to recline in company with (at a meal) · verb — present middle or passive deponent participle, accusative plural masculine
commanded
ἐκέλευσενekeleusen
G2753
"hail" · verb — aorist active indicative, 3rd person singular
given
δοθῆναι.dothēnai
G1325
to give (used in a very wide application · verb — aorist passive infinitive
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
John 19:12-16 And from thenceforth Pilate sought to release him: but the Jews cried out, saying, If thou let this man go, thou art not Cæsar’s friend: who…
Numbers 30:5-8 But if her father disallow her in the day that he heareth; not any of her vows, or of her bonds wherewith she hath bound her soul, shall sta…
Judges 11:30-31 And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands,
Judges 11:39 And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned unto her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed: a…
Judges 21:1 Now the men of Israel had sworn in Mizpeh, saying, There shall not any of us give his daughter unto Benjamin to wife.
Judges 21:7-23 How shall we do for wives for them that remain, seeing we have sworn by the LORD that we will not give them of our daughters to wives?
1 Samuel 14:24 And the men of Israel were distressed that day: for Saul had adjured the people, saying, Cursed be the man that eateth any food until evenin…
1 Samuel 14:28 Then answered one of the people, and said, Thy father straitly charged the people with an oath, saying, Cursed be the man that eateth any fo…
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 14:9
And the king was sorry,.... As he might be upon many accounts; partly on account of John, whom, notwithstanding his freedom in reproving him, he had a respect; and partly on his own account, his conscience dictating to him that it was an evil action, and would leave a brand of perpetual infamy upon him; as also on account of the people, who were so much affected to John, lest they should make an insurrection, and rebel against him; and likewise, because it was reckoned an ill omen with the Romans, to take away life on that day they received their own; and therefore carefully abstained, on such days, from executions.
Nevertheless for his oath's sake; that he might not be guilty of perjury, c…
(Verse 9, 10) However, because of the oath and because of those who were reclining at the table with him, he commanded it to be given. And he sent and beheaded John in prison. The wickedness excuses the oath, so that under the pretext of piety he might become impious. But what he added: 'And because of those who were reclining at the table with him,' he wants them all to be partakers of his wickedness, so that they might be carried away in a luxurious and impure banquet of bloody feasts.
Otherwise; It is the manner of Scripture to speak of events as they were commonly viewed at the time by all. So Joseph is called by Mary herself the father of Jesus; so here Herod is said to be sorry, because the guests believed that he was so. This dissembler of his own inclinations, this contriver of a murder displayed sorrow in his face, when he had joy in his mind. For his oath's sake, and them which sat with him at meat, he commanded it to be given. He excuses his crime by his oath, that his wickedness might be done under a pretence of piety. That he adds, and them that sat at meat with him, he would have them all sharers in his crime, that a bloody dish might be brought in in a luxurious feast.
And the king was saddened. It is the custom of the Scriptures that the historian narrates the opinion of many, just as it was believed by all at that time. Just as Joseph was also called the father of Jesus by Mary herself, so now Herod is said to be saddened, because those reclining at the table thought so (Luke 2). For he was a deceiver of his own mind and a skilled murderer, showing sadness on his face when he had joy in his mind. (Verse 9, 10) However, because of the oath and because of those who were reclining at the table with him, he commanded it to be given. And he sent and beheaded John in prison. The wickedness excuses the oath, so that under the pretext of piety he might become impious. But what he added: 'And because of those who were reclining at the table with him,' he wants them all to be partakers of his wickedness, so that they might be carried away in a luxurious and impure banquet of bloody feasts.
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…
Behead — A method of taking away life practised among the Egyptians (Gen. 40:17-19). There are instances of this mode of punishment also among the Hebrews (2 Sam. 4:8; 20:21, 22; 2 Kings 10:6-8). It is also…
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.…
King — Is in Scripture very generally used to denote one invested with authority, whether extensive or limited. There were thirty-one kings in Canaan (Josh. 12:9, 24), whom Joshua subdued. Adonibezek…
Tetrarch — Strictly the ruler over the fourth part of a province; but the word denotes a ruler of a province generally (Matt. 14:1; Luke 3:1, 19; 9:7; Acts 13:1). Herod and Phasael, the sons of Antipater, were…
Herod · .Beheads — .Beheads
John · him, and beheads him — him, and beheads him
Murder · Exemplified: Herodias and her daughter — Exemplified: Herodias and her daughter
Oaths · The Jews: Generally respected the obligation of — The Jews: Generally respected the obligation of
Politics · .Herodias, in inf — .Herodias, in inf
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…
Prisoners · General references — General references
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).
