Women of the Word: Herodias

Scripture References 

Matthew 14:3-12; Mark 6:14-24; Luke 3:19-20

Name Meaning

The female version of the name Herod which means heroic

Family

Daughter of Aristobulus

Wife of Philip I (who was her uncle)

Wife of Herod (Philip’s brother)

Mother of Salome

Introduction 

It is not often that we explore the life of a woman like Herodias. More often than not we look to women of faith, the female heroines that inspire us and encourage greatness. But we do still see women like Herodias in Scripture, and we know that all Scripture is God breathed and useful for instruction (2 Timothy 3:16). It is just as important for us to study what not to do as it is for us to study the heroines.

Lesson

We are introduced to Herodias when John the Baptist rebuked Herod for stealing Herodias from his brother Philip and marrying her himself. John informed Herod that the marriage was not lawful and he had no right to her. Herod responded to the rebuke in anger – John the Baptist was imprisoned.

Herodias began scheming for how she would repay John for the harsh words spoken against them. Her goal was to silence the preacher.

And her plan came to fruition one fateful night – on Herod’s birthday. She used her own daughter to get her way. Salome danced for Herod, stirring his passions and resulting in him promising anything she desired. This was exactly what Herodias wanted and she made certain Salome knew what to ask for – the head of a John the Baptist. Herod was not pleased by this request, but fulfilled his promise and gave her what she requested. He had no choice but to honor her request as he had made a promise to her – anything she asked for, she’d receive.

Thus, Herodias got exactly what she wanted. She had silenced the preacher and it didn’t matter to her that she sacrificed her daughter’s modesty in the process.

The Bible does not speak of her again after this. But history does. The historian Josephus says that Herodias brought her husband to ruin. In her jealousy over the power her brother Agrippa had, she pushed Herod to demand the title of king from emperor Caligula. Unfortunately for Herod, Agrippa ensured that this request was not granted and instead, Herod was banished from the lands. He ended his life exiled, with Herodias at his side.

Final Thoughts

In the Old Testament we saw a few wicked women that were comparable to Herodias. But Herodias herself was just as wicked as women like Jezebel, if not more. Her negative influence over her husband and her daughter show us just how wicked she was. Learn from this woman – make note of what not to do. Focus on glorifying God, not in selfish pursuit of personal gratification.