Acts 12:13
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He knocked at the outer gate, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer it.
Commentaries
Excerpts gathered from published commentaries to ground the reading.
came to hearken--not to open; for neither was it a time nor an hour of night for that, but to listen who was there.
Open source ↗In this chapter we have the story, I. Of the martyrdom of James the apostle, and the imprisonment of Peter by Herod Agrippa, who now reigned as king in Judea (Act 12:1-4). II. The miraculous deliverance of Peter out of prison by the ministry of an angel, in answer to the prayers of the church for him (Act 12:6-19). III. The cutting off of Herod in the height of his pride by the stroke of an angel, the minister of God's justice (Act 12:20-23); and this was done while Barnabas and Saul were at Jerusalem, upon the errand that the church of Antioch sent them on, to carry their charity; and therefore in the close we have an account of their return to Antioch (Act 12:24, Act 12:25).
Open source ↗12:13-17 Rhoda was so surprised when Peter appeared that she left him standing at the closed door. Both she and the other believers were amazed by God’s answer to their prayers (12:5).
Open source ↗Original language
The Hebrew and Greek words behind this passage, with Strong's numbers — from openscriptures (CC BY-SA).
Cross-references
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After the master of the house gets up and shuts the door, you will stand outside knocking and saying, ‘Lord, open the door for us.’ But he will reply, ‘I do not know where you are from.’
But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astounded.