Q. What is meant by the word EASTER in Acts 12:4? Is this Easter the Jewish Passover or a pagan festival? (Submitted by: Dee) A. First, let us take a look at the verse in question in its context: "Now about 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.) And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after EASTER to bring him forth to the people. " (Acts 12:1-4, KJV) The second part of your question needs a bit of clarification and explanation. Biblically speaking, the Passover was not a "Jewish" festival although Jews (members of the tribe of Judah or citizens of the Kingdom of Judah) certainly celebrated this Feast day. The Passover is one of God's annual Holy Days he commanded ancient Israel to keep. The Passover was NEVER called Easter by the first century church. The word Easter is a derivative of Ishtar, or Astarte, the name of a pagan goddess of fertility who was celebrated during the Spring solstice. The King James Version Bible was written by scholars whose orientation was toward Catholic and Anglican church doctrines. This bias caused some errors in translating the original Bible text into English. One such error was translating the Greek word pascha (Greek: πάσχα, Strong's Concordance #G3957), which means "passover," as the English word Easter. "After arresting him, he put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out for public trial after the Passover." (Acts 12:4, NIV)
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