Acts 12:1

Herod imprisons Peter

1 About that time King Herod began to harass some who belonged to the church.

Acts 12:1 Meaning and Commentary

Acts 12:1

Now about that time
That the famine was in Judea, and Saul and Barnabas were sent thither with what the church at Antioch had collected.

Herod the king;
not Herod the great that slew the infants at Bethlehem, nor Herod Antipas that beheaded John, but Herod Agrippa; and so the Syriac version adds here, "who is surnamed Agrippa"; he was a grandson of Herod the great, and the son of Aristobulus: this prince

stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church;
Beza's ancient copy adds, "in Judea": it seems to be the church at Jerusalem; perhaps some of the principal members of them; and so the Ethiopic version renders it, the rulers of the house of God. It is scarcely credible that he should lay hands on any of them himself in person; but it is very likely he encouraged his soldiers, or his servants, to abuse them, reproach them, strike and buffet them, as they met with them in the streets; or when at worship, might disturb them, and break them up.

Acts 12:1 In-Context

1 About that time King Herod began to harass some who belonged to the church.

2 He had James, John's brother, killed with a sword.

3 When he saw that this pleased the Jews, he arrested Peter as well. This happened during the Festival of Unleavened Bread.

4 He put Peter in prison, handing him over to four squads of soldiers, sixteen in all, who guarded him. He planned to charge him publicly after the Passover.

5 While Peter was held in prison, the church offered earnest prayer to God for him.