Acts 28:2 - Exposition

Barbarians for barbarous people, A.V. ; common for little, A.V. ; all for every one, A.V. Barbarians ; i.e. not Greeks or Romans, or (in the mouth of a Jew) not Jews. The phrase had especial reference to the strange language of the "barbarian." See St. Paul's use of it ( Romans 1:14 ; 1 Corinthians 14:11 ; Colossians 3:11 ); and compare Ovid's saying ('Trist.,' 3.10, 37), "Barbarus hic ego sum, quia non intelligor ulli;" and that of Herodotus, that the Egyptians call all barbarians who do not speak the Egyptian language(Kuinoel). The word is thought to be formed onomate-poetically, to express the confused sound which a strange language has in a man's ears. Kindness ; φιλανθρωπία , here and Titus 3:4 (comp. Acts 27:3 ). Received us all . The whole party, numbering two hundred and seventy-six. The present rain, and … cold ; showing that the gale still continued, and the wind was still north-east. The plight of the shipwrecked party must have been lamentable, drenched to the skin, with no change of clothes, a cold wind blowing. Probably the hearty meal they had taken on beard ship was the means of saving their lives.