcision 20th c. BC

Here’s the chronological timeline showing the four main appearances of God to Abraham mentioned or implied in Stephen’s speech in Acts 7, alongside their Genesis references, with approximate centuries BC.