Acts 12:19

19 Herod searched for Peter but couldn't find him. So he questioned the guards and gave orders to have them executed. Then Herod left Judea and went to Caesarea, where he stayed for a while.

Acts 12:19 Meaning and Commentary

Acts 12:19

And when Herod had sought for him and found him not
Neither in the prison, nor in any part of the city:

he examined the keepers;
of the prison, and those that were upon the watch, whether they had not been accessary to his escape:

and commanded that they should be put to death:
or brought forth, not before a judge to be tried and judged, because they had been examined by Herod already; but either that they should be carried and laid in bonds, or be led forth to suffer punishment; and so our version directs, and which is confirmed by the Syriac; and the Greeks say F14, that (apagwgh) is a kind of punishment:

and he went down from Judea to Caesarea;
not Peter, but Herod:

and there abode;
of this journey of Agrippa's to Caesarea, Josephus makes mention F15; this place was distant from Jerusalem six hundred furlongs, or seventy five miles F16.


FOOTNOTES:

F14 Harpocratian. Lex. p. 32.
F15 Antiqu. l. 19. c. 2. sect. 2.
F16 De Bello Jud. l. 1. c. 3. sect. 5.

Acts 12:19 In-Context

17 Peter motioned with his hand to quiet them down and told them how the Lord had taken him out of prison. He added, "Tell James and the other believers about this." Then he left and went somewhere else.
18 In the morning the soldiers were in an uproar over what had happened to Peter.
19 Herod searched for Peter but couldn't find him. So he questioned the guards and gave orders to have them executed. Then Herod left Judea and went to Caesarea, where he stayed for a while.
20 Herod was very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon. They were going to meet with Herod. They had agreed on what they wanted to do: They enlisted the help of Blastus to ask Herod for terms of peace. This was because their cities depended on Herod for their food supply. (Blastus was in charge of the king's living quarters.)
21 The appointed day came. Herod, wearing his royal clothes, sat on his throne and began making a speech to them.
GOD'S WORD® is a copyrighted work of God's Word to the Nations. Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. All rights reserved. Used by permission.