image sourced from original article at A new study suggests that intimate kissing among lovers in ancient Israel only became common after the Babylonian exile in the 6th century BCE. Dr. Rachelle Gilmour analyzed biblical texts, noting that earlier references to kissing in the Hebrew Bible are almost exclusively non-romantic, involving family members or friends. The earliest clear examples of passionate, mouth-to-mouth kissing appear in the Song of Songs, a work most scholars date to the 5th century BCE.
Gilmour argues that the shift in the meaning of kissing—from a social gesture to an act with sexual connotations—can be traced through changes in biblical language and context. She suggests that this transformation likely resulted from cultural contact with Babylon, where sexual kissing was already established. The study highlights how foreign influence during the Babylonian period extended even to intimate social behaviors in ancient Israel.
