Mark 6:14-16

The Death of John the Baptist

6:14 Now ¹  King Herod ²  heard this, for Jesus’ ³  name had become known. Some ⁴  were saying, “John the baptizer ⁵  has been raised from the dead, and because of this, miraculous powers are at work in him.” 6:15 Others said, “He is Elijah.” Others said, “He is a prophet, like one of the prophets from the past.” 6:16 But when Herod heard this, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised!”

Matthew 14:2

14:2 and he said to his servants, “This is John the Baptist. He has been raised from the dead! And because of this, miraculous powers are at work in him.”

Matthew 16:14

16:14 They answered, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, ⁶  and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

Luke 9:7-9

Herod’s Confusion about Jesus

9:7 Now Herod ⁷  the tetrarch ⁸  heard about everything that was happening, and he was thoroughly perplexed, ⁹  because some people were saying that John ¹⁰  had been raised from the dead, 9:8 while others were saying that Elijah ¹¹  had appeared, and still others that one of the prophets of long ago had risen. ¹²  9:9 Herod said, “I had John ¹³  beheaded, but who is this about whom I hear such things?” So Herod wanted to learn about Jesus. ¹⁴ 

[6:14]  ¹ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

[6:14]  ² 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.

[6:14]  ³ tn Grk “his”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:14]  ⁴ tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[6:14]  ⁵ 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]).

[16:14]  ⁶ sn The appearance of Elijah would mean that the end time had come. According to 2 Kgs 2:11, Elijah was still alive. In Mal 4:5 it is said that Elijah would be the precursor of Messiah.

[9:7]  ⁷ sn Herod refers here to Herod Antipas. See the note on Herod Antipas in 3:1.

[9:7]  ⁸ sn See the note on tetrarch in 3:1.

[9:7]  ⁹ tn Or “was very confused.” See L&N 32.10 where this verse is given as an example of the usage.

[9:7]  ¹⁰ sn John refers to John the Baptist, whom Herod had beheaded (v. 9).

[9:8]  ¹¹ sn The appearance of Elijah would mean that the end time had come. According to 2 Kgs 2:11, Elijah was still alive. In Mal 4:5 it is said that Elijah would be the precursor of Messiah.

[9:8]  ¹² sn The phrase had risen could be understood to mean “had been resurrected,” but this is only a possible option, not a necessary one, since the phrase could merely mean that a figure had appeared on the scene who mirrored an earlier historical figure. The three options of vv. 7-8 will be repeated in v. 19.

[9:9]  ¹³ tn Grk “John I beheaded”; John’s name is in emphatic position in the Greek text. The verb is causative, since Herod would not have personally carried out the execution.

[9:9]  ¹⁴ tn The expression ἐζήτει ἰδεῖν αὐτόν (ezhtei idein auton, “was seeking to see him”) probably indicates that Herod, for curiosity’s sake or more likely for evil purposes, wanted to get to know Jesus, i.e., who he was and what he was doing. See I. H. Marshall, Luke (NIGTC), 357. Herod finally got his wish in Luke 23:6-12, with inconclusive results from his point of view.