Acts 12:1-2

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Acts 12:1

A comparison of the last verses of Acts 11 and this chapter (Acts 12) suggests that Barnabas and Paul made that trip to Jerusalem with relief for the victims of the famine at about the time of the events given in Acts 12, this being in 44 A.D., a date determined by the death of Herod Agrippa I. That monarch had succeeded in putting together the whole domain of his grandfather Herod the Great, and had also been given the title of king by Claudius. He was a staunch friend of the Jews and was no... read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Acts 12:2

And he killed James the brother of John with the sword. And when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. And those were the days of unleavened bread.Only seven words in the Greek, translated by eleven in English, recount the martyrdom of the first apostle; and such restraint by the sacred historian shows how different are the words of inspiration from those of ordinary writers. It should be noted that the New Testament records no appointment of a successor to James.... read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Acts 12:1

Acts 12:1. Herod the King— The Syriac version reads, Herod the king, surnamed Agrippa: Josephus styles him Agrippa; which probably was his Roman, as Herod was his Syrian name. He was the grandson of Herod the Great, by his son Aristobulus; nephew to Herod Antipas, who beheaded John the Baptist; brother to Herodias, whom that incestuous tetrarch married; and father to that Agrippa, before whom St. Paul made his defence, ch. Acts 25:13. Caius Caligula, with whom he had an early friendship, when... read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Acts 12:2

Acts 12:2. And he killed James— Thus was our Lord's prediction, relating to them, fulfilled, Matthew 20:23. I know not how far we areto depend upon the tradition which we find cited by Eusebius, from a book of Clemens Alexandrinus, now lost, in which he reported, "That the person who had accused James, observing the courage with which he bore his testimony to Christianity, was converted, and suffered martyrdom with him;" but it seems very beautifully observed by Clarius, who had a great deal of... read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Acts 12:1

1-3. Herod the king—grandson of Herod the Great, and son of Aristobulus. He at this time ruled over all his father's dominions. PALEY has remarked the accuracy of the historian here. For thirty years before this there was no king at Jerusalem exercising supreme authority over Judea, nor was there ever afterwards, save during the three last years of Herod's life, within which the transactions occurred. read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Acts 12:2

2. killed James . . . with the sword—beheaded him; a most ignominious mode of punishment, according to the Jews. Blessed martyr! Thou hast indeed "drunk of thy Lord's cup, and hast been baptized with his baptism." (See on :-.) A grievous loss this would be to the Church; for though nothing is known of him beyond what we read in the Gospels, the place which he had as one of the three whom the Lord admitted to His closest intimacy would lead the Church to look up to him with a reverence and... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Acts 12:1-2

"About that time" probably harks back to the famine visit of Barnabas and Saul mentioned in Acts 11:30. If this took place in A.D. 46, and Herod died in A.D. 44, then the event Luke related in chapter 12 antedated the famine visit, and probably all of Acts 11:27-30, by about two years.". . . Luke seems to have wanted to close his portrayals of the Christian mission within the Jewish world (Acts 2:42 to Acts 12:24) with two vignettes having to do with God’s continued activity on behalf of the... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Acts 12:1-19

The supernatural deliverance of Peter 12:1-19"Peter’s rescue from prison is an unusually vivid episode in Acts even when simply taken as a story about Peter. Because it is not connected with events in the chapters immediately before and after it, however, it may seem rather isolated and unimportant for Acts as a whole. Yet it becomes more than a vivid account of an isolated miracle when we probe below the surface, for this story is an echo of other stories in Luke-Acts and in Jewish Scripture.... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Acts 12:1-24

4. The persecution of the Jerusalem church 12:1-24The saints in Jerusalem not only suffered as a result of the famine, they also suffered because Jewish and Roman governmental opposition against them intensified as time passed. Luke recorded the events in this section to illustrate God’s supernatural protection and blessing of the church, even though the Christians suffered increased persecution, and Israel’s continued rejection of her Messiah. Looked at another way, this section confirms... read more

John Dummelow

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Acts 12:1-25

Imprisonment of Peter. Death of Herod1-19. Persecution of the Church at Jerusalem by Herod. Martyrdom of James the son of Zebedee. Peter’s imprisonment and miraculous release. The Church was persecuted (1) by the Sadducees and chief priests, Acts 4:1; Acts 5:17; (2) afterwards by the Pharisees, Acts 6:11. and now (3) by the king of the Jews. Not till later was persecution to come from the Romans.1. About that time] viz. when relief was sent to the Church of Jerusalem (Acts 11:29-30). The death... read more

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