And he that betrayed him had given them a token,.... A common sign, in which they agreed; and so this same Greek word is used by the Jews c:
"said R. Phinehas in the name of R. Reuben, did you ever see one man go out of the north, and another from the south, and meet each other, except they made, סימנא, "a common sign", between them.''
Such an one the traitor gave his company;
saying, whomsoever I shall kiss, the same is he; Jesus of Nazareth; who was to be delivered to them:
take him, and lead him away safely; with care and caution, lest he should get out of their hands, and make his escape, as he had sometimes done: the word "safely", is omitted in the Arabic, Persic, and Ethiopic versions. The Vulgate Latin renders it "cautiously", and so does the Syriac version, which joins it to the words, "take him"; Matthew 26:48.
c Midras Samuel, sect. 9. apud Buxtorf. Lex. Rab. p. 1519.