Bible Dictionary: Greeting

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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary

1. (p. pr. & vb. n.) of Greet.

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

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

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

Greek

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

Library

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
Cæsariensis 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 Thaddæus 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

Thesaurus

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

Bible Concordance

Greeting (19 Occurrences)

Matthew 10:12 As you enter into the household, greet it.
(See NAS NIV)

Luke 1:29 She was greatly agitated at his words, and wondered what such a greeting meant.
(WEY RSV NIV)

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.
(WEB WEY NAS RSV NIV)

Luke 1:44 For behold, when the voice of your greeting came into my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy!
(WEB WEY NAS RSV NIV)

Acts 15:23 They wrote these things by their hand: "The apostles, the elders, and the brothers, to the brothers who are of the Gentiles in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia: greetings.
(Root in WEB KJV WEY ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Acts 21:7 When we had finished the voyage from Tyre, we arrived at Ptolemais. We greeted the brothers, and stayed with them one day.
(See NAS)

Acts 21:19 After exchanging friendly greetings, Paul told in detail all that God had done among the Gentiles through his instrumentality.
(Root in WEY RSV)

Acts 23:26 "Claudius Lysias to the most excellent governor Felix: Greetings.
(Root in WEB KJV ASV DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)

1 Corinthians 16:21 This greeting is by me, Paul, with my own hand.
(WEB WEY NAS RSV NIV)

Colossians 4:10 Aristarchus my fellow prisoner sends greeting to you, and so does Barnabas's cousin Mark. You have received instructions as to him; if he comes to you, give him a welcome.
(WEY NAS NIV)

Colossians 4:11 Jesus, called Justus, also sends greeting. These three are Hebrew converts. They alone among such have worked loyally with me for the Kingdom of God--they are men who have been a comfort to me.
(WEY NIV)

Colossians 4:18 I Paul add with my own hand this final greeting. Be mindful of me in my imprisonment. Grace be with you.
(WEY NAS RSV NIV)

2 Thessalonians 3:17 The greeting of me, Paul, with my own hand, which is the sign in every letter: this is how I write.
(WEB WEY NAS RSV NIV)

Titus 3:15 Every one here sends you greeting. Greet the believers who hold us dear. May grace be with you all.
(WEY RSV NIV)

James 1:1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are in the Dispersion: Greetings.
(Root in WEB KJV ASV DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)

2 John 1:10 If any one cometh unto you, and bringeth not this teaching, receive him not into 'your' house, and give him no greeting:
(ASV NAS RSV)

2 John 1:11 for he that giveth him greeting partaketh in his evil works.
(ASV NAS)

Ezra 4:11 This is the copy of the letter that they sent to Artaxerxes the king: Your servants the men beyond the River, and so forth.
(See RSV)

Ezra 4:17 Then sent the king an answer to Rehum the chancellor, and to Shimshai the scribe, and to the rest of their companions who dwell in Samaria, and in the rest of the country beyond the River: Peace, and so forth.
(See RSV NIV)

Subtopics

Greeting

Related Terms

Salutation (6 Occurrences)

Peace (523 Occurrences)

Greetings (48 Occurrences)

Hebrews (24 Occurrences)

Sends (94 Occurrences)

Hail (42 Occurrences)

Leap (20 Occurrences)

Leapt (2 Occurrences)

Leaped (10 Occurrences)