Salutation (from the Lat. salus, health, i. e. a wish- ing well ; in the A. V. " salute" is the rendering of T^'^Si bardk, to bless; ^X'lj, shndl, to inquire; but more prop- erly of Dlbir, shalom, peace [q. v.]; in the N. T. of dairdZofiai, to embrace), a term which, in the Bible, in- cludes two classes or modes of address. (In treating these, we chiefly use the matter in the dictionaries of Kitto and Smith. See Couktesv.
I. Conversation. — The frequent allusion in Scripture to the customary salutations of the Jews invests the sul)ject with a higher degree of interest than it might otherwise claim ; and it is therefore fortunate that there are few scriptural topics which can be better under- stood by the help of the illustrations derivable from the existing usages of the East.
1. T\\^ forms of salutation that prevailed among the Hebrews, so far as can be collected from Scripture, are the following :
(1.) The salutation at meeting consisted, in early times, of various expressions of hlessin;/, such as "God be gracious unto thee" (Gen. xliii, 29) ; "Blessed be thou of the Lord" (Ruth iii, 10; 1 Sam. xv, 13); "The Lord be with you," " The Lord bless thee" (Ruth ii, 4) ; " The blessing of the Lord be upon you ; we bless yoa in the name of the Lord" (I'sa. cxxix, 8). Hence the terra "bless" received the secondary sense of "salute," and is occasionally so rendered in the A. Y. (1 Sam. xiii, 10; xxv, 14; 2 Kings iv, 29; x, 15), though not so frequently as it might have been (e. g. Gen. xxvii, 23 ; xlvii, 7, 10 ; 1 Kings viii, 66). Most of the expres- sions used in meeting, and also tliose which were used in parting, implied that the person who employed them interceded for the other. Hence the word TpS, bardic, which originallj' signified " to bless," meant also " to sa- lute" or " to welcome," and " to bid adieu" (Gen. xlvii, 8-11 ; 2 Kings iv, 29 ; x, 13 ; 1 Chron. xviii, 10).
(2.) The blessing was sometimes accompanied with inquiries as to the health cither of the person addressed or his relations. In countries often ravaged, and among people often ruined, by war, " peace" implied every bless- ing of life; and this phrase had, therefore, the force of " Prosperous be thou." This was the commonest of all salutations (Judg. xix, 20 ; Ruth ii, 4 ; 1 Sam. xxv, 6 ; 2 Sam. XX, 9 ; Psa. cxxix, 8). Hence the Hebrew term used in these instances (asd, shalom) has reference to general well-being, and strictly answers to our "welfare," as given in the text ((ien. xliii, 27; Exod. xviii, 7). It is used, not only in the case of salutation (in which sense it is fretiuently rendered "to salute," e. g. Judg. xviii, 15; 1 Sam. x, 4; 2 Kings x, 13), but also in other cases, where it is designed to soothe or to encourage a person (Gen. xliii, 23; Judg. vi, 23; xix, 20; 1 Chron. xii, 18 ; Dan. x, 19 ; comp. 1 Sam. xx, 21, where it is op- posed to " hurt;" 2 Sam. xviii, 28, "all is well;" and 2 Sam. xi, 7, where it is applied to the progress of the war). The salutation at parting consisted originally of a simple blessing (Gen. xxiv, 00 ; xxviii, 1 ; xlvii, 10 ; Josh, xxii, 6) ; but in later times the term shalom was introduced here also in the form "Go in peace," or, rather, " Farewell" (1 Sam. i, 17 ; xx, 42 ; 2 Sam. xv, 9). This was current at the time of our Saviour's ministry (Mark V, 34; Luke vii, 50; Acts xvi, 36), and is adopt- ed by him in his parting address to his disciples (John xiv, 27). It had even passed into a salutation on meet- ing, in such forms as " Peace be to this house" (Luke x, 5), " Peace be unto you" (Luke xxiv, 36 ; John xx, 19).
The more common salutation, however, at this period was borrowed from the (Jreeks, their word xaipetv (to be joyful or in good health) being used both at meet- ing (Matt, xxvi, 49; xxviii, 9; Luke i, 28) and proba- bly also at departure. In modern times, the ordinary mode of address current in the East resembles the He- brew: Es-seldm aleyhhn, " Veace be on you" (Lane, Afod. Ef/ypt. ii, 7) ; and the term " salam" has been intro- duced into our own language to describe the Oriental salutation. Accordingly, we have the exclamation \al- p£, xaipfre, Joy to thee ! Joy to you ! rendered by Hail! an equivalent of the Latin Arc! Salve! (iMatt. xxvii, 29; xxviii, 9; Mark xv, 18; Luke i, 28; John xix, 3).
A still stronger form of this wish for the health of the person addressed was the expression " Live, my lord" C^SIS nin), as a common salutation among the Phojnicians, and also in use among the Hebrews, but bv them only addressed to their kings in the extended form of "Let the king live forever!' (1 Kings i, 31), which was also employed in the Babylonian and Per- sian courts (Dan. ii, 4^; iii, 9; v. 10; vi, 0, 21 ; Neh. ii, 3). This, which in fact is no more than a wish for a prolonged and prosperous life, has a parallel in the cus- toms of most nations, and does not differ from the " Vi-