Herod’s Assassination of John

Josephus’ account of the killing of John the Baptist by Herod Antipas (r. 4 BCE–39 CE) is a digression from his larger account of the history of the Herodian dynasty. Josephus articulates a popular Jewish explanation for Herod Antipas’ defeat at the hands of the Nabateans, namely that it was a punishment for his having John the Baptist killed. Josephus’ presentation of John as a teacher of ethics is designed to appeal to his Roman audience and attributes John’s killing to Herod’s fear that John might use his great influence over the people to incite a rebellion.

An alternative explanation for Herod’s having John killed is found in the Gospel of Mark and repeated in Matthew 14:1–12. In Luke 9:7–9, Herod merely alludes to having killed John. In Mark, Herod has had John imprisoned because of John’s objections to Herod’s marriage to his brother Philip’s wife, Herodias, who now also seeks to have John killed. Herod does not kill John at this point, because he considers him “a righteous and holy man” (Mark 6:20). On Herod’s birthday, his niece (Herodias’ daughter) so pleases him that Herod offers her anything she wants. At her mother’s request, she asks for John the Baptist’s head on a platter, and Herod obliges. See also “Herodias and Her Daughter Salome.”