Acts 12:3

And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. (Then were the days of unleavened bread.)

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Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
And	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
because	ὅτι hoti	G3754	demonstrative · conjunction
saw	ἰδὼν idōn	G1492	used only in certain past tenses · verb — second aorist active participle, nominative singular masculine
pleased	ἀρεστόν areston	G701	agreeable · adjective — nominative singular neuter
Jews	Ἰουδαίοις, Ioudaiois	G2453	Judæan · noun — dative plural masculine, a people name
further	προσέθετο prosetheto	G4369	to place additionally · verb — second aorist middle indicative, 3rd person singular
take	συλλαβεῖν sullabein	G4815	to clasp · verb — second aorist active infinitive
Peter	Πέτρον, Petron	G4074	a (piece of) rock (larger than G3037 (λίθος)) · noun — accusative singular masculine, a proper name
also	καί kaí	G2532	and
Then	δὲ de	G1161	but · conjunction
were	ἦν ēn	G2258	I (thou
days	ἡμέραι hēmerai	G2250	day · noun — nominative plural feminine
bread	ἀζύμων, azumōn	G106	unleavened · adjective — genitive plural neuter

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Exodus 23:15 Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread: (thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, in the time appointed of th…
John 12:43 For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.
Acts 24:27 But after two years Porcius Festus came into Felix’ room: and Felix, willing to shew the Jews a pleasure, left Paul bound.
Leviticus 23:6-14 And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto the LORD: seven days ye must eat unleavened bread.
Exodus 12:14-20 And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the LORD throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feas…
Acts 25:9 But Festus, willing to do the Jews a pleasure, answered Paul, and said, Wilt thou go up to Jerusalem, and there be judged of these things be…
Exodus 13:3-7 And Moses said unto the people, Remember this day, in which ye came out from Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand the…
Acts 20:6 And we sailed away from Philippi after the days of unleavened bread, and came unto them to Troas in five days; where we abode seven days.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Acts 12:1-4

Ever since the conversion of Paul, we have heard no more of the agency of the priests in persecuting the saints at Jerusalem; perhaps that wonderful change wrought upon him, and the disappointment it gave to their design upon the Christians at Damascus, had somewhat mollified them, and brought them under the check of Gamaliel's advice - to let those men alone, and see what would be the issue; but here the storm arises from another point. The civil power, not now, as usual (for aught that appears) stirred up by the ecclesiastics, acts by itself in the persecution. But Herod, though originally of an Edomite family, yet seems to have been a proselyte to the Jewish religion; for Josephus says he…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Acts 12:3

because he saw it pleased the Jews--Popularity was the ruling passion of this Herod, not naturally so cruel as some of the family [JOSEPHUS, Antiquities, 19.7.3]. to take Peter also--whose loss, at this stage of the Church, would have been, so far as we can see, irreparable. Then were the days of unleavened bread--seven in number, during which, after killing and eating the Passover, no leaven was allowed in Jewish houses (Exo 12:15, Exo 12:19).

Adam Clarke on Acts 12:3

He proceeded - to take Peter also - He supposed that these two were pillars on which the infant cause rested; and that, if these were removed, the building must necessarily come down. The days of unleavened bread - About the latter end of March or beginning of April; but whether in the third or fourth year of the Emperor Claudius, or earlier or later, cannot be determined.

John Gill on Acts 12:3

And because he saw it pleased the Jews,.... That is, as Beza's ancient copy adds, "his stretching out his hands upon the faithful"; this pleased the Jews, a bloodthirsty generation of men, who had killed the prophets, and the Lord Jesus, and who were now greedy after the death of the apostles: it may easily be seen from what principle and spirit Herod acted; it was not out of regard to the Jewish religion, rites, and ceremonies, but to ingratiate himself into the affections of the people: he proceeded further to take Peter also; a principal apostle, and who was well known, and against whom the Jews had doubtless a particular antipathy, and would have been glad to have been rid of him; this…

The Church Fathers

And when he saw that it pleased the Jews. O excessive wickedness! On whose behalf was it, that he gratified them by doing murders thus without plan or reason? "And it was the day of unleavened bread." Again, the idle preciseness of the Jews: to kill indeed they forbade not, but at such a time they did such things!
— John Chrysostom, Homily on Acts 26

And how was it he did not kill Peter immediately? It mentions the reason: "it was the day of unleavened bread:" and he wished rather to make a display with the killing of him. "And when he saw it pleased the Jews." For their own part, they now in consequence of Gamaliel's advice, abstained from bloodshedding: and besides, did not even invent accusations; but by means of others they compassed the same results. This counsel of Gamaliel's above all was their condemnation: for the preaching was shown to be no longer a thing of men. "He proceeded further to kill Peter also." In very deed was that fulfilled, "We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter." "Seeing," it says, "it was a pleasing thing to the Jews." A pleasing thing, bloodshed, and unrighteous bloodshed, wickedness, impiety! He ministered to their senseless lusts: for, whereas he ought to have done the contrary, to check their rage, he made them more eager, as if he were an executioner, and not a physician to their diseased minds.
— John Chrysostom, Homily on Acts 26

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Agrippa I. — The grandson of Herod the Great, and son of Aristobulus and Bernice. The Roman emperor Caligula made him governor first of the territories of Philip, then of the tetrarchy of Lysanias, with the title…
Drusilla — Third and youngest daughter of Herod Agrippa I. (Acts 12:1-4, 20-23). Felix, the Roman procurator of Judea, induced her to leave her husband, Azizus, the king of Emesa, and become his wife. She was…
Herod Agrippa I. — Son of Aristobulus and Bernice, and grandson of Herod the Great. He was made tetrarch of the provinces formerly held by Lysanias II., and ultimately possessed the entire kingdom of his grandfather,…
Passover — The name given to the chief of the three great historical annual festivals of the Jews. It was kept in remembrance of the Lord’s passing over the houses of the Israelites (Ex. 12:13) when the first…
Prayer — Is converse with God; the intercourse of the soul with God, not in contemplation or meditation, but in direct address to him. Prayer may be oral or mental, occasional or constant, ejaculatory or…
Demagogism · .Herod (Agrippa I) — .Herod (Agrippa I)
Feast Of The Passover, The · Called the: Days of unleavened bread — Called the: Days of unleavened bread
Herod · 3. — 3.
Opinion, Public · .Of Peter — .Of Peter
Passover · Observed with unleavened bread (no yeast) — Observed with unleavened bread (no yeast)
Prisoners · Peter — Peter

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Acts 12:3

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Acts 12:1-4

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Acts 12:3

Adam Clarke on Acts 12:3

John Gill on Acts 12:3

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Acts 12:3

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Acts 12:1-4

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Acts 12:3

Adam Clarke on Acts 12:3

John Gill on Acts 12:3

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Acts 12:1-5

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Acts 12:1-5