Antipas had wronged his brother Philip by taking the man's wife; this was an act of adultery in God's sight (5:31-32) and also qualified as incest under the Mosaic law (Lev 20:21). But Herodias wanted ven-geance on John for daring to publicly denounce her sin; John must have known that if Antipas's new wife wanted his death, she would ultimately have more influence with Antipas than he would.