Theophylact of Ohrid, on Acts 12:7

“And behold an angel of the Lord stood by him: and a light shined in the room: and he striking Peter on the side, raised him up, saying: Arise quickly. And the chains fell off from his hands.”

“But why did a light shine in the prison? So that Peter could both see and hear the Angel and so that he would not think it was an imagination. The Angel even struck him — so soundly was he sleeping. As for the expression "striking Peter on the side," it indicates not the Angel's confusion, but an urging not to delay.”

Imported from an open dataset — not yet checked against the printed edition.