Matthew 14:11

11 The head was brought in on a plate and given to the girl, who took 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 sad, but because of the promise he had made in front of all his guests he gave orders that her wish be granted.

10 So he had John beheaded in prison.

11 The head was brought in on a plate and given to the girl, who took it to her mother.

12 John's disciples came, carried away his body, and buried it; then they went and told Jesus.

13 When Jesus heard the news about John, he left there in a boat and went to a lonely place by himself. The people heard about it, and so they left their towns and followed him by land.