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Luk 10:4. Μηδένα κατὰ τὴν ὁδὸν ἀσπάσησθε, salute no man by the way) It is not inappropriate, that this should be understood literally. He who is engaged in a very serious and sudden emergency, has it less in his power to observe ceremonies of etiquette, and is readily exempted from the ordinary rules of politeness. Comp. 2Ki 4:29, and in a similar case, Luk 19:30, et seqq. There were various classes of men among the Jews exempted from the duty of salutations, especially religious men (men exercising some religious function), as Lightfoot shows. They used to salute [in the East, and still salute] with many formal words and gestures; but by omitting these words (by silence), the sincerity of the mind is retained: and the time of these envoys was very precious (comp. Joh 20:17); very precious too [i.e. not to be indiscriminately thrown away on every one] was a salutation on the part of the envoys: see following verse, and Mat 10:12. Hearers are more attentive in their home than on the way-side; and salutations by the way might deprive the envoys, who were so many in number, of a considerable portion of time. [In fine, even the very omission of salutations by the way in a useful manner admonished men, that the business of the Seventy was a weighty one, and one which required mature despatch.-V. g.]