Then did they spit in his face - This, among the Jews, as among us, was significant of the highest contempt and insult, Numbers 12:14; Isaiah 50:6; Job 30:10.
And buffeted him - That is, they struck him with their hands closed, or with the fist.
Others smote him with the palms of their hands - The word used in the original here means literally to strike with rods. It also means to strike the mouth with the open hand, as if to prevent a person’s speaking, or to evince abhorrence of what he had spoken.