Herodias shows her refined, deliberate hatred toward John, perhaps afraid that Herod might listen to John. She had planned and prepared everything in advance (Mark 6:19, Mark 6:21), wanting to see the scene herself and to make John a public mockery and an example to others.
It is as if Herodias had been waiting for just such an opportunity as the one now presented by Herod’s promise. In any case, her mother reveals a refined and deliberate hatred toward John. Perhaps she still feared that Herod might listen to the Baptist. Herodias had planned and prepared everything in advance (see Mark 6:19, Mark 6:21). She wanted to witness the scene herself and purposefully desired to make John a public mockery and an example to others. The vividness of the narrative—and at the same time its horror and cruelty—emerges from the literal reporting of the very words used.1
8 Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter.”