Word Pictures in the New Testament - David Cox

Word Pictures in the NT [Matthew: Chapter 14].
Moab_) says that there are now remains of "two dungeons, one of
them deep and its sides scarcely broken in" with "small holes
still visible in the masonry where staples of wood and iron had
once been fixed. One of these must surely have been the
prison-house of John the Baptist." "On this high ridge Herod the
Great built an extensive and beautiful palace" (Broadus). "The
windows commanded a wide and grand prospect, including the Dead
Sea, the course of the Jordan, and Jerusalem" (Edersheim, _Life
and Times of Jesus_).
14:4 {For John said unto him} (\elegen gar I•an•s aut•i\).
Possibly the Pharisees may have put Herod up to inveigling John
to Machaerus on one of his visits there to express an opinion
concerning his marriage to Herodias (Broadus) and the imperfect
tense (\elegen\) probably means that John said it repeatedly. It
was a blunt and brave thing that John said. It cost him his head,
but it is better to have a head like John's and lose it than to
have an ordinary head and keep it. Herod Antipas was a politician
and curbed his resentment toward John by his fear of the people
who still held (\eichon\, imperfect tense) him as a prophet.
14:6 {When Herod's birthday came} (\genesiois genomenois tou
H•r•idou\). Locative of time (cf. Mr 6:21) without the genitive
absolute. The earlier Greeks used the word \genesia\ for funeral
commemorations (birthdays of the dead), \genethlia\ being the
word for birthday celebrations of living persons. But that
distinction has disappeared in the papyri. The word \genesia\ in
the papyri (_Fayum Towns_, 114-20, 115-8, 119-30) is always a
birthday feast as here in Matthew and Mark. Philo used both words
of birthday feasts. Persius, a Roman satirist (_Sat_. V.
180-183), describes a banquet on Herod's Day. {Danced in the
midst} (\•rch•sato en t•i mes•i\). This was Salome, daughter of
Herodias by her first marriage. The root of the verb means some
kind of rapid motion. "Leaped in the middle," Wycliff puts it. It
was a shameful exhibition of lewd dancing prearranged by Herodias
to compass her purpose for John's death. Salome had stooped to
the level of an \almeh\, or common dancer.
14:7 {Promised with an oath} (\meta horkou h•molog•sen\).
Literally, "confessed with an oath." For this verb in the sense
of promise, see Ac 7:17. Note middle voice of \ait•s•tai\ (ask
for herself). Cf. Es 5:3; 7:2.
14:8 {Put forward} (\probibastheisa\). See Ac 19:33 for a
http://www.ccel.org/r/robertson_at/wordpictures/htm/MT14.RWP.html (2 of 7) [28/08/2004 09:03:12 a.m.]