heroic · noun — genitive singular masculine, a proper name
birthday
ΓενεσίοιςGenesiois
G1077
birthday ceremonies · noun — dative plural neuter
kept
ἄγωágō
G71
properly
daughter
θυγάτηρthugatēr
G2364
a female child · noun — nominative singular feminine
Herodias
ἩρῳδιάδοςHērōdiados
G2266
Herodias · noun — genitive singular feminine, a proper name
danced
ὠρχήσατοōrchēsato
G3738
to dance (from the ranklike or regular motion) · verb — aorist middle deponent indicative, 3rd person singular
before
ἐνen
G1722
"in · preposition
them
μέσῳmesō
G3319
middle (as an adjective or (neuter) noun) · adjective — dative singular neuter
and
καὶkai
G2532
and · conjunction
pleased
ἤρεσενēresen
G700
to be agreeable (or by implication · verb — aorist active indicative, 3rd person singular
Herod
Ἡρῴδῃ·Hērōdē
G2264
heroic · noun — dative singular masculine, a proper name
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Mark 6:21-23 And when a convenient day was come, that Herod on his birthday made a supper to his lords, high captains, and chief estates of Galilee;
Genesis 40:20 And it came to pass the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, that he made a feast unto all his servants: and he lifted up the head of th…
Hosea 1:5-6 And it shall come to pass at that day, that I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel.
Esther 1:2-12 That in those days, when the king Ahasuerus sat on the throne of his kingdom, which was in Shushan the palace,
Matthew 22:24 Saying, Master, Moses said, If a man die, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother.
Mark 6:17 For Herod himself had sent forth and laid hold upon John, and bound him in prison for Herodias’ sake, his brother Philip’s wife: for he had…
Esther 2:18 Then the king made a great feast unto all his princes and his servants, even Esther’s feast; and he made a release to the provinces, and gav…
Daniel 5:1-4 Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Matthew 14:1-12
We have here the story of John's martyrdom. Observe,
I. The occasion of relating this story here, Mat 14:1, Mat 14:2. Here is,
1. The account brought to Herod of the miracles which Christ wrought. Herod the tetrarch or chief governor of Galilee heard of the fame of Jesus. At that time, when his countrymen slighted him, upon the account of his meanness and obscurity, he began to be famous at court. Note, God will honour those that are despised for his sake. And the gospel, like the sea, gets in one place what it loses in another. Christ had now been preaching and working miracles above two years; yet, it should seem, Herod had not heard of him till now, and now only heard the fame of him. Not…
And said unto his servants--his counsellors or court-ministers.
This is John the Baptist: he is risen from the dead, &c.--The murdered prophet haunted his guilty breast like a specter and seemed to him alive again and clothed with unearthly powers in the person of Jesus.
Account of the Baptist's Imprisonment and Death (Mat 14:3-12). For the exposition of this portion, see on Mar 6:17-29.
John Gill on Matthew 14:6
But when Herod's birthday was kept,.... The birthdays of princes, both of their coming into the world, and accession to the throne of government, were kept by the Gentiles; as by the Egyptians, Genesis 40:20 and by the (n) Persians, and Romans (o), and other nations, but not by the Jews; who reckon these among the feasts of idolaters.
"These (say they (p)) are the feasts of idolaters; the "Calends", and the "Saturnalia", the time kept in memory of subduing a kingdom (or when a king takes possession of it, the day of his accession), , "and the birthday of kings" (when they are made and crowned, the day of coronation), and the day of birth, and the day of death.''
And it is a question, whe…
We find no others keeping their birthday besides Herod and Pharaoh, that they who were alike in their wickedness might be alike in their festivities.
(Verse 6.) But on Herod's birthday, Herodias' daughter danced in the midst, and it pleased Herod. We have found no other to have observed their own birthday except Herod and Pharaoh, as their impiety was on equal terms, so too was their festivity.
On the birthday, that is amidst the enjoyments of the things of the body, the daughter of Herodias danced; for pleasure, as it were springing from unbelief, was carried in its alluring course throughout the whole of Israel, and the nation bound itself thereto as by an oath, for for sin and worldly pleasures the Israelites sold the gifts of eternal life.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Antipas — (1.) Herod Antipas, a son of Herod the Great by his Samaritan wife Malthace. He was tetrarch of Galilee and Peraea during the whole period of our Lord’s life on earth (Luke 23:7). He was a frivolous…
Banquet — A feast provided for the entertainment of a company of guests (Esther 5; 7; 1 Pet. 4:3); such as was provided for our Lord by his friends in Bethany (Matt. 26:6; Mark 14:3; comp. John 12:2). These…
Banquets — among the Hebrews, were not only a means of social enjoyment, but were a part of the observance of religious festivity. At the three solemn festivals the family also had its domestic feast. (16:11)…
Birth-day — The observance of birth-days was common in early times (Job 1:4, 13, 18). They were specially celebrated in the land of Egypt (Gen. 40:20). There is no recorded instance in Scripture of the…
Birthday — The custom of observing birthdays is very ancient, (Genesis 40:20; Jeremiah 20:15) and in (Job 1:4) etc., we read that Job’s sons “feasted every one his day.” In Persia birthdays were celebrated with…
Dance — Found in Judg. 21:21, 23; Ps. 30:11; 149:3; 150:4; Jer. 31:4, 13, etc., as the translation of hul, which points to the whirling motion of Oriental sacred dances. It is the rendering of a word…
Entertain — Entertainments, “feasts,” were sometimes connected with a public festival (Deut. 16:11, 14), and accompanied by offerings (1 Sam. 9:13), in token of alliances (Gen. 26:30); sometimes in connection…
Feast — As a mark of hospitality (Gen. 19:3; 2 Sam. 3:20; 2 Kings 6:23); on occasions of domestic joy (Luke 15:23; Gen. 21:8); on birthdays (Gen. 40:20; Job 1:4; Matt. 14:6); and on the occasion of a…
Herodias — (Matt. 14:3-11; Mark 6:17-28; Luke 3:19), the daughter of Aristobulus and Bernice. While residing at Rome with her husband Herod Philip I. and her daughter, Herod Antipas fell in with her during one…
John the Baptist — The “forerunner of our Lord.” We have but fragmentary and imperfect accounts of him in the Gospels. He was of priestly descent. His father, Zacharias, was a priest of the course of Abia (1 Chr.…
Matthew 14:3-12
Matthew 14:3-12
Mark 6:17-29
3. For Herod had seized John, and bound him, and put him in prison, on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip. 4. For John said to him, It is not lawful for thee to have her. 5. And though he wished to put him to death, he feared the multitude, because they accounted him a prophet. 6. But when Herod's birthday was kept, the daughter of Herodias danced before the company, and pleased Herod. 7. And therefore he promised with an oath, that he would give her whatever she would ask. 8. But she, after having been instructed by her mother, said Give me here in a dish the head of John the Baptist. 9. And the king was sorry, yet on account…
Herodias’s daughter was probably Salome, a daughter from Herodias’s previous marriage to Philip. Sexually provocative dances such as this were a regular occurrence for depraved royalty.
Salome — Perfect. (1.) The wife of Zebedee and mother of James and John (Mat. 27:56), and probably the sister of Mary, the mother of our Lord (John 19:25). She sought for her sons places of honour in Christ’s…
Amusements And Pleasures, Worldly · Are likely to lead to greater evil — Are likely to lead to greater evil
Amusements And Worldly Pleasures · Lead to greater evil — Lead to greater evil
Birthday · Celebrated by feasts — Celebrated by feasts
Dancing · Herodias dances in the presence of Herod (Antipas) — Herodias dances in the presence of Herod (Antipas)
Feasts · Dancing at — Dancing at
Herod · .Beheads — .Beheads
Herodias · Daughter of Aristobu — Daughter of Aristobu
John · him, and beheads him — him, and beheads him
Politics · .Herodias, in inf — .Herodias, in inf
Prisoners · General references — General references
Worldliness · .Herod Antipas — .Herod Antipas
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
