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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.comFausset Bible Dictionary: Kiss
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The customary salutation in the East as a mark of respect or affection (; ; ); hence the token used by the hypocrite to pretend love ( Absalom; 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 (; ; ; ; ; ). 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 (). Also used in religious "adoration" (derived from the Latin, ad os "to the mouth," namely, kissing the hand in homage), whether of idols (; ; ) or of Jehovah (). So the Muslims kiss the Kaabaat Mecca.