וַיָּ֨רׇץ עֵשָׂ֤ו לִקְרָאתוֹ֙ וַֽיְחַבְּקֵ֔הוּ וַיִּפֹּ֥ל עַל־צַוָּארָ֖ו וַׄיִּׄשָּׁׄקֵ֑ׄהׄוּׄ וַיִּבְכּֽוּ׃
Esau ran to greet him. He embraced him and, falling on his neck, he kissed him; and they wept.
Genesis 33:4 (Revised JPS, 2023)
The Masoretic text of the Hebrew Scriptures include a very strange set of dots above the word “kissed” in Genesis 33:4. The dots are not part of the word, and nearly every rabbinical commentary calls this out. It’s like an underline or a highlight. They debate about the meaning.
One group believes that the dots tell us that the kiss is genuine. Like, “see this moment of a changed heart for an otherwise wicked man.”
But Rabbeinu Bahya points us to Amos 1:1 and suggests otherwise. This is not a whole-hearted kiss. There is betrayal on the lips. (Edom and Esau are the same person)
Thus says the Lord:
“For three transgressions of Edom, and for four,
I will not turn away its punishment,
Because he pursued his brother with the sword,
And cast off all pity;
His anger tore perpetually,
And he kept his wrath forever.
Amos 1:11 (NKJV)
If Edom is linked to the wicked authority of Empire, they are never to be trusted. As in international relations, “Empire has no friends. Only interests.”
Others have more… esoteric views:
We therefore must interpret that originally Esau had intended to bite Yaakov’s neck feigning an embrace. G’d made his teeth as soft as wax and Yaakov’s neck as hard as ivory. ויבכו, one on account of his neck, the other on account of his teeth.
Radak on Genesis 33:4