Tim Maas Supporter Retired Quality Assurance Specialist with the U.S. Army

The Herod mentioned in Acts 12:23 was Herod Agrippa I, who was born in 11 BC, and who died in approximately AD 44. He was a grandson of Herod the Great. 

(Herod the Great had been the ruler established in Palestine by the Romans, who actually controlled the area as part of their empire. It was Herod the Great who was ruling in Palestine at the time of the birth of Jesus (as recorded in Matthew 2 and Luke 1). He was the one who, in order to eliminate a perceived threat to his rule that he had learned of from the wise men (or Magi) from the East (who had come to Jerusalem seeking the newborn king of the Jews), ordered the slaughter of the male children two years old and under in the vicinity of Bethlehem recorded in Matthew 2, which Joseph, Mary, and the infant Jesus escaped by fleeing to Egypt at God's direction.)

The Herod mentioned in the Gospels as having been responsible for the arrest and execution of John the Baptist (as recorded in Matthew 14 and Mark 6), and as the individual to whom Pilate sent Jesus during Jesus' trial (as recorded in Luke 23), was Herod Antipas, one of Herod the Great's sons, and the uncle of Herod Agrippa I. 

Herod Agrippa I was granted authority by the Roman emperor Claudius (who ruled from AD 41 to 54) over most of Israel, including Judea, Galilee, Batanaea and Perea. From Galilee his territory extended east to Trachonitis.

Following Jesus' ascension, the book of Acts (written by Luke) records in chapter 12 events involving Herod Agrippa I, including his ordering of the execution of the apostle James the Greater (the brother of the apostle John) and the imprisonment of Peter. After Peter escaped from prison (by God's intervention), Herod Agrippa I (who had been planning to have Peter publicly tried and executed) had the men who had been guarding Peter killed for allowing Peter to escape, and then went to Caeserea, where he was approached by envoys from Tyre and Sidon (in modern-day Lebanon), with which he had been quarreling, and which wanted to make peace with Herod Agrippa I due to his control over their food supply. When Herod Agrippa I publicly received the envoys, he delivered an oration to the people, to which his audience (wishing to flatter Herod) responded (Acts 12:22), "This is the voice of a god, not of a man." Acts 12:23 (the verse being asked about in the question) then records that Herod Agrippa I was immediately struck down by an angel of God as a consequence of his self-glorification, and that he was eaten by worms, and died.

Herod Agrippa I's son, Herod Agrippa II, was the ruler before whom Paul appeared in Acts 25-26. He reigned from AD 54 to AD 100.

June 26 2015 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Jack Gutknecht Supporter ABC/DTS graduate, guitar music ministry Baptist church

Good question, Jabulani!

He was "the grandson of Herod the Great, and the son of Aristobulus and Bernice. He became Herod Agrippa I. Caligula gave him the governments of the tetrarchs Philip and Lysanias with other marks of royal favor. Parading as a little tin god, he was smitten with a foul disease and died in great agony (Acts 12;...)." --Herbert Lockyer

Wikipedia says, "He died suddenly—possibly poisoned—in 44. He is the king named Herod whose death is recounted in Acts 12:20-23."

Yes, he died suddenly, but it was at the hand of an angel. Even if he was poisoned, it was an angel that did it. Herod Agrippa I died at Caesarea in AD 44, and Ac 12:20-23 here describe his death. On being "struck…down" by an angel, see Acts 23:3; 1 Sam 25:38; 2 Sam 12:15; 2 Kgs 19:35; 2 Chr 13:20.

Psalm 115:1 says, "Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory,
for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!"

June 18 2024 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report