Bible Dictionaries
Greet, Greeting

Vine's Expository Dictionary of NT Words

signifies "to greet, welcome," or "salute." In the AV it is chiefly rendered by either of the verbs "to greet" or "to salute." "There is little doubt that the revisers have done wisely in giving 'salute' ... in the passages where AV has 'greet.' For the cursory reader is sure to imagine a difference of Greek and of meaning when he finds, e.g., in Philippians 4:21 , "Salute evey saint in Christ Jesus. The brethren which are with me greet you,' or in 3 John 1:14 , "Our friends salute thee. Greet the friends by name'" (Hastings, Bible Dic.). In Acts 25:13 the meaning virtually is "to pay his respects to."

In two passages the renderings vary otherwise; in Acts 20:1 , of bidding farewell, AV, "embraced them," RV, "took leave of them," or, as Ramsay translates it, "bade them farewell;" in Hebrews 11:13 , of welcoming promises, AV, "embraced," RV, "greeted."

The verb is used as a technical term for conveying "greetings" at the close of a letter, often by an amanuensis, e.g., Romans 16:22 , the only instance of the use of the first person in this respect in the NT; see also 1 Corinthians 16:19,20; 2 Corinthians 13:13; Philippians 4:22; Colossians 4:10-15; 1 Thessalonians 5:26; 2 Timothy 4:21; Titus 3:15; Philemon 1:23; Hebrews 13:24; 1 Peter 5:13,14; 2 John 1:13 . This special use is largely illustrated in the papyri, one example of this showing how keenly the absence of the greeting was felt. The papyri also illustrate the use of the addition "by name," when several persons are included in the greeting, as in 3 John 1:14 (Moulton and Milligan, Vocab). See EMBRACE , LEAVE , SALUTE.

"to rejoice," is thrice used as a formula of salutation in Acts 15:23 , AV, "send greeting," RV, "greeting;" so Acts 23:26; James 1:1 . In 2 John 1:10,11 , the RV substitutes the phrase (to give) "greeting," for the AV (to bid) "God speed." See FAREWELL , GLAD , HAIL , JOY , REJOICE.

a salutation, is always so rendered in the RV; AV, "greetings" in Matthew 23:7; Luke 11:43; 20:46; it is used (a) orally in those instances and in Mark 12:38; Luke 1:29,41,44; (b) in written salutations, 1 Corinthians 16:21 (cp. A, No. 1, in ver. 20); Colossians 4:18; 2 Thessalonians 3:17 .