Mark 14:44

44 The traitor had given the crowd a signal: "The man I kiss is the one you want. Arrest him and take him away under guard."

Mark 14:44 Meaning and Commentary

Mark 14:44

And he that betrayed him had given them a token
A common sign, in which they agreed; and so this same Greek word is used by the Jews ^F3:

``said R. Phinehas in the name of R. Reuben, did you ever see one man go out of the north, and another from the south, and meet each other, except they made, (anmyo) , "a common sign", between them.''

Such an one the traitor gave his company;

saying, whomsoever I shall kiss, the same is he;
Jesus of Nazareth; who was to be delivered to them:

take him, and lead him away safely;
with care and caution, lest he should get out of their hands, and make his escape, as he had sometimes done: the word "safely", is omitted in the Arabic, Persic, and Ethiopic versions. The Vulgate Latin renders it "cautiously", and so does the Syriac version, which joins it to the words, "take him"; (See Gill on Matthew 26:48).

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FOOTNOTES:

F3 Midras Samuel, sect. 9. apud Buxtorf. Lex. Rab. p. 1519.

Mark 14:44 In-Context

42 Get up, let us go. Look, here is the man who is betraying me!"

43 Jesus was still speaking when Judas, one of the twelve disciples, arrived. With him was a crowd armed with swords and clubs and sent by the chief priests, the teachers of the Law, and the elders.

44 The traitor had given the crowd a signal: "The man I kiss is the one you want. Arrest him and take him away under guard."

45 As soon as Judas arrived, he went up to Jesus and said, "Teacher!" and kissed him.

46 So they arrested Jesus and held him tight.