Albert Barnes Commentary Matthew 14:6

"But when Herod`s birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced in the midst, and pleased Herod." — Matthew 14:6 (ASV)

But when Herod's birthday was kept. Kings were accustomed to observe the day of their birth with much pomp, and commonly also by giving a feast to their principal nobility . Mark adds that this birthday was kept by making a supper for his lords, high captains, and chief estates in Galilee; that is, for the chief men in office. High captains means, in the original, commanders of thousands, or of a division of a thousand men.

The daughter of Herodias. That is, Salome, her daughter by her former husband. This was a violation of all the rules of modesty and propriety. One great principle of all eastern nations is to keep their females from public view. For this purpose, they are confined in a particular part of the house, called the harem (see the discussion on Matthew 9:2).

If they appear in public, it is always with a veil so closely drawn that their faces cannot be seen. No modest woman would have appeared in this manner before the court; and it is probable, therefore, that she partook of the dissolute principles of her mother. It is also probable that the dance was one well known in Greece, the lascivious and wanton dance of the Ionics.