The imperfect form of the verb rendered as had been saying,
elegen, shows how John spoke these words repeatedly—not only because Antipas persisted in his sin, but also because John had several reasons for his rebuke:
The husband of Herodias, Herod’s half-brother, was still alive (Leviticus 18:16;Leviticus 20:21);
Antipas’s wife (the daughter of the Arabian king Aretas IV of Nabatea; see 2 Corinthians 11:32) was still alive, whom he had divorced without valid cause (see Deuteronomy 24:1);
Antipas and Herodias were uncle and niece (incest: see Leviticus 18:6–18).
Herod Antipas divorced his wife—the daughter of the Arabian king Aretas IV of Nabatea (see 2 Corinthians 11:32)—in order to marry Herodias, the wife of his half-brother Herod Philip (not Philip the tetrarch mentioned in Luke 3:1). Philip and Herodias were living in Rome, but after a visit there by Herod Antipas, she followed him back to Palestine. Herodias was also a daughter of Aristobulus, who was himself a son of Herod the Great by his second marriage. According to Jewish law, it was forbidden for both Herod Philip and Herod Antipas—both of whom were her uncles—to marry Herodias (see Leviticus 18:6–18). Moreover, by this act Antipas violated two additional Jewish laws: divorcing his wife without valid cause (see Deuteronomy 24:1) and marrying his sister-in-law (see Leviticus 18:16, Leviticus 20:21).1
The imperfect form of the verb translated as had been saying,
elegen, indicates that John spoke these words repeatedly. This was not only because Antipas persisted in his wrongdoing, but also because the Baptist had more than one reason for his rebuke:
The husband of Herodias was still alive (Leviticus 18:16; Leviticus 20:21);
The wife of Antipas was still alive;
Antipas and Herodias were uncle and niece; in fact, Philip (or rather Herod, the son of Mariamne) and Herodias were also related in the same way.2
3 Car Hérode, qui avait fait arrêter Jean, l'avait lié et mis en prison, à cause d'Hérodias, femme de Philippe, son frère,