KISS (נָשַׁק֒, H5975, נְשִׁיקָה, H5965; LXX and NT καταφιλέω, G2968; φιλέω, G5797; φίλημα, G5799). As a noun “kiss” signifies “a touch” or “caress of the lips” (to another person’s lips, cheek, beard, hands, or feet) in token of affection, greeting, or reverence; as a verb it means “to touch” or “press with the lips.”
1. Nāshaq (verb) “kiss,” “touch” (Assyrian n a š â k u; the Syriac word for “kiss” perhaps meant “smell” originally; but the Arab. equivalent means “fasten together,” “arrange in order”). Ezekiel used nāshaq fig. to describe the wings of cherubim “gently touching,” “kissing” each other (3:13; cf. Ps 85:10). This Heb. verb occurs (with prob. two shades of meaning, viz., osculari and se amare) thirty-seven times in the OT.
2. Neshîâh (fem. noun) “kiss”; only twice in the OT (Prov 27:6; Song of Solomon 1:2) and both are in the pl. construct state.
3. Kataphiléō (verb) “to kiss”; “kiss much”; “kiss again and again”; “kiss tenderly.” This word appears in Plutarch and Josephus; twenty times in the LXX and six times in the NT. The inspired writers employ it to describe (1) the sinful woman kissing the feet of Jesus (Luke 7:38; cf. Isa 49:23); (2) the grateful father kissing his prodigal son (Luke 15:20); and (3) Judas kissing Christ (Matt 26:49; Mark 14:45; cf. 2 Sam 20:9).
4. Philéō (verb) “love,” “have affection for,” “like”; or “kiss” as a special indication of love. (LXX for three Heb. words.) This verb occurs in Homer, Aeschylus, Herodotus, Xenophon, Pindar, Sophocles, Euripides, Plato, Aristotle, Plutarch, Josephus, and Oracula Sibyllina; it appears thirty times in the LXX and twenty-five times in the NT.
5. Phílēma (neuter noun) “a kiss.” This word has been used since Aeschylus. It occurs in Philo and Josephus; twice in the LXX (Prov 27:6; Song of Solomon 1:2) and seven times in the NT.
The “kiss” has been common in the E since patriarchal times as a gesture of practical affection or homage. It was implanted upon the cheek et cetera but rarely upon the lips. The romantic kiss of lovers (Song of Solomon 1:2; 8:1) and the seductive kiss of harlots (Prov 7:13) are rare in Scripture. Usually one member of a family kissed another, e.g., (1) a son his father (Gen 27:26, 27; 50:1), or parents (1 Kings 19:20), or father-in-law (Exod 18:7); (2) a father his son (2 Sam 14:33), his children (Gen 31:28, 55), or grandsons (Gen 48:10); (3) a man his brother (Gen 33:4; 45:15; Exod 4:27), cousin (Gen 29:11), nephew (Gen 29:13), or friend (1 Sam 20:41); (4) a woman her daughters-in-law (Ruth 1:9). Among the Arabs even today women and children kiss the husbands/fathers upon the beard; and it is returned upon the forehead.
Kissing to show affectionate salutation was practiced between individuals of the same sex (Gen 29:13; 33:4; 45:15; Exod 4:27; 18:7); and in a limited degree between those of opposite sex (Gen 29:11). It was also a farewell token both in life (Gen 31:28, 55; Ruth 1:14; 1 Kings 19:20; Acts 20:37) and at the approach of death (Gen 50:1). Sometimes a kiss was the prelude to a solemn blessing (Gen 27:26, 27; 31:55; 2 Sam 19:39).
There was also the ceremonial kiss, e.g., Samuel kissed Saul as he anointed him (1 Sam 10:1). Kissing was used to show respect for idols (1 Kings 19:18; Job 31:26, 27; Hosea 13:2); and even the ground was kissed to indicate total submission to the king (1 Sam 24:8).
One dare not assume amorous overtones in the accounts of David kissing Jonathan (1 Sam 20:41) or Barzillai (2 Sam 19:39). Absalom kissed people hypocritically (15:5; cf. Prov 27:6); Joab kissed Amasa treacherously (2 Sam 20:9); but Naomi kissed Orphah and Ruth sincerely (Ruth 1:9). One poetic thought surviving from the rabbinic period is that Moses died with the kiss of God upon his lips (Midrash Deut. rabbah, 11).
Raguel wept as he kissed Tobit (Tobit 7:7); later he and his wife both kissed their daughter farewell (10:12). In Ecclesiasticus 29:5, kissing the hand might be a beggar’s gesture of cowering submission.
Early Christians adopted the holy kiss (or kiss of love) as a friendly salutation (Rom 16:16; 1 Cor 16:20; 2 Cor 13:12; 1 Thess 5:26; 1 Pet 5:14; cf. Luke 7:45). It was a sacred bond which united the body of Christ and was undoubtedly exchanged by members of both the same (cf. Apostolic Constitutions ii. 57.12) and opposite sex (vide St. Ambrose, Hexaem VI, ix, 68; Tertullian, Ad Uxor ii, 4).
It is difficult to establish the link between the (1) kiss of love, and the liturgical (2) kiss of peace. The latter had an established place in public worship after the middle of the 2nd cent. (1) Neophytes were kissed after baptism; (2) penitents, when they were reconciled (cf. Luke 15:20); (3) candidates for ordination; and even (4) the deceased. It was practiced most widely during the celebration of the Eucharist. Kissing the dead was prohibited by the Council of Auxerre (a.d. 578) perhaps on account of the prevalent abuse of either placing the Host in the mouth of the corpse, or burying it with him.
The kiss of peace was observed in the W until the end of the Middle Ages. Apparently it was discontinued earlier in the E. In both E and W this custom was replaced by kissing the altar, etc. The practice of kissing relics in the W dates from perhaps the time of Bishop Walter of York (a.d. 1250).
Bibliography B. B. Warfield, “The Terminology of Love in the NT,” XVI, PTR (1918), 1ff.; 153ff.; W. Shakespeare, Henry The Fifth (1942), V. ii. 270-306; J. Smith and R. Lee, Handfuls On Purpose, XII (1947), 242; J. Calvin, Commentary on a Harmony of the Evangelists, III (1949), 241; W. G. Scroggie, The Psalms, IV (1951), 198; F. H. Wight, Manners and Customs of Bible Lands (c. 1953), 74; M. Luther, Selected Psalms I, Vol. XII in Works (c. 1955), 83, 89.