Acts 12:21

21 And on the day which had been fixed, Herod, dressed in his robes and seated in his place, made a public statement to them.

Acts 12:21 Meaning and Commentary

Acts 12:21

And upon a set day
Either on some feast day of divine appointment, as a feast day was by the Jews called (dewm) , "a stated day"; or on some day appointed by Herod, for the receiving of the ambassadors of Tyre and Sidon, and of hearing their petitions; or as Josephus F18 says, it was on the second day of the sports and plays, instituted by him in honour of Caesar:

Herod, arrayed in royal apparel;
the same Jewish historian in the same place says, that this his apparel was all of silver, and of a wonderful contexture; and that going in this very early in the morning into the theatre, the silver shone so with the rays of the rising sun, that it struck the spectators with terror and admiration:

sat upon his throne;
and very likely with the other ensigns of royalty, as a crown on his head, and a sceptre in his hand:

and made an oration unto them;
either unto the ambassadors from Tyre and Sidon, or rather unto the common people, the multitude that were gathered together in the theatre, where the above historian says he was.


FOOTNOTES:

F18 Antiqu. l. 19, c. 8. sect 2.

Acts 12:21 In-Context

19 And Herod, when he sent for him, and he was not there, after questioning the watchmen, gave orders that they were to be put to death. Then he went down from Judaea to Caesarea for a time.
20 Now he was very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon: and they came to him, all together, and having made friends with Blastus, the controller of the king's house, they made a request for peace, because their country was dependent on the king's country for its food.
21 And on the day which had been fixed, Herod, dressed in his robes and seated in his place, made a public statement to them.
22 And the people, with loud cries, said, It is the voice of a god, not of a man.
23 And straight away the angel of the Lord sent a disease on him, because he did not give the glory to God: and his flesh was wasted away by worms, and so he came to his end.
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