Discovery BoxActs 12:1-3 
Context12:1 About that time King Herod 1 laid hands on 2 some from the church to harm them. 3 12:2 He had James, the brother of John, executed with a sword. 4 12:3 When he saw that this pleased the Jews, 5 he proceeded to arrest Peter too. (This took place during the feast of Unleavened Bread.) 6
1 sn King Herod was Herod Agrippa I, the grandson of Herod I (Herod the Great). His mediocre career is summarized in Josephus, Ant. 18-19. This event took place in
2 tn Or “King Herod had some from the church arrested.”
3 tn Or “to cause them injury.”
4 sn The expression executed with a sword probably refers to a beheading. James was the first known apostolic martyr (Eusebius, Eccl. Hist. 2.9.1-3). On James, not the Lord’s brother, see Luke 5:10; 6:14. This death ended a short period of peace noted in Acts 9:31 after the persecution mentioned in 8:1-3.
5 tn This could be a reference to the Jewish people (so CEV) or to the Jewish leaders (so NLT). The statement in v. 4 that Herod intended to bring Peter “out to the people” (i.e., for a public trial) may suggest the former is somewhat more likely.
6 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.
