Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Mark 6:24
And she went forth, and said unto her mother, What shall I ask? And she said, The head of John the Baptist.
24. The head of John the Baptist ] Herodias saw that her hour was come. No jewelled trinket, no royal palace, no splendid robe, should be the reward of her daughter’s feat “Ask,” said she, “for the head of John the Baptizer.”
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
24. And she said, The head of Johnthe BaptistAbandoned women are more shameless and heartlessthan men. The Baptist’s fidelity marred the pleasures of Herodias,and this was too good an opportunity of getting rid of him to letslip.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And she went forth and said unto her mother,…. The king having made such a promise to her, and annexed his oath to it, she thought proper before she asked any thing of him, to withdraw from the hall and company, and consider with herself, and consult with her mother, who was not at the entertainment; it being not usual in those eastern countries, for women to sit at table, at any grand festival: to whom she reported the offer the king had made, and desired she would be pleased to direct her, what request to make saying,
what shall I ask? To which her mother made answer, without taking any further time to think of it, being prepared for it, and determined in her mind, whenever she had an opportunity of asking a favour of the king, what it should be:
and she said, the head of John the Baptist. So sweet is revenge, that to have her will on that great and good man, was more to her, than to have half the king’s dominions.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
What shall I ask? ( ;). The fact that she went and spoke to her mother proves that she had not been told beforehand what to ask. Mt 14:8 does not necessarily mean that, but he simply condenses the account. The girl’s question implies by the middle voice that she is thinking of something for herself. She was no doubt unprepared for her mother’s ghastly reply.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
1)”And she went forth, and said unto her mother, What shall I ask?” (kai ekselthousa eipen te metri autes ti aitesomai) “And she went out (of the banquet hall) and inquired of her mother, what may I ask?” or what should I ask? He offered to give t ‘ o me, right before all those guests, up to half of his kingdom. What a sorry mother to have for council, in such an hour. A mother who thought only of her own covetous malice for revenge. She would have asked her daughter to have killed God as quickly, if she could have, Rom 8:7.
2) “And she said, The head of John the Baptist.” (he de lipen ten kephalen loannou tou baptizontos) “And she said (ask for) the head of John the Baptist.”
This was the council, the advice of an adulteress woman of malice, murder, and revenge bequeathed to her young daughter. The hour of her murder-trial will come up, after long delay, and the final adjudication of this woman’s council will be just, Ecc 12:14.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
Mar 6:24
. And she went out, and said to her mother We need not wonder that Herodias attached so much importance to John’s death. (367) The conjecture thrown out by some—that she was actuated by revenge,—is not at all probable. It was rather the dread of being cast off that inflamed and tormented her; as it usually happens that, when adulterers are visited with feelings of uneasiness, they become ashamed of their own lust. But she hoped that this crime would bind Herod more closely to her than ever, if the disgrace of a pretended marriage were washed out by the blood of the prophet. That her power might be more secure for the future, she longed for the death of that man whom she imagined to be her only opponent; and this shows us the wretched anxiety by which a bad conscience is always tormented. John was detained in prison, and the haughty and cruel woman might have issued orders that no man should converse with or approach him; and yet she has no rest, but is oppressed with anxiety and alarm, till the prophet be removed out of the way. This likewise serves to show the power of the word of God, that the voice of the holy man, even when shut up in prison, wounds and tortures in the keenest manner the mind of the king’s wife. (368)
(367) “ De ce qu’ Herodias a estime un grand avantage pour elle de faire mourir Iean;” — “that Herodias reckoned it a great advantage to her to put John to death.”
(368) “ Ne laisse pas d’espouvanter asprement, et navrer au vif le coeur de ceste femme;” — “fails not vehmently to alarm and cut to the quick the heart of the woman.”
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(24) She went forth, and said unto her mother.This feature in the narrative is peculiar to St. Mark.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
‘And she went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask?” And she said, “the head of John the Baptiser”. And she came in immediately and hastily to the king, and asked saying, “I will that you forthwith give me on a plate the head of John the Baptiser.” And the king was deeply sorry, but for the sake of his oath and of those who sat at meat, he would not reject her.’
But what was she to ask for? The decision made was that it should be ‘The head of John the Baptiser.’ The idea was not hers but her mother’s, but it may well have been she who added the idea of the serving dish. They were two of a kind. ‘Came in immediately.’ Was her haste because the idea pleased her so much? The king felt trapped. He had given his oath and all his courtiers were watching.
But it was so unusual an occurrence that the leading men of Galilee could have protested, and he could have stressed that this kind of thing had not been in his mind, and that the head of John the Baptiser was worth more than half his kingdom. It might indeed bring down his whole kingdom. But neither thought it important enough to make the effort. Their ideas of their own prestige, importance and well-being came first. And John was not considered important enough to be worth intervention.
‘On a plate.’ A large dish. The crowning indignity. His gory head brought in on a plate. Who would suggest such a thing? Certainly not a well bred or sensitive princess. But it befitted the mind of a princess who could perform such a licentious dance. The two went together. Mark may well have seen here a contrast between John’s head served up on a dish, and the bread shortly to be offered by Jesus to the five thousand (Mar 6:30-44). The first was typical of the world and what it offered, the second would be typical of what God offered, the bread of life.
‘The king was deeply sorry.’ A very strong word indicating excessive regret (compare its use in Mar 14:34)
‘Reject her.’ Possibly better, ‘break faith with her’, ‘break his word to’ (compare its use in Psa 15:4 (Mar 14:4) LXX).
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
24 And she went forth, and said unto her mother, What shall I ask? And she said, The head of John the Baptist.
Ver. 24. And she went forth ] The men and women dined not together. In Barbary, ‘tis death for any man to see one of the Zeriff’s concubines.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Mar 6:24 . She goes out to ask advice of her mother, implying that she had not previously got instructions as Matthew’s account suggests.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
said: Gen 27:8-11, 2Ch 22:3, 2Ch 22:4, Eze 19:2, Eze 19:3, Mat 14:8
The head: Job 31:31, Psa 27:2, Psa 37:12, Psa 37:14, Pro 27:3, Pro 27:4, Act 23:12, Act 23:13
Reciprocal: Num 35:20 – by laying 2Sa 13:5 – Lay thee 1Ki 22:52 – in the way 2Ki 10:29 – made Israel Job 30:8 – children Pro 14:16 – the fool Pro 29:10 – The bloodthirsty Ecc 7:9 – anger
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
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The damsel had accomplished the satanic effect that her mother planned, and she then went to her for further instructions, and was told to ask for the head of John the Baptist. This verse states the wish in general terms and the next will be more specific to suit the horrible designs of the revengeful woman.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Mar 6:24. She went forth. The studied vindictiveness of Herodias is here brought out.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
6:24 And {p} she went forth, and said unto her mother, What shall I ask? And she said, The head of John the Baptist.
(p) For women did not used to eat with men.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Women were not present at such banquets as observers. Consequently Salome had to leave the banquet hall to confer with her mother. The daughter apparently shared her mother’s hatred for John the Baptist rather than Herod’s respect for him. She hurried back to Herod with her request before he might change his extravagant offer. Perhaps she asked for John’s head on a platter to humiliate him further comparing him to an animal slain and prepared for dinner.