Acts 7 Commentary

Who is the "high priest" (Acts 7:1)?
It was either Caiaphas still serving as the official high priest, or Annas, his father-in-law who had been removed as the high priest by the Romans (see Annas and Caiaphas).

What did he mean by "Are these things so" (Acts 7:1)?
He was asking Stephen if the accusation, “This man does not cease to speak blasphemous words against this holy place and the law; for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs which Moses delivered to us” (Acts 6:13-14, see Synagogue of the Freedmen), were true.

To whom did Stephen address his response?
To "Brethren and fathers (older men) of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish ruling council. And instead of defending himself or seeking to appease his audience, Stephen begins a sermon.

Where is "Mesopotamia" (Acts 7:2)?
Mesopotamia is a Greek word that literally means "Meso," which means "between," and "Potamia," which means "rivers" and refers the land between the the Tigris River and the Euphrates River about 500 miles east of Israel.

What does this mean about the ethnic origin of Abraham and the Jews of the Old Testament?
It traces back to what is Iraq today.