And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him: and they wept.
Ver. 4. And kissed him.] The word kissed hath a prick over every letter in the original: to note, say the Hebrew doctors, that this was a false and hypocritical kiss, a Judas-kiss. Hebrew Text Note Kαταφιλειν ου εστι φιλειν, saith Philo: Amos non semper est in osculo. But our interpreters are agreed that this kiss was a sign that his heart was changed from his former hatred, a and that those extraordinary pricks do denote the wonder of God's work therein; which is further confirmed in that they both wept, which could not easily be counterfeit, though they were in Ishmael, that notable hypocrite, Jer 41:6 and in the emperor Andronicus, who, when he had injuriously caused many of the nobility to be put to death, pretended himself sorry for them, and that with tears plentifully running down his aged cheeks, as if he had been the most sorrowful man alive. So the Egyptian crocodile, having killed some living beast, lieth upon the dead body, and washeth the head thereof with her warm tears, which she afterward devoureth, with the dead body. b We judge more charitably of Esau here. And yet we cannot be of their mind, that herehence conclude his true conversion and salvation. We must take heed we neither make censure's whip nor charity's cloak too long: we may offend in both, and incur the curse, as well by "calling evil good," as "good evil". Isa 5:20 Latomus of Lovain wrote, that there was no other a faith in Abraham than in Cicero. Another wrote a long defence and commendation of Cicero, and makes him a very good Christian, and true penitentiary, because he saith, somewhere, Reprehendo peccata mea, quid Pompeio conflsus, eiusque partes secutus fuerim. I believe neither of them. c
a Qui probabilius loquuntur, aiunt eo ipso notari animi Esauici conversionem. - Am.
b Turk. Hist., fol. 50, 175.
c Joh. Manlii, loc. com., 496, 483.