Acts 28:1

AND WHEN THEY WERE ESCAPED, THEN THEY KNEW THAT THE ISLAND WAS CALLED MELITA. And when they were escaped, then they knew - `then we knew' is evidently the true reading [epegnoomen ( G1921 )]. That the island was called Melita (see the note at Acts 28:39 ). The opinion that this island was not Malta to the south of Sicily, but Meleda in the Gulf of Venice-which until lately had respectable support among competent judges-is now all but, if not entirely, exploded; recent examination of all the places on the spot, and of all writings and principles bearing on the question, by gentlemen of the highest qualifications-particularly Mr. Smith-having set the question, it may now be affirmed, at rest....

− 1.That doleful spectacle is described in the beginning of the chapter, when so many men being wet, and also all berayed with the foam and filth of the sea, and stiff with cold, did with much ado crawl to the shore; for that was all one as if they had been cast up by the sea to die some other death. After that, Luke declareth that they were courteously entertained of the barbarians, that they kindled a fire that they might dry their clothes, and refresh their joints, which were stiff with cold, and at length that they were saved − (654) from the shower. Therefore, in that Paul commendeth these duties, he showeth his thankfulness; and so great liberality toward strangers is for good causes advanced, whereof there be rare examples in the world. And though common nature doth wring out of the barbarous Gentiles some affection of mercy in so great necessity; yet undoubtedly it was God which...

1-10 God can make strangers to be friends; friends in distress. Those who are despised for homely manners, are often more friendly than the more polished; and the conduct of heathens, or persons called barbarians, condemns many in civilized nations, professing to be Christians. The people thought that Paul was a murderer, and that the viper was sent by Divine justice, to be the avenger of blood. They knew that there is a God who governs the world, so that things do not come to pass by chance, no, not the smallest event, but all by Divine direction; and that evil pursues sinners; that there are good works which God will reward, and wicked works which he will punish. Also, that murder is a dreadful crime, one which shall not long go unpunished. But they thought all wicked people were punished in this life. Though some are made examples in this world, to prove that there is a God and a Pro...

CHAPTER XXVIII. _St. Paul, and the rest of the crew, getting safely ashore, find_ _that the island on which they were shipwrecked is called_ Melita, 1. _They are received with great hospitality by the inhabitants_, 2. _A viper comes out of the bundle of sticks, laid on the fire, and_ _seizes on Paul's hand_, 3. _The people, seeing this, suppose him to be a murderer, and thus_ _pursued by Divine vengeance_, 4. _Having shook it off his hand, without receiving any damage, they_ _change their minds, and suppose him to be a god_, 5, 6.

THEY KNEW - Either from their former acquaintance with the island, or from the information of the inhabitants. WAS CALLED MELITA - Now called “Malta.” It was celebrated formerly for producing large quantities of honey, and is supposed to have been called Melita from the Greek word signifying honey. It is about 20 miles in length from east to west, and 12 miles in width from north to south, and about 60 miles in circumference. It is about 60 miles from the coast of Sicily. The island is an immense rock of white soft freestone, with a covering of earth about one foot in depth, which has been brought from the island of Sicily. There was also another island formerly called “Melita,” now called “Meleda,” in the Adriatic Sea, near the coast of Illyricum, and some have supposed that Paul was shipwrecked on that island. But tradition has uniformly said that it was on the island now called “Malta...

EXPOSITION ACTS 28:1 We for _they, _A.V. and T.R. (twice). WAS CALLED. It reads as if it was the answer to their question to the natives, "What is this island called?" MELITA. That Melita is the island of _Malta, _and not _Meleda _off the coast of Dalmatia, is demonstrated in Smith's ' Voyage and Shipwreck of St. Paul,' and it is not worth while here to consider the arguments in favor of Meleda. _Melita _appears to be a Phoenician name, from the root in Hebrew טלַםָ, to escape (Bochart, 'Canaan,' Acts 1:26), meaning, therefore, a "refuge," a harbor of refuge £ so called from sailors often running into Valetta during a gale; or possibly from לֶםֶ, clay, in Italian _malta, _from the clay which forms the bottom of the

AND WHEN THEY WERE ESCAPED,.... From the danger they were exposed to by shipwreck, and were got safe to land; this is omitted in the Syriac version: THEN THEY KNEW THAT THE ISLAND WAS CALLED MELITA; an island toward the African shore, where it is placed both by Pliny g, and Ptolomy h; in which, the latter says, was the city Melita: it lies between Sicily and Tripolis of Barbary, and is now called Malta: it was famous for the knights of Rhodes, which are now called the knights of Malta: it has its name from מלט, "to escape", it being formerly a refuge to the Phoenicians, especially in stormy weather, in their long voyage from Tyre to Gades; and was indeed a place of escape to the Apostle Paul, and those that were with him. And perhaps it might be so called from its being a refuge for pirates; for Cicero i says, here pirates used to winter almost every year, and yet did not spoil the temp...

Acts 28:1. _And when they were escaped, then they knew that the island was called Melita. And the barbarous people shewed us no little kindness: for they kindled a fire, and received us every one, because of the present rain, and because of the cold. And when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks,_ It must have been a fine sight to see the great apostle of the Gentiles gathering a bundle of sticks to put on the fire. But the men who can do great things are usually the men who do not disdain to do little things. Acts 28:3. And laid them on the fire, there came a viper out of the heat, and fastened on his hand. And when the barbarians saw the venomous beast hang on his hand, they said among themselves, No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he hath escaped the sea, yet vengeance suffer

ACTS 28:1 Meli,th {A} The reading Melith,nh (B* _al_) probably arose through dittography of some of the letters in Meli,th h` nh/soj in _scriptio continua_. The reading Mutilh,nh, presupposed by several Latin witnesses, is a translational or transcriptional error, occasioned perhaps by the recollection of Acts 20:14 (where the alternative spelling Mitulh,nh occurs)....

CHAPTER 28 _ 1. In the Island of Melita (Acts 28:1)._ 2. The arrival in Rome (Acts 28:11). 3. Paul calling the chief of the Jews and his message (Acts 28:17). Melita, which means “honey,” is the island of Malta. It was even then a prominent place for navigation where many vessels wintered. Luke calls the inhabitants Barbarians, a term used by the Greeks for all peoples who did not use their language. The wrecked company was not plundered by the people of the island, but instead received much kindness and were made comfortable in the cold rain which fell. It was God who moved the hearts of these islanders to show such hospitality to the shipwrecked company for the sake of His servants. Paul is a