<p>12:19 <em>And when Herod had searched for him and not found him</em>- This sounds as if Herod personally searched, presumably going to the prison personally.</p><p><em>He examined the guards, and commanded that they should be put to death</em>- This has echoes of the punishment of those entrusted with the murder of Daniel.</p><p><em>And he went down from Judea to Caesarea and stayed there</em>- Herod had intended to kill Peter because he wanted to please the Jews (:3). But he invested so much in what originally was just a political move, that he became obsessed with it. And now it backfired, he took it so personally that he moved his residence out of Judaea to Caesarea. This is how our human minds degenerate; an insincere decision or policy adopted becomes a personal obsession, and then when we are shown to be fighting against the Lord's way, there is hurt pride which results in destruction.</p>