Acts 12:1
And at the same time, Herod the king stretched forth his hands, to afflict some of the church.
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- Vulgate (Clementine)
- Eodem autem tempore misit Herodes rex manus, ut affligeret quosdam de ecclesia.
- Greek New Testament (SBLGNT)
- Κατʼ ἐκεῖνον δὲ τὸν καιρὸν ἐπέβαλεν Ἡρῴδης ὁ βασιλεὺς τὰς χεῖρας κακῶσαί τινας τῶν ἀπὸ τῆς ἐκκλησίας.
Haydock's commentary
Herod. Agrippa, made king by the emperor Caius. See Josephus vi. 18. Jewish Antiquities, chap. viii. and lib. xix. chap. 5. put to death James the great, brother to John. (Witham)
This man was the same as Agrippa, by which name he is most commonly known. He was brother to the famous Herodias, who was the cause of St. John the Baptist's decollation, (Calmet) and son-in-law of Herod the Great, by his father Aristobulus. (Bible de Vence)
From Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary, 1859, in the transcription made by Todd Easton and kept online by John Paul Wohlschied at johnblood.gitlab.io/haydock.
The Fathers on this verse
St John Chrysostom A Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles, Homily XXVI on Acts xii. 1, 2
Acts XII. 1, 2 “Now at that time Herod the King stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the Church. And he killed James the brother of John with the sword. And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. Then were the days of unleavened bread.”
St John Chrysostom A Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles, Homily XXVI on Acts xii. 1, 2
(Recapitulation.) “At that time,” it says, “Herod the king stretched forth his hands to afflict certain of the Church.” ( v. 1 .) Like a wild beast, he attacked all indiscriminately and without consideration. This is what Christ said: “My cup indeed ye shall drink, and with the baptism wherewith I am baptized, shall ye be baptized.” ( Mark x. 39 .) ( b ) “And he killed James the brother of John.” ( v. 2 .) For there was also another James, the brother of the Lord: therefore to distinguish him, he says, “The brother of John.” Do you mark that the sum of affairs rested in these three, especially Peter and James? ( a ) 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 ( ἐκπομπεὕσαι ) with the killing of him. “And when he saw it pleased the Jews.” ( v. …
Eusebius The Church History of Eusebius, The Martyrdom of James the Apostle
1. “ Now about that time” (it is clear that he means the time of Claudius) “Herod the King stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the Church. And he killed James the brother of John with the sword.”
The Fathers are given as they wrote. Where a passage lays the Passion on the Jewish people, the Church teaches that it cannot be charged against all the Jews then living, nor against the Jews of today, and that all sinners were its authors (CCC 597, 598).