Even if Mcn did not have priority, the connection would have been first made by the author of Mark, anyway (ie. even with Markan priority).
Gregory Doudna's proposition wrt to Herod is interesting: "that Josephus’s ‘John the Baptist’ passage in Antiquities is a chronologically displaced story of the death of Hyrcanus II, the aged former high priest, by Herod the Great in either c. 34 or 30 BCE" and, in doing so, was "attaching an undated story from a source to the wrong Herod" (Herod Antipas (before 20 B.C. to 39 A.D.)
Gregory Doudna, 'Is Josephus's John the Baptist Passage a Chronologically Dislocated Story of the Death of Hyrcanus II?' in: E. Pfoh and L. Niesiolowski-Spano, eds., Biblical Narratives, Archaeology, and Historicity: Essays in Honour of Thomas L. Thompson, London: Bloomsbury/T & T Clark, 2020, pp. 119-137 (hyperlink to a pdf: https://www.academia.edu/43060817/_Is_J ... rcanus_II_)
Antiquities 18.116-119 in part
.... [John] was a good man and [simply] bade the Jews to join in baptism, provided that they were cultivating virtue and practicing justice toward one another and piety toward God ... only in John’s opinion would the baptism [he administered] indeed be acceptable [to God] ... excitement reached fever pitch as they listened to [John's] words. Herod [Antipas] began to fear that John’s powerful ability to persuade people might lead to some sort of revolt, for they seemed likely to do whatever he counselled. So [Herod] decided to do away with John by a preemptive strike, before he sparked a revolt. Herod considered this a much better [course of action] than to wait until the situation changed and [then] to regret [his delay] when he was engulfed in a crisis.
And so, because of Herod’s suspicion, John was sent in chains to Machaerus, the mountain fortress ... there he was killed. But the Jews were of the opinion that the army was destroyed to avenge John, God wishing to inflict harm on Herod.
Moreover, there appears to be references to five Herods in the NT,* and, as far as I can determine, it's never been fully clear which many of the Herod the various Herod passages in the NT are or should be referring to: the assumptions are made on ages and assumed time periods.
- Herod-the-Great
- Herod Antipas, aka Antipater and 'Herod the tetrarch' : mother Malthace
- Herod Archelaus : mother Malthace; ethnarch of Samaria, Judea, and Idumea for nine years: 4 BC to AD 6
- Herod Antipas I, son of Aristobulus IV and Berenice ( Aristobulus IV was the son of Herod-the-Great and his second wife, Mariamne I )
- Herod Antipas II, aka Marcus Julius Agrippa; sometimes shortened to just Agrippa
( * six if one counts [Herod] Philip in Mark 6:17 and Matthew 1:3 )
- Philip the tetrarch, aka Herod Philip II: mother Cleopatra of Jerusalem, Herod-the-Great's fifth wife
(other sons, such as Herod II, aka Herod Philip I (mother: Mariamne II), do not, afaik, appear in the NT)
The Herod in Mark 6:17-20 who deals with John is said to be Herod Antipas (before 20 B.C. to 39 A.D.) in this article
Mark 6:17-30:
For it was Herod who had sent and seized John and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, because he had married her. For John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” And Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death. But she could not, for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed, and yet he heard him gladly.
21 ... On his birthday Herod gave a banquet for his high officials and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. 22 When his daughter/the daughter of Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his dinner guests.
The king said to the girl, “Ask me for anything you want, and I’ll give it to you.” 23 And he promised her with an oath, “Whatever you ask I will give you, up to half my kingdom.”
24 She went out and said to her [step]mother, “What shall I ask for?”
“The head of John the Baptist,” she answered.
25 At once the girl hurried in to the king with the request: “I want you to give me right now the head of John the Baptist on a platter.”
26 The king was greatly distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he did not want to refuse her. 27 So he immediately sent an executioner with orders to bring John’s head. The man went, beheaded John in the prison, 28 and brought back his head on a platter. He presented it to the girl, and she gave it to her mother. 29 On hearing of this, John’s disciples came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.
30 The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught.
In the account of the death of John the Baptist in Matthew 14, Herod is referred to as Herod the tetrarch, aka Herod Antipas:
Matthew 14:1-11:
1 At that time Herod the tetrarch heard about the fame of Jesus, 2 and he said to his servants, “This is John the Baptist...raised from the dead; that is why these miraculous powers are at work in him.” 3 For Herod had seized John and bound him and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, 4 because John had been saying to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.” 5 And though he wanted to put him to death, [Herod] feared the people, because they held him to be a prophet. 6 But when Herod’s birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before the company and pleased Herod, 7 so that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask. 8 Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter.” 9 And the king was sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he commanded it to be given. 10 He sent and had John beheaded in the prison, 11 and his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. 12 And his disciples came and took the body and buried it, and they went and told Jesus.
Luke 3 starts
1 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea; Herod, tetrarch of Galilee; his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis; and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene— 2 during the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. 3 He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins ...
and later has
9 But when John rebuked Herod the tetrarch because of his marriage to Herodias, his brother’s wife, and all the other evil things he had done, 20 Herod added this to them all: He locked John up in prison.
The Herod who Jesus was said to have been sent to during his trials before his crucifixion in Luke 23 is also said to be Herod Antipas, aka Herod the tetrach, aka Antipater:
Luke 23: 4-6-12, 15
4 Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, “I find no guilt in this man.” 5 But they were urgent, saying, “He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, from Galilee even to this place.”
6 When Pilate heard this, he asked whether the man was a Galilean. 7 And when he learned that he belonged to Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him over to Herod, who was himself in Jerusalem at that time. 8 When Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad, for he had long desired to see him, because he had heard about him, and he was hoping to see some sign done by him. 9 So he questioned him at some length, but he made no answer. 10 The chief priests and the scribes stood by, vehemently accusing him. 11 And Herod with his soldiers treated him with contempt and mocked him. Then, arraying him in splendid clothing, he sent him back to Pilate. 12 And Herod and Pilate became friends with each other that very day, for before this they had been at enmity with each other.
13 Pilate then called together the chief priests and the rulers and the people, 14 and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was misleading the people. And after examining him before you, behold, I did not find this man guilty of any of your charges against him. 15 Neither did Herod, for he sent him back to us. Look, nothing deserving death has been done by him. 16 I will therefore punish and release him.”
18 But they all cried out together, “Away with this man, and release to us Barabbas”
The Herod in Matthew 2, who heard about the Magi seeking the Messiah, and secretly met them, and who, after being said to have been tricked by them, is said to have "killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men/Magi" (Matthew 2:16), is, afaik, universally said to be Herod the Great (r. 37 B.C. – 4 B.C.).
- It's noteworthy that the next two verses say
.17 Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:
....18..“A voice is heard in Ramah,
............weeping and great mourning,
.........Rachel weeping for her children
............and refusing to be comforted,
............because they are no more.” (Jerimiah 3:15)
- Archelaus is almost certainly Herod Archelaus, the son of Herod the Great
Herod Agrippa I (12 B.C. – 44 A.D.), a grandson of Herod the Great, is said in Acts 12:1-3 to have had James killed and Peter imprisoned; and is said to be struck down for failing to give glory to God in Acts 12:21-23.
And two of Agrippa I’s daughters, Bernice and Drusilla, are mentioned in Acts 24 and 25.
Herod Agrippa II (27 A.D. – 100 A.D.) is said to famously remarks to Paul, “In a short time would you persuade me to be a Christian?” to which Paul replied, “Whether short or long, I would to God that not only you but also all who hear me this day might become such as I am—except for these chains” in Acts 26:28-29 and is said in Acts 26:32 to have said to Festus, "“This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.”
There's to be an ongoing theme in the NT of various Herods ordering or causing punishments - mostly deaths - of key Christian figures