Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Acts 12:18
Now as soon as it was day, there was no small stir among the soldiers, what was become of Peter.
18. stir among the soldiers ] For the guards who had been chained to the prisoner would discover as soon as they awoke, that he had escaped from between them, and they would know that their lives would probably answer for the life of Peter.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
No small stir – Amazement that he had escaped, and apprehension of the consequences. The punishment which they had reason to expect, for having suffered his escape, was death.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
The soldiers, who were bound with Peter in the same chains, could not but miss him as soon as they did awake, and with admiration find the chains still holding them, thought loosened from Peter. What strange imaginations they might have, is not to be expressed, though some guess at it.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
18, 19. as soon as it was day,c.His deliverance must have been during the fourth watch (three tosix A.M.) else he musthave been missed by the keepers at the change of the watch [WIES].
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Now as soon as it was day,…. When it was morning; as soon as there was any light in the prison, by which the guards could discern one another and their prisoners:
there was no small stir among the soldiers: the two between whom Peter slept, and the rest of the quaternions that were employed in the wards to keep watch; who were now all in an uproar, and in the utmost concern and fright:
what was become of Peter; whether he was in any other part of the prison, by what means he could escape, and whither he was gone.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
As soon as it was day ( ). Genitive absolute, day having come.
No small stir ( ). Litotes ( ), occurs eight times in the Acts as in 15:2, and nowhere else in the N.T. (stir) is an old word from , to agitate. In the N.T only here and 19:23. Probably all sixteen soldiers were agitated over this remarkable escape. They were responsible for the prisoner with their lives (cf. Acts 16:27; Acts 27:42). Furneaux suggests that Manaen, the king’s foster-brother and a Christian (13:1), was the “angel” who rescued Peter from the prison. That is not the way that Peter looked at it.
What was become of Peter ( ). An indirect question with the aorist indicative retained. adds a syllogism (therefore) to the problem as in Lu 1:66. The use of the neuter (as in Ac 13:25) is different from , though nominative like , literally, “what then Peter had become,” “what had happened to Peter” (in one idiom). See the same idiom in Joh 21:21 ( ).
But this one what (verb not used).
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
1) “Now as soon as it was day (genomenes de hemeras) “When it became day,” after the experience of Peter in prison the previous night, his release by the angel, the all night church vigil of prayer, Peter’s appearance to them and disclosure of his release and departure to an unrevealed place or destination.
2) “There was no small stir among the soldiers,” (hen tarachos ouk oligos en tois straitiotais) “There was no small disturbance among the soldiers,” the quarterion of guards as they examined the chains, bolts, and bars and questioned each other. These were under oaths of high security guard to keep Peter securely, Act 12:4-5. Note the words of Act 12:5, “but prayer was made.”
3) “What was become of Peter,” (ti ara ho Petros egeneto) “What had then become (of) Peter.” Perplexity, frustration, and fear gripped the emotions of the sentry guards as they questioned among themselves to determine what had become of Peter. For it was a custom of Roman law that a sentry guard or guards who permitted the escape of a prisoner, with whom he or they had been entrusted, must suffer the like penalty of the charge against the criminal, “an eye for an eye,” type of penalty, Exo 21:24; Mat 5:28.
Let it be asked by parents, how may I stand before the judgement of God, if I permit the escape of my lost, condemned son or daughter, without bringing them safely while under my care, face to face with the charges God has against them? Luk 13:3; Luk 13:5; Joh 8:24; Rom 14:11-12.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
18. When it was day. Luke returneth now unto Herod and the soldiers; and he saith that there was no small ado amongst them. For they could not suspect that Peter was taken from them by violence, or that he was escaped by some subtle shift. Herod examineth the matter afterward as a judge; but when as he perceived that the soldiers were in no fault, he himself is also enforced to be a witness of the deliverance wrought by God. Whereas he commandeth them to be carried out of his sight, or to be carried to prison, we may thereby gather, that their faithfulness and diligence were approved and seen; for if there had been any suspicion of negligence, there was punishment prepared for them; but the cause why he doth not let them go free was partly rage, mixed with tyrannous cruelty, and partly shamefacedness. Though some expound it otherwise, that he commanded that they should be punished forthwith. (760) And whether, being angry, he delivered them to the hangman, or he was content to punish them with perpetual imprisonment, it is assuredly an excellent example of blindness, that whereas he ought to perceive the power of God, yea, though his eyes were shut, yet doth he not bend, neither doth he wax more meek, but proceedeth to resist God of obstinate malice. Thus doth Satan deprive the wicked of understanding, that in seeing they see not; and the Lord, by smiting them with this horrible amazedness, doth justly revenge himself and his Church.
(760) “ Extemplo ad Supplicium rapi,” that they should he immediately dragged off to execution.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
‘Now as soon as it was day, there was no small stir among the soldiers, what was become of Peter.’
We could put it another way. A bombshell had been dropped among his guards. They must have been appalled. They just could not comprehend what had happened. Here they all were, safely in place, but Peter had gone. It was inexplicable. And they had no doubt as to what the consequences would be.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Act 12:18-19 . What had become of the (vanished) Peter (Luk 1:66 ; Joh 21:21 ), whether accordingly (under these circumstances, Klotz, ad Devar. p. 176, comp. Baeumlein, Partik. p. 34) the wonderful escape was capable of no explanation this inquiry was the object of consternation ( ) among the soldiers who belonged to the four , Act 12:4 , because they feared the vengeance of the king in respect to those who had served on that night-watch. And Herod actually caused those who had been the of the prison at the time of the escape, after previous inquiry ( , Act 4:9 ; Luk 23:14 ), to be led to execution ( , the formal word for this, see Wakefield, Silv. crit. II. p. 131; Kypke, II. p. 61; and from Philo: Loesner, p. 204). After the completion of the punishment, he went down from Judaea to his residency, where he took up his abode.
.] depends, as well as . ., on . The definition of the place of the (Vulg.: ibi commoratus est) was obvious of itself.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
Now as soon as it was day, there was no small stir among the soldiers, what was become of Peter. (19) And when Herod had sought for him, and found him not, he examined the keepers, and commanded that they should be put to death. And he went down from Judea to Caesarea, and there abode. (20) And Herod was highly displeased with them of Tyre and Sidon: but they came with one accord to him, and, having made Blastus the king’s chamberlain their friend, desired peace; because their country was nourished by the king’s country.
It is a question, more of curiosity than usefulness, where Peter went after he left the house of Mary, and where he secreted himself. It is enough for the Church to discover the Lord’s gracious hand in delivering him at that time from Herod, and the expectation of the Jews. The Lord had other work for his servant to accomplish. But when that was over, Peter, like other men, proved to be vulnerable, 2Pe 1:4 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
18 Now as soon as it was day, there was no small stir among the soldiers, what was become of Peter.
Ver. 18. There was no small stir ] Huddle or hubbub, , with fear and care how they should answer it; but this was but part of their punishment, and the least part too; there was a worse matter followed, Act 12:19 . Lo, so it fareth with all graceless persons. They are not without their crosses here, but the worst is behind. What they feel here is but a typical hell, a foretaste of eternal torment. All their present sufferings are but as drops of wrath forerunning the great storm, a crack foregoing the ruin of the whole house. The leaves only of the tree fall upon them here; the tree itself will shortly fall upon them, and crush them to pieces.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
18. ] Wieseler argues from this, and I think rightly, that the deliverance of Peter must have taken place in the last watch of the night (3 6 A.M. in April), for otherwise his escape would have been perceived before the break of day, viz. at the next change of the watch.
] So Theocr. Id. xiv. 51, ;
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Act 12:18 . (generally ): only in Act 19:23 , although several times in LXX. : only found in Acts, where it occurs eight times (litotes), cf. Act 19:11 , Act 20:12 , Act 27:14 , and for similar expressions Luk 15:13 (Act 1:5 ), Act 7:6 : see Klostermann, Vindici Lucan , p. 52, and Page, in loco . The guards would answer for the escape of the prisoner by suffering a like penalty, cf. Cod. Just. , ix., 4, 4. ( cf. Luk 1:66 ), Peter has disappeared, what, then , has become of him? (Grimm, sub . (i.), and Winer-Moulton, liii. 8); it thus marks the perplexity of the soldier as to what had become of Peter. .: Blass, quid Petro (ablat.) factum sit .
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Act 12:18-19
18Now when day came, there was no small disturbance among the soldiers as to what could have become of Peter. 19When Herod had searched for him and had not found him, he examined the guards and ordered that they be led away to execution. Then he went down from Judea to Caesarea and was spending time there.
Act 12:18 “there was no small disturbance” It is interesting that Luke states things in the negative, often by understatement (cf. Act 12:18; Act 15:2; Act 19:11; Act 19:23-24; Act 20:12; Act 26:19; Act 26:26; Act 27:30; Act 28:2, see footnote #8, p. 134, of G. B. Caird, The Language and Imagery of the Bible). This literary feature is unknown in Hebrew literature, but is used often in Greek literature. Luke was a highly educated Greek!
Act 12:19 “he examined the guards and ordered that they be led away to execution” This is the implication of the text (cf. NKJV, NRSV, TEV), but it is not stated explicitly (cf. NJB). Some translations use italics to identify words that are not in the Greek text. If a guard lost his prisoner, he had to bear the prisoner’s punishment (cf. Act 16:27; Act 27:42, Code of Justinian 9.4.4).
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
as soon as, &c. = day having come.
stir = disturbance. Greek. tarachos. Here and Act 19:23.
among. Greek. en. App-104.
what was, &c. Literally what then Peter had come to be.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
18. ] Wieseler argues from this, and I think rightly, that the deliverance of Peter must have taken place in the last watch of the night (3-6 A.M. in April), for otherwise his escape would have been perceived before the break of day, viz. at the next change of the watch.
] So Theocr. Id. xiv. 51, ;
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Act 12:18. , among the soldiers) These had seen the faith, patience, and prayers of Peter; and yet they had not ceased to attack (treat with unkindness) him.- , what at all) The agitation of the soldiers is expressed by this peculiar phrase.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
there: Act 5:22-25, Act 16:27, Act 19:23
Reciprocal: Luk 4:30 – General Act 5:21 – sent Act 16:23 – to keep
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Herod’s Duplicity and Death
Act 12:18-25
INTRODUCTORY WORDS
We come now to our final message concerning Peter’s third imprisonment. We are about to present the other side of the message. We have seen Peter’s side, and the Lord’s side; now, we must follow the effect of Peter’s deliverance upon the part of the enemy.
I. THE STARTLED SOLDIERS (Act 12:18)
Act 12:18 says, “Now as soon as it was day, there was no small stir among the soldiers, what was become of Peter.” The soldiers realized that it would have been humanly impossible for Peter to have unchained himself without arousing the two soldiers to whom he was fastened. They knew that it was humanly impossible for Peter to have evaded the four quarternions of soldiers who had been stationed to keep him. They knew further that Peter unaided could never have opened the iron gate. However, the impossible had happened, and Peter was gone. They knew not how it happened, nor did they know where he had gone, but it was evident that he was not there.
We need not marvel that there was no small stir among the soldiers, because in Rome, in those days, the soldiers were held responsible for the prisoners. That was the chief reason that the jailer at Philippi, when Paul was delivered, would have killed himself, supposing that all the prisoners had fled.
God had intervened; He had wrought a wonderful deliverance, and the soldiers were startled.
We remember how at the resurrection of Christ the men, who guarded the sepulcher, were startled when the stone was rolled away. The Bible says, “The keepers did shake, and became as dead men.”
When Peter had been released on a former occasion, the officers came and found them not in the prison. Then they reported, saying, “The prison truly found we shut with all safety and the keepers standing, without before the doors: but when we had opened, we found no man within.”
How wonderfully doth God work! But how fruitlessly do men contend against Him! We have read in the Psalms how the kings of the earth will set themselves, and the rulers will take council together against the Lord, and against His anointed, saying, “Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.” Will this antagonism make impossible the Lord’s setting of His King upon His holy hill of Zion? Not at all. We read, “He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh; the Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall He speak unto them in His wrath, and vex them in His sore displeasure.”
The antichrist may open his mouth to speak great and blasphemous things against the saints who dwell in the heavens; he may even exalt himself as God, and he may gather his armies together to contend against the Lord at Armageddon’s great onslaught; however, he that sitteth in the heavens will descend. His arrows will be hot in the heart of the king’s enemy; whereby the people will fall under him. With the breath of His lips and with the brightness of His coming, He will destroy the man of sin.
No hand that is lifted against God can prosper.
II. HEROD’S FRUITLESS SEARCH (Act 12:19)
When the report of the soldiers reached Herod, his anger knew no bounds. A man in his position did not like to have anyone rise up against his will. He wanted nothing to frustrate his purposes and his plans; even God, who ruleth, he utterly contemned, Herod at once inaugurated a search for Peter. He found him not. There is one place where we can safely hide from Satan. That place is the brightness of God’s presence. David spoke of hiding in the light of His countenance. This may seem parodoxical. Men hide in darkness; saints hide in the light. The reason of the security of the saints when they are hid with Christ in God is that none can approach into the glory of God’s presence.
The Lord Jesus said, “I give unto them (My sheep) eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand. My Father, which gave them Me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of My Father’s hand.”
“The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose,
I will not, I will not, desert to his foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I’ll never, no never, no never forsake.”
Peter could not be found, because the Lord had hid him. We, too, have a hiding place from the storm, for Jesus Christ is our covert. In the Rock of Ages we will hide from the wrath of man, and from the snares of Satan.
III. HEROD’S HEARTLESS COMMAND (Act 12:19, l.c.)
When Herod found that his plans were foiled, and that Peter had escaped him, he commanded that the keepers should be put to death. Herod knew well enough that these men were not guilty: he knew that God had delivered His servant out of his hand, and yet, Herod, unable to wreak his vengeance against God, let it fall upon the soldiers, and jailers, who had been stationed to guard Peter.
Sin knows no pity! Sin wrecks homes, breaks hearts, steals from man everything that is worth the while, and then laughs at the wreckage. Sin turns a quiet home, where peace and prosperity reigns, into a slaughter house, strewn with blood and carnage.
Sin turns a garden of Eden into a howling wilderness; it drives people made happy with the smiles of Heaven, into a veritable inferno where there is no light and no love.
Satan is the father of sin. He tempted man, thus sowing the seed of sin through which death entered into the world. What a weary, sad, crushed world this is! Its history is the history of disappointment, despair and death. Its story is a story of wickedness and of wreckage.
Once more Herod stands before us as a type of the antichrist, under the regime of the coming man of sin. No mercy will be shown to saints. They who refuse the mark of the beast, and the number of his name, can neither buy nor sell in the marts of trade. The Jew who refuses obeisance to this false shepherd shall be hounded to the death. The beast will cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman. The dragon will be wroth with the woman (the Children of Israel) and will make war with the remnant of his seed which keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Christ.
Herod was heartless in his slaughter of James, and in his attempted slaughter of Peter. He was also heartless against the men who had failed to work his will. Thus, the antichrist will rule with an iron hand, and seek to please only himself, and to establish no kingdom but his own.
IV. HEROD’S FINAL END (Act 12:21-23)
Following the scenes just described, Herod received an ambassage from Tyre and Sidon, with whom he had been displeased. By means of their friends, Blastus, the king’s chamberlain, make proffers for peace, because their country was nourished by the king’s country. Act 12:21 tells us, that, “upon a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his throne, and made an oration unto them.” And, as Herod spoke, “the people gave a shout, saying, It is the voice of a god, and not of a man.”
Herod, himself, received this approval and this deification of himself with evident pleasure, and gave not God the glory. The result was that the angel of the Lord smote him immediately, and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost. He who had smitten others was himself smitten. He who had slain, was himself slain.
In all of this we are taught that what a man soweth, that shall he also reap. We are reminded how God spoke concerning Babylon, saying, “Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled, fill to her double. How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much of torment and sorrow give her.”
God’s unerring rule is both to saints and to sinners,-to reward them according to their works. If saints give, it shall be given unto them good measure, heaped down and running over. If they withhold, God will also withhold them, allowing no rain to fall upon their crops nor blessings to come to their hands.
If men of the world mete unto others that which is evil and cruel so will God also mete to them. “Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed.” “He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword.”
Herod in his final end once more stands forth as the type of the antichrist. As Herod was proclaimed god, he was smitten of God. There is a little verse in Isaiah which says, “I am the Lord: that is My Name; and My glory will I not give to another.” The moment of Herod’s death, was the moment when he accepted human deification, refusing to give glory to God. We believe that the moment of Christ’s Coming and of the destruction of the antichrist will be that moment when he “opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the Temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.” When this occurs, the Lord will no longer forbear.
Let us follow for a moment the story of Herod’s final end:
1. There was Herod robed in regal fashion.
2. There was Herod seated on a throne.
3. There was Herod acclaimed as God.
4. There was Herod slain by an angel.
5. There was Herod eaten by worms.
The five steps we have just noted perfectly dovetail with the Bible story of the antichrist’s final end.
Let us tabulate a like vision of Satan and of the man of sin, as set forth in Ezekiel twenty-eight:
1. Robed in regal fashion. “Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardis, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold.”
2. Seated on a throne. “Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so.”
3. Acclaimed as God. “Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness.”
4. Slain by an angel. “I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. * * I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.”
5. Eaten by worms. I will “bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee. All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee.”
While the analogy we have just given is not perfect, it is most suggestive, and the story follows along the same line.
There is a similar vision of the overthrow of Satan and the Man of sin in Isa 14:1-32. Let me read a portion of it, “How art thou fallen from Heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart I will ascend into Heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: * * I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High.” This is the spirit that marked the Herod of today’s message.
Isaiah continues telling how Satan and his man of sin shall “be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit. “They that see thee, shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms?”
Here is the end of the man of sin.
V. THE WORKINGS OF THE WORD OF GOD (Act 12:24-25)
After the death of Herod we read, “But the Word of God grew and multiplied.” This is an expression with varied applications, We wish to apply it today more particularly to that blessed period commonly called the Millennium which follows hard upon the destruction of the antichrist and the Coming of the Saviour, It was when Herod was slain that the Word of God grew and multiplied. It will be when Satan is chained and the antichrist is put down that the whole world will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. The Prophet, Isaiah, in anticipating the overthrow of Israel’s arch-enemy and the Return of the Lord writes in the Spirit, “Arise, shine; for thy Light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. * * The Gentiles shall come to thy Light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.”
In the day of Israel’s return when the Word of God runs and has free course, and is glorified, then the righteousness of Jerusalem, God’s Zion, will go forth as brightness and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth. Then God has said, “The Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory.” How wonderful will be the world-wide sweep and sway of the Word of God as the Lord sits in Zion, when Satan shall have been chained and placed in the pit of the abyss, and when the antichrist and the false prophet shall have been cast into the Lake of fire!
In those days, thousands of “Apostle Pauls” from among Israel; men who were saved by the forth-shining of God’s great light and by the revelation of the Son of God whom they had persecuted, shall go forth as evangelists carrying the Gospel of redemptive grace to the ends of the earth.
May God hasten that happy day!
The Lord will sit on David’s throne,
He’ll gather to Himself His own,
The Jews will come from east and west,
Forgiven cleansed, they’ll be at rest.
The Gentiles of His grace will hear,
They’ll come and worship year by year,
Jerusalem will glory bear;
Jehovah-Shaminah,-Christ is there.
Fuente: Neighbour’s Wells of Living Water
8
Act 12:18. By the aid of the angel, Peter had escaped prison unseen by the soldiers, hence the confusion over his absence, but we know that the soldiers were innocent.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Act 12:18. As soon as it was day. The angels visit and Peters escape must have taken place during the last watch of the night, between the hours of three and six; otherwise the absence of the prisoner would have been discovered before the break of day, when the guard of four soldiers was changed.
There was no small stir among the soldiers what was become of Peter. The inquiry on the following morning in the fortress endeavoured to discover whether any possible explanation could be given of the strange escape of the important prisoner who had been so carefully guarded.
Gloag remarks that we are not to think this execution of the guards an extraordinary act of cruelty on the part of Herod. A soldier to whom a prisoner was entrusted, and who permitted his escape, was guilty of a capital offence.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Observe here, 1. How wicked persecutors are mightily enraged, when their bloody purposes are disappointed. Herod having lost his prize, is so incensed, that he caused the keepers first to be examined, (and possibly by tortures) and then to be put to death.
Observe, 2. The justice of God, and the great injustice of Herod: It was just in God to suffer the soldiers, who were Herod’s instruments in persecution, to die by the bloody hand of Herod, whose tools they were. Instruments in persecution God oft-times meets with in this world, and sometimes they fall by the hands of persecutors themselves; yet was it notorious injustice in Herod to put to death those innocent soldiers, who could not help what was done, and were not ways accessary to the prisoner’s escape.
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
God Deals With Herod
The next morning, as one might imagine, the prison was in turmoil. No one knew what had happened to Peter. When Herod could not find him, he had the guards executed. Roman law required that a guard face the punishment which was intended for any prisoner who escaped under their watch (compare Act 16:27 ; Act 27:42-44 ). Not long after, Herod left Jerusalem and went to Caesarea, his other capital.
Bruce says the cities of “Tyre and Sidon, depended on Galilee for their food supply, as they had done in the days of Hiram and Solomon (cf. 1Ki 5:9 ff.).” Once they realized they had offended Herod, they set out to make things right. They somehow got close to Herod’s personal aide, Blastus, and through him asked for peace. Josephus says Herod set aside some days to honor Caesar, perhaps on his birthday which was May 1. On the second day, Herod went into a theatre where a large group of people were assembled. The early morning sun reflected brightly off his garment, which Josephus says was totally made of silver.
When Herod was seated on the throne, the people began to praise him as a god. Herod did not stop the proceedings and the Lord caused his angel to strike him because he did not give glory to God. It would be good to note that others were careful to turn aside worship which rightfully only belongs to God ( Act 10:25-26 ; Act 14:8-18 ; Rev 19:10 ). Josephus said Herod suffered severe stomach pains and a horrible, lingering death which took five days. Luke reports that he was eaten by worms. Interestingly, despite all the attacks of men and failure to give God the glory which belongs to him, God’s word still grew and multiplied ( Act 12:18-24 ).
Fuente: Gary Hampton Commentary on Selected Books
Act 12:18-19. As soon as it was day And they found their prisoner escaped; there was no small stir [Greek, , not a little tumult, or confusion] among the soldiers, what was become of Peter Who was gone, and nobody knew how or which way. For the guards, awaking out of their sound sleep, could none of them give any account of what had passed, and were ready to suspect or accuse each other of negligence or treachery, in giving the prisoner an opportunity to make his escape. And indeed it was very fatal to them that he had escaped; for, when Herod had sought for him Wherever there was any probability of his being concealed; and found him not, he examined the keepers As strictly as possible, or rather, questioned them in a judicial manner; and as he could make nothing out by his inquiry, save that the prisoner was gone while they slept; and as he thought it by no means prudent to give any intimation that a miraculous interposition had taken place, in favour of a man whom he had devoted to destruction; he commanded that they should be put to death Greek, , led away to execution, for their negligence. He probably used this severity for another reason also, namely, lest if any apprehension of a miraculous deliverance should prevail, (an apprehension to which what had happened to all the apostles some time before could not but give countenance: see Act 5:19,) Christianity should thereby gain additional strength. Be this as it may, undoubtedly this seasonable interposition of Providence in its favour, contributed greatly to its further progress; as, it seems, it also, together with the death of Herod, which took place soon after, put a speedy end to this persecution. And he went down from Judea to Cesarea With shame, for not having brought forth Peter, according to his promise; and abode there Till, in the midst of all his pride and glory, the judgment of God overtook him, and avenged the death of James, and the intended murder of Peter, in a most awful manner. Thus have the persecutors of the gospel of Christ been often filled with vexation, to see its cause conquering, notwithstanding all their opposition to it; and have been terribly reckoned with for the cruelties exercised on Gods servants.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
18, 19. The escape of Peter had been altogether unobserved by the soldiers who guarded him. The two who were chained to him in the prison slept on till day, and those guarding the outside changed their watches at the regular hours without suspecting any thing wrong within. (18) “Now when it was day, there was no small stir among the soldiers, what was become of Peter. (19) And when Herod had sought for him and found him not, he examined the guards and commanded that they should be put to death. And he went down from Judea to Csarea, and abode there.” The military law of the Romans required that guards who allowed the escape of a prisoner, and rendered no satisfactory account of it, should be put to death. But it is impossible to believe that on this occasion Herod was governed by an honest sense of military duty. He must have known that the escape of Peter was miraculous, and the execution of the guards was an act of insane fury. A conscience stained by the blood of an apostle and of sixteen faithful soldiers could not find rest in the place where the deeds were done; and doubtless this had much to do with the removal of his residence to Csarea.
Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)
18, 19. At day-dawn the soldiers missed Peter, to their infinite consternation, and submit to their awful fate-the merciless penalty of the cruel tyrant-for letting their prisoner escape. Herod has them all hung.
Fuente: William Godbey’s Commentary on the New Testament
Act 12:18-23. Fate of the Soldiers and of Herod.For the soldiers, cf. Act 5:21 ff. Here they are led away to be put to death. The story of Herods glorification and end is told by Josephus in a similar way; but our version is at some points defective. Herods displeasure with Tyre dates from an earlier period; no disagreement with Sidon is reported. As king of Juda he had a hold on the two towns which depended on importation for their corn, and they might seek to work on him through Blastus, the Master of his Bedchamber; he was a good-natured manthey could get round him.
Act 12:21 b requires some such clause as is found in D, on his being reconciled to the Tyrians. His decision was evidently to be given at a splendid court ceremony. The scene is described by Josephus (Ant. XIX. viii. 2) who speaks of a robe made entirely of silver, which shone brilliantly in the morning sun and prompted the broad flattery, not unheard of in these days, that his voice was that of a god rather than of a man. His death was that of Antiochus (2Ma 9:3 ff.), Sulla, and other presumptuous characters of antiquity.
Act 12:24 f. Return of Barnabas and Saul to Antioch.
Act 12:24. A very vague and general statement; to what region does it refer?
Act 12:25 continues Act 11:30. The reading in mg. is quite inconsistent with the narrative.
Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible
12:18 {8} Now as soon as it was day, there was no small stir among the soldiers, what was become of Peter.
(8) Evil counsel in the end results in the hurt of those who devised it.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Understandably there was "no small disturbance" (a litotes, cf. Act 14:28; Act 15:2; Act 17:4; Act 17:12; Act 19:23-24) when the authorities found Peter’s cell empty. Herod evidently concluded that the guards had cooperated with Peter’s escape or at least had been negligent. Roman guards who allowed their prisoners to escape suffered the punishment of those prisoners. [Note: Barclay, p. 101; Witherington, p. 389, footnote 107.] These guards died. Herod then left Judea (the old Jewish name for the area around Jerusalem) and returned to Caesarea, the nominal capital of the Roman province of Judea. One wonders if Peter’s escape played a role in Herod’s decision to leave the center of Jewish life and so save face. Even a Roman authority could not prevent the church from growing.