In the biblical context, greetings hold significant cultural and spiritual importance, reflecting the values and social norms of the times. The act of greeting is more than a mere exchange of pleasantries; it often conveys respect, peace, and the acknowledgment of another's presence and worth.

Old Testament Context

In the Old Testament, greetings are often associated with blessings and expressions of peace. For instance, when Boaz greets his reapers in the field, he says, "The LORD be with you," to which they respond, "The LORD bless you" (Ruth 2:4). This exchange highlights the integration of faith into daily interactions, where invoking the name of the LORD is a common practice in greetings.

The Hebrew word "shalom," often translated as "peace," is a common greeting that encompasses a wish for completeness, welfare, and harmony. This greeting is not merely the absence of conflict but a holistic blessing for the well-being of the individual.

New Testament Context

In the New Testament, greetings continue to play a vital role in the social and spiritual life of the early Christian communities. The Apostle Paul frequently begins and ends his epistles with greetings that include blessings of grace and peace. For example, in Romans 1:7, Paul writes, "Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ" . This greeting underscores the theological foundation of Christian fellowship, rooted in the grace and peace that come from God.

Jesus Himself emphasizes the importance of greetings in His teachings. In the Sermon on the Mount, He instructs His followers, "And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even Gentiles do the same?" (Matthew 5:47). Here, Jesus challenges His disciples to extend their greetings beyond their immediate circle, promoting a love that transcends social and ethnic boundaries.

Cultural and Social Implications

In biblical times, greetings were often accompanied by physical gestures such as a kiss, bow, or embrace, which signified respect and affection. The "holy kiss" mentioned by Paul in several of his letters (e.g., Romans 16:16, 1 Corinthians 16:20) was a customary greeting among early Christians, symbolizing unity and brotherly love within the body of Christ.

The act of greeting also served as a means of identifying and welcoming fellow believers. In 3 John 1:14, the apostle writes, "Peace to you. The friends here send you greetings. Greet the friends there by name" . This personal touch in greetings reflects the close-knit nature of the early Christian communities and their commitment to fostering relationships grounded in faith.

Theological Significance

Greetings in the Bible often carry theological weight, as they are opportunities to express and reinforce the core tenets of the faith. The frequent pairing of "grace" and "peace" in New Testament greetings encapsulates the essence of the Gospel message—God's unmerited favor and the reconciliation brought through Christ.

Moreover, biblical greetings serve as a reminder of the believer's identity and mission. As ambassadors of Christ, Christians are called to extend greetings that reflect the love, grace, and peace of God, thereby witnessing to the transformative power of the Gospel in everyday interactions.

In summary, biblical greetings are rich in cultural, social, and theological significance, serving as a means of expressing faith, fostering community, and extending the love of God to others.1. (p. pr. & vb. n.) of Greet.

2. (n.) Expression of kindness or joy; salutation at meeting; a compliment from one absent.

GREETING

gret'-ing (sha'-al; chairo, aspasmos, aspazomai):

(1) Sha'-al means "to ask," "to inquire of anyone respecting welfare," hence, "to greet." In the Old Testament the word "greet" occurs only once in the King James Version or the Revised Version (British and American), namely, in 1 Samuel 25:5, "Go to Nabal, and greet him in my name." But it is implied in other places where shalom ("well," "prosperity," "peace"), the common Hebrew greeting, is used; e.g. in Genesis 37:4, it is said of Joseph that "his brethren could not speak peaceably unto him," i.e. could not give him the common friendly greeting of "Peace!" "Peace be to thee!" So, in Genesis 43:27, the Revised Version (British and American) "He asked them of their welfare" (King James Version margin "peace"); Exodus 18:7, "They asked each other of their welfare"(King James Version, margin "peace"); 2 Samuel 11:7, "how Joab did, and how the people did" (the Revised Version (British and American) "fared," the King James Version margin "of the peace of"); Joab said to Amasa (2 Samuel 20:9), the Revised Version (British and American) "Is it well with thee, my brother?" (Hebrew "Art thou in peace, my brother?"); Boaz greeted his reapers with "Yahweh be with you," and they answered, "Yahweh bless thee" (Ruth 2:4; compare Psalm 129:8, "The blessing of Yahweh be upon you; we bless you in the name of Yahweh"). For the king, we have, the King James Version and the English Revised Version God save the king (m "Let the king live," the American Standard Revised Version "(Long) live the king") (1 Samuel 10:24, etc.); "Let my lord king David live for ever" (1 Kings 1:31; see also Nehemiah 2:3 Daniel 2:4, etc.). In Ecclesiasticus 6:5 it is said "a fair-speaking tongue will increase kind greetings," the Revised Version (British and American) "multiply courtesies" (euprosegora).

(2) When Jesus sent forth His disciples to proclaim the kingdom, they were to "salute" the house they came to (Matthew 10:12), saying (Luke 10:5), "Peace (eirene) be to this house!"; if it was not worthy, the blessing should return to themselves. After His resurrection He greeted His disciples saying, "Peace be unto you" (Luke 24:36 John 20:19, 21, 26); He left His "peace" with them as His parting blessing (John 14:27)-"not as the world giveth," in a formal way. A frequent form of greeting in the New Testament is chairo ("to rejoice," imperative and infinitive, chaire, chairete, "Joy to thee," "Joy to you," translated "Hail!" and "All hail!" Matthew 26:49; Matthew 27:29; Matthew 28:9 Mark 15:18 Luke 1:28 John 19:3), "Rejoice!" (Philippians 3:1; the English Revised Version, margin "farewell"). Another word for greeting is aspasmos, "greetings in the markets" (the King James Version Matthew 23:7 Mark 12:38, "salutations"; Luke 11:43, "greetings," Luke 20:46; also Luke 1:29, 41, 44 1 Corinthians 16:21; Colossians 4:18 2 Thessalonians 3:17; in all these places the Revised Version (British and American) has "salutation").

(3) Of epistolary greetings we have examples in Ezra 4:17, "Peace" (shelam), etc.; 5:07; Daniel 4:1; Daniel 6:25. These are frequent in the Apoc: 1 Esdras 6:7, "to King Darius greeting" (chairo); 8:09; 1 Maccabees 10:18, etc.; 2 Maccabees 1:10, "greeting, health," etc. We have the same form in Acts 15:23; Acts 23:26. In 3 John 1:14 it is, "Peace (be) unto thee. The friends salute thee." Paul opens most of his epistles with the special Christian greeting, "Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 1:7 1 Corinthians 1:3, etc.). Also at the close, "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you" (1 Corinthians 16:23 2 Corinthians 13:14, etc.). He directs greetings to be given to various persons, and sends greetings from those who are with him (Romans 16:5-23 1 Corinthians 16:19 2 Corinthians 13:13 Philippians 4:21 Colossians 4:10, etc.). In those cases the word is aspazomai, and the Revised Version (British and American) translates "salute," etc. (compare James 1:1 1 Peter 1:2; 1 Peter 5:14; 2 Peter 1:2 2 John 1:3, 13 Jude 1:2).

See GODSPEED; KISS.

W. L. Walker

783. aspasmos -- a greeting, salutation
... a greeting, salutation. Part of Speech: Noun, Masculine Transliteration: aspasmos
Phonetic Spelling: (as-pas-mos') Short Definition: a greeting, salutation ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/783.htm - 6k

5463. chairo -- to rejoice, be glad
... verb Definition to rejoice, be glad NASB Word Usage am glad (1), glad (7), gladly
(1), greeted* (1), greeting (2), greetings (4), hail (4), joyfully (1), make ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/5463.htm - 10k

782. aspazomai -- to welcome, greet
... verb Definition to welcome, greet NASB Word Usage acclaim (1), give...your greeting
(1), greet (41), greeted (3), greeting (1), greets (5), paid their respects ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/782.htm - 7k

To Innocent, Bishop of Rome, Greeting in the Lord.
... to innocent, bishop of rome, greeting in the lord. Our body it is true
is settled in one place, but the pinion of love wings its ...
/.../chrysostom/on the priesthood/to innocent bishop of rome.htm

The Angel's Greeting
... ECKHART'S SERMONS III THE ANGEL'S GREETING. THE ANGEL'S GREETING St Luke
1:28.""Hail, thou that art highly favoured among women, the Lord is with thee.". ...
/.../eckhart/meister eckharts sermons/iii the angels greeting.htm

Letter xii. Leo, Bishop of the City of Rome, to all the Bishops of ...
... Letter XII. Leo, bishop of the city of Rome, to all the bishops of Mauritania
C??sariensis in Africa, greeting the Lord. Leo, bishop ...
/.../leo/writings of leo the great/letter xii leo bishop of.htm

The Epistle of St. James
... 1 James, a servant of God and the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes in the
Dispersion: greeting. Three features in this address are singular. ...
/.../moffat/the general epistles james peter and judas/the epistle of st james.htm

An Embassage in Cyrene and Asia to Caesar, Concerning the ...
... 3. "Caesar to Norbanus Flaccus, sendeth greeting. ... 5. "Marcus Agrippa to the
magistrates, senate, and people of Cyrene, sendeth greeting. ...
/.../josephus/the antiquities of the jews/chapter 6 an embassage in.htm

The Messenger
... "The Lady Senci sends thee greeting and would speak with thee. ... He made a jerky
obeisance. "Greeting, son of Mentu. Dost thou remember me?". ...
//christianbookshelf.org/miller/the yoke/chapter iii the messenger.htm

Preaching of the Apostle Thadd??us at Edessa; Copy of Five Letters ...
... "Abgar, king of Armenia, to my Lord Tiberius, emperor of the Romans, greeting:". ...
"Abgar, king of the Armenians, to my son Nerseh, greeting:". ...
/...//christianbookshelf.org/unknown/the decretals/viii preaching of the apostle.htm

The Punishment of Atsu
... "Greeting, Atsu. The peace of the divine Mother attend thee," he said. "Snofru,
the beloved of Ra at On, sends thee greeting by his servant, Ranas.". ...
//christianbookshelf.org/miller/the yoke/chapter viii the punishment of.htm

The Risen Lord's Greetings and Gifts
... rush of rapture and disturbance of joy shook the minds of the disciples, and then
estimate the calm and calming power of that matter-of-fact and simple greeting ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture b/the risen lords greetings and.htm

V. ...
... Now follows the greeting to those to whom he writes. ... Thus we have the superscription,
with the greeting; now he begins the Epistle, and says: ...
/.../the epistles of st peter and st jude preached and explained/chapter i v .htm

Greeting (19 Occurrences)
... & vb. n.) of Greet. 2. (n.) Expression of kindness or joy; salutation at meeting;
a compliment from one absent. Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia. GREETING. ...
/g/greeting.htm - 18k

Salutation (6 Occurrences)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary. (n.) A greeting or expression of good will or courtesy;
the act of saluting, or paying respect or reverence, by the customary words ...
/s/salutation.htm - 10k

Peace (523 Occurrences)
... (1) Shalom was the common friendly greeting, used in asking after the health of
anyone; also in farewells (Genesis 29:6, "Is it well with him ... See also GREETING. ...
/p/peace.htm - 46k

Greetings (48 Occurrences)
... Colossians 4:10 Aristarchus my fellow prisoner sends greeting to you, and so does
Barnabas's cousin Mark. ... Titus 3:15 Every one here sends you greeting. ...
/g/greetings.htm - 18k

Hebrews (24 Occurrences)
... Yet the supposition that a greeting once stood at the beginning of our document
is not so impossible as Zahn thinks (Introduction to the New Testament, II, 313 ...
/h/hebrews.htm - 70k

Sends (94 Occurrences)
... Colossians 4:10 Aristarchus my fellow prisoner sends greeting to you, and so does
Barnabas's cousin Mark. ... Titus 3:15 Every one here sends you greeting. ...
/s/sends.htm - 32k

Hail (42 Occurrences)
... 9. (n.) An exclamation of respectful or reverent salutation, or, occasionally, of
familiar greeting. 10. (n.) A wish of health; a salutation; a loud call. Int. ...
/h/hail.htm - 25k

Leap (20 Occurrences)
... Luke 1:41 It happened, when Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, that the baby leaped
in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. ...
/l/leap.htm - 13k

Leapt (2 Occurrences)
... Leapt (2 Occurrences). Luke 1:41 and as soon as Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting,
the babe leapt within her. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, (WEY) ...
/l/leapt.htm - 7k

Leaped (10 Occurrences)
... Luke 1:41 It happened, when Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, that the baby leaped
in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. ...
/l/leaped.htm - 9k

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Greeting: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.com

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