Acts 12:1

Now about that time Herod the king stretched out his hand to harass some from the church.

1. Adam Clarke explains who this king is. " This was Herod Agrippa, the son of Aristobulus, and grandson of Herod the Great; he was nephew to Herod Antipas, who beheaded John they Baptist, and brother to Herodias. He was made king by the Emperor Caligula, and was put in possession of all the territories formerly held by his uncle Philip and by Lysanias; viz. Iturea, Trachonitis, Abilene, with Gaulonitis, Batanaea, and Penias. To these the Emperor Claudius afterwards added Judea and Samaria; which were nearly all the dominions possessed by his grandfather, Herod the Great."

2. He "stretched out his hand" to persecute the Christians in Judea and Jerusalem. This was nothing new for this family. His grandfather killed hundreds of infant boys after the birth of Jesus. His uncle beheaded John the Baptizer. His sister was Herodias, who danced to obtain the head of John.