Acts 28:1-2

Malta, also called Melita (meaning refuge, which it proved to be for Paul and his companions), lies about 60 miles south of the island of Sicily. It is about 18 miles long and 8 miles wide. It is also about 500 miles west of Crete and 180 miles northwest of Africa. People of Phoenician origin inhabited it in Paul’s day. Luke called them "barbarians" (Gr. barbaroi) meaning people whose culture was not Greek. These people were not savages or uncultured, however, as is clear from their hospitable treatment of the shipwreck victims.