The consequence was hardly to have been foreseen.] Strange to say it results in the following monstrous figment:--that the fruit of Herod's incestuous connexion with Herodias had been a daughter, who was also named Herodias; and that she,--the King's own daughter,--was the immodest one[48] who came in and danced before him, 'his lords, high captains, and chief estates of Galilee,' as they sat at the birthday banquet.

Probability, natural feeling, the obvious requirements of the narrative, History itself--, for Josephus expressly informs us that 'Salome,' not 'Herodias,' was the name of Herodias' daughter[49],--all reclaim loudly against such a perversion of the truth.

But what ought to be in itself conclusive, what in fact settles the question, is the testimony of the MSS.,--of which only seven ([Symbol: Aleph]BDL[Symbol: Delta] with two cursive copies) can be found to exhibit this strange mistake.

Accordingly the reading [Greek: AUTOU] is rejected by Griesbach, Lachmann, Tregelles, Tischendorf and Alford.
It has nevertheless found favour with Dr.Hort; and it has even been thrust into the margin of the revised Text of our Authorized Version, as a reading having some probability.
This is indeed an instructive instance of the effect of accidental errors--another proof that [Symbol: Aleph]BDL cannot be trusted.
Sufficiently obvious are the steps whereby the present erroneous reading was brought to perfection.

The immediate proximity in MSS.