ἐμπτύω

From the study of Matthew 26:67

Range of meaning

To spit on or at someone or something. In nearly all of its uses it is an act of contempt directed at a person: a public way of saying 'you are shameful and worthless.'

Against the English

'Spit in his face' is accurate in every English version. What English readers may miss is how heavy the act was. Today it is crude and offensive. In ancient Israel it was a formal act of shaming that had a place in law.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the Greek Old Testament (the Septuagint): Numbers 12:14, 'If her father had only spit in her face, would she not be shamed seven days?' Deuteronomy 25:9 lays down that a widow spits in the face of a brother-in-law who refuses his duty to her late husband, an act that publicly disgraces his household. Isaiah 50:6, the Servant: 'I did not turn my face away from the shame of spitting' (aischynēs emptysmatōn). Job 30:10. At Qumran, the community's rule (1QS 7:13) punished anyone who spat during an assembly, and Josephus says the Essenes avoided spitting in company (War 2.147). These show how charged the act was. The Mishnah (m. Bava Qamma 8:6, written down around AD 200) sets the damages for spit that reaches another person at the highest rate of insult payment.

From the study of Mark 14:65

Range of meaning

To spit at, on or in the face of someone. In ancient use it is almost always a deliberate act of contempt, a public way of saying the person is worthless or unclean.

Against the English

English “spit on” is accurate. What modern readers may not feel is how heavy it was. In that culture spitting was a formal act of shaming with legal and religious weight, not just a rude gesture.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the Hebrew Bible spitting in someone's face is a mark of disgrace. In Numbers 12:14, a father spitting in his daughter's face shames her for seven days. In Deuteronomy 25:9 a widow spits in the face of the brother-in-law who refuses his duty to her. See also Job 30:10. The Greek Old Testament (the Septuagint) of Isaiah 50:6 has the servant say he did not turn his face away “from the shame of spittings” (emptysmatōn) and gave his cheeks “to slaps” (rhapismata). Both key nouns of Mark 14:65 appear there. The Mishnah (Bava Kamma 8:6, compiled c. 200 AD but reflecting older custom) sets the fine for spitting on someone at the top of the scale for insults, the same as a back-handed slap. Jesus foretells this exact act in Mark 10:34.

From the study of Luke 18:32

Range of meaning

To spit on or at someone. It is the gesture of utter contempt and public shaming.

Against the English

'Spit upon' (BSB, YLT), 'spit on' (WEB), and the archaic 'spitted on' (KJV) are all accurate.

Used elsewhere in the period

Deuteronomy 25:9 LXX: the widow 'shall spit (emptysetai) in his face' in the shaming ceremony for a man who refuses levirate duty. Numbers 12:14: a father spitting in his daughter's face brings seven days of shame. Isaiah 50:6 LXX: the servant says 'I gave my back to scourges (mastigas)… I did not turn away my face from the shame of spittings (emptysmatōn)'. The next verse, Luke 18:33, continues with 'having flogged (mastigōsantes) him', so the pairing of scourging and spitting from Isaiah 50:6 is reproduced almost exactly.