Herod Herod Many people like to claim that John the Baptist lost his head over divorce and remarriage. God chose not to make it clear in Scripture why it was unlawful for Herod to have his brother's wife.
All Scripture says is that the marriage was unlawful.
Scripture does not say why it was unlawful. If this is true it is not a case of divorce and remarriage though many people would like to read that into the account. I don't see how or why John would have been telling a pagan that what he was doing was unlawful, but apparently he did or else Herod or others were asking and forcing the issue. Probably wasn't the Roman law. Makes sense that it was the OT law that made it unlawful, and under that law divorce and remarriage was lawful but taking your brothers wife when she was not childless was unlawful.