Acts 28:3

And when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks, and laid them on the fire, there came a viper out of the heat, and fastened on his hand. And when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks ('a quantity of dry sticks'), and laid them on the fire. The vigorous activity of Paul's character is observable in this comparatively trifling action (as Webster and Wilkinson remark). There came a viper out of the heat, [apo (G575) TEES ( G3588 _ ) _ thermees (G2329) is the only King James reading: ek ( G1537) of the Received Text has next to no support, and diexelthousa is better than exelthousa (G1831).] - 'a viper darted out from the heat.' Having laid itself up among the sticks on the approach of the cold winter season, an

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...

Verse Acts 28:3. _THERE CAME A VIPER OUT OF THE HEAT_] We may naturally suppose that there had been fuel laid _before_ on the fire, and that the viper was in this fuel, and that it had been revived by the _heat_; and, when St. Paul laid his bundle on the fire, the viper was then in a state to lay hold on his hand....

HAD GATHERED A BUNDLE OF STICKS - For the purpose of making a fire. THERE CAME A VIPER - A poisonous serpent. See the notes on Matthew 3:7. The viper was doubtless in the bundle of sticks or limbs of trees which Paul had gathered, but was concealed, and was torpid. But when the bundle was laid on the fire, the viper became warmed by the heat, and came out and fastened on the hand of Paul. AND FASTENED ON HIS HAND - καθῆψεν kathēpsen. This word properly means to join oneself to; to touch; to adhere to. It might have been by coiling around his hand and arm, or by fastening its fangs in his hand. It is not expressly affirmed that Paul was bitten by the viper, yet it is evidently implied; and it is wholly incredible that a vipe

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 PAUL HAD GATHERED A BUNDLE OF STICKS,.... Had picked up some sticks, and put them in a bundle fit for the fire, as everyone was busy to assist in this extremity; nor did the apostle think such an action below him, who in all things was a man of great humility and condescension: AND LAID THEM ON THE FIRE; to increase it: THERE CAME A VIPER OUT OF THE HEAT: a viper is a kind of serpent, which brings forth its young living, to the number of twenty, only one in a day, which come forth wrapped up in thin skins, which break on the third day, and set them at liberty; and so is reckoned among viviparous animals, from whence it seems to have its name, whereas other serpents lay eggs and hatch them. It is said k, that this remarkable reptile has the biggest and flattest head of all the serpent kind; its usual length is about half an ell, and its thickness an inch; its snout is not unlik...

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

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

THE INHABITANTS OF MALTA. The inhabitants of Malta were of Phoenician extraction; they are called barbarians in Acts 28:2, as they spoke another language than Greek; inscriptions in two languages are found in the island. The date of the landing was before the middle of November (Acts 27:9; Acts 27:27), and the weather was cold, a miserable situation but for the kindness of the inhabitants. For Paul's sentiments on such an occasion, see 2 Corinthians 1:4 and that epistle generally, written about a year before this. But all that is told us of him is that he gathered some sticks, and what came out of them (_cf._...

When we had been brought safely to shore, we recognized that the island was Malta. The natives showed us quite extraordinary kindness for they lit a bonfire and brought us all to it because of the rain which had come on and the cold. When Paul had twisted up a faggot of sticks and placed it on the fire, a viper came out of it because of the heat and fastened on his hand. When the natives saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to each other, "This man must be a murderer and, although he has been rescued from the sea, justice has not allowed him to live." But Paul shook the snake off into the fire and took no harm. They stood waiting for him to swell up or suddenly to fall down dead; and when they had waited expectantly for a long time and saw that nothing untoward was happening to him, they changed their minds and began to say that he was a god. It was upon the island of Malta th...