Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Luke 7:45
Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet.
45. no kiss ] The ordinary salutation of respect in the East, where the first thing when two friends meet and wish to do each other honour is to try to kiss each other’s hands. The kiss on the cheek is between equals and also to superiors. Absalom, to gain favour, kissed every man who came near him to do him obeisance; 2Sa 15:5. “The king kissed Barzillai,” 2Sa 19:39. Hence this was a natural signal of recognition for the traitor to give; Mat 26:49. See Act 20:37. Hence the osculum pacis, Rom 16:16, &c.
I came in ] There is another reading, , ‘she came in’ (L and some versions), which is probable, for the woman only ascertained that Jesus was at the house after He had entered it.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Thou gavest me no kiss – The kiss was a token of affection or a common mode of salutation, and Simon had even neglected this mark of welcoming him to his house. It was often used among men as a sign of salutation. Compare Gen 33:4; Exo 18:7; Mat 26:49.
Hath not ceased to kiss my feet – How striking the difference between the conduct of Simon and this woman! He, with all the richness of a splendid preparation, had omitted the common marks of regard and affection. She, in humility, had bowed at his feet, had watered them with tears, and had not ceased to kiss them. The most splendid entertainments do not always express the greatest welcome. There may be in such entertainments much insincerity – much seeking of popularity or some other motive; but no such motive could have operated in inducing a broken-hearted sinner to wash the Saviours feet with tears.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 45. Since the time I came in] Rather, Since the time SHE came in, ‘ , not , I came in, for it is clear from Lu 7:37 that the woman came in after Christ, having heard that he was sitting at meat in the Pharisee’s house. The reading which I have adopted is supported by several MSS. and Versions.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
45. no kissof salutation. Howmuch love was here? Any at all?
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Thou gavest me no kiss,…. A token of civility among friends, when they met together on any occasion. The Jews have a saying b, that
“all kisses are foolish, excepting three; the kiss of grandeur or dignity, as in 1Sa 10:1 and the kiss at parting, as in Ru 1:14 and the kiss at meeting, as in Ex 4:27 (of which sort this kiss may be thought to be), to which some add the kiss of consanguinity (or that used by relations to one another), as in Ge 29:11‘
but this woman, since the time I came in. The Vulgate Latin and Syriac versions read, “since she came in”; and so two of Stephens’s copies; which seems to be the more agreeable reading, seeing Christ was in Simon’s house before this woman came; for she knowing that he was there, came thither after him:
hath not ceased to kiss my feet; which shows, that this action was repeated by her times without number, even ever since she came into the house.
b Shemot Rabba, sect. 6. fol. 91. 3, 4.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Hath not ceased to kiss ( ). Supplementary participle.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Ceased (die lipen). Only here in New Testament. Common in medical language, meaning to be intermittent, and to discontinue giving remedies for a time.
To kiss [] . The compound verb has the force of kissing tenderly, caressing.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “Thou gavest me no kiss:” (philema moi ouk edokas) “You gave me not a sincere kiss,” no common touch of affectionate or courteous greeting. You did not even give me a bowl of water and a towel to wash, clean, and rest my feet, Gen 18:4.
2) “But this woman since the time I came in,” (aute de aph’ hes eiselthon) “Yet this woman from the time that I came in,” continually, repeatedly, with reverence and devotion.
3) “Hath not ceased to kiss my feet.” (ou dieleipen kataphilousa mou tous podas) “Has not ceased to kiss my feet, repeatedly, fervently, with sincere affection,” and “a tree is known by its fruit,” Mat 7:20.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
(45) Thou gavest me no kiss.This also, as we see in the case of Judas (see Note on Mat. 26:49), was a customary mark of respect to one who claimed the character of a Rabbi. So the disciples of Ephesus kissed St. Paul on parting (Act. 20:37). So the holy kiss, the kiss of peace, became part of the ritual of most of the ancient Liturgies (Rom. 16:16; 1Co. 16:20).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
“You gave me no kiss, but she, since the time I came in, has not ceased to kiss my feet.”
The welcoming kiss was not so much a requirement as the washing of feet, but it would still be given to a welcome guest. Again Jesus had been kept in His place. He must not be made to feel too welcome. But this woman whom Simon was criticising in his thoughts was giving Jesus the welcome that had been refused Him by Simon. To her He was the most important guest there. How could He not appreciate it? Especially as He knew what was in her heart.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Luk 7:45. Thou gavest me no kiss, &c. Since it was customary for the master of the house to receive his guests with such a salutation, to provide them with water to wash their feet, &c. it is possible that Simon might have omitted some of these civilities, lest his brethren who sat at table with him should think he paid Jesus too much respect; and if there was any such slight intended, it might be an additional reason for our Lord’s taking such particular notice of the neglect. The author of the Observations remarks, that our Lord reproaches the Pharisee that he had given him no kiss; whereas the person whom the Pharisee had been censuring in his heart, had not ceased kissing his feet from her entrance into the house. It is visible by the contrast which our Lord here supposes, between the woman’s kisses and the attention he had reason to expect from the Pharisee, that he did not look for his kissing his feet, but for some other salutation. But what?Not the kisses of equality most certainly, but rather that kissing his hand, which marks our reverence,the reverence customarilypaid in the east to those of a sacred character, and which, contrary to the rules of decorum, he had omitted. Thus Norden tells us, that a Coptic priest, whom they took in their bark from the neighbourhood of Cairo a considerable way up the Nile, carried it pretty high, insomuch that he dared to tell them more than once, that he could not take them for Christians, since not one of their company had offered to kiss his hands; whereas the Coptics ran every day in crowds round him, to shew their respect by such marks of submission. And at Saphet in Galilee, where the Jews have a sort of university, Dr. Pocock saw the inferior rabbies complimenting the chief, who was elegantly habited in white satin on the day of Pentecost, by coming with great reverence, and kissing his hand. See Observations, p. 262.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
45 Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet.
Ver. 45. Thou gavest me no kiss ] Which yet was their usual way of salutation, 1Pe 5:14 .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
this woman = she (emph.)
since the time = from (Greek. apo) the time when.
ceased = been intermittent. A medical word. Occurs only here in N.T.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Luk 7:45. , a kiss) This Simon had omitted, owing to the smallness (the little degree) of his love: otherwise we do not read of even any of His disciples or friends having kissed the face of Jesus, which had something remarkable about it, ch. Luk 9:29; but the highest degree of love, such as here in Luk 7:38, and the utmost familiarity of intimacy, as in Joh 13:25, stopped considerably short of that liberty. We do not read of His having kissed even the little children. The traitor alone (for the unprecedented familiarity of a kiss was not a thing alien to his treachery) with impure mouth profaned the face of the Lord: except in this instance, it remained intact and unviolated by sinful flesh.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
gavest: Gen 29:11, Gen 33:4, 2Sa 15:5, 2Sa 19:39, Mat 26:48, Rom 16:16, 1Co 16:20, 1Th 5:26
this: Many have supposed that this person was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the sister of Lazarus. But there is no indication in the gospel history, that Mary Magdalene was the sister of Lazarus; but on the contrary, it would appear that they were perfectly distinct persons, the sister of Lazarus residing at Bethany, while Mary Magdalene appears to have resided at Magdala, east of Jordan, a distance of nearly ninety miles. Add to this, that our Saviour seems to have been now in or near Nain, not at Bethany; and the woman appears from the recital to have been previously unknown to him.
Reciprocal: Gen 29:13 – kissed Exo 18:7 – kissed Son 8:1 – I would Mat 26:49 – kissed him Luk 7:38 – and anointed
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
5
The kiss was the customary form of greeting in those days. But Simon did not give Jesus the usual kiss on the mouth, while this woman kissed his feet often.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Luk 7:45. No kiss, of welcome, on the face, came from the host; but the unbidden woman coming in with the Guest (since the time I came in) at once kissed His feet, and continued to do so.