Matthew 26:48

Mat_26:48. It is usual, though unwarrantable (see on Joh_18:24), to take ἔδωκεν in the sense of the pluperfect (comp. Mar_14:44), in which case it is necessary, with Ewald, to make Mat_26:48 a parenthesis. The Vulgate correctly renders by: dedit. He communicated the signal to them while they were on the way.

ὃν ἂν φιλήσω, κ.τ.λ.] Fritzsche inserts a colon after φιλήσω, and supposes the following words to be understood: est vobis comprehendendus. It may be given more simply thus: Whomsoever I shall have kissed, He it is (just He, no other is the one in question)! This αὐτός serves to single out the person intended, from those about Him. Hermann, ad Viger. p. 733.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Mat 26:48 . ἔδωκεν : the traitor, as he approached the place where he shrewdly guessed Jesus would be, gave ( dedit , Vulg [139] ), not had given . His plan was not cut and dry from the first. In flashed upon him as he drew near and began to think how he would meet his Master. The old charm of the Master reasserts itself in his soul, and he feels he must salute Him affectionately. At the same instant it flashes upon him that the kiss which both smouldering love and cowardice compel may be utilised as a sign. Inconsistent motives? Yes, but such is human nature, especially in the Judas type: two-souled men, drawn opposite ways by the good and evil in them; betraying loved ones, then hanging themselves.

[139] Vulgate (Jerome’s revision of old Latin version).

Mat 26:48 . αὐτός ἐστιν , He and no other is the man.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Verse 48. Gave them a sign] How coolly deliberate is this dire apostate! The man whom I shall kiss - how deeply hypocritical! That is he, hold him fast, seize him - how diabolically malicious!

Hail, Master] A usual compliment among the Jews. Judas pretends to wish our Lord continued health while he is meditating his destruction! How many compliments of this kind are there in the world! Judas had a pattern in Joab, who, while he pretends to inquire tenderly for the health of Amasa, thrust him through with his sword; but the disciple here vastly outdoes his master, and through a motive, if possible, still more base. Let all those who use unmeaning or insidious compliments rank for ever with Joab and Judas.

And kissed him.] And tenderly kissed him - this is the proper meaning of the original word κατεφιλησεν, he kissed him again and again-still pretending the most affectionate attachment to him, though our Lord had before unmasked him.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(48) Whomsoever I shall kiss.—It is probable, from the known customs (1) of the Jews and (2) of the early Christians (Rom_16:16; 1Th_5:26) that this was the usual salutation of the disciples to their Master. St. John, it may be noted, makes no mention of the sign; probably because here, as elsewhere, he seeks to give touches that others had passed over, rather than to repeat what the oral or written teaching of the Church had already made familiar.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And forthwith he came to Jesus,.... As soon as ever he appeared, before the rest could come up; for, he went before them, as Luke says, and that not only as, their guide to direct them to the person they wanted, but he separated himself from them, that it might not be thought that he came with them, or belonged to them:

and said, hail, master; and kissed him. Just as Joab asked Amasa of his health, and took him by the beard to kiss him, and smote him under the fifth rib, Sa2 20:9. The salutation he gave him was wishing him all health, prosperity, and happiness. The Syriac version renders it, "peace, Rabbi"; and the Persic, "peace be upon thee, Rabbi"; which was the very form of salutation the disciples of the wise men gave to their Rabbins,

"Says (n) Aba bar Hona, in the name of R. Jochanan, in what form is the salutation of a disciple to his master?

, "peace be upon thee, Rabbi".

In Mar 14:45, the word "Rabbi" is repeated, this being usual in the salutation of the Jewish doctors; and the rather used by Judas under a pretence of doing him the greater honour, and of showing the highest respect, and strongest affection for him. So this deceitful wretch still addresses him as his master, though he was now serving his most implacable enemies; and wishes him all peace and joy, when he was going to deliver him into the hands of those that sought his life; and to cover all, kissed him, as a token of his friendship and the sincerity of it. It is rightly observed by Dr. Lightfoot, that it was usual for masters to kiss their disciples, particularly their heads; but then not for disciples to kiss their masters: of the former there are many instances in the Jewish writings, but not of the latter: yet, I can hardly think that this was done out of open contempt and derision; but under a pretence of respect and love; and even as being concerned for his present case, and as condoling him under the circumstances he was now likely to be in, through an armed hand, which was just upon him; and which he, by this artifice, would have suggested he had no concern with,

(n) T. Hieros. Shebuot. fol. 34. 1.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

48 Now he that betrayed him gave them a sign, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he: hold him fast.

Ver. 48. Whomsoever I shall kiss] Ah, lewd losel! betrayest thou the Son of man with a kiss? {a} Givest thou thy Lord such rank poison in such a golden cup? Consignest thou thy treachery with so sweet a symbol of peace and love? {b} But this is still usual with those of his tribe. Caveatur osculum Iscarioticum. Jesuits at this day kiss and kill familiarly; officiose occidunt, as one saith of false physicians. When those Rhemish incendiaries, Giffard, Hodgson, and others, had set Savage to work to kill Queen Elizabeth, they first set forth a book to persuade the English Catholics to attempt nothing against her. So when they had sent Squire out of Spain to poison the queen, they taught him to anoint the pummel of her saddle with poison secretly, and then to pray with a loud voice, God save the Queen. Lopez, another of their agents, affirmed at Tyburn, that he had loved the queen as he had loved Jesus Christ: which, from a Jew, was heard not without laughter. So Parsons, when he had hatched that nameless villany the gunpowder plot, set forth his book of resolution; as if he had been wholly made up of devotion, E societate Iesu fuit qui Iesum tradidit. He was from the fellowship of Jesus whom Jesus had taught.

{a} καταφιλειν ουκ εστι φιλειν. Philo.

{b} Sacramento pacis tradidit sacrificium pacis. Jerome.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Judas wished to give them a sign, because Jesus had before been apprehended, and had escaped from them on account of their ignorance of his person; which on this occasion he could also have done, if such had been his pleasure. (St. John Chrysostom)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Mark, Mar 14:44,45, differs not, only instead of hold him fast, he hath, lead him away safely; and instead of

Hail, master, he saith, Master, master. There is in these words nothing difficult or doubtful: Judas had given them a sign how to know Christ, that was his kissing of him: being come where he was, he steps to our Saviour and kissed him, by which he let them know that he was the person against whom their warrant was.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

A sign. As they approached, Judas gave them a sign which would point out the person whom they were to seize. Probably these did not know Jesus by sight; at any rate, amid the crowd he might easily escape detection; it was also night, and even the Paschal moon might not enable the guards to distinguish faces under the shade of the dark olive grove. Whomsoever I shall kiss. In the East such salutation was common among friends, masters, and pupils; and it would awaken no surprise to see Judas thus salute his Teacher. Perhaps he desired to save appearances in the eyes of his fellow disciples. We marvel at the audacity and obduracy of one who could employ this mark of affection and respect to signal an act of the blackest treachery. That same is he whom you have to arrest. Hold him fast. As if he feared an attempt at rescue, or that Jesus might, as before, (Luk_4:30 Joh_8:59) use his miraculous power to effect his escape.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

48, 49. Gave them a sign. A kiss; a common method of salutation among intimate friends. A sign was needful to point Jesus out to the soldiers. Such a traitorous kiss was the depth of depravity—enmity under the guise of friendship.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

[48. Κρατήσατε Αὐτὸν, seize hold of Him) Judas feared lest Jesus should escape on the present, as He had done on a former occasion.—καὶ ἐκράτησαν Αὐτὸν, and they seized hold of Him) First the multitude seized upon Jesus; in the meantime occurred the blow and the miracle on Malchus, whose ear the Saviour touched and healed;[1152] then they surrounded and apprehended Him as an actual prisoner. The former is expressed in Matthew and Mark by the verb κρατεῖν, to seize hold of, the latter in Luke [Luk 22:54] and John [Joh 18:12], by συλλαμβάνειν, to apprehend. Then they moreover bound Him.—B. H. E., p. 530.]

[1152] In the German this is beautifully expressed by the words, “dessen Ohr der HEYLAND angerühret und GEHEILET.”—(I. B.)

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

48.] The common rendering of ἔδωκεν as a plusq. perf. is unnecessary and unwarranted: the aorist is simply historical,—gave them a sign;—when is not stated. On Mark’s addition, καὶ ἀπαγάγετε ἀσφαλῶς, see notes there.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

(M) 48. And he that was delivering Him up gave them a sign, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that is He: seize Him.] Mk. has: “And he that delivered Him up had given them a sign, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that is He: seize Him, and lead Him away safely.”—ἔδωκεν] for Mk.’s pluperfect, cf. 27:18.—σημεῖον.] Mk. has σύσσημον, on which see Swete. Mt. omits καὶ ἀπάγετε ἀσφαλῶς as redundant; see Introduction, p. xxiv.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.