kiss (feet)

The Greek that is translated as “kissing his feet” and “kiss my feet” in these verses in English is translated in Medumba as “massaged his feet,” as people do to show reverence to a chief, especially when imploring his protection or forgiveness.

See also kiss.

kiss

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The Hebrew and the Greek that is usually directly translated as “kiss” in English is translated more indirectly in other languages because kissing is deemed as inappropriate, is not a custom at all, or is not customary in the particular context (see the English translation of J.B. Phillips [publ. 1960] in Rom. 16:16: “Give each other a hearty handshake”). Here are some examples:

  • Pökoot: “greet warmly” (“kissing in public, certainly between men, is absolutely unacceptable in Pökoot.”) (Source: Gerrit van Steenbergen)
  • Southern Birifor: puor or “greet” (source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)
  • Chamula Tzotzil, Ixcatlán Mazatec, Tojolabal: “greet each other warmly” or “hug with feeling” (source: Robert Bascom)
  • Afar: gaba tittal ucuya — “give hands to each other” (Afar kiss each other’s hands in greeting) (source: Loren Bliese)
  • Roviana: “welcome one another joyfully”
  • Cheke Holo: “love each other in the way-joined-together that is holy” (esp. in Rom. 16:16) or “greet with love” (esp. 1Thess. 5:26 and 1Pet. 5.14)
  • Pitjantjatjara: “when you meet/join up with others of Jesus’ relatives hug and kiss them [footnote], for you are each a relative of the other through Jesus.” Footnote: “This was their custom in that place to hug and kiss one another in happiness. Maybe when we see another relative of Jesus we shake hands and rejoice.” (esp. Rom. 16:16) (source for this and two above: Carl Gross)
  • Kamba: “greet with the greeting of love” (source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)
  • Balanta-Kentohe and Mandinka: “touch cheek” or “cheek-touching” (“sumbu” in Malinka)
  • Mende: “embrace” (“greet one another with the kiss of love”: “greet one another and embrace one another to show that you love one another”) (source for this and two above: Rob Koops)
  • Gen: “embrace affectionately” (source: John Ellington)
  • Kachin: “holy and pure customary greetings” (source: Gam Seng Shae)
  • Kahua: “smell” (source: David Clark) (also in Ekari and Kekchí, source: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
  • San Blas Kuna: “smell the face” (source: Claudio and Marvel Iglesias in The Bible Translator 1951, p. 85ff.)
  • Chichewa: “suck” (“habit and term a novelty amongst the young and more or less westernized people, the traditional term for greeting a friend after a long absence being, ‘clap in the hands and laugh happily'”)
  • Medumba: “suck the cheek” (“a novelty, the traditional term being ‘to embrace.'”)
  • Shona (version of 1966) / Vidunda: “hug”
  • Balinese: “caress” (source for this and three above: Reiling / Swellengrebel; Vidunda: project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
  • Tsafiki: earlier version: “greet in a friendly way,” later revision: “kiss on the face” (Bruce Moore [in: Notes on Translation 1/1992), p. 1ff.] explains: “Formerly, kissing had presented a problem. Because of the Tsáchilas’ [speakers of Tsafiki] limited exposure to Hispanic culture they understood the kiss only in the eros context. Accordingly, the original translation had rendered ‘kiss’ in a greeting sense as ‘greet in a friendly way’. The actual word ‘kiss’ was not used. Today ‘kiss’ is still an awkward term, but the team’s judgment was that it could be used as long as long as it was qualified. So ‘kiss’ (in greeting) is now ‘kiss on the face’ (that is, not on the lips).)
  • Kwere / Kutu: “show true friendship” (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

See also Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth and kissed (his feet).

Simon and Jesus

The half-hearted attitude of Simon gains liveliness in the Balinese translation by the change of vocabulary. When he addresses Jesus the Master, he naturally uses deferential terms. In his reflection, however, he speaks “within himself” about Jesus and does not use the deferential terminology. In this way he reveals what he really thinks of his quest.

Source: J.L. Swellengrebel in The Bible Translator 1950, p. 124ff.

He allowed people of bad reputation to touch him (image)

“Usually, Thai men spend their free time with other men. Women only enter to serve them food, but here a woman has entered into the male social space in a counter-cultural way Not only is she female, she is a lowly prostitute. Although a Thai woman may sometimes wash her husband’s feet, she will never use her hair to dry them The men observing her are shocked at it all.”

Drawing by Sawai Chinnawong who employs northern and central Thailand’s popular distinctive artistic style originally used to depict Buddhist moral principles and other religious themes; explanation by Paul DeNeui. From That Man Who Came to Save Us by Sawai Chinnawong and Paul H. DeNeui, William Carey Library, 2010.

For more images by Sawai Chinnatong in TIPs see here.

complete verse (Luke 7:45)

Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 7:45:

  • Noongar: “You did not meet me with a kiss, but she has not stopped kissing my feet since I came here.” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Uma: “You (sing.), you (sing.) did not greet me with a kiss according to our custom. But this woman, she has not stopped kissing my feet from when I first arrived until now.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “You did not kiss me as is our (incl.) custom but this woman since I came in here she has not stopped kissing my feet.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And even though it’s our custom of welcoming to kiss our visitors, you did not kiss me when I arrived. And this woman, ever since I came here, she has continued kissing my feet.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “You (sing.) also did not kiss-me in meeting-me as is our custom, but as for her, she has not stopped kissing my feet starting-from when-I-came.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Also you didn’t kiss (showing respect or gratitude) me, but as for her, from when she entered she has kept on kissing my feet.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Luke 7:45

Exegesis:

philēma moi ouk edōkas ‘a kiss you did not give me.’ philēma (also 22.48) at the beginning of the clause is emphatic. Kissing was a part of the ceremonial welcome to guests, cf. IDB III, 39f.

aph’ hēs (scil. hōras) eisēlthon lit. ‘from the moment I came in.’ When understood rigidly the clause seems to imply that the woman came in together with Jesus, but this does not transpire from vv. 36f. The phrase is, therefore, slightly hyperbolic.

ou dielipen kataphilousa ‘(she) has not stopped kissing.’ For kataphileō cf. on v. 38. dialeipō.

Translation:

You gave me no kiss, or to bring out the pejorative meaning, ‘you could not bring yourself to kiss me’ (Toraja-Sa’dan).

She has not ceased to kiss, or, ‘continuously she has kissed’ (Javanese).

To kiss my feet. When the normal rendering of the verb cannot be used with ‘feet’ as object (see on v. 38) the contrastive parallelism between what is said of Simon and of the woman will be lessened or lost. This may be remedied by making explicit the function of their acts or the intention of their behaviour, e.g. ‘you did not (even) welcome me with a kiss (or, kiss me for a greeting) but … she has not ceased to show me her reverence by touching/caressing/massaging my feet (or, to touch (etc.) my feet to show that she revered me).’

Quoted with permission from Reiling, J. and Swellengrebel, J.L. A Handbook on the Gospel of Luke. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1971. For this and other handbooks for translators see here . Make sure to also consult the Handbook on the Gospel of Mark for parallel or similar verses.