The Pulpit Commentary - Mark 6:27
He sent forth an executioner ( σπεκουλάτωρα ); literally, a soldier of his guard ; one of his body-guard, in constant attendance as messenger or executioner. It is a Roman word from speculari , to watch. St. Jerome relates that when the head of the Baptist was brought, Herodias barbarously thrust the tongue through with a bodkin, as Fulvia is said to have done over and over again, the tongue of Cicero; thus verifying what Cicero had once said while living, that "nothing is more... read more
The Pulpit Commentary - Mark 6:26
And the king was exceeding sorry . We cannot suppose that this was a pretended grief. The true reason is doubtless to be found in the relentless animosity of Herodias. Herod must have known well that he could not be bound by his oath in reference to a petition so unreasonable and so iniquitous. Nevertheless he thought that "the words of a king were law." St. Augustine says, "The girl dances; the mother rages. A rash oath is made amidst the excitement and the voluptuous indulgence of the... read more