Woman living at the time of the New Testament
Herodias was the wife of Herod Antipas, who had John the Baptist beheaded at her request.
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Herodias was the wife of Herod Antipas, the tetrarch of Galilee during the time of Jesus' ministry. She was originally married to Herod Philip, the half-brother of Herod Antipas, but later divorced him to marry Herod Antipas (Mat.14.3; Mrk.6.17; Luk.3.19). John the Baptist openly condemned this marriage as unlawful, which led to his imprisonment by Herod Antipas (Mat.14.3-4; Mrk.6.17-18; Luk.3.19-20). Herodias held a grudge against John and wanted to have him killed, but Herod Antipas feared the multitude who regarded John as a prophet (Mat.14.5; Mrk.6.19-20). On Herod Antipas's birthday, Herodias's daughter danced before the guests, pleasing Herod Antipas, who promised to give her whatever she asked (Mat.14.6-7; Mrk.6.21-23). Prompted by her mother Herodias, the daughter asked for the head of John the Baptist on a platter (Mat.14.8; Mrk.6.24-25). Although reluctant, Herod Antipas fulfilled the request and had John beheaded in prison (Mat.14.9-11; Mrk.6.26-28).
Part of: The Herods
Mark says Herod Antipas took Herodias, his brother Philip's wife. John said it was unlawful. Josephus names her first husband as another half-brother (also called Herod). The Philip in the Gospels is usually distinguished from the tetrarch Philip.
Sources: Scripture · Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews
Josephus says Herodias was a granddaughter of Herod the Great through Aristobulus, making her Antipas's niece as well as sister-in-law. The NT does not mention this.
Sources: Scripture · Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews
Both were children of Aristobulus, son of Herod the Great, per Josephus. That makes Agrippa I, who killed James, the brother of the woman who engineered John's death.
Sources: Scripture · Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews
Mark calls the dancer "his daughter Herodias" in some manuscripts or "the daughter of Herodias" in others; Josephus names Herodias's daughter Salome, who later married the tetrarch Philip. The Gospels never name her.
Sources: Scripture · Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews
Antipas arrested John over Herodias, feared and listened to him, and then had him beheaded after Salome's dance and a rash oath. Josephus gives a political motive (fear of unrest) rather than a marital one.
Sources: Scripture · Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews
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(Matt. 14:3-11; Mark 6:17-28; Luke 3:19), the daughter of Aristobulus and Bernice. While residing at Rome with her husband Herod Philip I. and her daughter, Herod Antipas fell in with her during one of his journeys to that city. She consented to leave her husband and become his wife. Some time after, Herod met John the Baptist, who boldly declared the marriage to be unlawful. For this he was “cast into prison,” in the castle probably of Machaerus (q.v.), and was there subsequently beheaded.
daughter of Aristobulus, one of the sons of Mariamne and Herod the Great, and consequently sister of Agrippa I. She first married Herod Philip I.; then she eloped from him to marry Herod Antipas her step-uncle. The head of John the Baptist was granted at the request of Herodias. (Matthew 14:8-11; Mark 6:24-28) (A.D. 29.) She accompanied Antipas into exile to Lugdunum
HERO'DIAS, the granddaughter of Herod the Great, and mother of Salome, Matt 14:3. She first married her uncle, Herod Philip, and afterward Herod Antipas, another uncle, and that too during her first husband's lifetime. For this unlawful and scandalous connection John the Baptist faithfully reproved the parties, and his fidelity cost him his life, Matt 14:3-10. When her husband, Antipas, was banished to Lyons, she shared his banishment with him.
HERO'DIAS, the granddaughter of Herod the Great, and mother of Salome, Matt 14:3. She first married her uncle, Herod Philip, and afterward Herod Antipas, another uncle, and that too during her first husband's lifetime. For this unlawful and scandalous connection John the Baptist faithfully reproved the parties, and his fidelity cost him his life, Matt 14:3-10. When her husband, Antipas, was banished to Lyons, she shared his banishment with him.
Easton (1897), Smith (1863), Hitchcock (1869), Hastings (1898) and Schaff are in the public domain. Parsed text: neuu-org/bible-dictionary-dataset (CC BY 4.0). Headwords and whitespace normalised for this site.
6 verses in 3 books · English text: BSB (change it from the menu at the top) · Strong’s G2266
Now Herod had arrested John and bound him and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philipʼs wife,
On Herodʼs birthday, however, the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod
For Herod himself had ordered that John be arrested and bound and imprisoned, on account of his brother Philipʼs wife Herodias, whom Herod had married.
So Herodias held a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But she had been unable,
When the daughter of Herodias came and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests, and the king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it to you.”
But when he rebuked Herod the tetrarch regarding his brotherʼs wife Herodias and all the evils he had done,
Names, family links and references: STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). Short descriptions were drafted with AI assistance by STEPBible. Family links follow STEPBible’s scholarly decisions where genealogies are ambiguous.