Bible Strands
Matthew 14:8
Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist.”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Herod’s daughter addresses the king at a banquet, immediately after he swore an oath to grant her any request. She demands the severed head of John the Baptist delivered on a platter.
The words — The phrase προβιβασθεῖσα ὑπὸ τῆς μητρὸς αὐτῆς (probibastheisa hupo tēs mētros autēs) literally means “having been urged on by her mother.” The verb δός (dos) issues a direct command to “give” or “do give.”
The thread — This demand parallels Mark 6:24, where the mother explicitly instructs the daughter to request John’s head, and contrasts with Proverbs 29:10, which describes the wicked hating the blameless. It also follows the context of Matthew 14:7, where the king’s sworn oath sets the stage for the request.
Why it lands — The text records an unmediated command for execution triggered by a rash oath and maternal manipulation, requiring the reader to confront the mechanics of coerced compliance. It asks the reader to observe how institutional authority can be bypassed through familial pressure without moral hesitation.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
And she, being before instructed of her mother, said, Give me here John Baptist’s head in a charger.
Cross-references
- Proverbs 29:10 Men of bloodshed hate a blameless man, but the upright care for his life.
- Mark 6:24 Then she went out and asked her mother, “What should I request?” And her mother answered, “The head of John the Baptist.”
- 1 Kings 18:4 for when Jezebel had slaughtered the prophets of the LORD, Obadiah had taken a hundred prophets and hidden them, fifty men per cave, providing them with food and water.)
- 1 Kings 18:13 Was it not reported to my lord what I did when Jezebel slaughtered the prophets of the LORD? I hid a hundred prophets of the LORD, fifty men per cave, and I provided them with food and water.
- 1 Kings 19:2 So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “May the gods deal with me, and ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I have not made your life like the lives of those you killed!”
- 2 Kings 11:1 When Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she proceeded to annihilate all the royal heirs.
- 2 Chronicles 22:2 Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem one year. His mother’s name was Athaliah, the granddaughter of Omri.
- Proverbs 1:16 For their feet run to evil, and they are swift to shed blood.
- Numbers 7:13 His offering was one silver platter weighing a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl weighing seventy shekels, both according to the sanctuary shekel and filled with fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering;
- Numbers 7:19 The offering he presented was one silver platter weighing a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl weighing seventy shekels, both according to the sanctuary shekel and filled with fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering;