Albert Barnes on Matthew 14:10

And he sent, and beheaded John. For the sake of these wicked men, the bloody offering, the head of the slaughtered prophet, was brought and given as the reward to the daughter and mother. What an offering to a woman! Josephus says of her, that "she was a woman full of ambition and envy, having a mighty influence on Herod, and able to persuade him to things he was not at all inclined to." This is one of the many proofs that we have that the evangelists drew characters according to truth.