Acts 28:1-16 BSB

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Acts 28:15

And from thence ,.... That is, from Rome, whither they were going: when the brethren heard of us ; when the Christians at Rome heard that the apostle and his friends were landed at Puteoli, and were on their journey to Rome: these were the members of the church at Rome; for there was a church state here before this time. The apostle had before this written a letter to them, called the Epistle to the Romans, in which he treats them as a church. The Papists say that the Apostle Peter was... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Acts 28:16

And when we came to Rome ,.... To the city itself: the centurion delivered the prisoners to the captain of the guard ; or general of the army; or, as some think, the governor of the "praetorian" band of soldiers, who attended the emperor as his guards: his name is thought to have been Burrhus Afranius; to him Julius the centurion delivered all the prisoners he brought from Caesarea, excepting Paul, to be disposed of by him, in the several prisons, or jails, to whom it belonged to take... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Acts 28:1

They knew that the island was called Melita - There were two islands of this name: one in the Adriatic Gulf, or Gulf of Venice, on the coast of Illyricum, and near to Epidaurus; the other in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and Africa, and now called Malta. It is about fifty miles from the coast of Sicily; twenty miles long, and twelve miles in its greatest breadth; and about sixty miles in circumference. It is one immense rock of white, soft freestone, with about one foot depth of... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Acts 28:2

The barbarous people - We have already seen that this island was peopled by the Phoenicians, or Carthaginians, as Bochart has proved, Phaleg. chap. xxvi.; and their ancient language was no doubt in use among them at that time, though mingled with some Greek and Latin terms; and this language must have been unintelligible to the Romans and the Greeks. With these, as well as with other nations, it was customary to call those βαρβαροι , barbarians, whose language they did not understand. St.... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 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. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Acts 28:4

The venomous beast - Το θηριον , The venomous animal; for θηρια is a general name among the Greek writers for serpents, vipers, scorpions, wasps, and such like creatures. Though the viper fastened on Paul's hand, it does not appear that it really bit him; but the Maltese supposed that it had, because they saw it fasten on his hand. Vengeance suffereth not to live - These heathens had a general knowledge of retributive justice; and they thought that the stinging of the serpent was a... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Acts 28:5

Shook off the beast into the fire, and felt no harm - This is a presumptive evidence that the viper did not bite St. Paul: it fastened on his hand, but had no power to injure him. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Acts 28:6

When he should have swollen - Πιμπρασθαι , When he should have been inflamed: by means of an acrid poison introduced into the blood, it is soon coagulated; and, in consequence, the extremities of the vessels become obstructed, strong inflammation takes place, and all the parts become most painfully swollen. Lucan, ix. v. 791, gives a terrible account of this effect of the bite of a serpent: - - illi rubor igneus ora Succendit, tenditque cutem, pereunte figura Miscens cuncta... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Acts 28:7

The chief man of the island - The term πρωτος , Chief, used hereby St. Luke, was the ancient title of the governor of this island, as is evident from an inscription found in Malta, which runs thus: - Λ. Κ. υἱος, κυρ. ἱππευς. ῥωμ. πρωτος Μελιταιων· Lucius Caius, son of Quirinus, a Roman knight, Chief of the Melitese. See Bochart, Phaleg. and Chan. vol. i. chap. 498, etc., and Grotius. This title is another proof of the accuracy of St. Luke, who uses the very epithet by which the... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Acts 28:8

The father of Publius lay sick - Πυρετοις και δυσεντεριᾳ ; Of a fever and dysentery; perhaps a cholera morbus . Paul - prayed - That God would exert his power; and laid his hands on him, as the means which God ordinarily used to convey the energy of the Holy Spirit, and healed him; God having conveyed the healing power by this means. In such a disorder as that mentioned here by St. Luke, where the bowels were in a state of inflammation, and a general fever aiding the dysentery in... read more

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Acts 28:15

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Acts 28:16

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Acts 28:1

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Acts 28:2

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Acts 28:3

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Acts 28:4

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Acts 28:5

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Acts 28:6

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Acts 28:7

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Acts 28:8

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