Charles Ellicott Commentary Matthew 14:8

"And she, being put forward by her mother, saith, Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist." — Matthew 14:8 (ASV)

Being before instructed of her mother — a better translation is being prompted, or instigated. The phrase does not imply that the girl had been instructed what to ask for before she danced. In fact, Saint Mark distinctly states that she went out from the banquet hall to ask her mother what use she should make of the tetrarch’s promise (Mark 6:24).

The mother’s absence shows that the supper was for men only. It was among these men, flushed as they were with wine, that the daughter appeared in reckless disregard of all maiden modesty.