What Old Testament examples parallel Herod's actions in Matthew 14:3?

Herod’s Conflict with John in Matthew 14:3

“For Herod had arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife,”

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Parallel #1 – Ahab and Jezebel versus Elijah and Naboth

• 1 Kings 18:17-18 – Elijah publicly rebukes Ahab’s sin.

• 1 Kings 19:1-2 – “So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, ‘May the gods deal with me, and ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like the lives of those you killed.’ ”

• 1 Kings 21:7-14 – Jezebel engineers Naboth’s false trial and execution so Ahab can seize the vineyard.

  • Shared elements: a ruler confronted for immorality, a manipulative wife, unlawful imprisonment or death to silence righteousness.

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Parallel #2 – King Asa versus the Seer Hanani

• 2 Chronicles 16:7-10 – Hanani rebukes Asa; “Asa was angry with the seer and put him in prison, for he was enraged at him over this.” (v. 10)

  • Shared elements: godly rebuke, royal anger, immediate imprisonment.

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Parallel #3 – King Joash versus Zechariah son of Jehoiada

• 2 Chronicles 24:20-22 – Zechariah says, “Why do you transgress the LORD’s commands?” Joash orders him stoned in the court of the LORD’s house.

  • Shared elements: prophet calls out sin, ruler silences voice of truth with violence.

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Parallel #4 – Jehoiakim and Zedekiah versus Jeremiah

• Jeremiah 36:23-26 – Jehoiakim burns Jeremiah’s scroll and orders the prophet’s arrest.

• Jeremiah 37:15 & 38:6 – Jeremiah beaten and imprisoned; later lowered into a muddy cistern.

  • Shared elements: prophetic warning rejected, king abuses authority to confine God’s messenger.

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Parallel #5 – Potiphar versus Joseph

• Genesis 39:11-20 – Joseph’s moral stand rejected; Potiphar, swayed by his wife’s accusation, imprisons him.

  • Shared elements: righteous man punished because of a wife’s grievance, wrongful confinement without trial.

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Recurring Old Testament Pattern

• God’s servants speak truth to power.

• Sinning rulers (often under ungodly influence) retaliate with imprisonment or death.

• The LORD ultimately vindicates His messengers (1 Kings 21:17-24; 2 Chronicles 24:23-24; Jeremiah 39:15-18; Genesis 41:14-41).

• Matthew 14 sets Herod squarely in that long line of kings who “do what is evil in the sight of the LORD” when confronted with their own transgression.