📖 Biblical Definition
A Roman military squad of four soldiers. Acts 12:4 records King Herod Agrippa I assigning four quaternions of soldiers (sixteen total) to guard the imprisoned Peter: 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. The arrangement reflected standard Roman watch-protocol: each quaternion stood watch for one of four three-hour watches of the night (6 PM-9 PM, 9 PM-midnight, midnight-3 AM, 3 AM-6 AM), with the duty rotating across the night. Two soldiers were chained directly to Peter's wrists; two more stood at the doors. Despite this security, an angel came in the night, struck Peter on the side, woke him, caused the chains to fall off, led him past two ward stations and through the iron gate of the prison that opened of its own accord (Acts 12:7-10). Sixteen Roman soldiers could not hold Peter when the LORD intended his release. The episode's pointed irony was not lost on Luke or his readers.
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
A Roman squad of four; Peter's prison guard.
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A Roman military squad of four soldiers; Herod assigned four such quaternions (sixteen soldiers total, rotating in three-hour watches) to guard the imprisoned apostle Peter — and an angel of the Lord walked him out anyway.
📖 Key Scripture
Acts 12:4 — "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 12:6-7 — "And the same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains... behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him."
Acts 12:11 — "Now I know of a surety, that the Lord hath sent his angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
Forgotten as obscure detail, missing the deliberate Lukan emphasis on the impossibility of human security against God's purposes.
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Sixteen soldiers in three-hour rotations, two chained directly to Peter, sealed in inner prison — and an angel walks him through. Luke records the security detail to make the point: when God sends His angel, no human guard holds. Read Acts 12 with the quaternion-detail in mind.
🔗 Greek & Hebrew Roots
Latin quaternio — group of four.
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['Latin', '—', 'quaternio', 'group of four']
['Greek', 'G5069', 'tetradion', 'quaternion']
Usage
"Four quaternions could not hold Peter."
"Read Acts 12 with security-detail in mind."