Kiss
KISS
This salutation was customary in the East, to express regard and reverence, as well as affection, Gen 29.13; Ru 1.14; Acts 20.37. Sometimes the beard was kissed, 2Sa 20:9 ; and in token of humble affection, the feet, Luk 7:38 . Images and the heavenly bodies were worshipped by kissing the hand towards them, 1Ki 19:18 Job 31:27 Hos 13:2 . The expression, “Kiss the Son,” Psa 2:12, may be illustrated by 1Sa 10:1, where king Saul receives the kiss of allegiance from Samuel. This salutation being customary in those days between man and man, was used in the early church as a pledge of Christian peace and charity, 1Ch 16:16 1Pe 5:14 .
Fuente: American Tract Society Bible Dictionary
Kiss
See Salutation.
Fuente: Dictionary of the Apostolic Church
Kiss
Four times in the Epistles of St. Paul we meet the injunction, used as a sort of formula of farewell, “Salute one another in a holy kiss” (en philemati hagio), for which St. Peter (1 Pet., v, 14) substitutes “in a kiss of love” (en philemati agapes). It has been suggested by F. C. Conybeare (The Expositor, 3rd Ser., ix, 461, 1894) on the ground of two passages in Philo’s “Quæstiones in Exodum” (ii, 78 and 118) that this was an imitation of a practice of the Jewish synagogues. The evidence adduced, however, is very slight. In any case it seems probable that in these very early days the custom of Christians so saluting each other was not necessarily confined to the time of the liturgy. Such salutations were no doubt used somewhat promiscuously even between those of opposite sexes in token of fraternal solicitude and charity (pietatis et caritatis pignus, as St. Ambrose, “Hexaem.”, VI, ix, 68, points out), and the modesty and reserve which so many of the pre-Nicene Fathers inculcate when speaking of this matter must be held to have reference to other occasions than the kiss of peace in the liturgy. This is also implied by Tertullian, who speaks of the pagan husband’s reluctance that his Christian wife should “meet one of the brethren with a kiss” (alicui fratrum ad osculum convenire, “Ad Uxor.”, ii, 4). Not improbably St. Paul’s injunction was so interpreted that any synaxis of the faithful where there was reading of the Scriptures terminated in a salute of this kind, and it is even possible that the appearance of the kiss in certain liturgies at the Mass of Catechumens is due to the same cause. In any case we have definite evidence that a kiss was on some occasions bestowed outside the actual liturgy. After baptism the newly initiated, whether infants or adults, were embraced first by the baptizer and then by the faithful who were present (see Cyprian, “Ad Fidum Epis.”, Ep. lix, 4, and Chrysostom, Hom. l, “De Util. leg. Scrip.”). The use of the formula Pax tecum in some of the later rituals of baptism is probably a survival of this practice.
Again a kiss was and still is given to the newly ordained by the bishop who ordains them. Similarly after the consecration of a bishop and, at a later date, after the coronation of a king, the personage so exalted, after he was enthroned, was saluted with a kiss, while a kiss, no doubt suggested by the Scriptural example of the prodigal son, was enjoined in many of the rituals for the absolution of a penitent. Of the kiss solemnly exchanged between those newly betrothed something will be said under MARRIAGE (q.v.), but we may note here the custom for Christians to bestow a last kiss, which then had a quasi-liturgical character, upon the dying or the dead. The prohibition against kissing the dead which was issued by the Council of Auxerre, A. It 578, almost certainly had some relation to the abuse at that time prevalent of placing the Blessed Sacrament in the mouth of the dead or burying It with them. It may be added that throughout the Middle Ages an almost religious solemnity attached to the public exchange of a kiss as a token of amity. Remarkable examples of this may be found in the history of the quarrels of Henry II with St. Thomas of Canterbury, and of Richard Coeur de Lion with St. Hugh of Lincoln. In the latter case the bishop is recorded to have taken hold of Richard by his mantle and to have positively shaken him until the king, overcome by such persistence, recovered his good humour and bestowed on the saint the salute which was his due.
KISS OF PEACE
It is not easy to determine the precise link between the “holy kiss” and the liturgical “kiss of peace”, known in Greek from an early date as eirene (i.e. pax, or peace). This latter may be quite primitive, for it meets us first in the description of the liturgy given by St. Justin Martyr (Apol., I, 65), who writes: “When we have completed the prayers we salute one another with a kiss [allelous philemati aspazometha pausamenoi ton euchon], whereupon there is brought to the president bread and a cup of wine.” This passage clearly shows that in the middle of the second century the usage already obtained — a usage now claimed as distinctive of the liturgies other than Roman — of exchanging the kiss of peace at the beginning of what we call the Offertory. The language of many Oriental Fathers and of certain conciliary canons further confirms this conclusion as to the primitive position of the Pax. Thus St. Cyril of Jerusalem (Cat. Myst., v, 3) speaking of the time between the washing of the celebrant’s hands and the Sursum Corda which introduces the Anaphora, or Preface, says, “Then the deacon cries out aloud: ‘Embrace ye one another and let us salute each other. . . . This kiss is the sign that our souls are united and that we banish all remembrance of injury’.” Many other Fathers (e.g. Origen, Pseudo-Dionysius, and also St. John Chrysostom, “De Comp. Cordis”, 1, 3) speak in a similar tone and use language which implies that the Pax preceded the oblation of the elements. Even the so-called “Canons of Hippolytus”, referred by some to Rome in the third century, though Funk ascribes them to a much later date, imply that the kiss was given at the Offertory. The same was undoubtedly the case in the Mozarabic and the Gallican liturgies. In Rome, however, the kiss of peace was more closely united to the Communion, and it must have followed shortly after the Pater Noster as it does at present. Thus Pope Innocent I in his letter to Decentius (A. D. 416) blames the practice of those who give the Pax before the Consecration and urges that it was meant as a token that “the people give their assent to all things already performed in the mysteries”.
Another clear testimony of about the same date occurs in a sermon attributed to St. Augustine, but probably written by St. Cæsarius of Arles (P. L. XXXVIII, 1101): “After this [the Lord’s prayer], Pax vobiscum is said, and the faithful salute each other with the kiss which is the sign of peace.” The Roman Ordines, the Stowe Missal which represents Irish usage at an early date, and a chorus of liturgical writers from the eighth century onwards attest that wherever Roman influence prevailed the Pax invariably followed the great consecratory prayer and the Pater. lt is easy to understand that the usage which placed the kiss of peace before the Offertory Was prompted by the remembrance of those words of our Lord (Mat., v, 23-24): “If therefore thou offer thy gift at the altar, and there thou remember that thy brother hath anything against thee; leave there thy offering before the altar, and go first to be reconciled to thy brother: and then coming thou shalt offer thy gift.” It seems to be pretty generally held that this position before the Offertory was the primitive position of the liturgical kiss of peace even at Rome. Dom Cabrol and others incline to the view that the kiss formed the natural sequel to the commemoration of the living and of the dead, and that all these three elements, which originally found a place at the Offertory, were deliberately transferred elsewhere in the course of some early revision of the Roman Liturgy, the commemoration of the living and of the dead being inserted separately in the great consecratory prayer, or Canon of the Mass, while the Pax was made to follow the Pater Noster, having been attracted to that position by the words “Forgive us our trespasses”, etc. (Cabrol, “Origines Liturgiques”, Paris, 1906, pp. 360-361). However, the rival theory, that there were originally two occasions when the kiss of peace was given, one before the Offertory and the other before the Communion, does not lack probability; for St. John Chrysostom, the Prayer Book of Serapion, and Anastasius Sinaita seem all to know of some such rite before Communion, and the practice of kissing the bishop’s hand before receiving the Blessed Sacrament (see Card. Rampolla, “S. Melania giuniore”, note 41) may possibly be connected with it. According to this second theory of the double kiss of peace, both the Roman and the Oriental liturgies omitted one of these salutations, the Oriental retaining that at the Offertory, the Roman that at the Communion. In any case it is certain that in the early Middle Ages the kiss of peace was most intimately associated in idea with the reception of Communion (see Pseudo-Egbert, “Confessionale”, xxxv, in Wasserschleben, “Bussordnungen”, p. 315), and it seems probable that the omission of the Pax in Masses for the Dead was due to the fact that Communion was not distributed to the faithful at such Masses.
From a very early date, also, the abuses to which this form of salutation might lead were very carefully guarded against. Both in the East and the West women and men were separated in the assemblies of the faithful, and the kiss of peace was given only by women to women and by men to men. Then in about the twelfth or thirteenth century the use of the instrumentum pacis, or osculatorium, known in English as the “pax-board” or “pax-brede”, was gradually introduced. This was a little plaque of metal, ivory, or wood, generally decorated with some pious carving and provided with a handle, which was first brought to the altar for the celebrant to kiss at the proper place in the Mass and then brought to each of the congregation in turn at the altar rails. But even this practice in course of time died out, and at the present day the Pax is only given at High Mass, and is hardly anywhere communicated to the congregation. The celebrant kisses the corporal spread upon the altar (he used formerly in many local rites to kiss the sacred Host Itself) and then, placing his hands upon the arms of the deacon, he presents his left cheek to the deacon’s left cheek but without actually touching it. At the same time he pronounces the words Pax tecum (Peace be with thee); to which the deacon replies, Et cum spiritu tuo (And with thy spirit). The deacon then conveys the salute to the sub-deacon, and the subdeacon to the canons or clergy in the stalls. The Western Church, however, has not been the only one to discover that the ceremony of the Pax could not be decorously maintained when manners had grown less austere. Among the Greeks hardly a trace of the original salute is preserved. Just before the Creed, which itself precedes the Anaphora, the celebrant says, “Peace be to all”, and then he kisses the gifts (veiled), while at the same time the deacon kisses his own orarion, or stole. In the Syrian rites, the deacon touches the priest’s hands, then moves his own hands down his face and gives them to be touched by someone else. In this way the salute is passed on. Dean Stanley declares that in the Coptic Rite the kiss is still passed among the people from lip to lip, but the truth seems to be that each one merely bows to his neighbour and touches his hand (see Brightman, “Liturgies Eastern and Western”, 1896, p. 585).
KISSING THE ALTAR
It is clear that from the earliest times a kiss was not only a token of love, but also under certain circumstances a symbol of profound respect. For example, the son of Sirach (Ecclus., xxix, 5) describes how would-be borrowers, when they wish to ingratiate themselves “kiss the hands of the lender, and in promises they humble their voice”. It is in accordance with this symbolism, so universally understood and practised, that the Church enjoins the kissing of many holy objects, e.g. relics, the book of the Gospels, the cross, blessed palms, candles, the hands of the clergy and nearly all the utensils and vestments connected with the liturgy. In particular the altar is repeatedly kissed by the celebrant in the course of the Mass, and this practice is of very ancient date. The earliest of the Ordines Romani mentions it twice, but only twice: first, when the bishop ascends to the altar at the beginning, and secondly, at the Offertory, when he comes again to the altar from his throne. Innocent III speaks of the altar being kissed three times, but in the days of Durandus nine such salutations were in use, as at present. By a symbolism prevalent from a very early period the altar was regarded as typical of Christ, the God-Man, abiding permanently with His Church in the Sacrifice of the Mass, and this conception is preserved, for example, in the address now made to the candidate in the ordination of a subdeacon. The appropriateness of kissing the altar before the salutation Dominus vobiscum need not be insisted upon: it clearly implies that the greeting comes, not from the priest only, but from Christ, the head and corner-stone, to the faithful who are the members of His Church. On the other hand the prayer said by the priest, on first ascending to the altar, indicates that this kiss has also special reference to the relics therein enshrined.
KISSING OF THE FEET
The veneration shown in the kissing of a person’s hand or the hem of his garment is accentuated in the kissing of the feet. This is probably implied by the phrase of Isaias (xlix, 23): “Kings…shall lick up the dust of Thy feet.” Under the influence, no doubt, of the ceremonial of king-worship, as manifested in the cultus of the Roman emperors, this particular mark of veneration came to prevail at an early date among the usages of the papal court (see Lattey, “Ancient King-Worship”, Lond., 1909 C. T. S. pamhlet). We read of it in the first “Ordo Romanus” belonging to the seventh century, but even earlier than this the “Liber Pontificalis” attests that the Emperor Justin paid this mark of respect to Pope John I (523-26), as later on Justinian II also did to Pope Constantine. At the election of Leo IV (847) the custom of so kissing the pope’s foot was spoken of as an ancient one. It is not, therefore, wonderful that a practice supported by so early a tradition should still be observed. It is observed liturgically in a solemn papal Mass by the Latin and Greek subdeacons, and quasi-liturgically in the “adoration” of the pope by the cardinals after his election. It is also the normal salutation which papal etiquette prescribes for those of the faithful who are presented to the pope in a private audience. In his “De altaris mysterio” (VI, 6) Innocent III explains that this ceremony indicates “the very great reverence due to the Supreme Pontiff as the Vicar of Him whose feet” were kissed by the woman who was a sinner.
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CABROL in Dict. d’Archéologie Chrétienne, II (Paris, 1907), 117-130; KRIEG in KRAUS, Real. Encyclop. d. christ. Alt., I, (Freiburg, 1880), 542-544; THALHOFER, Liturgik, I (Freiburg, 1883), 648-65; SCHULTZE in Realencyclop. f. prot. Theol., VI (Leipzig, 1899), 274-75; VENABLES in Dict. Christ. Ant., II (London, 1880). 902-06; SCUDAMORE, Notitia Eucharistiea (London, 1876). 496, 504; BINTERIM, Denkwürdigkeiten, IV, Part iii, pp. 485 sq.; THALHOFER in Kirchenlex., s. v. Kuss; CABROL, Les Origines liturgiques (Paris, 1906), 336-37; 360-61; ROHAULT DE FLEURY, La Messe, VI (Paris. 1883), 134.
HERBERT THURSTON. Transcribed by Douglas J. Potter Dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume VIIICopyright © 1910 by Robert Appleton CompanyOnline Edition Copyright © 2003 by K. KnightNihil Obstat, October 1, 1910. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., CensorImprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York
Fuente: Catholic Encyclopedia
Kiss
(, nashak’; Gr. , to love, and derivatives). Originally the act of kissing had a symbolical character, as a natural species of language, expressive of tender affection and respect. It appears from the case of Laban and Jacob (Gen 29:13) that this method of salutation was even then established and recognised as a matter of course. In Gen 27:26-27, a kiss is a sign of affection between a parent and child; in Son 8:1, between a lover and his bride. It was also, as with some modern nations, a token of friendship and regard bestowed when friends or relations met or separated (Tob 7:6; Tob 10:12; Luk 7:45; Luk 15:20; Act 20:37; Mat 26:48; 2Sa 20:9); the same custom is still usual in the East (Tischendorf, Reise, i, 255). The Church of Ephesus wept sore at Paul’s departure, and fell on his neck and kissed him. When Orpah quitted Naomi and Ruth (Rth 1:14), after the three had lifted up their voice and wept, she “kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clave unto her.”
That it was usual to kiss the mouth (Pro 24:26) may be presumed (Gen 33:4; Exo 4:27; Exo 18:7; 1Sa 20:41). Kissing the lips was not only permitted, but customary among near relatives of both sexes, both in patriarchal and in later times (Gen 29:11; Son 8:1). Between individuals of the same sex, and in a limited degree between those of different sexes, the kiss on the cheek as a mark of respect or an act of salutation has at all times been customary in the East, and can hardly be said to be extinct even in Europe. Mention is made of it
(1) between parents and children (Gen 27:26-27; Gen 31:28; Gen 31:55; Gen 48:10; Genesis 1, 1; Exo 18:7; Rth 1:9; Rth 1:14; 2Sa 14:33; 1Ki 19:20; Luk 15:20; Tob 7:6; Tob 10:12);
(2) between brothers, or near male relatives or intimate friends (Gen 29:13; Gen 33:4; Gen 45:15; Exo 4:27; 1Sa 20:41);
(3) the same mode of salutation between persons not related, but of equal rank, whether friendly or deceitful, is mentioned (2Sa 20:9; Psa 85:10; Pro 27:6; Luk 7:45 [1st clause]; 22:48; Act 20:37);
(4) as a mark of real or affected condescension (2Sa 15:5; 2Sa 19:39);
(5) respect from an inferior (Luk 7:38; Luk 7:45, and perhaps 8:44). In other cases the kiss is imprinted on the beard (see Arvieux, 3:182); sometimes on the hair of the head (see D’Orville, Ad Chariton, 8:4), which was then taken hold of by the hand (2Sa 20:9). Among the Arabs the women and children kiss the beards of their husbands or fathers. The superior returns the salute by a kiss on the forehead. Kissing the hand of another appears to be a modern practice. In Egypt an inferior kisses the hand of a superior, generally on the back, but sometimes, as a special favor, on the palm also. To testify abject submission, and in asking favors, the feet are often kissed instead of the hand (Luk 7:38). ” The son kisses the hand of his father, the wife that of her husband, the slave, and often the free servant, that of the master. The slaves and servants of a grandee kiss their lord’s sleeve, or the skirt of his clothing” (Lane, fod. Eg. ii, 9; compare Arvieux, Trav. p. 151; Burckhardt, Trav. i, 369; Niebuhr, Voy. i, 329; ii, 93; Layard, Nin. i, 174; Wellsted, Arebia, i, 341; Malcolm, Sketches of Persia, p. 271). Friends saluting each other’join the right hand, then each kisses his own hand, and puts it to his lips and forehead, or breast; after a long absence they embrace each other, kissing first on the right side of the face or neck, and then on the left, or on both sides of the beard (Lane, ii, 9,10; comp. Irby and Mangles, p. 116; Chardin, Voyage, 3:421; Burckhardt, Notes, i, 369; Russell, Aleppo, i, 240). The passage of Job 31:27, ” Or my mouth hath kissed my hand,” is not in point (see Menken, Dissert. in p. 1., Lipsi.e, 1711; Dought ei, Analect. i, 211; Kieseling, in the Nov. Miscell. Lips. 9:595; Bottiger, Kunstnzythol. i, 52), and refers to idolatrous usages (see L. Weger, De osc. manus idolctrica, Regiom. 1698), namely, the adoration of the heavenly bodies (comp. Cicero, Ver. 4:43; Gesenius, Comment. on Isa 49:23). SEE ADORATION.
It was the custom to throw kisses towards the images of the gods, and towards the sun and moon (1Ki 19:18; Hos 13:2; comp. Minuc. Felix, ii, 5; Tacit. Hist. 3:24, 3; Lucian, De Salt. c. 17; Pliny, Hist. Nat. 28:5). The kissing of princes was a token of homage (Psalm ii, 12; 1Sa 10:1; Xenophon, Cyrop. 7:5, 32). So probably in Gen 41:40, “Upon thy mouth shall all my people kiss,” where the Auth. Vers. interprets, “According to thy word shall all my people be ruled” (see Gesenius, Thesaur. Heb. p. 923). We may compare the Mohammedan custom of kissing the Kaaba at Mecca (Burckhardt, Trav. i, 250, 298, 323; Crichton, Arabia, ii, 215). Xenophon says (Agesil. 5:4) that it was a national custom with the Persians to kiss whomsoever they honored; and a curious passage to this effect may be found in the Cyclopaedia (i, 4, 27). Kissing the feet of princes was a token of subjection and obedience, which was sometimes carried so far that the print of the foot received the kiss, so as to give the impression that the very dust had become sacred by the royal tread, or that the subject was not worthy to salute even the prince’s foot, but was content to kiss the earth itself near or on which he trod (Isaiah 49:33; Mic 7:17; Psa 72:9; comp. Gen 41:40; 1Sa 24:8; Mat 28:9; see Dion Cass. lix, 27; Seneca, De Benef: ii, 12). Similar usages prevail among the Orientals to the present day (see Wilkinson, Anc. EI. ii, 203; Layard, Ninev. i, 274; Harmer, Obs. i, 336; Niebuhr, Travels, i, 414; comp. Assemani, Bibl. Or. i, 377; Otho, Lex. Raub. p. 233; Barhebr. Chronicles p. 148, 189, 569). The Rabbins, in the meddlesome, scrupulous, and falsely delicate spirit which animated much of what they wrote, did not permit more than three kinds of kisses-the kiss of reverence, of reception, and of dismissal (Breshith Rabba on Gen 29:11).
The peculiar tendency of the Christian religion to encourage honor towards all men, as men, to foster and develop the softer affections, and, in the trying condition of the early Church, to make its members intimately known one to another, and unite them in the closest bonds, led to the observance of kissing as an accompaniment of that social worship which took its origin in the very cradle of our religion. (See Coteler, Ad constitut. Apost. ii, 57; Fessel, Advers. sacr. p. 283.) Hence the exhortation, ” Salute each other with a holy kiss” (Rom 16:16; see also 1Co 16:20; 2Co 13:12; 1Th 5:26; in 1Pe 5:14 it is termed “a kiss of charity”). ” It might, perhaps, be understood among the members of the Church that the kiss was to be exchanged between persons of the same sex only, though no direction to this effect is found in the apostolic epistles, and it is known that in process of time the heathen took occasion from the practice to reproach the Christians for looseness of manners. On this account care was taken (as appears from the Apostolical Constitutions) to maintain in respect to it the distinction of sexes; but the practice itself was kept up for centuries, especially in connection with the celebration of the Supper. It was regarded as the special token of perfect reconciliation and concord among the members of the Church, and was called simply the peace (), or the kiss of peace (osculum pacis). It was exchanged in the Eastern Church before, but in the Western after the consecration prayer. Ultimately, however, it was discontinued as a badge of Christian fellowship, or a part of any Christian solemnity” (Fairbairn). (See Apost. Constit. ii, 57; 8:11; Just. Mart. Apol. i, 65; Palmer, On Lit. ii, 102, lad note from Du Cange; Bingham, Christ. Antiq. b. 12:c. 4: 5, vol. 4:49; b. ii, c. 11: 10, vol. i, 161; b. ii, c. 19: 17, vol. i, 272; b. 4:c. 6: 14, vol. i, 526; b. 22:c. 3: 6, vol. 7:316; see also Cod. Just. V. Tit. 3:16, de Don. ante Nupt.; Brande, Pop. Antiq. ii, 87). The peculiar circumstances have now vanished which gave propriety and emphasis to such an expression of brotherly love and Christian friendship. (See Wemyss, Clavis Synmbolica, s.v.) The kiss of peace still forms lpart of one of the rites of the Romish Church. It is given immediately before the communion; the clergyman who celebrates mass kissing the altar, and embracing the deacon, saying, ” Pax tibi, frater, et ecclesiae sanctx Dei;” the deacon does the same to the subdeacon, saying, “Pax tecum ;” the latter then salutes the others.
Kissing the foot or toe has been required by the popes as a sign of respect from the secular power since the 8th century. The first who received this honor was pope Constantine I. It was paid him by the emperor Justinian II, on his entry into Constantinople in 710. Valentine I, about 827, required every one to kiss his foot, and from that time this mark of reverence appears to have been expected by all popes. When the ceremony takes place, the pope wears a slipper with a cross, which is kissed. In more recent times, Protestants have not been required to kiss the pope’s foot, but merely to bend the knee slightly. SEE ADORATION.
On the subject of this article generally, consult Emmerich, De Osculis ap. Vet. in discessu (Meining. 1783); Heckel, De Osculis (Lipsie, 1689); Pfanner, De Osculis Christianor. Veter., in his Obs. Sacr. ii, 131-201; Kempius, De Osculis (Francof. 1680); Jac. Herrenschmidius, Osculogia (Viteb. 1630); Miller, De Osculo Sancto (Jena, 1674); Boberg, De Osculis Hebr. ; Lomeier, Diss. genial. 1p. 328; also in Ugolini, Thesaur. vol. xx; Gotz, De Osculo (Jena, 1670); Lange, Friedenkuss d. alten Christen (Leipz. 1747); compare Fabricius, Bibliogr. antiquar. p. 1016 sq.; and other monographs cited by Volbeding, Index, p. 55, 147. SEE SALUTATION.
Fuente: Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature
Kiss
of affection (Gen. 27:26, 27; 29:13; Luke 7:38, 45); reconciliation (Gen. 33:4; 2 Sam. 14:33); leave-taking (Gen. 31:28, 55; Ruth 1:14; 2 Sam. 19:39); homage (Ps. 2:12; 1 Sam. 10:1); spoken of as between parents and children (Gen. 27:26; 31:28, 55; 48:10; 50:1; Ex. 18:7; Ruth 1:9, 14); between male relatives (Gen. 29:13; 33:4; 45:15). It accompanied social worship as a symbol of brotherly love (Rom. 16:16; 1 Cor. 16:20; 2 Cor. 13:12; 1 Thess. 5:26; 1 Pet. 5:14). The worship of idols was by kissing the image or the hand toward the image (1 Kings 19:18; Hos. 13:2).
Fuente: Easton’s Bible Dictionary
Kiss
The customary salutation in the East as a mark of respect or affection (Gen 27:26; Son 1:2; Luk 7:45); hence the token used by the hypocrite to pretend love (2Sa 15:5 Absalom; Mat 26:48 Judas). The “kiss of charity” or love, “an holy kiss” (pure and chaste), was the pledge of Christian brotherhood (Apostol. Const. 2:57; 8:11) in the early church (Justin Martyr, Apology 1:65), especially at the Lord’s supper, when the kiss was passed through the congregation, the men kissing the men, the women the women (Rom 16:16; 1Co 16:20; 2Co 13:12; Act 20:37; 1Th 5:26; 1Pe 5:14). Tertullian calls it (de Orat. 14) “the kiss of peace.” Not a mere conventional salutation, “the mystic kiss” (Clemens Alex. Paedag. 3:11), i.e. symbolizing union in Christ. A kiss was the mark also of reverence and subjection. So Samuel after anointing Saul kissed him (1Sa 10:1). Also used in religious “adoration” (derived from the Latin, ad os “to the mouth,” namely, kissing the hand in homage), whether of idols (Job 31:27; 1Ki 19:18; Hos 13:2) or of Jehovah (Psa 2:12). So the Muslims kiss the Kaabaat Mecca.
Fuente: Fausset’s Bible Dictionary
KISS
Kissing was a very ancient custom among Israelites and other peoples of the region. It was a sign of affection between relatives, between friends and between lovers (Gen 29:11; Song of Son 1:2; Son 8:1; Mat 26:48; Luk 15:20). It was also a sign of homage to a king (1Sa 10:1; Psa 2:12; cf. Mat 26:49) or devotion to an idol (1Ki 19:18; Hos 13:2). In New Testament times kissing became the customary form of greeting between Christians (Rom 16:16; 1Pe 5:14).
Fuente: Bridgeway Bible Dictionary
Kiss
KISS.Originally a token of affection belonging to the intimate conditions of family life, but extended to more general relationships.
1. To kiss the hands is the expression of respect towards seniority and higher rank. Children in Oriental homes are taught to rise at the entrance of visitors and salute in this way. It is also their first form of greeting to parents and adult relatives before being kissed on the lips and cheek by them. When two sheikhs meet they kiss each others hands in recognition of the rank held by each. Kissing the hand, or making an attempt to do so, often occurs when one person receives a commission from another or undertakes to do some work for him. The feeling of respect originating in the relationship of child to parent is extended to that of employed and employer.
With regard to the salutation of Judas Iscariot (Luk 22:47-48), to have kissed the hand of Christ after the interval of absence caused by his conference with the chief priests would have been but an ordinary tribute of respect, and as such would have escaped the notice of the disciples, while giving the required information to those who had come with him. If, on the other hand, the kiss was on the face, it was an act of presumption for an Oriental disciple to take the initiative in offering to his master the salutation of equal friendship. The prodigal son, in meeting his father, would be described as kissing his hands before being embraced and kissed by the latter (Luk 15:20).
2. Among those of the same age, and where the relationships of life permitted it, the salutation is given sometimes on the lips, but more frequently on the check or neck. For intimate relatives or acquaintances of the same sex to part for a time, or to meet after a period of separation without such salutation, would seem strained and unnatural (Luk 15:20). In this form of greeting all thought of superior and inferior is lost in the equality of affection and identity of interest (Act 20:37). Such was the kiss of peace or salutation of goodwill that prevailed for a time in the congregations of the early Church. It testified to the new bond of fellowship in the family of the firstborn, and was called a holy kiss (Rom 16:16) as a reminder of Christian sainthood, and also a kiss of love (1Pe 5:14) made possible by the love that had given them such discipleship and communion.
G. M. Mackie.
Fuente: A Dictionary Of Christ And The Gospels
Kiss
KISS (Heb. nshqah, Gr. Philma).Kissing is a mark of affection between parents and children (Gen 27:26 f., Rth 1:9, 1Ki 19:20 etc.), members of a family, or near connexions (Gen 29:13; Gen 45:15), and equals in rank (2Sa 20:9, Act 20:37). Guests are received with a kiss (Luk 7:45). A kiss from a superior marks condescension (2Sa 15:5; 2Sa 19:39). These kisses may he on the lips, but are usually on the cheek or neck. The kiss was a token of love (Son 1:2; Son 8:1), of homage and submission (Gen 41:40, Job 31:27, Psa 2:12), and was also an act of idolatrous worship (1Ki 19:18, Hos 13:2). The Moslems kiss the black stone at Mecca. Juniors and inferiors kiss the hands of seniors and superiors. A wife kisses the hand or beard of her husband. The hand, garments, even the feet of one appealed to may he kissed. Prohably Judas presumed to salute with the kiss of an equal (Mat 26:49 etc.). A kiss on the hand would have been natural. The holy kiss, or kiss of love (1Co 16:20, 1Pe 5:14), marked the tie that united Christians in a holy brotherhood.
W. Ewing.
Fuente: Hastings’ Dictionary of the Bible
Kiss
In the eastern world so much was implied by this action of the kiss, that we lose many beauties of the Holy Scriptures for want of our knowledge of their customs and manners concerning it. There were the kiss of love, the kiss of reverence, the kiss of adoration and homage, the kiss of peace and reconciliation, the kiss of holy joy and delight; and, on the other hand, we read of the kiss of idolatry, the kiss of hypocrisy, of deceit, of the traitor, and the like.
It may not be amiss, for the better apprehension of the subject, to look over the Scripture a little for particular instances of this ceremony, that we may remark the diversity. I need not particularize the kisses of natural affection, so common in the word of God, between near and dear relations; for those are well understood, and require no illustration. Such, I mean, as the tender kiss of Isaac with Jacob, when receiving his son’s venison, Gen 27:26. Joseph kissing his brethren, Gen 45:14-15. Jonathan with David, 1Sa 20:41 and numberless other instances of the like nature. But the kisses spoken of in Scripture implying different significations, it may not be improper to be somewhat more particular in defining. Thus the kiss of reverence or adoration, whether in religious veneration of JEHOVAH, or whether used in idolatrous worship, was meant to convey every thing that was dutiful, obedient, and affectionate. Thus the direction given in the second Psalm to kiss the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, evidently conveys the acknowledgment due to his person and government, with the most cordial acceptation of him in his glorious mediatorial character as the Christ of God. (Psa 2:12) On the other hand, the prophet represents the worshippers of Baal as commanding this service, in token of absolute submission to this idolatrous worship as expressed in this single act of kissing. “Let the men that sacrifice (say they) kiss the calves.” (Hos 13:2)
Besides the actions of kissing to imply the most complete adoration, we find among the orientals the act of kissing the hand, together with the corresponding action of bending the knee, smiting on the thigh, and the like, intended as expressive altogether of the most implicit subjection and reverence. (See Isa 45:23; Jer 31:19) Thus we find Pharaoh giving commands concerning the homage to be paid Joseph. “Thou shalt be over my house, (said Pharaoh) and according to thy word shall all my people be ruled.” In the margin it is, be armed or kiss: that is, shall all my people kiss thy word, thy command. (Gen 41:40) So Job, “If I (said Job) beheld the sun when it shined, or the moon walking in brightness, and my heart hath been secretly enticed, or my mouth hath kissed my hand, this also were an iniquity to be punished by the judge, for I should have denied the God that is above.” (Job 31:26-28) A similar passage we meet with in 1Ki 19:18 where the Lord, in telling his servant the prophet Elijah, that the idolaters in Israel, many as they were, did not yet come up to the fears of his mind, saith, “Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.” Both which passages are to the same amount, that the kiss was a token of the most perfect adoration.
We may notice the usage of the kiss also in token of peace and friendship, and of the greatest cordiality subsisting between persons joining in the same sentiments of civil and religious communion. Hence Paul directs the churches to this amount, when he saith, “Salute one another with an holy kiss.” (Rom 16:16) “Greet all the brethren with an holy kiss.” (1Th 5:26; 1Pe 5:14)
This was supposed (however treachery lurked under the garb), to have been the case when Joab took Amasa by the beard with the right hand to kiss him. (see 2Sa 20:9) And yet more, in an infinitely greater degree, when Judas hailed Christ with the awful salutation, “Joy to thee Rabbi, (for so hail means) and kissed him?” (Mat 26:49) In the former instance, Joab took Amasa by the beard, we are told, which was an action betokening the highest regard of affection: for as the beard was always considered the chief honour and ornament of a man, so to touch it or kiss it was considered the highest proof of respect. On the contrary, to shave it, or to do any thing to it reproachfully, was counted the highest token of contempt. In the eastern world, many would have preferred death to the loss of the beard: and hence when David changed his behaviour before Achish, king of Gath, and feigned himself mad, and scrabbled on the doors of the gate, and “let his spittle Pall down upon his beard,” (see 1Sa 21:13) Achish considered this disgrace done to his beard as the most confirmed proof of his madness, for no man in his right senses, he concluded, would have done so. For if by accident only, in walking the streets, one touched another’s beard, nothing could atone for the injury and affront but by kissing it, to show the utmost respect. So tenacious were the orientals on these points.
I have not yet mentioned the kisses of grace in spiritual tokens, and yet these form by much the most interesting part of the subject. Hence the spouse in the Canticles, speaking of her soul’s desire for the coming and manifestation of Christ in the flesh, with all the blessings connected with that manifestation, sums up her very ardent request in that comprehensive expression, “Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth, for his love is better than wine.” (Son 1:2) And as those kisses of Jesus are meant to imply every thing in Christ, and with Christ, Jesus in his person, and Jesus in his fulness, suitableness, and all-sufficiency, so on our part the kiss of grace implies every thing that can denote love, adoration, faith, dependance, homage, subjection, and praise. Poor Mary at the feet of Jesus meant to express all these and more, when she washed his feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head, when she kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment. (See Luk 7:38) In these kisses she expressed all that a broken heart could testify of her soul’s hope, love, faith, contrition, sorrow, and the like. It was in effect saying, I cast myself on thee, as a poor, perishing, dying sinner, and venture all on thy blood and righteousness!
Fuente: The Poor Mans Concordance and Dictionary to the Sacred Scriptures
Kiss
(, nashak; , phileo, , kataphileo, , phlema): The kiss is common in eastern lands in salutation, etc., on the cheek, the forehead, the beard, the hands, the feet, but not (in Pal) the lips (Cheyne, EB, under the word Salutations). In the Bible there is no sure instance of the kiss in ordinary salutation. We have in the Old Testament nashak, to kiss, used (1) of relatives (which seems the origin of the practice of kissing; compare Son 8:1, Oh that thou wert as my brother … I would kiss thee; yea, and none would despise me); Gen 27:26, Gen 27:27 (Isaac and Jacob); Gen 29:11 (Jacob and Rachel); Gen 33:4 (Esau and Jacob); Gen 45:15 (Joseph and his brethren); Gen 48:10 (Jacob and Joseph’s sons); Gen 50:1 (Joseph and his father); Exo 4:27 (Aaron and Moses); Exo 18:7 (Moses and Jethro, united with obeisance); Rth 1:9, Rth 1:14 (Naomi and her daughters-in-law – a farewell); 2Sa 14:33 (David and Absalom); 1Ki 19:20 (Elisha and his parents – a farewell); see also Gen 29:13; Gen 31:28, Gen 31:55; Tobit 7:6; 10:12. (2) Of friendship and affection; compare 1Sa 20:41 (David and Jonathan); 2Sa 15:5 (Absalom and those who came to him); 2Sa 19:39 (David and Barzillai – a farewell); 2Sa 20:9 (Joab and Amasa); Pro 27:6 (the kisses (neshkah) of an enemy); 1 Esdras 4:47 (the king stood up, and kissed him). (3) Of love; compare Son 1:2, Let him kiss me with the kisses (neshkah) of his mouth; Pro 7:13 (of the feigned love of the strange woman). (4) Of homage, perhaps; compare 1Sa 10:1 (Samuel after anointing David king); Gen 41:40, Unto thy word shall all my people be ruled, the Revised Version margin order themselves, or do homage, the King James Version margin Hebrew be armed or kiss (nashak); Psa 2:12, Kiss the son (American Standard Revised Version), the English Revised Version margin Some versions render, ‘Lay hold of (or receive) instruction’; others, ‘Worship in purity’ ; some ancient versions give ‘Kiss (or, do homage) purely.’ (5) Of idolatrous practices; compare 1Ki 19:18; Hos 13:2 (compare Hos 8:5, Hos 8:6; Hos 10:5); Job 31:27, probably, kissing the hand to the sun or moon (compare Job 31:26, Job 31:27). See ADORATION. (6) A figurative use may be seen in Psa 85:10; Pro 24:26; Eze 3:13, where touched is nashak (see the King James Version margin). (7) In Additions to Esther 13:13 we have I could have been content … to kiss the soles of his feet, and in Ecclesiasticus 29:5, Till he hath received, he will kiss a man’s hands – marks of self-humiliation or abasement.
In the New Testament we have phileo, to kiss, to be friendly, and kataphileo, to kiss thoroughly, to be very friendly – the first in Mat 26:48; Mar 14:44; Luk 22:47, of the kiss with which Judas betrayed his Master. This was probably meant to be taken as an expression of special regard, which is expressed by the kataphileo of Mat 26:49; Mar 14:45; the same word is used of the woman who kissed the feet of Christ (Luk 7:38, Luk 7:45); of the father’s greeting of the returning prodigal (Luk 15:20); and of the farewell to Paul of the Ephesian Christians (Act 20:37); philema, a kiss, a mark of friendship, is used by our Lord as that which Simon omitted to give him (which may refer to ordinary hospitality), but which the woman had bestowed so impressively (Luk 7:45); of the kiss of Judas (Luk 22:48); and of the holy kiss wherewith Christians greeted each other, which, according to the general usage we have seen, would be as the members of one family in the Lord, or as specially united in holy love (Rom 16:16; 1Co 16:20; 2Co 13:12; 1Th 5:26; 1Pe 5:14). There is reason to believe that, as a rule, men only thus greeted men, and women, women. In the Apostolical Constitutions (3rd century) it is so enjoined.
Fuente: International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Kiss
Originally the act of kissing had a symbolical character, and, though this import may now be lost sight of, yet it must be recognized the moment we attempt to understand or explain its signification. Acts speak no less, sometimes far more forcibly, than words. In the language of action, a kiss, inasmuch as it was a bringing into contact of parts of the body of two persons, was naturally the expression and the symbol of affection, regard, respect, and reverence; and if any deeper source of its origin were sought for, it would, doubtless, be found in the fondling and caresses with which the mother expresses her tenderness for her babe. That the custom is of very early date appears from Gen 29:13, where we read’When Laban heard the tidings of Jacob, his sister’s son, he ran to meet him, and embraced him and kissed him, and brought him to his house:’ the practice was even then established and recognized as a matter of course. In Gen 27:26-27, a kiss is a sign of affection between a parent and child. It was also, as with some modern nations, a token of friendship and regard bestowed when friends or relations met or separated (Tob 7:6; Tob 10:12; Luk 7:45; Luk 15:20; Act 20:37; Mat 26:48; 2Sa 20:9). The church of Ephesus wept sore at Paul’s departure, and fell on his neck and kissed him. When Orpah departed from Naomi and Ruth (Rth 1:14) after the three had lifted up their voice and wept, she ‘kissed her mother-in-law; but Ruth clave unto her.’ It was usual to kiss the mouth (Gen 33:4; Exo 4:27; Exo 18:7; 1Sa 20:41; Pro 24:26) or the beard, which was then taken hold of by the hand (2Sa 20:9). Kissing of the feet was an expression of lowly and tender regard (Luk 7:38). Kissing of the hand of another appears to be a modern practice: the passage of Job 31:27, ‘Or my mouth hath kissed my hand,’ is not in point, and refers to idolatrous usages, namely, the adoration of the heavenly bodies. It was the custom to throw kisses towards the images of the gods, and towards the sun and moon (1Ki 19:18; Hos 13:2). The kissing of princes was a token of homage (Psa 2:12; 1Sa 10:1). Xenophon says that it was a national custom with the Persians to kiss whomsoever they honored. Kissing the feet of princes was a token of subjection and obedience; which was sometimes carried so far that the print of the foot received the kiss, so as to give the impression that the very dust had become sacred by the royal tread, or that the subject was not worthy to salute even the prince’s foot, but was content to kiss the earth itself near or on which he trod (Isa 49:23; Mic 7:17; Psa 72:9). The Rabbins, in the meddlesome, scrupulous, and falsely delicate spirit which animated much of what they wrote, did not permit more than three kinds of kisses, the kiss of reverence, of reception, and of dismissal.
The peculiar tendency of the Christian religion to encourage honor towards all men, as men, to foster and develop the softer affections, and, in the trying condition of the early church, to make its members intimately known one to another, and unite them in the closest bonds, led to the observance of kissing as an accompaniment of that social worship which took its origin in the very cradle of our religion. Hence the exhortation’Salute each other with a holy kiss’ (Rom 16:16; see also 1Co 16:20; 2Co 13:12; 1Th 5:26; in 1Pe 5:14, it is termed ‘a kiss of charity’). The observance was continued in later days, and has not yet wholly disappeared, though the peculiar circumstances have vanished which gave propriety and emphasis to such an expression of brotherly love and Christian friendship.
Fuente: Popular Cyclopedia Biblical Literature
Kiss
This common mode of salutation among relatives is sanctified by its adoption in the church. Five of the Epistles close with the exhortation to greet one another with a holy kiss, or kiss of love. Rom 16:16; 1Co 16:20; 2Co 13:12; 1Th 5:26; 1Pe 5:14. When Paul said farewell to the elders of Ephesus, they wept sore, and fell on his neck and kissed him. Permission to kiss the hand of a superior is a mark of honour. The heathen kissed their gods. 1Ki 19:18; Hos 13:2. In the case of distant objects of worship, like the sun and moon, they kissed the hand (Job 31:26-27), hence the most usual word for worship in the N.T. is , from , to kiss. Kings and judges of the earth are exhorted to kiss the Son when He comes to reign, lest He be angry, and they perish. Psa 2:12.
Fuente: Concise Bible Dictionary
Kiss
Of affection
Gen 27:26-27; Gen 31:55; Gen 33:4; Gen 48:10; Gen 50:1; Exo 18:7; Rth 1:14; 2Sa 14:33; 2Sa 19:39; Luk 15:20; Act 20:37
The feet of Jesus kissed by the penitent woman
Luk 7:38
Deceitful:
– General references
Pro 27:6
– Of Joab, when he slew Amasa
2Sa 20:9-10
– Of Judas, when he betrayed Jesus
Mat 26:48; Luk 22:48
Holy
Rom 16:16; 2Co 13:12; 1Th 5:26; 1Pe 5:14
Fuente: Nave’s Topical Bible
Kiss
Kiss. Kissing the lips in salutation was customary among near relatives of both sexes. Gen 29:11; Son 8:1. Between individuals of the same sex, and in a limited degree between those of different sexes, the kiss on the cheek as a mark of respect or an act of salutation has at all times been customary in the East. In the Christian Church the kiss of charity was practiced not only as a friendly salutation, but as an act symbolical of love and Christian brotherhood. Rom 16:16; 1Co 16:20; 2Co 13:12; 1Th 5:26; 1Pe 5:14 Among the Arabs the women and children kiss the beards of their husbands or fathers. The superior returns the salute by a kiss on the forehead. In Egypt an inferior kisses the hand of a superior, generally on the back, but sometimes, as a special favor, on the palm also. Kissing is spoken of in Scripture as a mark of respect or adoration to idols. 1Ki 19:18; Hos 13:2.
Fuente: People’s Dictionary of the Bible
Kiss
Kiss. Kissing the lips, by way of affectionate salutation, was customary among near relatives of both sexes, in both patriarchal and later times. Gen 29:11; Son 8:1. Between individuals of the same sex, and in a limited degree between those of different sexes, the kiss on the cheek, as a mark of respect or an act of salutation, ha, s at all times, been customary in the East, and can hardly be said to be extinct even in Europe. In the Christian Church, the kiss of charity was practiced not only as a friendly salutation, but as an act symbolical of love and Christian brotherhood. Rom 16:16; 1Co 16:20; 2Co 13:12; 1Th 5:6; 1Pe 5:14.
It was embodied in the earlier Christian offices, and has been continued in some of those now in use. Among the Arabs, the women and children kiss the beards of their husbands or fathers. The superior returns the salute by a kiss on the forehead. In Egypt, an inferior kisses the hand of a superior, generally on the back, but sometimes, as a special favor, on the palm also. To testify abject submission, and in asking favors, the feet are often kissed instead of the hand.
The written decrees of a sovereign are kissed in token of respect; even the ground is sometimes kissed by Orientals in the fullness of their submission. Gen 41:40; 1Sa 24:8; Psa 72:9 etc. Kissing is spoken of, in Scriptures, as a mark of respect or adoration to idols. 1Ki 19:18; Hos 13:2.
Fuente: Smith’s Bible Dictionary
KISS
(1) Of Affection
Gen 27:27; Gen 29:11; Gen 45:15; 1Sa 10:1; 1Sa 20:41; 1Ki 19:20
Luk 7:38; Act 20:37
–SEE Love, Family, HOME
(2) Of Charity
Act 20:37; Rom 16:16; 1Co 16:20; 2Co 13:12; 1Pe 5:14
–SEE Love, Brotherly (3), LOVE
Fuente: Thompson Chain-Reference Bible
Kiss
a mode of salutation, and token of respect, which has been practised in all nations. It was also in ordinary use among the Jews; hence Judas in this way saluted his Master. But there was also the kiss of homage, as one of the ceremonies performed at the inauguration of the kings of Israel. The Jews called it the kiss of majesty. Psa 2:12, seems to be an allusion to this. St. Paul speaks frequently of the kiss of peace, which was in use among believers, and was given by them to one another as a token of charity and union, publicly in their religious assemblies, Heb 13:24. Kissing the feet is in eastern countries expressive of exuberant gratitude or reverence.
Fuente: Biblical and Theological Dictionary
Kiss
This is a sign of trust and affection, either true or false. A few Scriptures are given herewith to show the many ways in which the word “kiss” is used in the Scriptures:
Gen 27:26 (c) Kiss of devotion
Gen 45:15 (c) Kiss of reconciliation
Gen 50:1 (c) The farewell kiss
Rth 1:14 (c) Kiss of desertion
1Sa 10:1 (c) Kiss of honor
1Sa 20:41 (c) Kiss of confidence
2Sa 15:5 (c) Kiss of treason
2Sa 20:9 (c) Kiss of hypocrisy
Job 31:27 (c) Kiss of connivance
Psa 2:12 (c) Kiss of trust
Psa 85:10 (c) Kiss of justice
Pro 7:13 (c) Kiss of impudence
Pro 27:6 (c) The enemy’s kiss
Son 1:2 (c)Kiss of affection
Luk 7:45 (c) Kiss of gratitude
Luk 22:48 (c) Kiss of betrayal
Act 20:37 (c) Kiss of sorrow
Rom 16:16 (c) Holy kiss of saints