Yohanan the Immerser’s Execution

How to cite this article: David N. Bivin and Joshua N. Tilton, “Yohanan the Immerser’s Execution,” The Life of Yeshua: A Suggested Reconstruction (Jerusalem Perspective, 2020) [https://www.jerusalemperspective.com/20260/].

Matt. 14:3-12; Mark 6:17-29; Luke 3:18-20

(Huck 5, 111; Aland 17, 144; Crook 20, 164)^[198]

Updated: 29 November 2024

וַיֹּאמֶר יוֹחָנָן אֵין לְהֵרוֹדֵיס לָשֵׂאת אֶת הֵרוֹדְיָה אֵשֶׁת אָחִיו וַיִּשְׁלַח הֵרוֹדֵיס וַיִּתְפֹּשׂ אֶת יוֹחָנָן וַיַּאַסְרֵהוּ בְּבֵית הָאֲסוּרִים וַתִּטֹּר אוֹתוֹ הֵרוֹדְיָה וַתְּבַקֵּשׁ לַהֲרוֹג אוֹתוֹ וְלֹא יָכְלָה כִּי יָרֵא הֵרוֹדֵיס אֶת יוֹחָנָן וַיִּטֹּר אוֹתוֹ וַיְהִי יוֹם גִּינִיסְיָא לְהֵרוֹדֵיס וַיַּעַשׂ מִשְׁתֶּה לְשָׂרָיו וּלְשָׂרֵי הַחַיִל וּלְשָׂרֵי הַגָּלִיל וַתְּרַקֵּד בַּת הֵרוֹדְיָה בַּתָּוֶךְ וַתִּיטַב בְּעֵינֵי הֵרוֹדֵיס וְהַמְּסוּבִּים וַיֹּאמֶר הַמֶּלֶךְ לַנַּעֲרָה שַׁאֲלִי מִמֶּנִּי מַה שֶּׁתִּרְצִי וְאֶתֵּן לָךְ וַיִּשָּׁבַע לָהּ כֹּל מַה שֶּׁתִּשְׁאֲלִי מִמֶּנִּי אֶתֵּן לָךְ עַד חֲצִי מַלְכוּתִי וַתֵּצֵא וַתֹּאמֶר לְאִמָּהּ מָה אֶשְׁאַל וַתֹּאמֶר אֶת רֹאשׁוֹ שֶׁלְּיוֹחָנָן הַמַּטְבִּיל וַתָּבֹא בְּחִפָּזוֹן אֶל הַמֶּלֶךְ וַתִּשְׁאַל לֵאמֹר תֵּן לִי בְּמֵגֵס רֹאשׁוֹ שֶׁלְּיוֹחָנָן הַמַּטְבִּיל וַיֵּעָצֵב הַמֶּלֶךְ וּמִפְּנֵי הַשְּׁבֻעוֹת וְהַמְּסוּבִּים לֹא אָבָה לִמְאוֹס אוֹתָהּ וַיִּשְׁלַח הַמֶּלֶךְ סְפִקְלָטוֹר וַיְצַו לְהָבִיא אֶת רֹאשׁוֹ וַיֵּלֶךְ וַיַּתֵּז אֶת רֹאשׁוֹ בְּבֵית הָאֲסוּרִים וַיָּבֵא אֶת רֹאשׁוֹ בְּמֵגֵס וַיִּתְּנֵהוּ לַנַּעֲרָה וַתְּבִיאֵהוּ לְאִמָּהּ וַיִּשְׁמְעוּ תַּלְמִידָיו וַיָּבֹאוּ וַיִּשְׂאוּ אֶת גּוּפוֹ וַיִּתְּנוּהוּ בְּקֶבֶר

Yohanan the Immerser announced, “The Torah does not allow Herodes to marry Herodyah, his brother’s ex-wife.” So Herodes sent his men to capture Yohanan, and they locked him up in prison. But Herodyah nursed a grudge against Yohanan, and she searched for an opportunity to kill him. Yet she was unable to carry out her wish because Herodes was afraid of Yohanan and kept him under guard.

On his birthday Herodes held a banquet for his administrative officials, military chiefs and the preeminent members of Galilean society. Herodyah’s daughter danced for them, which delighted the king and the guests. So the king declared, “Ask of me whatever you wish and I will give it to you.” And he swore to her, “Anything you ask of me is yours, even if it costs me half my kingdom.”

So the girl went out and said to her mother, “What should I ask for?”

And Herodyah said, “Ask for Yohanan the Immerser’s head.”

So the girl quickly returned to the king and made her request, saying, “Give me on a tray the head of Yohanan the Immerser.”

The king regretted his rash behavior, but because of the oaths he had made and the guests who were watching him he did not dare refuse her. So the king sent an executioner and ordered him to bring back Yohanan the Immerser’s head.

The executioner went, cut off the Immerser’s head in the prison, and brought it back on a tray and gave it to the girl, who brought it to her mother.

When Yohanan the Immerser’s disciples heard what had happened, they came to the prison and took his body and buried him.^[199]

Reconstruction

To view the reconstructed text of Yohanan the Immerser’s Execution, click on the link below:

---

Click here to return to The Life of Yeshua: A Suggested Reconstruction main page. _______________________________________________________

---

• ^[1] Luke 7:18-23 gives readers the impression that these verses took place before John had been put in prison, since it is unlikely that a person incarcerated for causing a public disturbance would be allowed to communicate with Jesus, who had also attracted the attention of the authorities for his public proclamation. See Yohanan the Immerser’s Question, Comment to L6. ↩
• ^[2] Josephus simply says that John was bound in chains and taken to Macherus, where he was executed (Ant. 18:119). Josephus does not state, nor does he imply, that the Baptist was held prisoner in the trans-Jordanian fortress for any length of time. See Bundy, 258 §155. ↩
• ^[3] The failure of Josephus’ account of John the Baptist’s death to include any of the details found in the Gospels argues in favor of the authenticity of Josephus’ report. A Christian interpolator almost certainly would have created a story that confirmed the Gospels’ account. On the authenticity of Josephus’ description of John the Baptist’s activities and demise, see John P. Meier, “John the Baptist in Josephus: Philology and Exegesis,” Journal of Biblical Literature 111.2 (1992): 225-237; Hermann Lichtenberger, “The Dead Sea Scrolls and John the Baptist: Reflections on Josephus’ Account of John the Baptist,” in The Dead Sea Scrolls: Forty Years of Research (ed. Devorah Dimant and Uriel Rappaport; Leiden: Brill, 1992), 340-346. ↩
• ^[4] Mark’s version of Yohanan the Immerser’s Execution is no more difficult to revert to Hebrew than other pericopae he took from Luke and/or Anth. ↩
• ^[5] Cf. Marshall, 149. ↩
• ^[6] Cf. LHNS, 12 §5; David Flusser, “Der Tod des Täufers,” Freiburger Rundbrief 6.2 (1999): 95-99. ↩
• ^[7] Cf. Bundy, 259 §155; Davies-Allison, 2:463. ↩
• ^[8] Cf. David Flusser, “A New Portrait of Salome,” under the subheading “The Salome Story through the Pens of Matthew and Mark.” Nevertheless, we cannot concur with the specific examples Flusser cited as evidence of Matthew’s reliance on another, more accurate, source than Mark. Nor can we accept the opinion expressed by Lowe and Flusser that Matthew’s version of Yohanan the Immerser’s Execution is “more Hebraic” than Mark’s, given Matthew’s un-Hebraic dative absolute in L34, and the un-Hebraic passives in L52 (προβιβασθεῖσα ὑπό), L69 (δοθῆναι), L76 (ἠνέχθη) and L78 (ἐδόθη). See Malcom Lowe and David Flusser, “Evidence Corroborating a Modified Proto-Matthean Synoptic Theory,” New Testament Studies 29.1 (1983): 25-47, esp. 34. ↩
• ^[9] Pace Conzelmann, 26. ↩
• ^[10] See Bultmann, 301. Matthew’s version, which concludes with John’s disciples' reporting their master’s death to Jesus, is probably secondary. See Comment to L86. ↩
• ^[11] See Bundy, 258 §155. ↩
• ^[12] Theissen denied that Yohanan the Immerser’s Execution could have been written by the Baptist’s followers on the grounds that “all the characteristic notes of the Baptizer’s preaching are missing: his proclamation of judgment, his call to conversion, and his demand that people be baptized and live righteous lives. Also lacking is any portrayal of the Baptizer as a prophet or martyr. What great possibilities his followers would have had for depicting his steadfastness! What a chance they would have missed for placing some ‘last word’ in his mouth! The Baptizer community would certainly have been interested in his deportment at the last hour of his life. If they had no information about it, it would have been easy to depict the death of the prophet with the typical figures of the Jewish martyr tradition” (Gerd Theissen, “The Legend of the Baptizer’s Death: A Popular Tradition Told from the Perspective of Those Nearby?” [Theissen, Gospels, 81-97, esp. 84-85]). But Theissen’s reasoning amounts to the argument that if the followers of John the Baptist had written Yohanan the Immerser’s Execution, they should have done it differently, so as to suit his own expectations. This is hardly a decisive argument. Furthermore, Theissen’s complaint that the story ought to have included an exhortation to the characters to live righteous lives ignores the fact that it was precisely John’s criticism of Herod’s unrighteous conduct that set the tragedy in motion. That the Baptist ought to have demanded the characters in the story be baptized is absurd. Most of the characters in the story—Herodias, her daughter, the dinner guests—John never met. And “Immerse yourself!” is a ridiculous retort to the executioner as he dragged John from his prison cell to be decapitated. Moreover, Theissen’s objection that the characteristic elements of the Baptist’s message are missing is mitigated if Yohanan the Immerser’s Execution is regarded as a fragment of a Life of Yohanan the Immerser, which has been preserved in the opening chapters of Luke. ↩
• ^[13] Variations of the theory that the Lukan nativity narratives are based on an older source exclusively concerned with the birth of John the Baptist are found in Bultmann, 294-297; Paul Winter, “The Proto-Source of Luke I,” Novum Testamentum 1.3 (1956): 184-199; Hartwig Thyen, “ΒΑΠΤΙΖΜΑ ΜΕΤΑΝΟΙΑΣ ΕΙΣ ΑΦΕΣΙΝ ΑΜΑΡΤΙΩΝ,” in The Future of our Religious Past (ed. James M. Robinson; trans. Charles E. Carlston and Robert P. Scharlemann; New York: Harper & Row, 1971), 131-168, esp. 154-155; David Flusser, “The Magnificat, the Benedictus and the War Scroll” (Flusser, JOC, 126-149); Daniel R. Schwartz, “On Quirinius, John the Baptist, the Benedictus, Melchizedek, Qumran and Ephesus,” Revue de Qumrân 13 (1988): 635-646. ↩
• ^[14] This suggestion presumes that the hymn in Luke 1:46-55 was originally ascribed to Elizabeth, as, in fact, is the case even in some Latin and patristic witnesses to the text of Luke 1:46. See Metzger, 130-131. ↩
• ^[15] Our hypothesis does not require that the entire Hebrew Life of Yohanan the Immerser was incorporated into the Hebrew Life of Yeshua, as parts of the former may have been omitted. We merely contend that the author of the Hebrew Life of Yeshua incorporated all the parts of the Hebrew Life of Yohanan the Immerser he intended to include before commencing his own account of Jesus’ adult public career.

  With respect to the title Life of Yohanan the Immerser, this is a title we have selected for the sake of clarity and convenience. We make no more claim to this title having been original than we do with respect to the title Life of Yeshua, on which see the Introduction to “The Life of Yeshua: A Suggested Reconstruction,” under the subheading Why “The Life of Yeshua”? ↩

• ^[16] Were it not for the story of Mary’s visit to Elizabeth (who, according to Luke 1:5, became pregnant with John the Baptist during the reign of Herod the Great) there would be no chronological difficulty with the report in Luke 2:2 that Jesus was born at the time of the census that was taken under Quirinius, which took place when Judea came under direct Roman rule in 6 C.E., following the removal of Herod’s son, Archelaus, from power. Thus, it was his attempt to weave together the nativity stories of John the Baptist and Jesus that inadvertently resulted in the anachronism which scholars have been at such pains to resolve. On the date of Quirinius’ census, see Menahem Stern, “The Province of Judaea” (Safrai-Stern, 1:308-376, esp. 372-374). ↩
• ^[17] Thus, the way the author of the Hebrew Life of Yeshua treated the infancy narratives of his two protagonists, first relating the nativity of John the Baptist and then relating the nativity of Jesus, is mirrored in the way he dealt with the accounts of their adult careers: he first told the story of John the Baptist’s public ministry and death, which he then followed by the account of Jesus’ public ministry, death and resurrection. The pains the author of the Hebrew Life of Yeshua took to preserve at least the outline, if not the entirety, of the Hebrew Life of Yohanan the Immerser reflect the high regard with which he viewed this Baptist source. ↩
• ^[18] While the report of the Baptist’s imprisonment in Luke remains out of chronological sequence, it is less jarring to provide a quick notice about John’s imprisonment before turning to Jesus’ baptism than it is to recount all the lurid details of John’s decapitation before presenting him alive and overseeing the baptism of Jesus. ↩
• ^[19] It is fascinating to observe that immediately on the heels of reporting the Baptist’s Cleansing the Threshing Floor saying the mid-second-century C.E. author Justin Martyr related the story of the Baptist’s beheading, precisely the order we believe occurred in Anth. Justin’s account of the Baptist’s execution reads as follows:

  καὶ τοῦτον αὐτὸν τὸν προφήτην συνεκεκλείκει ὁ βασιλεὺς ὑμῶν Ἡρώδης εἰς φυλακὴν, καὶ γενεσίων ἡμέρας τελουμένης, ὀρχουμένης τῆς ἐξαδελφῆς αὐτοῦ τοῦ Ἡρώδου εὐαρέστως αὐτῷ, εἶπεν αὐτῇ αἰτήσασθαι ὃ ἐὰν βούληται. καὶ ἡ μήτηρ τῆς παιδὸς ὑπέλαβεν αὐτῇ αἰτήσασθαι τὴν κεφαλὴ Ἰωάννου τοῦ ἐν τῇ φυλακῆ καὶ, αἰτησάσης, ἔπεμψε, καὶ ἐπὶ πίνακι έναχθῆναι τὴν κεφαλὴν Ἰωάννου ἐκέλευσε.

  And this very prophet your king Herod had shut up in prison; and when his birth-day was celebrated, and the niece of the same Herod by her dancing had pleased him, he told her to ask whatever she pleased. Then the mother of the maiden instigated her to ask the head of John, who was in prison; and having asked it, [Herod] sent and ordered the head of John to be brought in on a charger. (Dial. §49 [ed. Trollope, 1:100])

  Translation according to The Ante-Nicene Fathers (10 vols.; ed. Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, and Allan Menzies; repr. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1980-1986), 1:219-220. ↩

• ^[20] See McNeile, 30; Bundy, 52 §4; Ernst Bammel, “The Baptist in Early Christian Tradition,” New Testament Studies 18 (1971): 95-128, esp. 106 n. 3. ↩
• ^[21] For scholars who interpret εὐαγγελίζειν in Luke 3:18 in the sense of “proclaim the Gospel,” see Marshall, 149; Bovon, 1:127. See also E. H. Scheffler, “The Social Ethics of the Lucan Baptist (Lk 3:10-14),” Neotestamentica 24.1 (1990): 21-36, esp. 24, 30. ↩
• ^[22] For scholars who favor interpreting εὐαγγελίζειν in the generic sense of “proclaim,” see Conzelmann, 23 n. 1; Fitzmyer, 1:475; J. Liebenberg, “The Function of the Standespredigt in Luke 3:1-20: A Response to E H Scheffler’s The Social Ethics of the Lucan Baptist (Lk 3:10-14),” Neotestamentica 27.1 (1993): 55-67, esp. 64-66. ↩
• ^[23] See J. Green, 183. ↩
• ^[24] On τότε as an indicator of Matthean redaction, see Jesus and a Canaanite Woman, Comment to L22. ↩
• ^[25] See Metzger, 35. ↩
• ^[26] On the author of Mark’s redactional preference for imperfect verbs, see LOY Excursus: Mark’s Editorial Style, under the subheading “Mark’s Freedom and Creativity.” ↩
• ^[27] See Robert L. Lindsey, “A New Two-source Solution to the Synoptic Problem,” thesis 7; idem, HTGM, 28. ↩
• ^[28] See Mann, 296; France, Matt., 555. ↩
• ^[29] Pace Plummer, Mark, 164. ↩
• ^[30] Matthew’s version of Yohanan the Immerser's Execution contains 137 Greek words, compared to Mark’s version, which contains 245 Greek words. For these figures, see the Redaction Analysis section. ↩
• ^[31] On ἐξεῖναι in LXX, see Hatch-Redpath, 1:490-491. ↩
• ^[32] Examples of אֵין מוּתַר (’ēn mūtar, “it is not permitted”) are not common in ancient Hebrew sources—אָסוּר (’āsūr, “it is forbidden”) is the more usual way of expressing the same idea—but they do exist, for instance:

  ואין מותר להשיב שומר ולנער את הצאן

  ...and it is not permitted [וְאֵין מוּתַר] to appoint a guard and use a flock to manure a plot. (t. Shev. 2:20; Vienna MS)

  היו לו שתי שדות אחת זרועה חטים ואחת זרועה שעורים אין מותר לעשות ביניהן תלם של מין אחר

  If he had two fields, one sown with wheat and the other sown with barley, he is not permitted [אֵין מוּתַר] to make a ridge between them from another kind [of plant—DNB and JNT]. (t. Kil. 2:4; Vienna MS)

  אָדָם מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל שֶׁעָלָה לִקְרוֹת בַּתּוֹרָה אֵין מֻתָּר לוֹ לִקְרוֹת עַד שֶׁלֹא יְבָרֵךְ

  A person who is an Israelite who went up to read the Torah: it is not permitted [אֵין מֻתָּר] for him to read as long as he has not recited the blessing. (Deut. Rab. 11:6 [ed. Merkin, 11:153])

  ↩

• ^[33] On King Herod’s son Antipas, see F. F. Bruce, “Herod Antipas, Tetrarch of Galilee and Peraea,” Annual of Leeds University Oriental Society 5 (1966): 6-23; Harold W. Hoehner, Herod Antipas: A Contemporary of Jesus Christ (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1972; repr., Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1980). ↩
• ^[34] The LXX translators also rendered נָשָׂא with ἔχειν in Deut. 24:15 and Josh. 6:8, but נָשָׂא does not have the sense of “marry” in either of these cases. ↩
• ^[35] On the name Ἡρῳδιάς, see Tal Ilan, Lexicon of Jewish Names in Late Antiquity: Part I Palestine 330 BCE-200 CE (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2002), 319. ↩
• ^[36] See Lindsey, HTGM, 107. ↩
• ^[37] On Josephus’ portrayal of Herodias, see Daniel R. Schwartz, Agrippa I: The Last King of Judea (Tübingen: Mohr [Siebeck], 1990), 48, 56. ↩
• ^[38] Theissen, for example, demured that “Either its authors [i.e., the authors of Yohanan the Immerser’s Execution—DNB and JNT] were unacquainted with the precise requirements of the law that Herod had violated in marrying Herodias or they were not interested in them, because the Baptizer’s reasons for criticizing the marriage are formulated in the most general terms: ‘It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife’ (Mk 6:18). That is not wrong, but it ought to be stated more precisely: ‘It is not lawful for you to marry your brother’s wife while he is still alive.’ Had he died childless, it would even be obligatory for his brother to marry his widow (Deut 25:5-6; Mk 12:19). One might say that such distinctions are too subtle to be retained in the tradition” (Theissen, Gospels, 83). ↩
• ^[39] According to Josephus (Ant. 18:109), Herodias was married to Herod, who was Antipas’ half-brother (both were sons of Herod the Great). The Temple Scroll specifies that the prohibitions of Lev. 18:16 and Lev. 20:21 include the wife of a half-brother (11QT^a [11Q19] LXVI, 12-13). ↩
• ^[40] The Mishnah’s discussion of valid writs of divorce indirectly confirms that divorce could not clear the way for a man to marry his brother’s ex-wife. In m. Git. 9:1 it is stated that when a man gives his wife a writ of divorce he may not stipulate that there are certain individuals she cannot marry. However, the sages did permit a writ of divorce to say she is free to marry anyone “except my brother” (m. Git. 9:2), because marrying her ex-husband’s brother was deemed to be prohibited according to the Torah. For a discussion of m. Git. 9:2, see Peter J. Tomson, Paul and the Jewish Law: Jewish Halakha in the Letters of the Apostle to the Gentiles (CRINT III.1; Minneapolis: Fortress, 1990), 121. ↩
• ^[41] Josephus’ account of Archelaus’ marriage to Glaphyra, who had been the wife of Archelaus’ deceased brother Alexander, illustrates this point (Ant. 17:341, 349-353). See also Jacob Milgrom, Leviticus (Anchor Bible 3-3B; 3 vols.; New York: Doubleday; New Haven: Yale University Press, 1991-2001), 3:1545. ↩
• ^[42] Only in the extraordinary case of a married man dying childless was his brother required to marry his widow. See Deut. 25:5-6. ↩
• ^[43] Josephus condemned Herod the Great’s sister Salome for issuing her husband a writ of divorce, which, Josephus contended, was a husband’s prerogative (Ant. 15:259). Ilan has pointed out that Josephus’ opinion on this matter was not universally held by all Jews. The archives of the Jewish community in Elephantine preserve evidence of wife-initiated divorces. See Tal Ilan, “A Divorce Bill? Notes on Papyrus XHev/Se 13,” in her Integrating Women into Second Temple History (Tübingen: Mohr [Siebeck], 1999; repr., Peabody: Hendrickson, 2001), 252-262. With reference to Herodias, Josephus claimed that she “flout[ed] the way of our fathers” by marrying “her husband’s brother by the same father,” and that in order to do this “she parted from a living husband” (Ant. 18:136). Thus, according to Josephus, the issue was the fact that Antipas and Herod were half-brothers. Although Josephus mentioned that Herodias’ first husband was still living when she married Antipas, this only proves that the first marriage was dissolved by divorce rather than by the death of her first husband. Josephus does not say whether Herodias’ first husband granted her a divorce, so it is unwarranted to assume that either John the Baptist or Josephus regarded the divorce as invalid on the grounds that Herodias had initiated it or that her husband had not delivered her a writ of divorce. ↩
• ^[44] Jesus’ opinion was that marriage was not to be dissolved by divorce (Matt. 19:6 ∥ Mark 10:9) and that anyone who remarries following a divorce is guilty of adultery (since no divorce is valid) (Matt. 5:32; 19:9; Mark 10:11-12; Luke 16:18). Paul repeated this strict view in his letters (Rom. 7:2; 1 Cor. 7:10-11, 39). It has been suggested (Tomson, If This Be, 131, 151) that Jesus adopted this hard-line view of marriage from John the Baptist. Whether or not this view of the origin of Jesus’ opinion is correct, John the Baptist based his public criticism of Antipas’ marriage to Herodias not on the grounds that no divorce is valid, but on the universally-agreed-upon fact that the Torah prohibits marriage to one’s brother’s wife. ↩
• ^[45] This view (attributed to Jesus rather than John the Baptist) has been advanced by members of the Jerusalem School of Synoptic Research. See Young, JJT, 113-118; R. Steven Notley, “Divorce and Remarriage in Historical Perspective.” Nevertheless, John’s critique is clear that Antipas’ marriage, not Herodias’ divorce, is the issue at stake.

  It should be noted that since mainstream Jewish halachah permitted polygyny (marriage to more than one wife; Deut. 21:15; Jos., Ant. 17:14; m. Ket. 10:1-6), it was not necessary for a man to divorce his wife in order to take up with another lover. This fact undermines the entire premise that Jesus prohibited a man from divorcing his wife in order to marry someone else. ↩

• ^[46] The fact that Herodias was Herod’s niece can be learned from Ant. 18:110. ↩
• ^[47] See Cadbury, Style, 115. Other such examples are found in Luke 11:42; 13:28; 21:29. ↩
• ^[48] So Marshall, 149-150. ↩
• ^[49] See Joüon-Muraoka, 2:650 §177b. ↩
• ^[50] See Plummer, Luke, 97; Creed, 54-55. ↩
• ^[51] Delitzsch, for example, rendered Luke 3:20 as הוֹסִיף עַל כָּל אֵלֶּה גַּם אֶת־זֹאת וַיַּסְגֵּר אֶת יוֹחָנָן בְּמִשְׁמָר, which departs significantly from the Greek word order. ↩
• ^[52] See Nolland, Luke, 1:156-157. ↩
• ^[53] On participle + δέ + aorist as the equivalent of vav-consecutive + vav-consecutive, see Rich Man Declines the Kingdom of Heaven, Comment to L37-41. ↩
• ^[54] Greek text of Mart. Isa. 3:12 according to Bernard P. Grenfell and Arthur S. Hunt, eds., The Amherst Papyri: Being An Account of the Greek Papyri in the Collection of the Right Hon. Lord Amherst of Hackney (2 vols.; London: Henry Frowde, 1900-1901), 1:10. ↩
• ^[55] See M. A. Knibb, “Martyrdom and Ascension of Isaiah” (Charlesworth, 2:143-176, esp. 146-147). ↩
• ^[56] See David Flusser, “The Apocryphal Book of Ascensio Isaiae and the Dead Sea Sect” (Flusser, JOC, 3-22). See also George W. E. Nickelsburg, “Stories of Biblical and Early Post-Biblical Times,” in Jewish Writings of the Second Temple Period (ed. Michael E. Stone; CRINT II.2; Philadelphia: Fortress, 1984), 33-87, esp. 52-56. For doubts, see John J. Collins, “The ‘apocryphal’ Old Testament,” in The New Cambridge History of the Bible (4 vols.; ed. James Carleton Paget, Joachim Schaper et al.; Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2013-2015), 1:165-189, esp. 185-188. ↩
• ^[57] Points of similarity between John the Baptist and the Essenes include non-participation in the Temple cult, withdrawal from society to live in the desert, describing their role in terms of Isa. 40:3, voluntary poverty, and the expectation of imminent eschatological judgment. Differences include John the Baptist’s belief in repentance, which contrasts with the Essene belief in double predestination, and his openness to all Israel, which contrasts with Essene economic separatism. On similarities and differences between John the Baptist and the Essenes, see David Flusser, “The Magnificat, the Benedictus and the War Scroll” (Flusser, JOC, 126-149, esp. 143ff.); idem, Jewish Sources in Early Christianity (trans. John Glucker; Tel-Aviv: MOD Books, 1989), 45-48. On the proximity of John the Baptist to the Essenes on the politico-religious spectrum of first-century Jewish society, see Joshua N. Tilton, “Locating Jesus’ Place on the Political-Ideological Spectrum of Second Temple Jewish Society,” under the subheading “The Fringes to the Far Right and the Far Left,” at WholeStones.org. ↩
• ^[58] See Bovon, 1:127. In LXX κατακλείειν occurs only once as the translation of a Hebrew term (Jer. 39[32]:3 [= כָּלָא]). See Hatch-Redpath, 2:733. ↩
• ^[59] See Nolland, Luke, 1:157. ↩
• ^[60] See Hatch-Redpath, 2:783. ↩
• ^[61] See Dos Santos, 223. ↩
• ^[62] See Hatch-Redpath, 1:287. ↩
• ^[63] In most scriptural examples of חָבַשׁ the verb refers to saddling a donkey. ↩
• ^[64] See Hatch-Redpath, 2:1440-1441. ↩
• ^[65] Lindsey (HTGM, 107), too, translated φυλακή in Mark 6:17 as בֵּית הַסֹּהַר. ↩
• ^[66] In the Mishnah the term בֵּית הָאֲסוּרִים (always with the definite article) occurs in m. Pes. 8:7; m. Moed Kat. 3:1, 2; m. Yev. 12:5; m. Git 6:7; m. Sot. 4:5 (2xx); m. Avod. Zar. 1:3. ↩
• ^[67] See A. B. Bruce, 381; Swete, 122; Allen, Mark, 97; Guelich, 1:331; France, Mark, 256; idem, Matt., 554. Although Hoehner (Herod Antipas, 131-136) proffered more arguments in favor of this view than any of the aforementioned scholars, none of the arguments he advanced have merit. They amount to nothing more than “the Gospel writers ought to have known better, therefore they couldn’t have made a mistake” and “there’s no proof that Herodias’ first husband’s full name wasn’t Herod Philip, so let’s assume that it was.” See the scathing critique of Hoehner’s arguments in Meier, Marginal, 2:227-228 n. 248. ↩
• ^[68] See Fred Strickert, “On the Use of the Name Herod Philip,” in Bethsaida in Archaeology, History and Ancient Culture: A Festschrift in Honor of John T. Greene (ed. J. Harold Ellens; Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2014), 232-241. Strickert traces the harmonizing Herod Philip hypothesis back to Hugo Grotius (1641). ↩
• ^[69] See Henry St. J. Thackeray, Selections from Josephus (London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge; New York: Macmillan, 1919), 191-192; Plummer, Mark, 164; McNeile, 208; Turner, 32; Bundy, 257 §154; Taylor, 312; Fitzmyer, 1:477; Mann, 296; Theissen, Gospels, 87; Flusser, “A New Portrait of Salome,” under the subheading “The Salome Story through the Pens of Matthew and Mark.” ↩
• ^[70] On the phenomenon of “Markan pick-ups,” see Robert L. Lindsey, “Introduction to A Hebrew Translation of the Gospel of Mark,” under the subheading “Sources of the Markan Pick-ups”; idem, “My Search for the Synoptic Problem’s Solution (1959-1969),” under the subheading “Markan Pick-ups”; LOY Excursus: Catalog of Markan Stereotypes and Possible Markan Pick-ups. ↩
• ^[71] For the author of Mark’s reasons for making this reversal, see above, Comment to L3. ↩
• ^[72] This contradiction in Matthew’s version of Yohanan the Immerser’s Execution has been noted by numerous scholars, inter alia Plummer (Mark, 167), McNeile (209), Bundy (259 §155), Lindsey (LHNS, 85 §111), Luz (2:306) and France (Matt., 556). ↩
• ^[73] See Benjamin Wisner Bacon, The Beginnings of Gospel Story: A Historico-Critical Inquiry into the Sources and Structure of the Gospel according to Mark (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1909), 75. ↩
• ^[74] See LOY Excursus: Mark’s Editorial Style, under the subheading “Mark’s Freedom and Creativity.” ↩
• ^[75] Compare the five instances of the imperfect tense in Mark’s account of Jesus’ preaching in Nazareth (Mark 6:1-6a) to the Lukan and Matthean parallels:

  Mark 6:2 ἐξεπλήσσοντο TT = Luke 4:22 (ἐθαύμαζον) (cf. Matt. 13:54 [ἐκπλήσσεσθαι]) Mark 6:3 ἐσκανδαλίζοντο TT = Matt. 13:57 (cf. Luke 4:22 [--]) Mark 6:4 ἔλεγεν TT (cf. Matt. 13:57 [εἶπεν]; Luke 4:23 [εἶπεν]) Mark 6:5 ἐδύνατο TT (cf. Matt. 13:58 [--]; Luke 4:[--]) Mark 6:6 ἐθαύμαζεν TT (cf. Matt. 13:58 [--]; Luke 4:[--]) Key: TT = pericope has parallels in all three Synoptic Gospels; [--] = no corresponding word and/or verse

  ↩

• ^[76] The only instances of ἐνέχειν in LXX are found in Gen. 49:23; 3 Macc. 6:10; Ezek. 14:4, 7. ↩
• ^[77] See Roger Aus, Water into Wine and the Beheading of John the Baptist: Early Jewish-Christian Interpretation of Esther 1 in John 2:1-11 and Mark 6:17-29 (Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1988), 40. ↩
• ^[78] See Aus, Water into Wine and the Beheading of John the Baptist, 62. ↩
• ^[79] See Dos Santos, 50. ↩
• ^[80] See Hatch-Redpath, 1:135-136. ↩
• ^[81] See Plummer, Mark, 165. ↩
• ^[82] See Flusser, “Der Tod des Täufers,” 95-99. See also Lowe and Flusser, “Evidence Corroborating a Modified Proto-Matthean Synoptic Theory,” 34; Flusser, “A New Portrait of Salome,” under the subheading “The Salome Story through the Pens of Matthew and Mark.” Marcus (1:400) described Mark’s explanation as “sensational,” comparing it to a soap opera or a tabloid magazine. ↩
• ^[83] See m. Suk. 4:9; t. Suk. 3:16. Cf. Jos., Ant. 13:372. ↩
• ^[84] See LHNS, 85 §111, 158 §202. ↩
• ^[85] See John P. Meier, “John the Baptist in Matthew’s Gospel,” Journal of Biblical Literature 99.3 (1980): 383-405, esp. 399. ↩
• ^[86] See Cadbury, Making, 44; Bundy, 45 §1; Flusser, Jesus, 46. The author of Matthew not only highlighted parallels between John and Jesus, he manufactured them. For instance, Matthew is alone among the Synoptic Gospels in placing a reference to "the Kingdom of Heaven" on the lips of John the Baptist (Matt. 3:2; see A Voice Crying, Comment to L37-38). Likewise, the author of Matthew placed “you brood of vipers,” the Baptist’s term of abuse, on the lips of Jesus (Matt. 23:33). ↩
• ^[87] See LHNS, 58 §111. ↩
• ^[88] See Plummer, Mark, 165; Abbott, Fourfold, 4:198-199; LHNS, 85 §111; France, Mark, 257. ↩
• ^[89] See Lindsey, “Introduction to A Hebrew Translation of the Gospel of Mark,” under the subheading “Sources of the Markan Pick-ups”; idem, “Measuring the Disparity Between Matthew, Mark and Luke,” under the subheading “Further Proof of Mark’s Dependence on Luke.” ↩
• ^[90] See Lindsey, “Introduction to A Hebrew Translation of the Gospel of Mark,” under the subheading “The Markan Stereotypes.” ↩
• ^[91] See Lowe and Flusser, “Evidence Corroborating a Modified Proto-Matthean Synoptic Theory,” 44 n. 55; LHNS, 85 §111. There is a textual problem in Mark 6:20. Instead of ἠπόρει (ēporei, “he was confused”) some MSS read ἐποίει (epoiei, “he was doing”). The latter reading appears to be an attempt on the part of later scribes to make better sense of Mark 6:20. See Metzger, 89; Lindsey, HTGM, 83-84 n. 7. For a different view, see David Alan Black, “The Text of Mark 6.20,” New Testament Studies 34.1 (1988): 141-145. ↩
• ^[92] See Marcus, 1:398. ↩
• ^[93] The adverb ἡδέως (hēdeōs, “gladly”) occurs in Mark 6:20 and Mark 12:37, but nowhere else in the Synoptic Gospels. ↩
• ^[94] See LHNS, 85 §111. ↩
• ^[95] Not only is the genitive absolute suspect, the adjective εὔκαιρος (evkairos, “timely,” “opportune”) is also likely to be redactional. The author of Mark was fond of the εὐκαίρ- word group. The adjective εὔκαιρος occurs in Mark 6:21, but nowhere else in the Synoptic Gospels. Similarly, the cognate verb εὐκαιρεῖν (evkairein, “to have time”) occurs in Mark 6:31, but never in Luke or Matthew. In Mark 14:11 the author of Mark used the adverb εὐκαίρως (evkairōs, “conveniently”), the only time this adverb appears in the Synoptic Gospels. The authors of Luke and Matthew agreed against Mark 14:11 to use the noun εὐκαιρία (evkairia, “opportune moment”; Matt. 26:16 ∥ Luke 22:6), the only time either Gospel used a term from the εὐκαίρ- word group. ↩
• ^[96] On the dative absolute construction in Matt. 14:6, see Moule, 44-45. ↩
• ^[97] See Shmuel Safrai, “Home and Family” (Safrai-Stern, 2:728-792, esp. 767). Safrai stated that according to Josephus (Apion 2:204) the Torah forbids birthday celebrations, but Josephus’ stricture seems to apply to celebrating the birth of a child rather than to celebrating the annual anniversary of one’s birth. ↩
• ^[98] Some scholars have maintained that a reference to birthday celebrations of Herod the Great is mentioned in the writings of the first-century C.E. author Persius (Satura 5:180), who referred to a Herodis dies (“Herod’s day”). See Hoehner, Herod Antipas, 161 n. 5; Davies-Allison, 2:473; Aus, Water into Wine and the Beheading of John the Baptist, 45. However, Stern has shown that the context in which Persius’ reference to “Herod’s day” occurs demands that it be understood as a reference to the Sabbath day, which Herod observed. See Stern, 1:436 §190. ↩
• ^[99] See Schwartz, Agrippa I, 34; idem, “Agrippa’s Birthday—From Joseph to Josephus,” Beit Mikra: Journal for the Study of the Bible and Its World 55.1 (2010): 123-128 (in Hebrew; click here for an English translation of this article). ↩
• ^[100] According to Speiser, Joseph’s prediction ought to be understood as beheading followed by impaling the body. See E. A. Speiser, Genesis (Anchor Bible 1; Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1964), 307. See also Thackeray’s note to Jos., Ant. 2:72 (Loeb, 5:199). ↩
• ^[101] Given the indebtedness of Yohanan the Immerser’s Execution to the story of Pharaoh’s birthday in Gen. 40:20-23, the suggestion that what Antipas actually celebrated was his accession to power loses whatever attractiveness it may have initially enjoyed. On γενέσια in Mark 6:21 ∥ Matt. 14:6 as “accession day,” see Hoehner, Herod Antipas, 160-161 n. 5. ↩
• ^[102] In rabbinic sources the chief baker’s dream was understood as a prediction of the succession of empires that would dominate Israel until the coming of the Messiah. See Ginzberg, 1:360-361. ↩
• ^[103] If Agrippa’s Jewish pedigree could be questioned (see Jos., Ant. 19:332-334; m. Sot. 7:8; t. Sot. 7:16; Schwartz, Agrippa I, 219-222), then Antipas’ surely could. Antipas was the son of an Idumean (Herod the Great) and a Samaritan (Malthace). ↩
• ^[104] In Genesis Rabbah we read:

  ויהי ביום השלישי יום הלדת וגו′ יום גינוסו שלפרעה

  And on the third day it was the birthday [of Pharaoh] etc. [Gen. 40:20]. It was Pharaoh’s day of genesia. (Gen. Rab. 88:6 [ed. Theodor-Albeck, 3:1085])

  Likewise, commenting on m. Avod. Zar. 1:3, which mentions the birthday celebrations of kings, the Yerushalmi states:

  יום גנוסיא של מלכים ויהי ביום השלישי יום הלדת את פרעה

  The birthday of kings [m. Avod. Zar. 1:3]: [for example,] And on the third day it was Pharaoh’s birthday [Gen. 40:20]. (y. Avod. Zar. 1:2 [3a-b])

  ↩

• ^[105] Aus noted that according to some rabbinic traditions the banquet described in Esth. 1:5 was held in honor of the king’s birthday. See Aus, Water into Wine and the Beheading of John the Baptist, 46. Since these traditions are preserved only in very late collections, it is probably best to regard Antipas’ birthday as an allusion to the Genesis story rather than to the story of Esther. ↩
• ^[106] Cf. Allen, Matt., 158. ↩
• ^[107] For the A-text of Greek Esther, see Alan E. Brooke, Norman McLean, and Henry St. John Thackeray, eds., The Old Testament in Greek (3 vols.; Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1906-1940), 3.1:32-42. ↩
• ^[108] Although δεῖπνον rarely occurs in LXX (4 Macc. 3:9; Dan. 1:8, 13, 15, 16), this noun occurs 5xx in the Gospel of Luke (Luke 14:12, 16, 17, 24; 20:46), which lends credibility to our conclusion that the author of Mark found δεῖπνον in Anth.’s version of Yohanan the Immerser’s Execution. ↩
• ^[109] See Call of Levi, Comment to L23. ↩
• ^[110] See Hatch-Redpath, 2:907. ↩
• ^[111] Cf. Aus, Water into Wine and the Beheading of John the Baptist, 47. ↩
• ^[112] See Hatch-Redpath, 2:1469. Cf. Malcolm Lowe and David Flusser, “Evidence Corroborating a Modified Proto-Matthean Synoptic Theory,” New Testament Studies 29.1 (1983): 25-47, esp. 28. ↩
• ^[113] The LXX translators usually rendered שָׂרֵי הַחַיִל/הַחֲיָלִים as οἱ ἄρχοντες τῆς δυνάμεως (hoi archontes tēs dūnameōs, “the rulers of the military force”; 2 Kgdms. 24:4; 3 Kgdms. 15:20; 4 Kgdms. 9:5; 25:23, 26; 2 Chr. 16:4; 33:14) or οἱ ἡγεμόνες τῆς δυνάμεως (hoi hēgemones tēs dūnameōs, “the leaders of the military force”; Jer. 47[40]:7, 13; 48[41]:11, 13, 16; 49[42]:1, 8; 50[43]:4, 5). Thus, adopting שַׂר חַיִל for HR presumes that the Greek translator of Yohanan the Immerser’s Execution was not influenced by these LXX models. ↩
• ^[114] See Taylor, 312; Mann, 296; Theissen, Gospels, 86; Meier, Marginal, 2:172-173. ↩
• ^[115] This is the interpretation Hoehner (Herod Antipas, 146-149) favored. ↩
• ^[116] See Flusser, “A New Portrait of Salome,” under the subheading “The Place of John’s Execution.” ↩
• ^[117] See Rainey-Notley, 351; R. Steven Notley, In the Master’s Steps: The Gospels in the Land (Jerusalem: Carta, 2014), 18. ↩
• ^[118] France (Mark, 257), too, entertained the possibility that Josephus was misinformed, but he made no case in favor of such a conclusion. ↩
• ^[119] See Metzger, 89-90; Meier, Marginal, 2:228 n. 250. For a different view, see J. K. Elliott, “An Eclectic Textual Commentary on the Greek Text of Mark’s Gospel,” in New Testament Textual Criticism: Its Significance for Exegesis (Oxford: Clarendon, 1981), 47-60, esp. 55-56. ↩
• ^[120] For the view that the girl performed an innocent dance, see Bruce, “Herod Antipas, Tetrarch of Galilee and Peraea,” 13; Hoehner, Herod Antipas, 157; Flusser, “A New Portrait of Salome,” under the subheading “Salome’s Persona in Imaginative Fiction”; idem, “Der Tod des Täufers,” 95-99; Nolland, Matt., 584; Mark A. Proctor, “‘It Was Not the Season For Figs’: Aesthetic Absurdity in Mark’s Intercalations,” Biblica 98.4 (2017): 558-581, esp. 570-571. ↩
• ^[121] A few scholars have attempted to harmonize the data from Mark and Josephus by postulating the existence of an otherwise unattested daughter born to Antipas and Herodias, whom they named after her mother. See Allen, Mark, 97; Bruce, “Herod Antipas, Tetrarch of Galilee and Peraea,” 12-13. But aside from the difficulty of Antipas’ being inflamed with lust for his own daughter, and Josephus’ lack of any knowledge of children born to Antipas and Herodias, there is a problem of chronology. Both versions of Yohanan the Immerser’s Execution refer to the dancer as a κοράσιον (korasion, “girl,” “maiden”), someone in their adolescence. But surely the Baptist did not wait a decade or more before denouncing the illicit marriage of Antipas to his brother’s wife. Nor could the term of the Baptist’s imprisonment have lasted long enough for a daughter to be born and grow up enough to perform for the men at Antipas’ banquet, since according to the Gospels the entire length of John’s imprisonment took place during Jesus’ public career. The logic of the story does not allow time for a daughter to be born to Antipas who would be old enough to dance before him and his guests. See Hoehner, Herod Antipas, 153. ↩
• ^[122] See Meier, Marginal, 2:228 n. 250. ↩
• ^[123] See Theissen, Gospels, 89. ↩
• ^[124] See Hatch-Redpath, 2:1018. ↩
• ^[125] The Hebrew root ר-ק-ד occurs in Isa. 13:21; Joel 2:5; Nah. 3:2; Ps. 29:6; 114:4, 6; Job 21:11; Eccl. 3:4; 1 Chr. 15:29. ↩
• ^[126] See Hatch-Redpath, 1:656-659. ↩
• ^[127] See Dos Santos, 31. ↩
• ^[128] Cf. A. B. Bruce (207), who noted that ἐν τῷ μέσῳ presupposes the banqueting scene the author of Matthew omitted, but which is described in Mark. ↩
• ^[129] See Hatch-Redpath, 1:155. ↩
• ^[130] Other scholars who have noted the allusion to Esth. 2:9 include Taylor (135), Mann (297) and Marcus (1:397). ↩
• ^[131] See Aus, Water Into Wine and the Beheading of John the Baptist, 53-55. ↩
• ^[132] See Jastrow, 804. ↩
• ^[133] Some scholars believe that the use of “king” with reference to Antipas in Yohanan the Immerser’s Execution was intended to be ironic. Cf., e.g., Witherington, 282; Gabriella Gelardini, “The Contest for a Royal Title: Herod versus Jesus in the Gospel According to Mark (6,14-29; 15,6-15),” Annali di Storia dell’Esegesi 28.2 (2011): 93-106, esp. 99. We think a Hebrew source underlying the synoptic accounts is the more likely explanation for the application of the title “king” to Antipas. ↩
• ^[134] We do know from other sources that tetrarchs were sometimes unofficially referred to as kings (see A Voice Crying, Comment to L18). It is also the case that in order to refer to Antipas with his official title, a Hebrew speaker would need to use a foreign word, and apart from the Lukan-Matthean minor agreement to write “tetrarch” in Herodes Wonders about Yeshua, there is no evidence that “tetrarch” entered the Hebrew language. ↩
• ^[135] On the author of Mark’s use of diminutive nouns, see LOY Excursus: Mark’s Editorial Style, under the subheading “Mark’s Freedom and Creativity.” ↩
• ^[136] The noun נַעֲרָה occurs 13xx in Esther, most of which refer either to the female protagonist specifically or (when plural) to a group to which Esther belonged. ↩
• ^[137] The noun κοράσιον occurs 7xx in Esther, most of which refer either to Esther herself or (when plural) to the group of which she was a part. ↩
• ^[138] See Dos Santos, 134. ↩
• ^[139] Cf. Aus, Water into Wine and the Beheading of John the Baptist, 50. ↩
• ^[140] See Hagner, 2:412. ↩
• ^[141] The phrase μεθ᾿ ὅρκου occurs in Lev. 5:4; Num. 30:11; 2 Macc. 4:34; 14:32; Pss. Sol. 4:4; 8:10. ↩
• ^[142] See Aus, Water into Wine and the Beheading of John the Baptist, 57. ↩
• ^[143] On the A-text of Greek Esther and the possibility that it represents a non-Masoretic Hebrew recension of Esther, see David J. A. Clines, The Esther Scroll: The Story of the Story (Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1984), 71-92. ↩
• ^[144] See Hatch-Redpath, 2:991-992. ↩
• ^[145] See Dos Santos, 203. ↩
• ^[146] See Hatch-Redpath, 1:618-619. ↩
• ^[147] Delitzsch rendered ἡ δὲ προβιβασθεῖσα ὑπὸ τῆς μητρὸς αὐτῆς (“But being prompted by her mother”) in Matt. 14:8 as וְאִמָּהּ שָׂמָה אֶת הַדְּבָרִים בְּפִיהָ (“But her mother put the words in her mouth”). ↩
• ^[148] See Nolland, Matt., 584. ↩
• ^[149] See A Voice Crying, Comment to L27. ↩
• ^[150] Cf. Guelich, 1:333. ↩
• ^[151] On the author of Mark’s redactional use of εὐθύς, see Lindsey, “Introduction to A Hebrew Translation of the Gospel of Mark,” under the subheading “The Markan Stereotypes”; LOY Excursus: Catalog of Markan Stereotypes and Possible Markan Pick-ups, under the entry for Mark 1:10. ↩
• ^[152] The author of Mark preserved versions of only three of the ten pericopae we believe descended from the Hebrew Life of Yohanan the Immerser. In Mark’s versions of these three pericopae εὐθύς occurs 2xx (A Voice Crying, 0xx; Yohanan the Immerser’s Eschatological Discourse, 0xx; Yohanan the Immerser’s Execution, 2xx). Neither Matthew nor Luke have εὐθύς in any of their Life of Yohanan the Immerser pericopae. See the figure in the Story Placement section above for the complete list of pericopae descended from the Hebrew Life of Yohanan the Immerser. ↩
• ^[153] See Dos Santos, 22-23. ↩
• ^[154] See Hatch-Redpath, 1:410-413. ↩
• ^[155] On the other hand, the stacking up of prepositional phrases, such as we find in L58-59 (Mark 6:25) is typical of Markan redaction, so some doubt remains. On the stacking up of prepositional phrases as typical of Markan redaction, see the LOY Excursus: Mark’s Editorial Style, under the subheading “Mark’s Freedom and Creativity.” Nevertheless, stacks of prepositional phrases are not a uniquely Markan phenomenon, and proably did sometimes occur in Anth. ↩
• ^[156] In the books of 1-4 Kgdms. the phrase πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα occurs as the translation of אֶל (הַ)מֶּלֶךְ in 1 Kgdms. 22:11; 2 Kgdms. 3:24; 4:8; 5:3; 7:3; 9:3, 11; 11:19; 13:6, 13, 24, 35; 14:3, 4, 9, 15 (2xx), 29, 32, 33 (2xx); 15:2, 6, 15; 16:3, 9; 18:28; 19:6, 11, 12, 15, 19, 29, 31, 35, 42 (2xx); 20:22; 21:5; 24:3, 9; 3 Kgdms. 1:13, 15; 2:19; 3:26; 7:2; 10:6; 13:8; 20:39; 22:15; 4 Kgdms. 1:6, 15; 4:13; 5:6, 8; 6:9; 7:18; 8:3, 5; 11:7, 14; 18:17; 20:14; 22:9; 25:6. ↩
• ^[157] Delitzsch rendered θέλω ἵνα ἐξαυτῆς δῷς μοι (“I want that directly you might give to me”) in Mark 6:25 as רְצוֹנִי שֶׁתִּתֵּן לִי עַתָּה (“My wish is that you will give to me now”). Lindsey’s translation (Lindsey, HTGM, 109) was בַּקָּשָׁתִי כִּי תִּתֵּן לִי עַתָּה (“My request is that you will give to me now”). ↩
• ^[158] Caution is warranted, however, since a θέλειν + ἵνα + subjunctive construction occurs in a DT pericope (Matt. 7:12 ∥ Luke 6:31), which means that this construction did occur at least once in Anth. ↩
• ^[159] On the author of Matthew’s redactional use of the verb φάναι, see Darnel Among the Wheat, Comment to L19. ↩
• ^[160] Black noted that the author of Matthew usually used the verb φάναι to introduce significant statements or pronouncements, of which the dancing girl’s request for the Baptist’s head is a prime example. See Stephanie L. Black, “The Historic Present in Matthew: Beyond Speech Margins,” in Discourse Analysis and the New Testament: Approaches and Results (ed. Stanley E. Porter and Jeffrey T. Reed; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1999), 120-139, esp. 133 n. 36. ↩
• ^[161] Since the term πίναξ also occurs in Luke 11:39, it need not be doubted that the author of Mark found πίναξ in Anth. ↩
• ^[162] The LXX translators always rendered קְעָרָה as τρύβλιον (trūblion, “plate”). See Dos Santos, 184. ↩
• ^[163] See Moulton-Milligan, 513. ↩
• ^[164] On the noun פִּנְקָס/פִּינְקֵס, see Jastrow, 1165; Moshe Bar-Asher, “Mishnaic Hebrew: An Introductory Survey,” in The Literature of the Sages (ed. Shmuel Safrai et al.; 2 vols.; CRINT II.3; Philadelphia/Minneapolis: Fortress, 1987-2006), 2:567-595, esp. 588-589. ↩
• ^[165] See Lindsey, HTGM, 109. ↩
• ^[166] On Esther Rabbah, see Myron B. Lerner, “The Works of Aggadic Midrash and the Esther Midrashim,” in The Literature of the Sages (ed. Shmuel Safrai et al.; 2 vols.; CRINT II.3; Philadelphia/Minneapolis: Fortress, 1987-2006), 2:133-229, esp. 177-189. ↩
• ^[167] See Jastrow, 302. ↩
• ^[168] On sacrificial imagery applied to Jewish martyrs in ancient Jewish sources, see David Flusser, “Martyrology in the Second Temple Period and Early Christianity” (Flusser, JSTP2, 248-257). Note that a crucial sentence was inadvertently omitted from the English translation of this article. See “Corrections and Emendations to Flusser’s Judaism of the Second Temple Period.” ↩
• ^[169] Additional examples of διά as the translation of מִפְּנֵי are found in Deut. 28:20; Isa. 19:17, 20. ↩
• ^[170] See Dos Santos, 203. ↩
• ^[171] See Hatch-Redpath, 2:1013. ↩
• ^[172] On κελεύειν as the product of Matthean redaction, see Quieting a Storm, Comment to L5. ↩
• ^[173] In LXX οὐ + θέλειν occurs as the translation of לֹא אָבָה in Deut. 1:26; 2:30; 10:10; 23:6; Josh. 24:10; Judg. 11:17; 19:10, 25; 20:13; 1 Kgdms. 26:23; 2 Kgdms. 2:21; 12:17; 13:14, 16, 25; 14:29 (2xx); 23:16, 17; 4 Kgdms. 8:19; 13:23; 24:4; 1 Chr. 11:18; 19:19; Isa. 28:12; Ezek. 20:8. ↩
• ^[174] See Lindsey, GCSG, 101-102. ↩
• ^[175] See, for example, Yohanan the Immerser’s Question, L11. ↩
• ^[176] See LOY Excursus: Mark’s Editorial Style, under the subheading “Mark’s Freedom and Creativity.” ↩
• ^[177] On Hasmonean admiration for the Romans, see David Flusser, “The Roman Empire in Hasmonean and Essene Eyes” (Flusser, JSTP1, 175-206). ↩
• ^[178] Since in rabbinic literature הָרַג had acquired the technical sense of “execute by means of beheading,” it is possible that this was the scenario envisioned in the parable. ↩
• ^[179] Cf. Delitzsch’s translation of ἐπέταξεν in Mark 6:27 as וַיְצַוֵּהוּ (“and he commanded him”), and Lindsey’s translation of ἐπέταξεν in Mark 6:27 as וַיְצַו (“and he commanded”; Lindsey, HTGM, 109). ↩
• ^[180] On καί + participle + aorist as the translation of vav-consecutive + vav-consecutive, see above, Comment to L51. ↩
• ^[181] See Hatch-Redpath, 2:1426-1428. ↩
• ^[182] See Kutscher, 82-83 §123. ↩
• ^[183] The rejection of LXX’s historical present in 1 Kgdms. 31:11 is especially surprising, since the author of Mark displayed a strong preference for historical presents throughout his Gospel. On the use of the historical present in Mark, see LOY Excursus: Mark’s Editorial Style, under the subheading “Mark’s Freedom and Creativity.” ↩
• ^[184] See Hatch-Redpath, 1:34-36. ↩
• ^[185] See Dos Santos, 137. ↩
• ^[186] The verb τιθέναι occurs as the translation of נָתַן in the following verses: Gen. 1:17; 9:13; 15:10; 17:2, 5, 6; 40:3; 41:10, 48 (2xx); 42:30; Exod. 12:7; 26:33, 35; 29:12; 30:6, 18, 36; 40:5, 6, 22; Lev. 26:1, 11, 19, 30, 31; Josh. 22:25; 1 Kgdms. 6:8; 9:22; 2 Kgdms. 11:16; 3 Kgdms. 6:27 (Alexandrinus); 7:25[39]; 4 Kgdms. 5:1 (Alexandrinus); 2 Chr. 1:15; 3:16 (Alexandrinus); 4:6, 7, 10; 5:10; 6:13; 24:8; 31:6; 32:6; 35:3; 36:7; 2 Esd. 17:72 (Vaticanus); Job 19:23; 29:2; Ps. 17[18]:33; 32[33]:7; 38[39]:6; 49[50]:20; 68[69]:12; 78[79]:2; 88[89]:28; 104[105]:32; 118[119]:110; 148:6; Eccl. 7:21; Isa. 49:6; Jer. 1:5, 15, 18; 9:10; 28[51]:16; 32[25]:18; 35[28]:14; 39[32]:14; Ezek. 4:1, 3, 6; 5:14; 6:14; 14:3; 16:18, 19, 38; 19:9; 25:13; 28:14; 30:24 (Alexandrinus); 32:27; 35:9; 37:26; 43:8. ↩
• ^[187] See Dos Santos, 138. ↩
• ^[188] See Allen, Matt., 159; Schweizer, 317; Meier, “John the Baptist in Matthew’s Gospel,” 399 n. 58. ↩
• ^[189] Pace Bammel, who suggested that Matthew’s description of the Baptist’s disciples’ reporting his death to Jesus stemmed from Q. See Bammel, “The Baptist in Early Christian Tradition,” 99. ↩
• ^[190] On the incorporation of a Life of Yohanan the Immerser into the Hebrew Life of Yeshua, see the discussion in the Story Placement section of this LOY segment. ↩
• ^[191] On the chronological problem created by the redactional addition of the Baptist’s disciples’ reporting to Jesus, see Bundy (259 §155), Schweizer (317) and Davies-Allison (2:463, 475). Cope argued that the δέ in Matt. 14:13 (which introduces the pericope following Yohanan the Immerser’s Execution) resumes the narrative that was interrupted by the tale of the Baptist’s demise that began in Matt. 14:3, which the γάρ in Matt. 14:3 marks as parenthetical. Thus, according to Cope, Jesus withdrew across the Sea of Galilee not because of the Baptist’s disciples, but because somehow word of Antipas’ pondering of Jesus’ identity had reached Jesus. See Lamar Cope, “The Death of John the Baptist in the Gospel of Matthew; Or, The Case of the Confusing Conjunction,” Catholic Biblical Quarterly 38.4 (1976): 515-519. For a critique of Cope’s argument, see Luz, 2:306 n. 9. ↩
• ^[192] Jesus’ method of transport, by boat (Matt. 14:13), is also problematic, since according to Matthew’s narrative the last location Jesus was said to have been was in his hometown (Matt. 13:54), which was presumably Nazareth, as in the Lukan parallel (Luke 4:16), although Mark’s version is no more explicit than Matthew’s as to the location (Mark 6:1). The author of Matthew also refers to Jesus’ arriving at his “own town” by boat (Matt. 9:1). In Mark’s parallel the town is identified as Capernaum (Mark 2:1). This leads us to one of two conclusions:
  1. The author of Matthew thought that Capernaum, not Nazareth, was the location of the synagogue in which Jesus proclaimed, “Only in his hometown is a prophet without honor” (Matt. 13:57). But this conclusion is challenged by Matt. 2:23, which states that Jesus grew up in Nazareth.
  2. The author of Matthew was of the erroneous opinion that Nazareth was located next to the Sea of Galilee.

  Does Matt. 4:13-15 suggest that the author of Matthew believed Nazareth was located along the Sea of Galilee? According to these verses, Jesus’ movement from Nazareth to Capernaum fulfilled Isaiah’s reference to “the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali...the way of the sea” (Isa. 8:23). Did the author of Matthew misunderstand the Isaiah verse to imply that both tribal allotments were situated along the shores of the Sea of Galilee and that by moving from Nazareth to Capernaum Jesus was following a route along the edge of the sea? ↩

• ^[193]

  Yohanan the Immerser’s Execution
  Luke’s Version		Anthology’s Wording (Reconstructed)
  πολλὰ μὲν οὖν καὶ ἕτερα παρακαλῶν εὐηγγελίζετο τὸν λαόν ὁ δὲ Ἡρῴδης ὁ τετραάρχης ἐλεγχόμενος ὑπ᾿ αὐτοῦ περὶ Ἡρῳδιάδος τῆς γυναικὸς τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ αὐτοῦ καὶ περὶ πάντων ὧν ἐποίησεν πονηρῶν ὁ Ἡρῴδης προσέθηκεν καὶ τοῦτο ἐπὶ πᾶσιν κατέκλεισεν τὸν Ἰωάνην ἐν φυλακῇ		εἶπεν δὲ Ἰωάννης οὐκ ἔξεστιν τῷ Ἡρῴδῃ ἔχειν Ἡρῳδιάδα τὴν γυναῖκα τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ αὐτοῦ ἀποστείλας δὲ Ἡρῴδης ἐκράτησεν τὸν Ἰωάννην καὶ ἔδησεν αὐτὸν ἐν φυλακῇ καὶ ἐνεῖχεν αὐτῷ Ἡρῳδιὰς καὶ ἠθέλησεν ἀποκτεῖναι αὐτὸν καὶ οὐκ ἠδύνατο ἐφοβήθη γὰρ Ἡρῴδης τὸν Ἰωάννην καὶ συνετήρησεν αὐτόν καὶ ἐγένετο ἡμέρα γενέσιος τῷ Ἡρῴδῃ δεῖπνον ἐποίησεν τοῖς μεγιστᾶσιν αὐτοῦ καὶ τοῖς χιλιάρχοις καὶ τοῖς πρώτοις τῆς Γαλιλαίας καὶ ὠρχήσατο ἡ θυγάτηρ τῆς Ἡρῳδιάδος ἐν τῷ μέσῳ καὶ ἤρεσεν τῷ Ἡρῴδῃ καὶ τοῖς συνανακειμένοις εἶπεν δὲ ὁ βασιλεὺς τῷ κορασίῳ αἴτησόν με ὃ ἐὰν θέλῃς καὶ δώσω σοι καὶ ὤμοσεν αὐτῇ ὅ τι ἐάν με αἰτήσῃς δώσω σοι ἕως ἡμίσους τῆς βασιλείας μου καὶ ἐξελθοῦσα εἶπεν τῇ μητρὶ αὐτῆς τί αἰτήσωμαι καὶ εἶπεν τὴν κεφαλὴν Ἰωάννου τοῦ βαπτιστοῦ καὶ εἰσελθοῦσα μετὰ σπουδῆς πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα ᾐτήσατο λέγουσα δός μοι ἐπὶ πίνακι τὴν κεφαλὴν Ἰωάννου τοῦ βαπτιστοῦ καὶ λυπηθεὶς ὁ βασιλεὺς διὰ τοὺς ὅρκους καὶ τοὺς συνανακειμένους οὐκ ἠθέλησεν ἀθετῆσαι αὐτήν καὶ ἀποστείλας ὁ βασιλεὺς σπεκουλάτορα ἐπέταξεν ἐνέγκαι τὴν κεφαλὴν αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀπελθὼν ἀπεκεφάλισεν αὐτὸν ἐν τῇ φυλακῇ καὶ ἤνεγκεν τὴν κεφαλὴν αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ πίνακι καὶ ἔδωκεν αὐτὴν τῷ κορασίῳ καὶ ἤνεγκεν αὐτὴν τῇ μητρὶ αὐτῆς καὶ ἀκούσαντες οἱ μαθηταὶ αὐτοῦ ἦλθαν καὶ ἦραν τὸ πτῶμα αὐτοῦ καὶ ἔθηκαν αὐτὸ[ν] ἐν μνημείῳ
  Total Words:	42	Total Words:	206
  Total Words Identical to Anth.:	8	Total Words Taken Over in Luke:	8
  Percentage Identical to Anth.:	19.05%	Percentage of Anth. Represented in Luke:	3.88%

  ↩

• ^[194]

  Yohanan the Immerser’s Execution
  Mark’s Version		Anthology’s Wording (Reconstructed)
  αὐτὸς γὰρ ὁ Ἡρῴδης ἀποστείλας ἐκράτησεν τὸν Ἰωάνην καὶ ἔδησεν αὐτὸν ἐν φυλακῇ διὰ Ἡρῳδιάδα Φιλίππου τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ αὐτοῦ ὅτι αὐτὴν ἐγάμησεν ἔλεγεν γὰρ ὁ Ἰωάνης τῷ Ἡρῴδῃ ὅτι οὐκ ἔξεστίν σοι ἔχειν τὴν γυναῖκα τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ σου ἡ δὲ Ἡρῳδιὰς ἐνεῖχεν αὐτῷ καὶ ἤθελεν αὐτὸν ἀποκτεῖναι καὶ οὐκ ἠδύνατο ὁ γὰρ Ἡρῴδης ἐφοβεῖτο τὸν Ἰωάνην εἰδὼς αὐτὸν ἄνδρα δίκαιον καὶ ἅγιον συνετήρει αὐτόν καὶ ἀκούσας αὐτοῦ πολλὰ ἠπόρει καὶ ἡδέως αὐτοῦ ἤκουεν καὶ γενομένης ἡμέρας εὐκαίρου ὅτε Ἡρῴδης τοῖς γενεσίοις αὐτοῦ δεῖπνον ἐποίησεν τοῖς μεγιστᾶσιν αὐτοῦ καὶ τοῖς χειλιάρχοις καὶ τοῖς πρώτοις τῆς Γαλειλαίας καὶ εἰσελθούσης τῆς θυγατρὸς αὐτοῦ Ἡρῳδιάδος καὶ ὀρχησαμένης ἤρεσεν τῷ Ἡρῴδῃ καὶ τοῖς συνανακειμένοις ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς εἶπεν τῷ κορασίῳ αἴτησόν με ὃ ἐὰν θέλῃς καὶ δώσω σοι καὶ ὤμοσεν αὐτῇ ὅ τι ἐάν με αἰτήσῃς δώσω σοι ἕως ἡμίσους τῆς βασιλείας μου καὶ ἐξελθοῦσα εἶπεν τῇ μητρὶ αὐτῆς τί αἰτήσωμαι ἡ δὲ εἶπεν τὴν κεφαλὴν Ἰωάνου τοῦ βαπτίζοντος καὶ εἰσελθοῦσα εὐθὺς μετὰ σπουδῆς πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα ᾐτήσατο λέγουσα θέλω ἵνα ἐξαυτῆς δῷς μοι ἐπὶ πίνακι τὴν κεφαλὴν Ἰωάνου τοῦ βαπτιστοῦ καὶ περίλυπος γενόμενος ὁ βασιλεὺς διὰ τοὺς ὅρκους καὶ τοὺς ἀνακειμένους οὐκ ἠθέλησεν ἀθετῆσαι αὐτήν καὶ εὐθὺς ἀποστείλας ὁ βασιλεὺς σπεκουλάτορα ἐπέταξεν ἐνέγκαι τὴν κεφαλὴν αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀπελθὼν ἀπεκεφάλισεν αὐτὸν ἐν τῇ φυλακῇ καὶ ἤνεγκεν τὴν κεφαλὴν αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ πίνακι καὶ ἔδωκεν αὐτὴν τῷ κορασίῳ καὶ τὸ κοράσιον ἔδωκεν αὐτὴν τῇ μητρὶ αὐτῆς καὶ ἀκούσαντες οἱ μαθηταὶ αὐτοῦ ἦλθαν καὶ ἦραν τὸ πτῶμα αὐτοῦ καὶ ἔθηκαν αὐτὸ ἐν μνημείῳ		εἶπεν δὲ Ἰωάννης οὐκ ἔξεστιν τῷ Ἡρῴδῃ ἔχειν Ἡρῳδιάδα τὴν γυναῖκα τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ αὐτοῦ ἀποστείλας δὲ Ἡρῴδης ἐκράτησεν τὸν Ἰωάννην καὶ ἔδησεν αὐτὸν ἐν φυλακῇ καὶ ἐνεῖχεν αὐτῷ Ἡρῳδιὰς καὶ ἠθέλησεν ἀποκτεῖναι αὐτὸν καὶ οὐκ ἠδύνατο ἐφοβήθη γὰρ Ἡρῴδης τὸν Ἰωάννην καὶ συνετήρησεν αὐτόν καὶ ἐγένετο ἡμέρα γενέσιος τῷ Ἡρῴδῃ δεῖπνον ἐποίησεν τοῖς μεγιστᾶσιν αὐτοῦ καὶ τοῖς χιλιάρχοις καὶ τοῖς πρώτοις τῆς Γαλιλαίας καὶ ὠρχήσατο ἡ θυγάτηρ τῆς Ἡρῳδιάδος ἐν τῷ μέσῳ καὶ ἤρεσεν τῷ Ἡρῴδῃ καὶ τοῖς συνανακειμένοις εἶπεν δὲ ὁ βασιλεὺς τῷ κορασίῳ αἴτησόν με ὃ ἐὰν θέλῃς καὶ δώσω σοι καὶ ὤμοσεν αὐτῇ ὅ τι ἐάν με αἰτήσῃς δώσω σοι ἕως ἡμίσους τῆς βασιλείας μου καὶ ἐξελθοῦσα εἶπεν τῇ μητρὶ αὐτῆς τί αἰτήσωμαι καὶ εἶπεν τὴν κεφαλὴν Ἰωάννου τοῦ βαπτιστοῦ καὶ εἰσελθοῦσα μετὰ σπουδῆς πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα ᾐτήσατο λέγουσα δός μοι ἐπὶ πίνακι τὴν κεφαλὴν Ἰωάννου τοῦ βαπτιστοῦ καὶ λυπηθεὶς ὁ βασιλεὺς διὰ τοὺς ὅρκους καὶ τοὺς συνανακειμένους οὐκ ἠθέλησεν ἀθετῆσαι αὐτήν καὶ ἀποστείλας ὁ βασιλεὺς σπεκουλάτορα ἐπέταξεν ἐνέγκαι τὴν κεφαλὴν αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀπελθὼν ἀπεκεφάλισεν αὐτὸν ἐν τῇ φυλακῇ καὶ ἤνεγκεν τὴν κεφαλὴν αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ πίνακι καὶ ἔδωκεν αὐτὴν τῷ κορασίῳ καὶ ἤνεγκεν αὐτὴν τῇ μητρὶ αὐτῆς καὶ ἀκούσαντες οἱ μαθηταὶ αὐτοῦ ἦλθαν καὶ ἦραν τὸ πτῶμα αὐτοῦ καὶ ἔθηκαν αὐτὸ[ν] ἐν μνημείῳ
  Total Words:	245	Total Words:	206
  Total Words Identical to Anth.:	178	Total Words Taken Over in Mark:	178
  Percentage Identical to Anth.:	72.65%	Percentage of Anth. Represented in Mark:	86.41%

  ↩

• ^[195]

  Yohanan the Immerser’s Execution
  Matthew’s Version		Anthology’s Wording (Reconstructed)
  ὁ γὰρ Ἡρῴδης τότε κρατήσας τὸν Ἰωάνην ἔδησεν καὶ ἐν φυλακῇ ἀπέθετο διὰ Ἡρῳδιάδα τὴν γυναῖκα Φιλίππου τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ αὐτοῦ ἔλεγεν γὰρ ὁ Ἰωάνης αὐτῷ οὐκ ἔξεστίν σοι ἔχειν αὐτήν καὶ θέλων αὐτὸν ἀποκτεῖναι ἐφοβήθη τὸν ὄχλον ἐπεὶ ὡς προφήτην αὐτὸν εἶχον γενεσίοις δὲ γενομένοις τοῦ Ἡρῴδου ὠρχήσατο ἡ θυγάτηρ τῆς Ἡρῳδιάδος ἐν τῷ μέσῳ καὶ ἤρεσεν τῷ Ἡρῴδῃ ὅθεν μεθ᾿ ὅρκου ὡμολόγησεν αὐτῇ δοῦναι ὃ ἂν αἰτήσηται ἡ δὲ προβιβασθεῖσα ὑπὸ τῆς μητρὸς αὐτῆς δός μοι φησίν ὧδε ἐπὶ πίνακι τὴν κεφαλὴν Ἰωάνου τοῦ βαπτιστοῦ καὶ λυπηθεὶς ὁ βασιλεὺς διὰ τοὺς ὅρκους καὶ τοὺς συνανακειμένους ἐκέλευσεν δοθῆναι καὶ πέμψας ἀπεκεφάλισεν Ἰωάνην ἐν τῇ φυλακῇ καὶ ἠνέχθη ἡ κεφαλὴ αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ πίνακι καὶ ἐδόθη τῷ κορασίῳ καὶ ἤνεγκεν τῇ μητρὶ αὐτῆς καὶ προσελθόντες οἱ μαθηταὶ αὐτοῦ ἦραν τὸ πτῶμα καὶ ἔθαψαν αὐτὸν καὶ ἐλθόντες ἀπήγγειλαν τῷ Ἰησοῦ		εἶπεν δὲ Ἰωάννης οὐκ ἔξεστιν τῷ Ἡρῴδῃ ἔχειν Ἡρῳδιάδα τὴν γυναῖκα τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ αὐτοῦ ἀποστείλας δὲ Ἡρῴδης ἐκράτησεν τὸν Ἰωάννην καὶ ἔδησεν αὐτὸν ἐν φυλακῇ καὶ ἐνεῖχεν αὐτῷ Ἡρῳδιὰς καὶ ἠθέλησεν ἀποκτεῖναι αὐτὸν καὶ οὐκ ἠδύνατο ἐφοβήθη γὰρ Ἡρῴδης τὸν Ἰωάννην καὶ συνετήρησεν αὐτόν καὶ ἐγένετο ἡμέρα γενέσιος τῷ Ἡρῴδῃ δεῖπνον ἐποίησεν τοῖς μεγιστᾶσιν αὐτοῦ καὶ τοῖς χιλιάρχοις καὶ τοῖς πρώτοις τῆς Γαλιλαίας καὶ ὠρχήσατο ἡ θυγάτηρ τῆς Ἡρῳδιάδος ἐν τῷ μέσῳ καὶ ἤρεσεν τῷ Ἡρῴδῃ καὶ τοῖς συνανακειμένοις εἶπεν δὲ ὁ βασιλεὺς τῷ κορασίῳ αἴτησόν με ὃ ἐὰν θέλῃς καὶ δώσω σοι καὶ ὤμοσεν αὐτῇ ὅ τι ἐάν με αἰτήσῃς δώσω σοι ἕως ἡμίσους τῆς βασιλείας μου καὶ ἐξελθοῦσα εἶπεν τῇ μητρὶ αὐτῆς τί αἰτήσωμαι καὶ εἶπεν τὴν κεφαλὴν Ἰωάννου τοῦ βαπτιστοῦ καὶ εἰσελθοῦσα μετὰ σπουδῆς πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα ᾐτήσατο λέγουσα δός μοι ἐπὶ πίνακι τὴν κεφαλὴν Ἰωάννου τοῦ βαπτιστοῦ καὶ λυπηθεὶς ὁ βασιλεὺς διὰ τοὺς ὅρκους καὶ τοὺς συνανακειμένους οὐκ ἠθέλησεν ἀθετῆσαι αὐτήν καὶ ἀποστείλας ὁ βασιλεὺς σπεκουλάτορα ἐπέταξεν ἐνέγκαι τὴν κεφαλὴν αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀπελθὼν ἀπεκεφάλισεν αὐτὸν ἐν τῇ φυλακῇ καὶ ἤνεγκεν τὴν κεφαλὴν αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ πίνακι καὶ ἔδωκεν αὐτὴν τῷ κορασίῳ καὶ ἤνεγκεν αὐτὴν τῇ μητρὶ αὐτῆς καὶ ἀκούσαντες οἱ μαθηταὶ αὐτοῦ ἦλθαν καὶ ἦραν τὸ πτῶμα αὐτοῦ καὶ ἔθηκαν αὐτὸ[ν] ἐν μνημείῳ
  Total Words:	137	Total Words:	206
  Total Words Identical to Anth.:	80	Total Words Taken Over in Matt:	80
  Percentage Identical to Anth.:	58.39%	Percentage of Anth. Represented in Matt.:	38.83%

  ↩

• ^[196] There are those, however, who reject Josephus in favor of Mark and Matthew. See, for instance, Fred Strickert, “A Fresh Analysis of Josephus’ Portrayal of Herodias, Wife of Herod’s Sons,” in Bethsaida in Archaeology, History and Ancient Culture: A Festschrift in Honor of John T. Greene (ed. J. Harold Ellens; Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2014), 361-394. ↩
• ^[197] The timing of the Baptist’s execution to coincide with Antipas’ birthday is one such detail that might be more literary than factual. The ancient sources mention only two Jewish birthday celebrations during the Second Temple period (Antipas’ and Agrippa’s), and both are modeled on the story of Pharaoh’s birthday in Gen. 40:20. See Schwartz, Agrippa I, 34; idem, “Agrippa’s Birthday—From Joseph to Josephus,” 123-128 (in Hebrew; for an English translation of this article, click here). ↩
• ^[198] For abbreviations and bibliographical references, see “Introduction to ‘The Life of Yeshua: A Suggested Reconstruction.’” ↩
• ^[199] This translation is a dynamic rendition of our reconstruction of the conjectured Hebrew source that stands behind the Greek of the Synoptic Gospels. It is not a translation of the Greek text of a canonical source. ↩