Discovery BoxActs 12:4 
Context12:4 When he had seized him, he put him in prison, handing him over to four squads 1 of soldiers to guard him. Herod 2 planned 3 to bring him out for public trial 4 after the Passover.
Acts 12:6
Context12:6 On that very night before Herod was going to bring him out for trial, 5 Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, while 6 guards in front of the door were keeping watch 7 over the prison.
Acts 12:11
Context12:11 When 8 Peter came to himself, he said, “Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued 9 me from the hand 10 of Herod 11 and from everything the Jewish people 12 were expecting to happen.”
Acts 13:1
Context13:1 Now there were these prophets and teachers in the church at Antioch: 13 Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, 14 Lucius the Cyrenian, 15 Manaen (a close friend of Herod 16 the tetrarch 17 from childhood 18 ) and Saul.
1 sn Four squads of soldiers. Each squad was a detachment of four soldiers.
2 tn Grk “guard him, planning to bring him out.” The Greek construction continues with a participle (βουλόμενος, boulomeno") and an infinitive (ἀναγαγεῖν, anagagein), but this creates an awkward and lengthy sentence in English. Thus a reference to Herod was introduced as subject and the participle translated as a finite verb (“Herod planned”).
3 tn Or “intended”; Grk “wanted.”
4 tn Grk “to bring him out to the people,” but in this context a public trial (with certain condemnation as the result) is doubtless what Herod planned. L&N 15.176 translates this phrase “planning to bring him up for a public trial after the Passover.”
5 tn Grk “was going to bring him out,” but the upcoming trial is implied. See Acts 12:4.
6 tn Grk “two chains, and.” Logically it makes better sense to translate this as a temporal clause, although technically it is a coordinate clause in Greek.
7 tn Or “were guarding.”
8 tn Grk “And when.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.
9 tn Or “delivered.”
10 sn Here the hand of Herod is a metaphor for Herod’s power or control.
11 sn King Herod was Herod Agrippa I, the grandson of Herod I (Herod the Great).
12 sn Luke characterizes the opposition here as the Jewish people, including their leadership (see 12:3).
13 sn Antioch was a city in Syria (not Antioch in Pisidia).
map For location see JP1 F2; JP2 F2; JP3 F2; JP4 F2.
14 sn Simeon may well have been from North Africa, since the Latin loanword Niger refers to someone as “dark-complexioned.”
15 sn The Cyrenian refers to a native of the city of Cyrene, on the coast of northern Africa west of Egypt.
16 sn Herod is generally taken as a reference to Herod Antipas, who governed Galilee from 4
17 tn Or “the governor.”
sn A tetrarch was a ruler with rank and authority lower than a king, who ruled only with the approval of the Roman authorities. This was roughly equivalent to being governor of a region. Several times in the NT, Herod tetrarch of Galilee is called a king (Matt 14:9, Mark 6:14-29), reflecting popular usage.
18 tn Or “(a foster brother of Herod the tetrarch).” The meaning “close friend from childhood” is given by L&N 34.15, but the word can also mean “foster brother” (L&N 10.51). BDAG 976 s.v. σύντροφας states, “pert. to being brought up with someone, either as a foster-brother or as a companion/friend,” which covers both alternatives. Context does not given enough information to be certain which is the case here, although many modern translations prefer the meaning “close friend from childhood.”
