Note 2 at Acts 12:4: A quaternion was four soldiers. There were four soldiers watching Peter on each three hour shift or a total of 16 soldiers who guarded him (see note 2 at Acts 12:6, p. 641) throughout the four watches of the night (see note 2 at Mt. 14:25, p. 237).

Note 3 at Acts 12:4: This seems like unusually heavy security for a preacher. It is possible that Herod had been told of the disciples' previous miraculous escape from prison and he wanted to make sure that no one rescued Peter and attributed it to God as a miracle. At any rate, just as when the priests sealed Jesus' tomb (see note 2 at Mt. 27:64, p. 542), Herod's precautions were useless against the power of God and served only to verify the miracle that God performed.

Note 4 at Acts 12:4: The Greek word "pascha" that was translated "Easter" here was translated "passover" 28 times in the New Testament. This is the only time it was translated "Easter," and reflects the customs of the translators, not the first-century Christians. Easter was a pagan festival at the time of this occurrence and was not celebrated by the Christians.