Charles Ellicott Commentary Acts 20:37

"And they all wept sore, and fell on Paul`s neck and kissed him," — Acts 20:37 (ASV)

Fell on Paul’s neck, and kissed him.—We note, as before in Acts 20:19, the absence of any suppression of emotion. As David and Jonathan parted of old (1 Samuel 20:41), so did St. Paul and his fellow-workers part now. In 2 Timothy 1:4 we have a passing reference to another parting scene of perhaps even more tender emotion. To think that they would see his face no more, that this was their last farewell, made the elders of Ephesus and the other disciples eager, up to the very hour of embarkation, for the last embrace.