Acts 12:1-3
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 12
Herod’s Persecution of the Christians.[a] 1 About that time King Herod laid hands upon some members of the church to harm them. 2 He had James, the brother of John,[b] killed by the sword, 3 [c]and when he saw that this was pleasing to the Jews he proceeded to arrest Peter also. (It was [the] feast of Unleavened Bread.)
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- 12:1–19 Herod Agrippa ruled Judea A.D. 41–44. While Luke does not assign a motive for his execution of James and his intended execution of Peter, the broad background lies in Herod’s support of Pharisaic Judaism. The Jewish Christians had lost the popularity they had had in Jerusalem (Acts 2:47), perhaps because of suspicions against them traceable to the teaching of Stephen.
- 12:2 James, the brother of John: this James, the son of Zebedee, was beheaded by Herod Agrippa ca. A.D. 44.
- 12:3, 4 Feast of Unleavened Bread…Passover: see note on Lk 22:1.
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