independentparticipialrelativepurposecausecontentconditionaldashed = verbless / suspended
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Herod's hand on the church — James slain, Peter seized, the church at prayer 12:1–5
vv. 1–2 — the sword: the first of the Twelve to die
1
Κατ᾽ ἐκεῖνον δὲ τὸν καιρὸν ἐπέβαλεν Ἡρῴδης ὁ βασιλεὺς τὰς χεῖραςindependent — Agrippa I (r. 41–44) — ἐπιβάλλειν τὰς χεῖρας, Luke's arrest idiom; 'the king' sets up the chapter's contest of kings
κακῶσαί τινας τῶν ἀπὸ τῆς ἐκκλησίας.purpose — purpose infinitive — κακόω, the LXX verb for oppressing God's people (Exod 5:22)
2
ἀνεῖλεν δὲ Ἰάκωβον τὸν ἀδελφὸν Ἰωάννου μαχαίρῃ.independent — one stark clause, no elaboration — the cup of Mark 10:39 drunk; μαχαίρῃ likely beheading
vv. 3–5 — Peter seized at Passover; the church prays
3
ἰδὼν δὲparticipial — preposed causal participle — leans on προσέθετο: popular approval is the motive
ὅτι ἀρεστόν ἐστιν τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις,content — what he saw — persecution as politics
προσέθετο συλλαβεῖν καὶ Πέτρον·independent — προσέθετο + infinitive, the LXX Hebraism 'he added to seize'; adjunctive καί: Peter next
ἦσαν δὲ [αἱ] ἡμέραι τῶν ἀζύμων·independent — narrator's parenthesis — the Passover frame: the church's deliverance timed to Israel's
4
ὃν καὶ πιάσας ἔθετο εἰς φυλακήν,independent — connecting relative ὅν ('and him'), resuming Πέτρον past the parenthesis — set as mainline
παραδοὺς τέσσαρσιν τετραδίοις στρατιωτῶνparticipial — means participle — sixteen men in rotating watches; παραδίδωμι, the passion verb
φυλάσσειν αὐτόν,purpose — the φυλάσσω cluster begins — all this guarding about to fail
βουλόμενος μετὰ τὸ πάσχα ἀναγαγεῖν αὐτὸν τῷ λαῷ.participial — Herod's plan stated — βουλόμενος, deliberate resolve; God cancels it before morning
5
ὁ μὲν οὖν Πέτρος ἐτηρεῖτο ἐν τῇ φυλακῇ·independent — μέν of the antithesis — durative imperfect: the custody runs on
προσευχὴ δὲ ἦν ἐκτενῶς γινομένη ὑπὸ τῆς ἐκκλησίας πρὸς τὸν θεὸν περὶ αὐτοῦ.independent — answering δέ — periphrastic imperfect: two simultaneous lines, prison and prayer; ἐκτενῶς as at Gethsemane (Luke 22:44)
The angel in the cell — chains fall, the iron gate opens 12:6–11
vv. 6–7 — the night before trial: the angel and the light
6
Ὅτε δὲ ἔμελλεν αὐτὸν προάγειν ὁ Ἡρῴδης,conditional — temporal ὅτε (typed cnd; no temporal key) — the very last night; leans forward on ἦν
τῇ νυκτὶ ἐκείνῃ ἦν ὁ Πέτρος κοιμώμενος μεταξὺ δύο στρατιωτῶνindependent — periphrastic imperfect — asleep on death-row's eve: the sleep of trust
δεδεμένος ἁλύσεσιν δυσίν,participial — perfect participle — the settled state of bondage; each wrist to a guard
φύλακές τε πρὸ τῆς θύρας ἐτήρουν τὴν φυλακήν.independent — τε adds the second security ring — φύλακες, ἐτήρουν, φυλακήν: the guard-cluster piled up to be overcome
7
καὶ ἰδοὺ ἄγγελος κυρίου ἐπέστηindependent — καὶ ἰδού — the Lukan irruption formula; ἐπέστη, his verb for sudden angelic arrival (Luke 2:9)
καὶ φῶς ἔλαμψεν ἐν τῷ οἰκήματι·independent — epiphany-light in the οἴκημα (NT hapax) — the cell floodlit, the guards unseeing
πατάξας δὲ τὴν πλευρὰν τοῦ Πέτρουparticipial — preposed participle leaning on ἤγειρεν — πατάσσω, the very verb that will kill Herod (v. 23): here it wakes, there it slays
ἤγειρεν αὐτὸνindependent — ἐγείρω — the resurrection verb in miniature: raised from sleep, from death-row
λέγων·participial — speech-frame for the first command
Ἀνάστα ἐν τάχει.content — ἀνάστα — the rising-command; ἐν τάχει, no time to lose
καὶ ἐξέπεσαν αὐτοῦ αἱ ἁλύσεις ἐκ τῶν χειρῶν.independent — the chains simply drop — no agent named; the loosing of Ps 116:16
vv. 8–10 — dress, follow: past the guards to the iron gate
8
εἶπεν δὲ ὁ ἄγγελος πρὸς αὐτόν·independent — the speech-frame — travel instructions, absurdly practical
Ζῶσαιcontent — first command — the tunic belted for the road
καὶ ὑπόδησαι τὰ σανδάλιά σου.content — second command — the realistic detail: this is no vision's errand
ἐποίησεν δὲ οὕτως.independent — wordless compliance — Peter obeys half-asleep
καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ·independent — historic present λέγει — the narrative quickens at the decisive command
Περιβαλοῦ τὸ ἱμάτιόν σουcontent — third command — the outer garment for the street
καὶ ἀκολούθει μοι.content — ἀκολούθει — the discipleship verb, here the angel as guide; present imperative: keep following
9
καὶ ἐξελθὼνparticipial — preposed participle — leans on ἠκολούθει
ἠκολούθει,independent — durative imperfect — the walk through the prison, step by step
καὶ οὐκ ᾔδειindependent — the narrator opens Peter's mind — the epistemic gap the chapter will close at v. 11
ὅτι ἀληθές ἐστιν τὸ γινόμενον διὰ τοῦ ἀγγέλου,content — ἀληθές — the reality-word, answered by ἀληθῶς in v. 11
ἐδόκει δὲ ὅραμα βλέπειν.independent — ὅραμα — Peter has had visions before (10:10ff.); the mistake is earned
10
διελθόντες δὲ πρώτην φυλακὴν καὶ δευτέρανparticipial — preposed participle — station by station; leans on ἦλθαν
ἦλθαν ἐπὶ τὴν πύλην τὴν σιδηρᾶν τὴν φέρουσαν εἰς τὴν πόλιν,independent — the last obstacle — iron: maximum security, maximum miracle
ἥτις αὐτομάτη ἠνοίγη αὐτοῖς,relative — αὐτομάτη + divine passive ἠνοίγη — the LXX word for self-grown crops (Lev 25:5): God's unaided act
καὶ ἐξελθόντεςparticipial — preposed participle — leans on προῆλθον; out at last
προῆλθον ῥύμην μίαν,independent — one street's length — the angel escorts exactly as far as needed
καὶ εὐθέως ἀπέστη ὁ ἄγγελος ἀπ᾽ αὐτοῦ.independent — the abrupt exit — mission complete; Peter left standing in the dark street
v. 11 — Peter comes to himself
11
Καὶ ὁ Πέτρος ἐν ἑαυτῷ γενόμενος εἶπεν·independent — ἐν ἑαυτῷ γενόμενος — the prodigal's idiom (Luke 15:17); recognition arrives with the cold air
Νῦν οἶδα ἀληθῶςcontent — νῦν οἶδα ἀληθῶς — answering οὐκ ᾔδει and ἀληθές of v. 9: it was real
ὅτι ἐξαπέστειλεν κύριος τὸν ἄγγελον αὐτοῦcontent — the confession's first verb — divine commissioning
καὶ ἐξείλατό με ἐκ χειρὸς Ἡρῴδου καὶ πάσης τῆς προσδοκίας τοῦ λαοῦ τῶν Ἰουδαίων.content — ἐξαιρέω ἐκ χειρός — exodus rescue-language (Exod 18:4) spoken at Passover
Rhoda at the gate — answered prayer disbelieved 12:12–17
vv. 12–14 — the recognized voice; joy forgets the gate
12
συνιδών τεparticipial — preposed participle — leans on ἦλθεν; the situation grasped, a destination chosen
ἦλθεν ἐπὶ τὴν οἰκίαν τῆς Μαρίας τῆς μητρὸς Ἰωάννου τοῦ ἐπικαλουμένου Μάρκου,independent — the first named house-church in Acts; John Mark introduced — flagged for 13:5 and 15:37–39
οὗ ἦσαν ἱκανοὶ συνηθροισμένοι καὶ προσευχόμενοι.relative — locative οὗ — the ἐκτενής prayer of v. 5 still in session as its answer knocks
13
κρούσαντος δὲ αὐτοῦ τὴν θύραν τοῦ πυλῶνος,participial — genitive absolute — forward-leaning; the outer πυλών of a substantial house
προσῆλθεν παιδίσκη ὑπακοῦσαι ὀνόματι Ῥόδη,independent — Rhoda ('Rose') — Luke names the doorkeeper; ὑπακοῦσαι, to attend the knock
14
καὶ ἐπιγνοῦσα τὴν φωνὴν τοῦ Πέτρουparticipial — preposed participle — recognition by voice alone, through the shut door
ἀπὸ τῆς χαρᾶς οὐκ ἤνοιξεν τὸν πυλῶνα,independent — ἀπὸ τῆς χαρᾶς — the joy that forgets to open; Luke's most human comic touch (cf. Luke 24:41)
εἰσδραμοῦσα δὲparticipial — preposed participle — leans on ἀπήγγειλεν; she dashes indoors instead
ἀπήγγειλενindependent — the report — while Peter stands locked out
ἑστάναι τὸν Πέτρον πρὸ τοῦ πυλῶνος.content — indirect discourse — perfect ἑστάναι: he stands there this moment
vv. 15–16 — 'You are mad' — 'It is his angel'
15
οἱ δὲ πρὸς αὐτὴν εἶπαν·independent — the praying church answers its answered prayer
Μαίνῃ.content — μαίνῃ — the madness-charge thrown at unbelievable good news (cf. 26:24)
ἡ δὲ διϊσχυρίζετοindependent — iterative imperfect διϊσχυρίζετο — she will not be talked down (only elsewhere Luke 22:59)
οὕτως ἔχειν.content — indirect discourse — οὕτως ἔχειν, 'it is so': the servant-girl right, the church wrong
οἱ δὲ ἔλεγον·independent — iterative imperfect — the repeated counter-explanation
Ὁ ἄγγελός ἐστιν αὐτοῦ.content — the guardian-angel belief (cf. Matt 18:10; Tob 5) — easier to credit than the rescue they prayed for
16
ὁ δὲ Πέτρος ἐπέμενεν κρούων·independent — ἐπέμενεν κρούων — the debate indoors, the knocking outdoors: sustained comic tableau
ἀνοίξαντες δὲparticipial — preposed participle — leans on εἶδαν; the gate finally opened
εἶδαν αὐτὸνindependent — sight settles it — the ἀληθῶς of v. 11 now theirs
καὶ ἐξέστησαν.independent — ἐξέστησαν — beside themselves; the standard response to divine acts (2:7)
v. 17 — the motion for silence; tell James
17
κατασείσας δὲ αὐτοῖς τῇ χειρὶ σιγᾶνparticipial — preposed participle — the orator's silencing gesture (13:16; 21:40); leans on διηγήσατο
διηγήσατο αὐτοῖςindependent — διηγέομαι — the full account, compressed by Luke to one clause
πῶς ὁ κύριος αὐτὸν ἐξήγαγεν ἐκ τῆς φυλακῆς,content — indirect question — ἐξήγαγεν, the exodus leading-out verb: the Lord, not the angel, credited
εἶπέν τε·independent — the parting instruction
Ἀπαγγείλατε Ἰακώβῳ καὶ τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς ταῦτα.content — James the Lord's brother — the Jerusalem leadership quietly passing to him
καὶ ἐξελθὼνparticipial — preposed participle — leans on ἐπορεύθη
ἐπορεύθη εἰς ἕτερον τόπον.independent — ἕτερον τόπον — deliberately unnamed: protection, or the limit of Luke's tradition; Peter exits the narrative's center
Morning — the stir and the sentence on the guards 12:18–19
18
Γενομένης δὲ ἡμέραςparticipial — genitive absolute — forward-leaning; the standard Lukan dawn-formula
ἦν τάραχος οὐκ ὀλίγος ἐν τοῖς στρατιώταις,independent — οὐκ ὀλίγος — the classic Lukan litotes: a very great commotion; the guards face the escapee's penalty
τί ἄρα ὁ Πέτρος ἐγένετο.content — indirect question with bewildered ἄρα — the content of the stir
19
Ἡρῴδης δὲ ἐπιζητήσας αὐτὸν καὶ μὴ εὑρὼνparticipial — preposed participles — the thorough hunt fails; leans on ἐκέλευσεν
ἀνακρίνας τοὺς φύλακαςparticipial — ἀνακρίνω — the formal judicial examination; second preposed participle
ἐκέλευσεν ἀπαχθῆναι,independent — ἀπαχθῆναι — the judicial euphemism: the guards die the death Peter escaped
καὶ κατελθὼν ἀπὸ τῆς Ἰουδαίας εἰς Καισάρειανparticipial — preposed participle — leans on διέτριβεν; down from the hill-city to the coast, the stage for vv. 20–23
διέτριβεν.independent — durative imperfect — the extended residence before the fatal day
The death of Herod — the voice of a god, the worms 12:20–23
vv. 20–21 — Tyre and Sidon; the royal robes
20
Ἦν δὲ θυμομαχῶν Τυρίοις καὶ Σιδωνίοις·independent — periphrastic imperfect — θυμομαχέω (NT hapax): sustained royal rage, cause unstated
ὁμοθυμαδὸν δὲ παρῆσαν πρὸς αὐτόν,independent — ὁμοθυμαδόν — Luke's unanimity word, here for a trade delegation, not the praying church
καὶ πείσαντες Βλάστον τὸν ἐπὶ τοῦ κοιτῶνος τοῦ βασιλέωςparticipial — preposed means participle — the chamberlain bought as intermediary; leans on ᾐτοῦντο
ᾐτοῦντο εἰρήνην,independent — iterative imperfect — the standing petition
διὰ τὸ τρέφεσθαι αὐτῶν τὴν χώραν ἀπὸ τῆς βασιλικῆς.cause — διὰ τό + infinitive — the economic motive: Phoenicia eats from Herod's land (cf. 1 Kgs 5:11)
21
τακτῇ δὲ ἡμέρᾳ ὁ Ἡρῴδης ἐνδυσάμενος ἐσθῆτα βασιλικὴνparticipial — preposed participle — Josephus's robe of silver cloth (Ant. 19.344); leans on ἐδημηγόρει
καθίσας ἐπὶ τοῦ βήματοςparticipial — second preposed participle — enthroned on the βῆμα to receive homage
ἐδημηγόρει πρὸς αὐτούς.independent — δημηγορέω (NT hapax) — the formal oration; the pomp assembled for the fall
vv. 22–23 — the acclamation and the stroke
22
ὁ δὲ δῆμος ἐπεφώνει·independent — iterative imperfect — sustained acclamation, and Herod's sustained silence
Θεοῦ φωνὴ καὶ οὐκ ἀνθρώπου.content — verbless acclamation — Hellenistic ruler-cult formula (so Josephus, Ant. 19.345); the honor Herod fails to refuse
23
παραχρῆμα δὲ ἐπάταξεν αὐτὸν ἄγγελος κυρίουindependent — παραχρῆμα — Luke's instant-judgment adverb; ἐπάταξεν, the same angel-verb that woke Peter (v. 7): the chapter's hinge
ἀνθ᾽ ὧν οὐκ ἔδωκεν τὴν δόξαν τῷ θεῷ,cause — ἀνθ᾽ ὧν — the exact charge: the sin is an omission; glory kept is death (cf. Josh 7:19)
καὶ γενόμενος σκωληκόβρωτοςparticipial — preposed participle — σκωληκόβρωτος (NT hapax): the tyrant's death of 2 Macc 9:9 (Antiochus IV); leans on ἐξέψυξεν
ἐξέψυξεν.independent — ἐκψύχω — elsewhere only Ananias and Sapphira (5:5, 10): the deaths of those who touch God's honor
The word grows — the return with John Mark 12:24–25
24
Ὁ δὲ λόγος τοῦ θεοῦ ηὔξανεν καὶ ἐπληθύνετο.independent — the growth-refrain (6:7; 9:31; 19:20) set against the worm-eaten king — αὐξάνω + πληθύνω, Genesis's 'be fruitful and multiply' (Gen 1:28)
25
Βαρνάβας δὲ καὶ Σαῦλος ὑπέστρεψαν ἐξ Ἰερουσαλὴμindependent — ἐξ Ἰερουσαλήμ printed against the well-attested εἰς — the famous crux; the bridge back to Antioch and on to ch. 13
πληρώσαντες τὴν διακονίαν,participial — the famine relief of 11:29–30 delivered — the errand that framed the chapter
συμπαραλαβόντες Ἰωάννην τὸν ἐπικληθέντα Μάρκον.participial — συμπαραλαμβάνω — the very compound of the later dispute over Mark (15:37–38); the companion picked up from v. 12's house
Analysis. Acts 12 is a narrative diptych hinged on one verb: πατάσσω. The angel of the Lord who strikes (πατάξας, v. 7) the sleeping Peter's side to wake him for rescue is the angel who strikes (ἐπάταξεν, v. 23) the enthroned Herod dead for accepting a god's acclamation — the layout keeps both blows on flush-left mainlines so the echo is visible. Around that hinge the shape is Luke's narrative norm: mainline aorists and imperfects down the left margin; preposed circumstantial participles and genitive absolutes leaning forward, anchorless, on the verb below (ἰδὼν δέ, πατάξας, κρούσαντος αὐτοῦ, Γενομένης ἡμέρας, the triple-participle robing and enthroning of v. 21); and speech hanging blue beneath its verb of saying — the angel's staccato commands under εἶπεν and the historic present λέγει (v. 8), Peter's νῦν-οἶδα confession under εἶπεν (v. 11), the Μαίνῃ / it-is-his-angel exchange under three verbs of saying (v. 15), and the crowd's fatal verbless θεοῦ φωνή under ἐπεφώνει (v. 22). The word-cluster φυλακή / φύλαξ / φυλάσσω saturates vv. 4–10 — sixteen soldiers, two chains, two guard posts, an iron gate — precisely so the escape can be all God's: the divine passive ἠνοίγη with αὐτομάτη ('of its own accord,' the LXX word for self-grown crops), and Peter's summary verbs ἐξαπέστειλεν / ἐξείλατο / ἐξήγαγεν, exodus vocabulary at Passover. Choices the layout takes a side on: the connecting relative ὅν of v. 4 stands flush left as a fresh mainline ('and him he seized'), since the Unleavened-Bread parenthesis interrupts the syntax; the ὅτε-clause of v. 6 and the temporal genitive absolutes lean forward without anchors; ἀληθές (v. 9) and ἀληθῶς (v. 11) are flagged as the deliberate echo they are — the vision-or-reality question raised and answered; and in v. 25 the printed ἐξ Ἰερουσαλήμ ('from Jerusalem') is kept against the well-attested εἰς — the famous crux — while the growth-refrain of v. 24 (αὐξάνω + πληθύνω, Genesis's 'be fruitful and multiply') stands as the one-line counterpoint to the king eaten by worms.