The Meaning of Matthew 14:10 Explained

Matthew 14:10

KJV: And he sent, and beheaded John in the prison.

YLT: and having sent, he beheaded John in the prison,

Darby: And he sent and beheaded John in the prison;

ASV: and he sent and beheaded John in the prison.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And  he sent,  and beheaded  John  in  the prison. 

What does Matthew 14:10 Mean?

Context Summary

Matthew 14:1-12 - For Righteousness' Sake
In the terror arising from his stricken conscience, Herod made confidants of his slaves, overleaping the barriers of position in his need of some ears into which to pour his fears. He had not finished with John. There is a resurrection of deeds as well as of bodies. The only way to have done with a sinful deed is to confess it and make reparation.
What true nobility John displayed in summoning the king to the bar of eternal justice! He might have said, "It isn't seemly," or, "It isn't politic;" but he puts it on more unassailable ground, which Herod's conscience endorsed: "It is not lawful."Herod was luxurious, sensual, superstitious and weak. He was easily entrapped by the beautiful fiend. To tamper with conscience is like killing the watch-dog while the burglar is breaking in.
How splendid the action of John's disciples! Reverent love and grief made them brave the king's hatred. In hours of lonely bereavement, the best policy is to go and tell Jesus. [source]

Chapter Summary: Matthew 14

1  Herod's opinion of Jesus
3  Wherefore John Baptist was beheaded
13  Jesus departs into a solitary place,
15  where he feeds five thousand men with five loves and two fishes
22  He walks on the sea to his disciples;
34  and landing at Gennesaret,
35  heals the sick who touch of the hem of his garment

Greek Commentary for Matthew 14:10

Beheaded John [απεκεπαλισεν Ιωανην]
That is, he had John beheaded, a causative active tense of a late verb αποκεπαλιζω — apokephalizō Took his head off. [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Matthew 14:10

Acts 12:2 Killed with the sword [ανειλεν μαχαιρηι]
The verb is a favourite one with Luke (Acts 2:33; Acts 5:33, Acts 5:36; Acts 7:28; Acts 9:23-29; Acts 10:39, etc.). Instrumental case and Ionic form of μαχαιρα — machaira The Jews considered beheading a shameful death as in the case of the Baptist (Matthew 14:10). [source]

What do the individual words in Matthew 14:10 mean?

And he having sent beheaded - John in the prison
καὶ πέμψας ἀπεκεφάλισεν ‹τὸν› Ἰωάννην ἐν τῇ φυλακῇ

πέμψας  he  having  sent 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Participle Active, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: πέμπω  
Sense: to send.
ἀπεκεφάλισεν  beheaded 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: ἀποκεφαλίζω  
Sense: to cut off the head, behead, decapitate.
‹τὸν›  - 
Parse: Article, Accusative Masculine Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
Ἰωάννην  John 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Masculine Singular
Root: Ἰωάννης 
Sense: John the Baptist was the son of Zacharias and Elisabeth, the forerunner of Christ.
φυλακῇ  prison 
Parse: Noun, Dative Feminine Singular
Root: φυλακή  
Sense: guard, watch.