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Tim Maas
As recounted in Matthew 14, Herod Antipas (the tetrarch of Galilee) put John the Baptist in prison for saying that the marriage of Herod and Herod's wife Herodias was not lawful. (Herodias had previously been the wife of Herod's half-brother, Philip, but had divorced him to marry Herod Antipas.) Herodias wanted John the Baptist to be put to death for John's criticism of her marriage to Herod, but Herod was reluctant to do so because he perceived John to be a righteous man, and he enjoyed hearing John preach (although it apparently had no effect on Herod's sinful lifestyle). However, when Herodias' daughter Salome danced for Herod and his guests at a banquet, Herod was so pleased that he foolishly vowed to give Salome anything that she would ask for, up to half of his kingdom. At the prompting of her mother Herodias, Salome asked to be given John the Baptst's head on a platter. This made Herod upset, but he still felt obligated to keep his vow to Salome, and therefore ordered John the Baptist to be beheaded in prison.
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