Acts 12:3

ἀρεστόν … τοῖς Ἰ : exactly what we should expect from the character and policy of Herod in his zeal for the law, and from the success with which during his short reign he retained the favour of Jews and Romans alike. Holtzmann, p. 370, seems inclined to doubt the truth of this description of Herod, and lays stress upon the mention of the king's mild disposition in Josephus, Ant., xix., 7, 3. But Josephus also makes it quite plain how zealous Agrippa was, or pretended to be, for the laws and ordinances of Judaism, u. s., and xx., 7, 1, and see Schürer, u. s., and Feine, p. 226. Nor is it at all certain that Agrippa's reputed mildness and gentleness would have kept him from rejoicing in the persecution of the Christians, cf. the description of his delight in the bloody gladiatorial games, Jos., Ant., xix., 9, 5. προσέθετο συλλ.: a Hebraism, cf. Luke 19:11; Luke 20:11 : LXX, Genesis 4:2; Genesis 8:12; Genesis 25:1; Exodus 14:13, etc., peculiar to St. Luke in N.T., Viteau, Le Grec du N. T., p. 209 (1893). αἱ ἡ. τῶν ἀζύμων, and therefore a large number of Jews would be in Jerusalem, and Herod would thus have a good opportunity of gaining wide popularity by his zeal for the law.