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1 At that time Herod the Tetrarch heard about to Jesus, 2 and he said to his servants, “This is John the Baptist. He has been risen from the dead, and this is why he can work miracles.” 3 For Herod had arrested and imprisoned John on account of his wife Herodias, who had been married to Herod’s brother Philip, 4 because John had said to him, “It is not right for you to have her.” 5 Herod wanted to kill John, but was afraid of the people, because they considered John a prophet. 6 Now it happened that Herod was celebrating his birthday, and Herodias’ daughter performed a dance before all the guests, and it pleased Herod. 7 So he publicly vowed that he would give her whatever she asked for. 8 Having been prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me here the head of John the Baptist on a platter.” 9 This grieved the king, but on account of the vow he had made, he ordered it to be done. 10 He sent guards who beheaded John in prison. 11 His head was brought in on a platter and given to the girl, who brought it to her mother. 12 John’s disciples came and carried away his body to bury it. Then they went to Jesus and told him what had happened.

Comments

The Herod in this passage is not Herod the Great (ca. 72 - 4 BC) who ruled Palestine as a client king on behalf of the Romans at the time of Jesus’ birth, but his son Herod Antipas (ca 20 BC - ca. 39 AD). Upon Herod the Great’s death, the Romans divided his territory among his sons, who were called tetrarchs (i.e. rulers of a portion). Herod Antipas ruled Galilee and Perea (i.e. the western part of modern-day Jordan) during the time of Jesus’ ministry. Antipas had originally been married to a woman named Phasael, a princess from Nabatea, a neighboring Arabian kingdom outside Roman rule. She was popular among the people, and her marriage to Antipas cemented a political alliance between Nabatea and Roman Palestine. But Antipas later fell in love with his brother’s wife Herodias, and the two divorced their spouses to marry each other. This was not well received by the populace for three reasons: Herod was seen as treating Phasael in an insulting and shabby way. His divorce also nullified the alliance with the Nabateans, who would invade his territory in 34 AD. Finally, marrying an in-law was considered incestuous in Jewish Law (Lev 18.16). While many were opposed to Antipas’ marriage to Herodias, apparently only John the Baptist was brave enough to say so aloud. In his Antiquities, the Jewish historian Josephus writes that Herod was also suspicious of John as a leader of a popular religious revival movement which he feared might lead to rebellion. It is likely that both this and John’s opposition to Herod’s second marriage led to his arrest and eventual execution.