John... bound in prison

The death of John the Baptist is narrated by the Synoptic Gospels and by the Jewish historian Josephus.

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Both Gospel and extra-testamental accounts note the offensive adulterous union between Herod Antipas and his niece Herodias, and the fact of the daughter born of Herodias’ first marriage to Antipas’ half-brother Herod Philip.

Mark reports that the Baptist’s charge infuriates Herodias who finds an appropriate occasion for revenge on Herod’s birthday.

Josephus, instead, focuses on the political angle: Herod imprisoned and executed the Baptist because he feared a political uprising.