What is the “Holy Kiss”?
Q. Do the Scriptures require
Christians to “greet one another with a holy kiss?”
And if so, what does
this mean?
Should the men kiss
each other, should the men also kiss the women?
Is this commanded or
just a suggestion?
In the New Testament we have only 5 verses that
talk about Christians and “kissing.”
“Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ
greet you.
“All the brethren greet you. Greet one
another with a holy kiss.
“Greet one another with a holy kiss.
“Greet all the brethren with a holy kiss.
“Greet one another with a kiss of love. Peace be to you all who
are in Christ.” (Peter 5:14)
The way the word “kiss” is used in the Bible:
(qv”n: [nashaq];
[phileo], [kataphileo], [philema]):
The kiss is common in eastern lands in salutation, etc., on the cheek, the
forehead, the beard, the hands, the feet, but not the lips.
In the Bible there
is no sure instance of the kiss in ordinary salutation.
We have in the Old Testament naschaq, “to kiss,” used
(1) of relatives (which
seems the origin of the practice of kissing; compare
(Song of Solomon 8:1), “Oh that
thou wert as my brother …. I would kiss thee; yea, and none would despise me”);
Genesis 27:26, 27 (Isaac
and Jacob);
Genesis 29:11
(Jacob and Rachel);
Genesis 33:4 (Esau
and Jacob);
Genesis 45:15
(Joseph and his brethren);
Genesis 48:10
(Jacob and Joseph’s sons);
Genesis 50:1
(Joseph and his father);
Exodus 4:27 (Aaron
and Moses);
Exodus 18:7 (Moses and Jethro, united with obeisance);
Ruth 1:9,14 (Naomi and her daughters-in-law — a farewell);
2 Samuel 14:33 (David and Absalom);
1 Kings 19:20 (Elisha and his parents -a farewell);
see also Genesis
29:13; 31:28:55.
(2) Of friendship and
affection; compare
1 Samuel 20:41 (David
and Jonathan);
2 Samuel 15:5 (Absalom
and those who came to him);
2 Samuel 19:39
(David and Barzillai — a farewell);
2 Samuel 20:9 (Joab
and Amasa);
Proverbs 27:6 (“the
kisses ([neshiqah]) of an enemy”);
(3) Of love; compare
Song of Solomon, “Let him kiss me
with the kisses ([neshiqah]) of his mouth”;
Proverbs 7:13 (of
the feigned love of “the strange woman”).
(4) Of homage, perhaps;
compare 1 Samuel 10:1 (Samuel after anointing David king);
Genesis 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” ([nashaq]);
Psalm 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
1 Kings 19:18; Hosea
13:2 (compare 8:5,6; 10:5);
Job 31:27, probably, “kissing the
hand to the sun or moon” (compare 31:26, 27).
(6) A figurative use may
be seen in Psalm 85:10; Proverbs 24:26; Ezekiel 3:13, where “touched” is [nashaq] (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.”
In the New Testament
we have (phileo), “to kiss,” “to be friendly,” and
[kataphileo], “to kiss thoroughly,” “to
be very friendly”
The first (phileo) in Matthew 25:48; Mark
14:44; Luke 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 Matthew 26:49; Mark
14:45.
The same word is
used of the woman who kissed the feet of Christ (Luke 7:38,45);
of the father’s
greeting of the returning prodigal (Luke 15:20); and of the farewell to Paul of
the Ephesian Christians (Acts 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 (Luke 7:45);
of the kiss of
Judas (Luke 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 (Romans 16:16; 1 Corinthians 16:20; 2
Corinthians 13:2; 1 Thessalonians 5:26; 1 Peter 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. W. L. Walker (ISBE)
Questions regarding the “Holy Kiss”
1. Are Paul and Peter binding the kiss on all Christians, in
all cultures, and for all ages?
2. If universally binding, how do we determine how to
administer the kiss (neck, cheek, lips, etc., left to own preference)?
3. If universally binding, is the kiss generally practiced
in gender segregation?
4. Is the holy kiss simply attempting to require salutation
without binding a particular form and then regulating the then prevailing
form? (“Holy,” “kiss of love.”)
According to Vine:
“There was to be an absence of formality and hypocrisy, a
freedom from prejudice arising from social distinctions, from discrimination
against the poor, from partiality towards the well-to-do. In the churches
masters and servants would thus salute one another without any attitude of
condescension on the part of or disrespect on the other. The kiss took
place between persons of the same sex” (Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words,
by W. E.Vine).
From Manners & Customs of the Bible Lands:
Kissing. “Guests in Holy
Land homes expect to be kissed as they enter. When entertained by a
Pharisee, Jesus commented on his reception by saying to him, ‘Thou gaveth me no kiss’ (Luke 7:45).
The
difference between the Oriental and the Occidental way of greeting each other
is made clear by one who lived in Palestine many years.
‘Here
men shake hands when they meet and greet, but in Palestine, instead of doing
this, they place their right hand on their friend’s left shoulder and kiss his
right cheek, and then reversing the action, place their left hand on his right
shoulder, and kiss his left cheek…’ “(Manners and Customs
of Bible Lands, pg. 74).
Guy N. Woods: “Greeting, by means of a kiss, appears to have been a
common practice in the early church, and to have been followed for some
centuries after the beginning of the Christian area. The custom is
mentioned by Justin Martyr, Tertullian…Augustine, and numerous other early
writers….According to the historians of the early church, the abuses to which
the practice would ordinarily lead were avoided by the separation of the sexes
when the church assembled for worship, an arrangement inherited from the
synagogue…” (A Commentary on the New Testament Epistles by Guy N. Woods, Vol. 7,
pg. 136).
According to the church fathers:
“Then let the men give the men, and the women give the
women, the Lord’s kiss. But let no one do it with deceit, as Judas
betrayed the Lord with a kiss” (The
Constitutions of the Holy Apostles, Book 2, 57, page 422, Vol. 7, The
Ante-Nicene Fathers).
Moses E Lard: “…Upon the whole, the view I prefer to take of the case
is this: The apostle, by his injunction, did not create the custom; for
it was prevalent at the time. He meant merely to purify it. He
hence says, ‘Greet one another with a holy kiss.’ Only therefore where
the custom exists, is his injunction applicable. Where the custom does
not exist, his injunction is not designed to create it. He hence does not
bind it upon us. If we do kiss, it must be a holy kiss; but we are not
compelled to kiss …” (A Commentary on Romans, by Moses E. Lard,
pg. 460).
Questions for those who believe the kiss is universally
binding on all Christians (males/males; males/females):
1. Are you not troubled by the apparent lack of strong, decisive
teaching in a binding circumstance?
2. How about the absence of specificity, if binding?
3. Do you view those who do not thus kiss as cold…?
4. Are you prepared to make the kiss a requirement or test of
fellowship?
5. Do you have any concern at how incongruous the act of male/male
kissing would appear in the U.S. and the possible effects of male/female
kissing?
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Do you know Jesus or you know about Jesus —would this matter in eternity?
http://puricarefiles.blogspot.com/2016/06/knowing-jesus-it-is-always-easy-thing.html
http://www.scripturessay.com/what-is-the-holy-kiss/
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