Acts 12 · a question people ask
"King Herod" (12:1). Which Herod is this?
The chapter calls him "King Herod" (12:1), and then "Herod" (12:6, 12:11, 12:19-21) and "the king" (12:20). It names no father, no family and no other name for him. Acts names a Herod in other places too, among them 4:27 and "Herod the tetrarch" (13:1), and it doesn't say whether this Herod is any of them. These notes don't say either, and add nothing from outside the Bible about him.
The verses
“Now about that time, King Herod stretched out his hands to oppress some of the assembly.”
“The same night when Herod was about to bring him out, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains. Guards in front of the door kept the prison.”
“When Peter had come to himself, he said, “Now I truly know that the Lord has sent out his angel and delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from everything the Jewish people were expecting.””
“When Herod had sought for him and didn’t find him, he examined the guards, then commanded that they should be put to death. He went down from Judea to Caesarea, and stayed there. Now Herod was very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon. They came with one accord to him and, having made Blastus, the king’s personal aide, their friend, they asked for peace, because their country depended on the king’s country for food. On an appointed day, Herod dressed himself in royal clothing, sat on the throne, and gave a speech to them.”