Matthew 14:1
in Matthew 14At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the reports about Jesus
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
At that season Herod the tetrarch heard the report concerning Jesus,
KJV
At that time Herod the tetrarch heard of the fame of Jesus,
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This verse in Matthew 14
Commentary
16 notes on this verseOne of the Ecclesiastical interpreters asks what caused Herod to think that John was risen from the dead; as though we had to account for the errors of an alien, or as though the heresy of metempsychosis was at all supported by this place—a heresy which teaches that souls pass through various bodies after a long period of years—for the Lord was thirty years old when John was beheaded.
This site's exposition
heard of the fame of Jesus
on Matthew 14:1-2
Herod the tetrarch heard of the fame of Jesus is Herod Antipas, son of Herod the Great and ruler of Galilee and Perea, the same man who had John beheaded and whom Jesus later calls that fox in Luke 13:32. This is risen from the dead betrays a guilty conscience rather than a settled theology of resurrection, a superstitious dread that the prophet he silenced has returned with greater power than before; the bench reads Herod's fear as the same pattern verse 5 will describe him living under all along, a ruler who knew righteousness and feared it more than he desired it.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers5 voices
(De Cons. Ev. ii. 43.) Matthew says, At that time, not, On that day, or, In that same hour; for Mark relates the same circumstances, but not in the same order. He places this after the mission of the disciples to preach, though not implying that it necessarily follows there; any more than Luke, who follows the same order as Mark.
A commentator
JosephusAntiquities of the Jews - Book XVIII, Chapter 5, Section 2 · Written before 100.
proposed
Now some of the Jews thought that the destruction of Herod's army came from God, and that very justly, as a punishment of what he did against John, that was called the Baptist: for Herod slew him, who was a good man, and commanded the …
Perhaps some one may ask how it can be here said, At that time Herod heard, seeing that we have long before read that Herod was dead, and that on that the Lord returned out of Egypt. This question is answered, if we remember that there were two Herods. On the death of the first Herod, his son Archelaus succeeded him, and after ten years was sent into exile to Vienne in Gaul. Then Cæsar Augustus gave command that the kingdom should be divided into tetrarchies, and gave three parts to the sons of Herod. This Herod then who beheaded John is the son of that greater Herod under whom the Lord was born; and this is confirmed by the Evangelist adding the tetrarch.
(Chapter 14, Verses 1, 2.) At that time Herod the Tetrarch heard about the fame of Jesus, and he said to his servants, 'This is John the Baptist; he has been raised from the dead, and that is why these miraculous powers are at work in him.' Some of the interpreters of the Church inquire about the reasons why Herod suspected this, that he believed John had risen from the dead and that is why miraculous powers were at work in him, as if an explanation of this strange error should be given to us, or it provides an opportunity for belief in transmigration of souls based on these words, even though at the time John was beheaded, the Lord was thirty years old: but transmigration of souls, on the other hand, suggests that after many years in different bodies, souls enter into various bodies.
A commentator
John ChrysostomHomily on the Gospel of Matthew 48 · Written in the 5th century.
proposed
"At that time Herod the tetrarch heard of the fame of Jesus." For Herod the king, this man's father, he that slew the children, was dead. But not without a purpose doth the evangelist signify the time, but to make thee observe also the haughtiness of the tyrant, and his thoughtlessness, in that not at the beginning did he inform himself about Christ, but after a very long time. For such are they that are in places of power, and are encompassed with much pomp, they learn these things late, because they do not make much account of them.
9 more voices on this verse
The Church Fathers1 voice
Herod the king is one person, Herod the tetrarch, his son, is another. After King Herod's death the Romans divided his kingdom into a tetrarchy, and one part of the tetrarchy went to his son. This is the man who beheaded the Forerunner and who, …
The Medieval Church3 voices
Above, the Lord showed the power of the evangelical teaching under certain parables; here he shows it by deeds; and he does three things. First, he shows to what effects it extends by a likeness of deeds; secondly, he shows the sufficiency of the evangelical …
(non occ.) THE. Evangelist had above shown the Pharisees speaking falsely against Christ's miracles, and just now His fellow-citizens wondering, yet despising Him; he now relates what opinion Herod had formed concerning Christ on hearing of His miracles, and says, At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the fame of Jesus.
This Herod was the son of him who slew the infants in Bethlehem. From this passage consider the dimness in which a ruler lives his life. See how long it takes for Herod to hear of Jesus. Those in power learn slowly about such things …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And the gospel, like the sea, gets in one place what it loses in another. Christ had now been preaching and working miracles above two years; yet, it should seem, Herod had not heard of him till now, and now only heard the fame of him. Note, It is the unhappiness of the great ones of the world, that they are most out of the way of hearing the best things ( 1 Cor. ii.
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At that time Herod the tetrarch,....
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Herod the tetrarch - See also Mar 6:14-16; Luk 9:7-9. This was a son of Herod the Great. Herod the Great died probably in the first year after the birth of Christ, and left his kingdom to his three sons, of whom this “Herod Antipas” was one. He ruled over Galilee and Perea. See the notes at Mat 2:15. The title “tetrarch” literally denotes one who rules over a “fourth” part of any country. It came, however, to signify the governor or ruler of any province subject to the Roman emperor - Robinson, Lexicon.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
At that time Herod the tetrarch--Herod Antipas, one of the three sons of Herod the Great, and own brother of Archelaus (Mt 2:22), who ruled as ethnarch over Galilee and Perea. heard of the fame of Jesus--"for His name was spread abroad" (Mr 6:14).
Herod the tetrarch - This was Herod Antipas, the son of Herod the Great. See the notes on Mat 2:1, where an account is given of the Herod family. The word tetrarch properly signifies a person who rules over the fourth part of a country; but it is taken in a more general sense by the Jewish writers, meaning sometimes a governor simply, or a king; see Mat 14:9. The estates of Herod the Great were not, at his death, divided into four tetrarchies, but only into three: one was given by the Emperor Augustus to Archelaus; the second to Herod Antipas, the person in the text; and the third to Philip: all three, sons of Herod the Great.
The words behind it
11 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ἐν | en | At | G1722 → | 2738 times |
| ἐκείνῳ | ekeino | that [very] | G1565 → | 260 times |
| τῷ | to | <the> | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| καιρῷ | kairo | time | G2540 → | 84 times |
| ἤκουσεν | ekousen | heard | G191 → | 425 times |
| Ἡρῴδης | herodes | Herod | G2264 → | 43 times |
| ὁ | ho | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| τετραάρχης | tetraarches | tetrarch | G5076 → | |
| τὴν | ten | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| ἀκοὴν | akoen | news | G189 → | 24 times |
| Ἰησοῦ | iesou | of Jesus | G2424 → | 908 times |
ἘνAt
enG1722 →2738 times
ἐκείνῳthat [very]
ekeinoG1565 →260 times
τῷ<the>
toG3588 →19766 times
καιρῷtime
kairoG2540 →84 times
ἤκουσενheard
ekousenG191 →425 times
ἩρῴδηςHerod
herodesG2264 →43 times
ὁthe
hoG3588 →19766 times
τετραάρχηςtetrarch
tetraarchesG5076 →
τὴνthe
tenG3588 →19766 times
ἀκοὴνnews
akoenG189 →24 times
Ἰησοῦof Jesus
iesouG2424 →908 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Acts 4:27In fact, this is the very city where Herod and Pontius Pilate conspired with the Gentiles and the people of Israel against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed.
it leads to
- Matthew 27:2
They bound Him, led Him away, and handed Him over to Pilate the governor.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Matthew 27:2
Through
Mark 8:15“Watch out!” He cautioned them. “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of Herod.”
it leads to
- 1 Corinthians 5:6–8
Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven works through the whole batch of dough?
- Matthew 16:6
“Watch out!” Jesus told them. “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”
- Matthew 16:11–12
How do you not understand that I was not telling you about bread? But beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”
- Mark 12:13
Later, they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to catch Jesus in His words.
- Luke 12:1–2
In the meantime, a crowd of many thousands had gathered, so that they were trampling one another. Jesus began to speak first to His disciples: “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is…
- 1 Corinthians 5:6–8
Through
Luke 3:1In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, while Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene,
it leads to
- Genesis 49:10
The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes and the allegiance of the nations is his.
- Luke 23:6–11
When Pilate heard this, he asked if the man was a Galilean.
- Genesis 49:10
Where this verse is studied
About Matthew
This page draws on 16 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Flavius Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, Book XVIII; Glossa Ordinaria, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Jerome, Commentary on Matthew; John Chrysostom, Homily on the Gospel of Matthew 48; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews - Book XVIII, Chapter 5, Section 2; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Remigius of Rheims, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Theodore of Mopsuestia, FRAGMENT 77.2; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Matthew and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Matthew.