What does נָשַׁק mean in the Bible?
A kiss or touching action receives its meaning from the people and purpose the account names. Naomi kisses her daughters-in-law while blessing them and weeping at a difficult parting.
Hebrew · H5401
נָשַׁק
A kiss or touching action receives its meaning from the people and purpose the account names. Naomi kisses her daughters-in-law while blessing them and weeping at a difficult parting.
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נָשַׁקH5401
What does נָשַׁק mean in the Bible?
Reader summary
Full entry for נָשַׁק (H5401) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H5401?
The BSB source-word alignment has 35 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include and kissed (6), kissed (5), and kiss (2), kiss (2), [and] kiss (1).
Where does נָשַׁק appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Genesis 27:26. Its strongest book concentrations include Genesis (11), 2 Samuel (4), Psalms (3), 1 Kings (2).
What This Word Actually Means
A kiss or touching action receives its meaning from the people and purpose the account names. Naomi kisses her daughters-in-law while blessing them and weeping at a difficult parting. Samuel kisses Saul after pouring oil on his head and announcing the Lord's appointment in that particular account. The remnant described to Elijah has not kissed Baal, so the gesture there concerns false worship rather than family affection.
Proverbs can compare an honest answer to a kiss, while Joab approaches Amasa as if to kiss him before killing him. These uses cannot become one rule that every close gesture establishes trustworthy love or authority. Ask who acts, toward whom and with what narrated result. The broader licensed range also includes touching and armed-language renderings; selected kissing accounts should not silently govern every occurrence.
Present-day applications must respect physical boundaries and keep any claimed spiritual appointment accountable to more than a gesture.
How the Bible Uses It
Family parting, Saul's anointing, refusal of Baal worship, an honest-answer comparison and Joab's deceptive approach give differing purposes for kissing. Direct touching and military renderings elsewhere remain distinct contextual evidence.
- Ruth.1.9
May the Lord enable each of you to find rest in the home of your new husband.” And she kissed them as they wept aloud
Naomi kisses the two daughters-in-law after her blessing, and they weep aloud; the following dialogue preserves their different responses to the difficult return journey.
- 1Sam.10.1
Then Samuel took a flask of oil, poured it on Saul’s head, kissed him, and said, “Has not the Lord anointed you ruler over His inheritance?
Samuel's kiss accompanies oil and his announcement about Saul's appointment, within a specifically narrated prophetic and royal setting rather than a modern transferable credential.
- 1Kgs.19.18
Nevertheless, I have reserved seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him.”
The reserved remnant is described as neither bowing knees to Baal nor kissing him, explicitly attaching the gesture to rejected idolatrous allegiance.
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders Itand kissed6×Genesis 27:27, Genesis 29:13, Genesis 31:55, Genesis 50:1
kissed5×Genesis 29:11, Ruth 1:14, 2 Samuel 14:33, 2 Samuel 19:39
and kiss2×Genesis 27:26, 2 Samuel 15:5
kiss2×Genesis 31:28, Psalms 2:12
[and] kiss1×Hosea 13:2
and [his father] kissed1×Genesis 48:10
and kissed him1×Genesis 33:4
and kisses1×Proverbs 7:13
And she kissed1×Ruth 1:9
are to obey1×Genesis 41:40
armed1×2 Chronicles 17:17
brushing1×Ezekiel 3:13
have kissed1×Psalms 85:10
I would kiss you1×Song Of Solomon 8:1
is like a kiss1×Proverbs 24:26
Joseph kissed1×Genesis 45:15
kissed him1×1 Samuel 10:1
Let him kiss me1×Song Of Solomon 1:2
let me kiss1×1 Kings 19:20
The archers1×Psalms 78:9
Then he and Jonathan kissed1×1 Samuel 20:41
they were archers1×1 Chronicles 12:2
threw a kiss1×Job 31:27
to kiss1×2 Samuel 20:9
Show sample aligned rows
Genesis 27:26וּשְׁקָה־toand kissConjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Imperative - masculine singular | third person feminine singularGenesis 27:27וַיִּשַּׁק־toand kissedConjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singularGenesis 29:11וַיִּשַּׁ֥קtokissedConjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singularGenesis 29:13וַיְנַשֶּׁק־toand kissedConjunctive waw | Verb - Piel - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singularGenesis 31:28לְנַשֵּׁ֥קtokissPreposition-l | Verb - Piel - Infinitive constructGenesis 31:55וַיְנַשֵּׁ֧קtoand kissedConjunctive waw | Verb - Piel - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singularGenesis 33:4וַׄיִּׄשָּׁׄקֵ֑ׄהׄוּׄtoand kissed himConjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular | third person masculine singularGenesis 41:40יִשַּׁ֣קtoare to obeyVerb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singularGenesis 45:15וַיְנַשֵּׁ֥קtoJoseph kissedConjunctive waw | Verb - Piel - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singularGenesis 48:10וַיִּשַּׁ֥קtoand [his father] kissedConjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowGenesis 27:26
Aligned rows35
Books represented14
Genesis11Exodus2Ruth21 Samuel22 Samuel41 Kings21 Chronicles12 Chronicles1Job1Psalms3Proverbs2Song Of Solomon2Ezekiel1Hosea1
Source forms
וַיִּשַּׁק־4xway·yiš·šaq-Genesis 27:27, Genesis 50:1, Exodus 4:27, Exodus 18:7
וַיִּשַּׁ֥ק3xway·yiš·šaqGenesis 29:11, Genesis 48:10, 2 Samuel 14:33
אֶשְּׁקָה־1x’eš·šə·qāh-1 Kings 19:20
אֶשָׁ֣קְךָ֔1xʾɛ·šå̄·qə·ḵå̄Song Of Solomon 8:1
וַיְנַשֵּׁ֧ק1xway·naš·šêqGenesis 31:55
וַיְנַשֵּׁ֥ק1xway·naš·šêqGenesis 45:15
וַיְנַשֶּׁק־1xway·naš·šeq-Genesis 29:13
וַיִּשַּׁ֨ק1xway·yiš·šaq2 Samuel 19:39
Parsing patterns
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular8xGenesis 27:27, Genesis 29:11, Genesis 48:10, Genesis 50:1
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Piel - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular3xGenesis 29:13, Genesis 31:55, Genesis 45:15
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person feminine singular3xRuth 1:9, Ruth 1:14, Job 31:27
Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine plural construct3x1 Chronicles 12:2, 2 Chronicles 17:17, Psalms 78:9
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular | third person masculine singular2xGenesis 33:4, 1 Samuel 10:1
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular2xGenesis 41:40, Proverbs 24:26
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - third person feminine singular1xProverbs 7:13
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - third person masculine singular1x2 Samuel 15:5
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Respect safety and willingness rather than ranking faith by acceptance of physical contact.
- Do not use Joseph's reunion or Naomi's kisses to decide a harmed person's private reconciliation process.
Avoid claiming...
- Every kiss expresses genuine love or confers the authority Samuel announces to Saul.
- The source's wider armed-language range gives every touching gesture a spiritual power.
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. to kiss , literally or figuratively ( touch ); also (as a mode of attachment ), to equip with weapons
Source Gloss
to kiss , literally or figuratively ( touch ); also (as a mode of attachment ), to equip with weapons
Extended definitionSource: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
to kiss, literally or figuratively (touch); also (as a mode of attachment), to equip with weapons BDB: handle Usage: armed (men), rule, kiss, that touched.
Grammatical Forms
How the stem changes the meaning of this verb across the biblical text.
This verb appears through different tense, voice, mood, or stem patterns. Those forms help readers see how the action is presented in context.
Form groups3Aligned forms10
Qalbasic active stem — the word in its most common, direct sense8×
Participle active1Chr 12:2 · 2Chr 17:17 · Ps 78:93×
ImperfectGen 41:40 · Prov 24:262×
Perfect1Kgs 19:18 · Ps 85:112×
Cohortative1Kgs 19:201×
Hiphilcausative active — the subject causes someone else to perform the action1×
Participle activeEzek 3:131×
Pielintensive active — emphasizes thoroughness or repeated action1×
Sequential imperfectPs 2:121×
Word Origins
נָשַׁק is built from these roots:
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
For the Preacher and Teacher
A gesture's significance comes from the relationship and action the account supplies. Naomi's kiss belongs to blessing, weeping and a hard conversation about return. Samuel's kiss belongs to an announcement made with oil in Saul's particular appointment account. The mouths that have not kissed Baal identify refused worship, not a lack of warmth toward neighbors.
Proverbs names an honest answer as its comparison, while Second Samuel lets a seemingly friendly approach precede Amasa's murder. Those differences prevent a teacher from granting trust or authority merely because contact looks affectionate. Read the known action and outcome without claiming private motives where none are given. The wider touching and armed-language witnesses should remain contextual rather than becoming an invented etymological lesson that equips every kiss with power or makes every bodily boundary a spiritual failure.
Anchor passage
Ruth.1.9
Doctrinal connections
- Ruth 1:7-14 places Naomi's kisses within blessing, grief and the differing responses of Orpah and Ruth, preserving the actual family conversation.
- First Samuel 10:1-3 joins Samuel's oil, kiss and appointment announcement in Saul's narrative, without establishing a present-day leader's credentials through contact.
- First Kings 19:16-20 distinguishes refusal to kiss Baal from Elisha's requested goodbye to his parents, making allegiance and family affection different settings.
- Genesis 45:14-16 describes Joseph kissing his brothers with tears before they speak together, preserving this particular reunion after their history of harm.
- Proverbs 24:24-28 compares an honest answer to a kiss while warning against false testimony, making truthfulness the explicit point of the image.
- Second Samuel 20:8-10 presents Joab's approaching kiss and the subsequent killing of Amasa, preventing the external gesture from being treated as trustworthy affection.
The complete Hebrew evidence includes kissing, touching and armed-related renderings. Ezekiel 3:13 describes wings brushing against one another, while Psalm 78:9 occurs in an archers' setting. These contexts do not merge into the family kisses or authorize a new universal symbolic meaning.
From Old to New Testament
Matthew 26:48-50 explicitly identifies Judas' kiss as an arranged signal before Jesus' arrest. This separate Greek account reinforces the need to retain purpose and outcome, without merging Hebrew and Greek identities. Joseph's reunion, Naomi's goodbye and Judas' betrayal must each preserve their people and circumstances rather than prescribing one form of physical reconciliation.