"To the Jew, this form was a significant one. When a Jewish father blessed his children, he laid his hands reverently upon their heads. When an animal was devoted to sacrifice, the hand of the one invested with priestly authority was laid upon the head of the victim. And when the ministers of the church of believers in Antioch laid their hands upon Paul and Barnabas, they by that action asked God to bestow His blessing upon the chosen apostles, in their devotion to the specific work to which they had been appointed. GW 442.2"
"And the Lord said unto Moses, Take thee Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit, and lay thine hand upon him;"
The EGW passage explains the significance of laying on hands in Jewish tradition and its application to Paul and Barnabas, which is thematically linked to the verse about Moses laying hands on Joshua.
"At a later date, the rite of ordination by the laying on of hands was greatly abused; unwarrantable importance was attached to the act, as if a power came at once upon those who received such ordination, which immediately qualified them for any and all ministerial work. But in the setting apart of these two apostles, there is no record indicating that any virtue was imparted by the mere act of laying on of hands. There is only the simple record of their ordination, and of the bearing that it had on their future work. GW 442.3"
"And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money,"
Both passages discuss the laying on of hands and the potential for its misuse or misinterpretation. EGW warns against attaching unwarranted importance to the act, while the verse in Acts shows Simon attempting to buy the power associated with it.