Mark 14:44

44 Now he who was betraying Him had given them a signal, saying, "Whomever * I kiss, He is the one; seize Him and lead 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).


FOOTNOTES:

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

Mark 14:44 In-Context

42 "Get up, let us be going; behold, the one who betrays Me is at hand!"
43 Immediately while He was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, came up accompanied by a crowd with swords and clubs, who were from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders.
44 Now he who was betraying Him had given them a signal, saying, "Whomever I kiss, He is the one; seize Him and lead Him away under guard."
45 After coming, Judas immediately went to Him, saying, "Rabbi!" and kissed Him.
46 They laid hands on Him and seized Him.

Footnotes 1

New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, California.  All rights reserved.