Matthew 14:11

11 John’s head was brought in on a platter and presented to the girl, who carried it to her mother.

Matthew 14:11 Meaning and Commentary

Ver. 11 And his head was brought in a charger
By the executioner that cut it off, to Herod, whilst he and his guests were at table; by which it should seem, that the prison was very near; and it is not improbable, that it was the castle of Macheerus that Herod made this entertainment in:

and given to the damsel;
the daughter of Herodias, who, by her mother's instigation, had asked it, and who received it out of the hands of Herod himself; or however, it was delivered to her by his orders:

and she brought it to her mother;
who had put her upon it, than which, nothing could be a more agreeable dish to her; and who, as Jerome says ^F3, because she could not bear truth, that tongue which spoke truth; she plucked out, and pierced it through and through with a needle, as Fulvia did Cicero's: but this triumph over the faithful reprover of her, and Herod's vices, did not last long; for quickly after this, they were stripped of their honours and riches, and deprived of the kingdom, and banished to Lyons in France, where they died ^F4. A Jewish chronologer says ^F5, Herod was driven out of the land by Tiberius, and fled to Spain, and died there.

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FOOTNOTES:

F3 Adv. Ruffin. Tom. 2. fol. 82. K.
F4 Joseph. Antiqu. l. 18. c. 8.
F5 Ganz. Tzemach David, par. 1. fol. 25. 2.

Matthew 14:11 In-Context

9 The king was grieved, but because of his oaths and his guests, he ordered that her wish be granted

10 and sent to have John beheaded in the prison.

11 John’s head was brought in on a platter and presented to the girl, who carried it to her mother.

12 Then John’s disciples came and took his body and buried it. And they went and informed Jesus.

13 When Jesus heard about John, He withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. But the crowds found out about it and followed Him on foot from the towns.