Whose daughter danced for King Herod?

Answer 1

A:

The gospels say that the daughter of Herodias danced in the court of Herod Antipas on the occasion of his birthday. Antipas was a younger son of King Herod the Great, not a king but tetrarch of Gallilee. Although she is not named in the gospels, the daughter is usually assumed to have been Salome. As a reward for her dancing, Herod promised her whatever she wished so, prompted by her mother, she asked for the head of John the Baptist and Herod Antipas complied only reluctantly.

An independent source of information on the death of John the Baptist is found in the historical writings of Josephus. These tell us that far from merely holding John in prison and being reluctant to execute him, Herod Antipas had ordered John to be taken to the remote castle of Macherus and executed lest he stir up rebellion by the Jews. The relevant text from Book 18 of Antiquities of the Jews:

"Now many people came in crowds to him, for they were greatly moved by his words. Herod, who feared that the great influence John had over the masses might put them into his power and enable him to raise a rebellion (for they seemed ready to do anything he should advise), thought it best to put him to death. In this way, he might prevent any mischief John might cause, and not bring himself into difficulties by sparing a man who might make him repent of it when it would be too late. Accordingly John was sent as a prisoner, out of Herod's suspicious temper, to Macherus, the castle I already mentioned, and was put to death."

Josephus also tells us that the wedding of Herod Antipas to Herodias took place in 34 CE and that an event in 36 CE was attributed by the Jews as divine retribution for the death of John, which must therefore have taken place in 35 or early 36 CE. The gospels place his death around 29 CE, which is wrong, they place his execution in Galilee, which is wrong, and they say that Herod was reluctant to see John executed, which is wrong. It is unlikely that Herodias' daughter really danced for Herod Antipas and then asked for John's head on a platter, as portrayed in the gospels.