What does Matthew 14:7 mean?

Herod Antipas, son of the Herod who once tried to kill Jesus (Mathew 2:7, 13) has thrown a lavish birthday party for himself. As a gift, his wife's daughter by her previous marriage has danced for Herod and his guests. Some commentators speculate that the dance by this teenage girl may have been very sensual. It is also likely that Herod had been drinking freely. Those are possible reasons for his excessive response to the gift—whatever the circumstances, Herod was very pleased by the dance.

In response, Herod makes a grand gesture. He promises to give the girl whatever she wants. Many kings had made impulsive, drunken promises like this down through history. Although Mark's gospel calls Herod a king, his actual power was limited to what was allowed by the Roman government and what happened within the part of Israel he ruled over.

Herod had foolishly set himself up for a difficult situation. If the girl asked for something he could not give, he risked dishonoring himself before his guests on his birthday. He had put himself at the mercy of a teenage girl. In this case, that girl happened to be the daughter of an angry, spiteful woman (Mark 6:18–19).