Acts 12:1-4 ASV

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

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Acts 12:3

3. because he saw it pleased the Jews—Popularity was the ruling passion of this Herod, not naturally so cruel as some of the family [JOSEPHUS, Antiquities, 19.7.3]. to take Peter also—whose loss, at this stage of the Church, would have been, so far as we can see, irreparable. Then were the days of unleavened bread—seven in number, during which, after killing and eating the Passover, no leaven was allowed in Jewish houses (Exodus 12:15; Exodus 12:19). read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Acts 12:4

4. delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers—that is, to four parties of four each, corresponding to the four Roman watches; two watching in prison and two at the gates, and each party being on duty for the space of one watch. intending after Easter—rather, "after the Passover"; that is, after the whole festival was over. (The word in our King James Version is an ecclesiastical term of later date, and ought not to have been employed here). to bring him forth to the people—for execution; for... 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

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Acts 12:3

The Feast of Unleavened Bread was a seven-day celebration that began on the day after Passover each spring. This was one of the three yearly feasts in Jerusalem that the Mosaic Law required all Jewish males to attend. As on the day of Pentecost (ch. 2), the city would have been swarming with patriotic Jews when Herod made his grandstand political move of arresting Peter. These Jews knew Peter as the leading apostle among the Christians and as a Jew who fraternized with Gentiles (ch. 10). This... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Acts 12:4

Four squads of soldiers-four soldiers made up each squad-guarded Peter in six-hour shifts so he would not escape as he had done previously (Acts 5:19-24). Evidently two of the soldiers on each shift chained themselves to Peter and the other two guarded his cell door (Acts 12:6; Acts 12:10). "Passover" was the popular term for the continuous eight-day combined Passover and Unleavened Bread festival. 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

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

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

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Acts 12:3

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Acts 12:4

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

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

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

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Acts 12:3

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Acts 12:4

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

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