Matthew 14:1

John the Baptist Beheaded

1 At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the reports about Jesus,

Matthew 14:1 in Other Translations

1 At that time Herod the tetrarch heard of the fame of Jesus,

1 At that time Herod the tetrarch heard about the fame of Jesus,

1 When Herod Antipas, the ruler of Galilee, heard about Jesus,

1 At about this time, Herod, the regional ruler, heard what was being said about Jesus.

1 At that season Herod the tetrarch heard the report concerning Jesus,

1 At that time Herod, ruler of Galilee, heard the news about Jesus.

1 At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the report about Jesus.

1 At that time Herod, the ruler of Galilee and Perea, heard reports about Jesus.

Matthew 14:1 Meaning and Commentary

Matthew 14:1

At that time Herod the tetrarch
Not Herod the Great, in whose reign Christ was born, and who slew the infants of Bethlehem, but his son; this was, as the Jewish chronologer ^F3 rightly observes,

``Herod Antipater, whom they call (yqrtyj) , "the tetrarch"; the son of Herod the First, and brother of Archelaus, and the third king of the family of Herod.''

And though he is here called a "tetrarch", he is in ( Mark 6:14 ) called a king: the reason of his being styled a "tetrarch" was this; his father Herod divided his large kingdom into four parts, and bequeathed them to his sons, which was confirmed by the Roman senate: Archelaus reigned in Judea in his stead; upon whose decease, that part was put under the care of a Roman governor; who, when John the Baptist began to preach, was Pontius Pilate; this same Herod here spoken of, being "tetrarch" of Galilee, which was the part assigned him; and his brother Philip "tetrarch" of Ituraea, and of the region of Trachonitis; and Lysanias, "tetrarch" of Abilene, ( Luke 3:1 ) the word "tetrarch": signifying one that has the "fourth" part of government: and in Munster's Hebrew Gospel, he is called "one of the four princes"; and in the Arabic version, "a prince of the fourth part"; and in the Persic, a "governor of the fourth part of the kingdom". The "time" referred to, was after the death of John the Baptist; and when Christ had been for a good while, and in many places, preaching and working miracles; the particular instant which respect is had unto, is the sending forth of the twelve disciples to preach and work miracles; and which might serve the more to spread the fame of Christ, and which reached the court of Herod; who, it is said here,

heard of the fame of Jesus:
what a wonderful preacher he was, and what mighty things were done by him.

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FOOTNOTES:

F3 David Ganz. Tzemach David, par. 1. fol. 25. 2. and so in Juchasin, fol. 142. 2.

Matthew 14:1 In-Context

1 At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the reports about Jesus,

2 and he said to his attendants, “This is John the Baptist; he has risen from the dead! That is why miraculous powers are at work in him.”

3 Now Herod had arrested John and bound him and put him in prison because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife,

4 for John had been saying to him: “It is not lawful for you to have her.”

5 Herod wanted to kill John, but he was afraid of the people, because they considered John a prophet.

Cross References

• 1. Mark 8:15; Luke 3:1,19; Luke 13:31; Luke 23:7,8; Acts 4:27; Acts 12:1
• 2. Luke 9:7-9