When John the Baptist told Herod that it was not lawful for him to have his brother Philip’s wife, were they living together or was Herodias divorced from Philip? If she was divorced why did John still refer to her as Philip’s wife?
The Jewish historian Josephus, who was nearly contemporary with John the Baptist and Herodias, and other reference works state that Herod and Herodias were married. Herodias divorced her husband Herod Philip, and Herod Antipas divorced his wife so that Herodias and Antipas could marry.
Mankind is obligated to abide by the law of God. God is not obligated to abide by man’s law. Despite mankind then or now calling “marriage” what God in the Bible calls “adultery,” such does not convert adultery into valid marriage. John the Baptist, representing God’s perspective, accused Herod Antipas and Herodias of adultery in spite of the recognition of their “marriage” by the law of the land as legal. Frankly, it is no different today. “For Herod had laid hold of John and bound him, and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife. Because John had said to him, ‘It is not lawful for you to have her’” (Matthew 14:3-4 NKJV). The point is that mankind said the marriage of Herod Antipas and Herodias was “lawful,” but God through John the Baptist said their marriage was “notlawful.”
