14:1 At that time Herod the tetrarch 1 heard reports about Jesus,
6:14 Now 2 King Herod 3 heard this, for Jesus’ 4 name had become known. Some 5 were saying, “John the baptizer 6 has been raised from the dead, and because of this, miraculous powers are at work in him.”
1 sn A tetrarch, a ruler with rank and authority lower than a king, ruled only with the approval of the Roman authorities. This was roughly equivalent to being governor of a region. Several times in the NT, Herod, tetrarch of Galilee, is called a king (Matt 14:9, Mark 6:14-29), reflecting popular usage rather than an official title.
2 tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.
3 sn Herod was technically not a king, but a tetrarch, a ruler with rank and authority lower than a king. A tetrarch ruled only with the approval of the Roman authorities. This was roughly equivalent to being governor of a region. In the NT, Herod, who ruled over Galilee, is called a king (Matt 14:9, Mark 6:14-29), reflecting popular usage rather than an official title.
4 tn Grk “his”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
5 tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
6 tn While Matthew and Luke consistently use the noun βαπτίστης (baptisths, “the Baptist”) to refer to John, as a kind of a title, Mark prefers the substantival participle ὁ βαπτίζων (Jo baptizwn, “the one who baptizes, the baptizer”) to describe him (only twice does he use the noun [Mark 6:25; 8:28]).