SECTION XXV.

PERSECUTION BY HEROD.-ACTS XII. 1-19.

said to him, Gird And he saith unto 9 And having gone

1 Now, about that time, Herod the king laid hands on certain of the church to vex them. 2 And he killed James the brother of John with the sword. 3 And seeing that it was pleasing to the Jews, he proceeded to seize on Peter also. Then were the days of unleavened bread. 4 Whom having apprehended, he put in prison, delivering him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him, intending after the passover to bring him forth to the people. 5 Peter therefore was kept in the prison; but earnest prayer was made by the church to God concerning him. 6 But when Herod was about to bring him forth, the same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains; and the keepers before the door guarded the prison. 7 And, behold, an angel of the Lord stood by him, and a light shone in the room; and he smote Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying, Arise quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands. 8 And the angel thyself, and bind on thy sandals. And he did so. him, Cast thy garment about thee, and follow me. out, he followed him; and did not know that it was true which was done by the angel; but he thought he saw a vision. 10 And having passed through the first and second watch, they came to the iron gate that leads to the city; which opened to them of its own accord and having gone out, they went along one street; and immediately the angel departed from him. 11 And when Peter was come to himself, he said, Now I certainly know that the Lord has sent His angel, and has delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews. 12 And having become aware of it, he came to the house of Mary the mother of John, surnamed Mark; where many were assembled, and were praying. 13 And as he knocked at the door of the gate, a maid came to hearken, named Rhoda. 14 And when she knew Peter's voice, she opened not the gate for joy; but running in, told how Peter stood before the gate. 15 And they said to her, Thou art mad. But she affirmed confidently that it was so. Then they said, It is his angel. 16 But Peter continued knocking: and having opened, they saw him, and were astonished. 17 But he, beckoning to them with the hand to be silent, related how the Lord had brought him out of prison. And he said, Tell these things to James and the brethren.

And he departed, and went to another place. 18 But when it was day, there was no small commotion among the soldiers as to what had become of Peter. 19 And when Herod had sought for him, and found him not, he examined the keepers, and ordered them to be led to execution.

CRITICAL NOTES.

Ver. 5. 'ExTevns, found in E, G, H, is preferred by Tischendorf and Lachmann to EKTEVŵs, found in A, B, N. Iepí, found in A, B, D, &, is preferred by Tischendorf and Lachmann to vπép, found in E, G, H. Ver. 8. The simple verb (woaι of A, B, D, N, is preferred by Tischendorf and Lachmann to the compound verb weρiswσai, found in E, G, H. Ver. 13. Αὐτοῦ before τὴν θύραν, found in A, B, D, s, is by recent editors preferred to Toû IIétpov, attested by E, G, H.

EXEGETICAL REMARKS.

Ver. 1. Kar' èkeîvov dè тòv Kaιρòv-Now about that time. The date of this persecution by Herod was A.D. 44, the year in which he died. The time here referred to is the one year's residence of Paul and Barnabas at Antioch, before their visit to Jerusalem; as the famine, for the relief of which they were sent, did not happen until after the death of Herod, when Fadus was governor of Judea. (See Wieseler's Chronologie, p. 152.)

'Hpwdns ó Baoiλeus-Herod the king. This monarch, Ηρώδης βασιλεύς—Herod called by Josephus, Agrippa, and commonly known by the name of Herod Agrippa I., was the son of Aristobulus, and the grandson of Herod the Great; he was the nephew of Herod Antipas, the brother of Herodias, and the father of that Agrippa before whom Paul made his defence. Sent at an early age to Rome, he obtained the favour of the Emperor Tiberius, and was educated along with his son Drusus. Toward the close of that emperor's reign he fell into disgrace, on account of paying open court to Caius Caligula ; and in consequence of using some unguarded expressions he

was cast into prison, where he remained for six months, until the death of Tiberius. Caius Caligula, on his accession to the imperial throne, set him at liberty, changed his iron chain for one of gold of the same weight, and bestowed upon him the tetrarchies of Philip (Iturea and Trachonitis), and of Lysanias (Abilene), with the title of king (Ant. xviii. 6. 10). This excited the envy of his uncle Herod Antipas, the tetrarch of Galilee, who also coveted the royal dignity. In order to obtain it he repaired to Rome, but was there accused by his rival Agrippa with such effect, that Herod Antipas was banished to Lyons, and the tetrarchy of Galilee was added to the dominions of Agrippa (Ant. xviii. 7. 2; Bell. Jud. ii. 9. 6). After the murder of Caligula, Herod took an active part in securing the succession of Claudius, and for this important service was rewarded by the gift of Samaria and Judea (Ant. xix. 5. 1). Thus Judea was for a short period partially freed from the Roman yoke, and had in Herod Agrippa for the last time a monarch of its own. He ruled over all the territories which were formerly possessed by his grandfather Herod the Great; and to these were added Abilene, or the kingdom of Lysanias (Bell. Jud. ii. 11. 5). The revenue which he derived out of these dominions was very great. According to Josephus, it amounted to twelve millions of drachmæ (Ant. xix. 8. 3), a sum which has been calculated to be equal to £425,000 sterling. He is described by Josephus as an excellent monarch, mild in his temper, and liberal to all men; generous in his tastes, and desirous of securing the good opinion of his subjects; not cruel like his grandfather, but of a gentle and compassionate disposition; loving to reside in Jerusalem, and strict in his observance of the Mosaic law (Ant. xix. 7. 3). This character is certainly drawn by a partial pen. Herod Agrippa was evidently a man of considerable ability, but crafty and extravagant, and always acting with a selfish regard to his own interests. He may not have had the splendid talents of his grandfather, but his reign was not stained by many acts of cruelty. His reign was of short duration: he ruled four years under Caligula, during three of them over the tetrarchies

of Philip and Lysanias, and in the fourth year Galilee was added to his government; but the duration of his reign over the whole of Palestine, under Claudius, amounted only to three years (Ant. xix. 8. 2). Although he left a son, the Agrippa of the Acts, yet he did not succeed; and with the death of Herod the Jewish kingdom became for ever extinct. Judea was again reduced to a Roman province, and Cuspius Fadus was sent as its governor.1

on.

Ἐπέβαλεν τὰς χεῖρας—laid hands on. Not to be taken in the sense of exeípnσe (Acts ix. 29), attempted (Heinrichs, Kuincel), but in the ordinary sense of the words, laid hands Herod seized on certain of the members of the church, in order to maltreat them. The full construction is, éπéßaλev τὰς χεῖρας ἐπί τινας τῶν ἀπὸ τῆς ἐκκλησίας τοῦ κακῶσαι αὐτούς (Alford). Κακῶσαί τινας τῶν ἀπὸ τῆς ἐκκλησίας to vex certain of the church. The enemies of the church had now increased in numbers and influence. At first they were confined to the members of the Sanhedrim, especially the Sadducean faction, whilst the people were favourable. Afterwards, in the persecution which arose about Stephen, the people and their rulers united; but still the civil power in the hands of the Romans was not hostile. But now the civil power in the person of Herod is combined with the ecclesiastical power of the chief priests and the fanaticism of the people, against the disciples of Christ.

Ver. 2. 'Ανεϊλεν δὲ Ἰάκωβον τὸν ἀδελφὸν Ἰωάννου-he slew James the brother of John. This was James the son of Zebedee, called "the Elder," to distinguish him from the other apostle of the same name, James the son of Alphæus. He was one of Christ's three favourite disciples who only were permitted to witness the raising of the daughter of Jairus, the transfiguration, and the agony in the garden. He was the first of the apostles who suffered martyrdom. Our Lord's prediction concerning him was fulfilled. He now drank of the cup of which Christ drank, and was bap

1 Coins of Herod Agrippa I. have been preserved, with the inscription, βασιλευς μεγας Αγρίππας φιλοκαισαρ. See Akerman's Numismatic Illustrations, p. 38; Madden's Jewish Coinage, p. 106.

tized with the baptism with which He was baptized (Matt. xx. 23). The time of his martyrdom was shortly before the passover of the year 44, and the place was Jerusalem.

Whereas the death of Stephen is described at great length, the martyrdom of James, one of the chief apostles, is related in two words: ἀνεῖλεν—μαχαίρῃ. Various reasons have been assigned for this brevity. Lekebusch, with much probability, supposes that Luke's design was to mark the progress of the church; and for this reason he gives the account of Stephen's martyrdom at length, because the disciples, dispersed on account of it, were the bearers of the gospel to a distance; whereas no such effect followed the martyrdom of James it was not the signal of a new persecution, by which an impulse was given to the diffusion of the gospel.1 Meyer thinks that Luke intended to write a third history, in which he would give a narrative of the labours of the other apostles, besides Peter and Paul, and that he reserved for it the account of the death of James. Baumgarten thinks that Luke had nothing further to relate; that James died without giving any testimony. Ecclesiastical tradition, however, has supplied what was apparently wanting in Luke's narrative. Clemens Alexandrinus tells us that the man who led James to the judgment-seat was converted by his testimony, and confessed himself a Christian. Both were led away to die. On the way he entreated James to forgive him, who replied, "Peace be to thee," and kissed him; and then both were beheaded at the same time (Euseb. Hist. Eccl. ii. 9).

Maxaipn-with the sword. The Romans had deprived the Jews of the power of life and death; but Judea was at this time under the rule of a native prince who possessed that power. Slaying with the sword was a Roman form of punishment; but according to Lightfoot, it had been adopted by the later Jews, and was regarded by them as a disgraceful death. John the Baptist was slain in a similar manner by Herod Antipas.

3

1 Lekebusch's Quellen der Apostelgeschichte, pp. 218, 219.

2 Meyer's Apostelgeschichte, p. 247.

3 Lightfoot's Hora Hebraicæ, vol. iv. p. 105.