the Second Week after Easter
Click here to join the effort!
Read the Bible
Easy-to-Read Version
Matthew 14:10
Bible Study Resources
Concordances:
- Nave'sDictionaries:
- AmericanEncyclopedias:
- CondensedParallel Translations
So he sent orders and had John beheaded in the prison.
And he sent, and beheaded Iohn in the prison.
And he sent, and beheaded John in the prison.
He sent and had John beheaded in the prison,
He sent word and had John beheaded in the prison.
He sent soldiers to the prison to cut off John's head.
He sent and had John beheaded in the prison.
And sent, and beheaded Iohn in the prison.
And he sent and had John beheaded in the prison.
and sent to have John beheaded in the prison.
to go to the prison and cut off John's head.
and sent and had Yochanan beheaded in prison.
And he sent and beheaded John in the prison;
So he sent and had John beheaded in the prison.
So he had John beheaded in prison.
And he sent orders and had John beheaded in the prison,
And sending, he beheaded John in the prison.
and he sent and beheaded John in the prison.
And he sent and had John's head cut off in the prison.
and he sent and beheaded Yochanan in the prison.
So he sent wordword">[fn] and had John beheaded in prison.
And he sent [fn] cut off the head of Juchanon in the house of the chained.
And he sent and cut off the head of John in the prison.
And sent, and beheaded Iohn in the pryson.
and he sent, and beheaded John in the prison.
and he sent and beheaded John in the prison.
And he sent and beheaded John in the prison. And his head was brought in a charger,
and he sent and beheaded John in the prison.
And he sente, and bihedide Joon in the prisoun.
and he sent and beheaded John in the prison.
And he sent, and beheaded John in the prison.
So he sent and had John beheaded in the prison.
So he sent and had John beheaded in prison.
So John was beheaded in the prison,
He sent to the prison and had John's head cut off.
he sent and had John beheaded in the prison.
and sent and beheaded John in the prison.
And he sent, and beheaded John in the prison.
he sent and had John beheaded in the prison,
and sent and beheeded Ihon in the preson
and having sent, he beheaded John in the prison,
and sent, & beheeded Ihon in the preson.
and pursuant to order, John was beheaded in the prison,
So John's head was chopped off
He sent and had John beheaded in the prison.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
and beheaded: Matthew 17:12, Matthew 21:35, Matthew 21:36, Matthew 22:3-6, Matthew 23:34-36, 2 Chronicles 36:16, Jeremiah 2:30, Mark 6:27-29, Mark 9:13, Luke 9:9, Revelation 11:7
the prison: Josephus informs us that John the Baptist was imprisoned and beheaded by Herod in the strong castle of Machaerus, which he describes as situated about 60 stadia east of Jordan, not far from where the river discharges itself into the Dead Sea.
Reciprocal: 2 Samuel 12:13 - David Jeremiah 26:23 - who 2 Corinthians 6:5 - imprisonments
Cross-References
Then they said to each other, "Let's make some bricks of clay and bake them in the fire." Then they used these bricks as stones, and they used tar as mortar.
So after the two men brought Lot and his family out of the city, one of the men said, "Now run to save your life! Don't look back at the city, and don't stop anywhere in the valley. Run until you are in the mountains. If you stop, you will be destroyed with the city!"
Lot was afraid to stay in Zoar, so he and his two daughters went to live in the mountains in a cave.
During the fighting, the army of Israel chased the men from Ai into the fields and into the desert. So the army of Israel finished killing all the men from Ai in the fields and in the desert. Then the Israelites went back to Ai and killed all the people who were still alive in the city.
You destroyed the enemy at Endor, and their bodies rotted on the ground.
People will hear about the danger, and they will be afraid. Some of them will run away, but they will fall into holes and be trapped. Some of them will climb out of the holes, but they will be caught in another trap. The floodgates in the sky above will open, and the floods will begin. The foundations of the earth will shake.
People will be afraid and run away, and they will fall into the deep holes. Anyone who climbs out of the deep holes will be caught in the traps. I will bring the year of punishment to Moab." This is what the Lord said.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
And he sent,.... "An executioner", as in Mark 6:27 where the Latin word "speculator", or as it is sometimes written "spiculator", is used; and is the name of an officer concerned in executions, and particularly in beheading of persons; and so is used by Latin writers.
"In a civil war (says x Seneca), a servant hid his master that was proscribed; and when he had fitted his rings for himself, and put on his clothes, he met "speculatoribus", the "speculators"; he told them he desired nothing, but that they would perform their orders, and immediately stretched out his neck.''
And the same writer elsewhere y speaks of a soldier that was condemned by Piso, on suspicion of murdering his fellow soldier;
"Who was had without the camp, and as soon as he stretched out his neck, he, who was thought to be killed, suddenly appeared; upon which the centurion that had the management of the execution, ordered "speculatorem", the "speculator", to put up his sword, and returned the condemned person to Piso.''
The word is also used by the Jewish doctors, and in the same sense: take the following instance among many z.
"R. Ishmael said to R. Simeon ben Gamaliel (when they were both apprehended, in order to be executed), brother, there was a man ready to receive his blow, and they entreated
לאספקלטור, "the speculator": one said, I am a priest, the son of an high priest, slay me first, that I may not see the death of my companion; and the other said to him, I am a prince, the son of a prince, slay me first, that I may not see the death of my companion: he replied unto them, cast lots; and they cast lots, and the lot fell on R. Simeon ben Gamaliel; immediately he took a sword, "and cut off his head".''
And as this word is often used by them a for an executioner, so
ספקולא, "specula" is often made mention of by them b, as a sort of punishment by death: and such an officer was sent by Herod, to inflict this punishment upon John; who accordingly executed it,
and beheaded John in the prison; that is, of Machoeras, where he lay, without giving him a hearing, or allowing him to speak for himself, or with his friends: and which was done in this private manner, partly for dispatch, and partly on account of the people; who it might have been feared, had the execution been public and known, would have rose and rescued him.
x De beneficiis, 1. 3. c. 25. y De ira, l. 1. c. 16. Vid. Julium Firmicum, l. 8. c. 26. & Florum, l. 4. c. 7. & Suetonium in vit. Caligul. c. 52. Octav. August. c. 74. & Claud. c. 35. Tertullian. de Corona, c. 1. z Abot R. Nathan, c. 38. fol. 9. 1. a Vid Targum Jon. in Gen. xxxvii. 36. & xxxix. 1. & Targ. Sheni in Esth. v. 2. Jarchi in Exod. iv. 11. T. Bab. Sabbat, fol. 108. 1. & Gloss. in ib. b Bereshit Rab. sect. 79. fol. 69. 3. Vajikra Rab. sect. 24. fol. 165. 2. & Bemidbar Rab. sect. 7. fol. 187. 4.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
See also Mark 6:21-29. But when Herod’s birthday was come Kings were accustomed to observe the day of their birth with much pomp, and commonly, also, by giving a feast to their principal nobility. See Genesis 40:20. Mark adds that this birthday was kept by making a supper to his “lords, high captains, and chief estates in Galilee;” that is to the chief men in office. “High captains” means, in the original, commanders of thousands, or of a division of 1,000 people.
The daughter of Herodias - That is, “Salome,” her daughter by her former husband. This was a violation of all the rules of modesty and propriety. One great principle of all eastern nations is to keep their females from public view. For this purpose they are confined in a particular part of the house, called the harem. See the notes at Matthew 9:1-8. If they appear in public, it is always with a veil, so closely drawn that their faces cannot be seen. No modest woman would have appeared in this manner before the court, and it is probable, therefore, that she partook of the dissolute principles of her mother. It is also probable that the dance was one well known in Greece - the lascivious and wanton dance of the Ionics.
Matthew 14:7
He promised with an oath - This a foolish and wicked oath.
To please a wanton girl, the monarch called the eternal God to witness his willingness to give her half his kingdom, Mark 6:23. It seems, also, that he was willing to shed the holiest blood it contained. An oath like this it was not lawful to make, and it should have been broken. See Matthew 14:9.
Matthew 14:8
Being before instructed of her mother - Not before she danced, but afterward, and before she made the request of Herod.
See Mark 6:24. The only appearance of what was right in the whole transaction was her honoring her mother by consulting her, but in this she only intended to accomplish the purposes of wickedness more effectively.
In a charger - The original word means a large platter on which food is placed. We should have supposed that she would have been struck with abhorrence at such a direction from her mother; but she seems to have been gratified. John, by his faithfulness, had offended the whole family, and here was ample opportunity for an adulterous mother and her dissolute child to gratify their resentment. It was customary for princes to require the heads of persons ordered for execution to be brought to them. For this there were two reasons:
- To gratify their resentment - to feast their eyes on the proof that their enemy was dead; and,
- To ascertain the fact that the sentence had been executed.
There is a similar instance in Roman history of a woman requiring the head of an enemy to be brought to her. Agrippina, the mother of Nero, who was afterward emperor, sent an officer to put to death Lollia Paulina, who had been her rival for the imperial dignity. When Lollia’s head was brought to her, not knowing it at first, she examined it with her own hands until she perceived some particular feature by which the lady was distinguished.
Matthew 14:9
And the king was sorry - There might have been several reasons for this.
1. Herod had a high respect for John, and feared him. He knew that he was a holy man, and had “observed him,” Mark 6:20. In the margin (Mark) this is “kept him,” or “saved him.” In fact he had interposed and saved John from being put to death by Herodias, who had had a quarrel with John, and would have killed him but for Herod, Mark 6:19. Herod, though a bad man, had a respect and veneration for John as a holy and just man, as wicked people often will have.
2. John was in high repute among the people, and Herod might have been afraid that his murder might excite commotion.
3. Herod, though a wicked man, does not appear to have been insensible to some of the common principles of human nature. Here was a great and most manifest crime proposed - no less than the murder of an acknowledged prophet of the Lord. It was deliberate. It was to gratify the malice of a wicked woman. It was the price of a few moments’ entertainment. His conscience, though in feeble and dying accents, checked him. He would have preferred a request not so manifestly wicked, and that would not have involved him in so much difficulty.
For the oath’s sake - Herod felt that he was bound by this oath; but he was not. The oath should not have been taken: but, being taken, he could not be bound by it. No oath could justify a man in committing murder. The true principle is, that Herod was bound by a prior obligation - by the law of God - not to commit murder; and no act of his, be it an oath or anything else, could free him from that obligation.
And them which sat with him at meat - This was the strongest reason why Herod murdered John. He had not firmness enough to obey the law of God and to follow the dictates of conscience against the opinions of wicked people. He was afraid of the charge of cowardice and want of spirit; afraid of ridicule and the contempt of the wicked. This is the principle of the laws of honor; this the foundation of dwelling. It is not so much for his own sake that one man murders another in a duel, for the offence is often a mere trifle - it is a word, or look, that never would injure him. It is because the “men of honor,” as they call themselves, his companions, would consider him a coward and would laugh at him. Those companions may be unprincipled contemners of the laws of God and man; and yet the duellist, against his own conscience, against the laws of God, against the good opinion of the virtuous part of the world, and against the laws of his country, seeks by deadly aim to murder another merely to gratify his dissolute companions. And this is the law of honor! This is the secret of duelling! This the source of that remorse that settles in awful blackness, and that thunders damnation around the duellist in his dying hours! It should be added, this is the course of all youthful guilt. Young men are led along by others. They have not firmness enough to follow the teachings of a father and of the law of God. They are afraid of being called mean and cowardly by the wicked; and they often sink low in vice and crime, never to rise again.
At meat - That is, at supper. The word “meat,” at the time the Bible was translated, meant provisions of all kinds. It is now restricted to flesh, and does not convey a full idea of the original.
Matthew 14:11
And his head was brought in a charger ... - For the sake of these wicked people, the bloody offering - the head of the slaughtered prophet was brought and given as the reward to the daughter and mother.
What an offering to a woman! Josephus says of Herodias that “she was a woman full of ambition and envy, having a mighty influence on Herod, and able to persuade him to things he was not at all inclined to.” This is one of the many proofs that we have that the evangelists drew characters according to truth.
Matthew 14:12
And his disciples ... - The head was with Herodias.
The body, with pious care, they buried.
And went and told Jesus - This was done, probably, for the following reasons:
- It was an important event, and one particularly connected with the work of Jesus. John was his forerunner, and it was important that he should be made acquainted with his death.
- It is not unreasonable to suppose that in their affliction they came to him for consolation; nor is it improper in our affliction to follow their example, and go and tell Jesus.
- Their master had been slain by a cruel king. Jesus was engaged in the same cause, and they probably supposed that he was in danger. They therefore came to warn him of it, and he Matthew 14:13 sought a place of safety.
