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Texts -- Acts 28:1-12 (NET)
Pericope
NET
- Act 28:1-10 -- Paul on Malta
- Act 28:11-16 -- Paul Finally Reaches Rome
Bible Dictionary
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Melita
[ebd] (Acts 27:28), an island in the Mediterranean, the modern Malta. Here the ship in which Paul was being conveyed a prisoner to Rome was wrecked. The bay in which it was wrecked now bears the name of "St. Paul's Bay", "a certai...
[isbe] MELITA - mel'-i-ta (Melite, Acts 28:1): Is now generally identified with Malta. The former error in attributing the reference to the island of Meleda on the East coast of the Adriatic Sea was due to the ancient practice of e...
[smith] (honey), the modern Malta. This island lies in the Mediterranean 60 miles south of Cape Passaro in Sicily, 900 miles from Gibraltar and about 1200 from Jerusalem. It is 17 miles long. by 13 or 10 broad. It is naturally a barr...
[nave] MELITA, an island in the Mediterranean. Paul shipwrecked on the coast of, Acts 28:1-10.
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Luke
[ebd] the evangelist, was a Gentile. The date and circumstances of his conversion are unknown. According to his own statement (Luke 1:2), he was not an "eye-witness and minister of the word from the beginning." It is probable that...
[nave] LUKE A disciple. A physician, Col. 4:14. Wrote to Theophilus, Luke 1:1-4; Acts 1:1, 2. Accompanies Paul in his tour of Asia and Macedonia, Acts 16:10-13; 20:5, 6; to Jerusalem, Acts 21:1-18; to Rome, Acts 27; 28; 2 Tim. 4:...
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Prisoners
[nave] PRISONERS Joseph, Gen. 39:20-23; 40; 41:1-44. Jeremiah, Jer. 38:6-28; 39:14. John the Baptist, Matt. 11:2; 14:3-12; Mark 6:17; Luke 3:20. Jesus, Matt. 26:47-75; 27; Mark 14:43-72; 15; Luke 22:47-71; 23; John 18:3-40; 19. ...
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Ships
[ebd] early used in foreign commerce by the Phoenicians (Gen. 49:13). Moses (Deut. 28:68) and Job (9:26) make reference to them, and Balaam speaks of the "ships of Chittim" (Num. 24:24). Solomon constructed a navy at Ezion-geber b...
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ACTS OF THE APOSTLES, 8-12
[isbe] ACTS OF THE APOSTLES, 8-12 - VIII. The Speeches in Acts. This matter is important enough to receive separate treatment. Are the numerous speeches reported in Acts free compositions of Luke made to order a la Thucydides? Are ...
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Paul
[nave] PAUL Called also Saul, Acts 8:1; 9:1; 13:9. Of the tribe of Benjamin, Rom. 11:1; Phil. 3:5. Personal appearance of, 2 Cor. 10:1, 10; 11:6. Born in Tarsus, Acts 9:11; 21:39; 22:3. Educated at Jerusalem in the school of Ga...
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Minister
[nave] MINISTER, a sacred teacher. Index of Sub-topics Miscellany of Minor Sub-topics; Call of; Character and Qualifications of; Charge Delivered to; Courage of; Duties of; Duties of the Church to; Emoluments of; Faithful, Instanc...
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Barbarian
[ebd] a Greek word used in the New Testament (Rom. 1:14) to denote one of another nation. In Col. 3:11, the word more definitely designates those nations of the Roman empire that did not speak Greek. In 1 Cor. 14:11, it simply ref...
[nave] BARBARIAN, a foreigner, Acts 28:2-4; Rom. 1:14; 1 Cor. 14:11; Col. 3:11. See: Stranger.
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Publius
[ebd] "the chief man of the island" of Malta (Acts 28:7), who courteously entertained Paul and his shipwrecked companions for three days, till they found a more permanent place of residence; for they remained on the island for thr...
[isbe] PUBLIUS - pub'-li-us (Poplios, from the Latin praenomen Publius, derived from populus, "popular"; according to Ramsay it is the Greek form of the Latin nomen Popilius; the Greek title meaning "first," applied to Publius in A...
[smith] the chief man --probably the governor-of Melita, who received and lodged St. Paul and his companions on the occasion of their being shipwrecked off that island. (Acts 28:7) (A.D.55.)
[nave] PUBLIUS, chief official in the island of Melita. Father of, healed by Paul, Acts 28:7, 8.
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Serpent
[isbe] SERPENT - sur'-pent: 1. General: Serpents are not particularly abundant in Palestine, but they are often mentioned in the Bible. In the Hebrew there are 11 names. The New Testament has four Greek names and the Septuagint emp...
[smith] The Hebrew word nachash is the generic name of any serpent. The following are the principal biblical allusions to this animal its subtlety is mentioned in (Genesis 3:1) its wisdom is alluded to by our Lord in (Matthew 10:18) ...
[nave] SERPENT Satan appears in the form of, to Eve, Gen. 3:1-15; 2 Cor. 11:3. Subtlety of, Gen. 3:1; Eccl. 10:8; Matt. 10:16. Curse upon, Gen. 3:14, 15; 49:17. Feeds upon the dust, Gen. 3:14; Isa. 65:25; Mic. 7:17. Unfit for f...
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ISLAND; ISLE
[isbe] ISLAND; ISLE - i'-land, il ((1) 'i, "island" or "isle"; the American Standard Revised Version has "coast" or "coast-land" in Isa 20:6; 23:2,6; the Revised Version margin has "coast-lands" in Gen 10:5; Isa 11:11; 24:15; 59:18...
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Syracuse
[ebd] a city on the south-east coast of Sicily, where Paul landed and remained three days when on his way to Rome (Acts 28:12). It was distinguished for its magnitude and splendour. It is now a small town of some 13,000 inhabitant...
[isbe] SYRACUSE - sir'-a-kus, sir-a-kus' (Surakousai; Latin Syracusae, Ital. Siracusa): Situated on the east coast of Sicily, about midway between Catania and the southeastern extremity of the island. The design of the present work...
[smith] the celebrated city on the eastern coast of Sicily. "The city in its splendor was the largest and richest that the Greeks possessed in any part of the world, being 22 miles in circumference." St. Paul arrived thither in an Al...
[nave] SYRACUSE, a city of Sicily. Paul visits, Acts 28:12.
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Castor and Pollux
[ebd] the "Dioscuri", two heroes of Greek and Roman mythology. Their figures were probably painted or sculptured on the prow of the ship which Luke refers to (Acts 28:11). They were regarded as the tutelary divinities of sailors. ...
[smith] (Acts 28:11) the twin sons of Jupiter and Leda, were regarded as the tutelary divinities of sailors; hence their image was often used as a figure-head for ships. They appeared in heaven as the constellation Gemini . In art th...
[nave] CASTOR AND POLLUX, name of a ship, Acts 28:11.
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Ship
[smith] No one writer in the whole range of Greek and Roman literature has supplied us with so much information concerning the merchant-ships of the ancients as St. Luke in the narrative of St. Paul?s voyage to Rome. Acts 27,28. It i...
[nave] SHIP Built by Noah, Gen. 6:13-22; by Solomon, 1 Kin. 9:26; 2 Chr. 8:17; by Jehoshaphat, 1 Kin. 22:48; 2 Chr. 20:35, 36; of gopher wood, Gen. 6:14; of fir wood, Ezek. 27:5; of bulrushes, Isa. 18:2; sealed with pitch, Gen. 6:1...
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Miracles
[nave] MIRACLES. Index of Sub-topics Catalog of, and Supernatural Events, Of Jesus, in Chronological Order, Of the Disciples of Jesus; Convincing Effect of; Design of; Miraculous Gifts of the Holy Spirit; Miscellany of Minor Sub-...
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PHYSICIAN
[isbe] PHYSICIAN - fi-zish'-an (rophi; iatros): To the pious Jew at all times God was the healer (Dt 32:39): "It was neither herb nor mollifying plaister that cured them, but thy word, O Lord, which healeth all things" (The Wisdom ...
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PAUL, THE APOSTLE, 4
[isbe] PAUL, THE APOSTLE, 4 - IV. His Equipment. Ramsay chooses as the title of chapter ii, in his Paul the Traveler, the words "The Origin of Paul." It is not possible to explain the work and teaching of Paul without a just concep...
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Viper
[ebd] In Job 20:16, Isa. 30:6; 59:5, the Heb. word eph'eh is thus rendered. The Hebrew word, however, probably denotes a species of poisonous serpents known by the Arabic name of 'el ephah. Tristram has identified it with the sand...
[isbe] VIPER - vi'-per ('eph`eh (Job 20:16; Isa 30:6; 59:5); echidna (Mt 3:7 = Lk 3:7; Mt 12:34; 23:33; Acts 28:3)): Several vipers are found in Palestine, but it is not certain that 'eph`eh referred definitely to any of them. See ...
[nave] VIPER A serpent, Job 20:16; Isa. 30:6; 59:5. Fastens on Paul's hand, Acts 28:3. See: Serpent. Figurative Matt. 3:7; 23:33; Luke 3:7.
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God
[nave] GOD. List of Sub-Topics Miscellany; Unclassified Scriptures Relating to; Access to; Compassion of; Creator; Creator of Mankind; Eternity of; Faithfulness of; Fatherhood of; Favor of; Foreknowledge of; Glory of; Goodness of...
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ACTS OF THE APOSTLES, 1-7
[isbe] ACTS OF THE APOSTLES, 1-7 - a-pos'-ls: I. TITLE II. TEXT III. UNITY OF THE BOOK IV. THE AUTHOR V. CANONICITY VI. DATE VII. SOURCES USED BY LUKE VIII. THE SPEECHES IN THE ACTS IX. RELATION OF ACTS TO THE EPISTLES X. CHRONOLOG...
Arts
Questions
- The imprisonment of Paul had a great impact on his ministry. In the first place, we know that there were several imprisonments. Scholars debate about how many, but we know that Paul was, for a short time, in prison in Philipi...
- While all believers are members of the body of Christ, there is the issue of each believer's responsibilities to a local church and its authority in their life through that local body as a whole and its selected leadership as...
- Each of the gospels get its name from the names of the human authors who wrote them, of course, God being the One who enable them to write their message under His inspiration (2 Pet. 1:21). All of these men were either an apo...
Sermon Illustrations
Resources/Books
Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)
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91:3-8 God saves us from those who insidiously try to trap us and from deadly diseases. He does this as a mother bird does when it covers its young with its wings, namely tenderly and carefully. He provides as sure a defense ...
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Peter and his family were evidently living in Capernaum when Jesus performed this miracle (4:13). People considered fever a disease in Jesus' day rather than a symptom of a disease (cf. John 4:52; Acts 28:8). Jesus healed Pet...
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Mark said that Jesus appeared to the Eleven on this occasion. However, John qualified that statement by explaining that Thomas was absent (John 20:24). Mark was speaking of the Eleven as a group.16:14 This event evidently hap...
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Several factors indicate that the writer of this Gospel was the same person who wrote the Book of Acts. First, a man named Theophilus was the recipient of both books (Luke 1:3; Acts 1:1). Second, Acts refers to a previous wor...
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Luke stressed the joy that the Seventy experienced because they participated in God's program. As we have noted before, Luke often referred to the joy that Jesus brought to people (cf. 1:14, 46; 24:52; et al.). In view of Jes...
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Two lines of argument lead to the conclusion that Luke, the friend, fellow missionary, and physician of Paul wrote this book under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. First, there is the internal evidence, the passages writte...
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Longenecker identified five phenomena about the structure of Acts that the reader needs to recognize to appreciate what Luke sought to communicate."1. It begins, like the [Third] Gospel, with an introductory section of distin...
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I. The witness in Jerusalem 1:1-6:7A. The founding of the church 1:1-2:461. The resumptive preface to the book 1:1-52. The command to witness 1:6-83. The ascension of Jesus 1:9-114. Jesus' appointment of a twelfth apostle 1:1...
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The key to the apostles' successful fulfillment of Jesus' commission was their baptism with and consequent indwelling by the Holy Spirit. Without this divine enablement they would only have been able to follow Jesus' example,...
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Luke had just referred to the apostles' teaching, to the awe that many of the Jews felt, to the apostles doing signs and wonders, and to the Christians meeting in the temple (2:43-44, 46). Now he narrated a specific incident ...
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9:10-12 Evidently Ananias was not a refugee from Jerusalem (22:12) but a resident of Damascus. He, too, received a vision of the Lord Jesus (v. 17) to whom he submitted willingly (cf. 1 Sam. 3:4, 10). Jesus gave Ananias speci...
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Peter continued his itinerant ministry around Palestine (cf. 8:25).9:32 Lydda (modern Lod, the site of Israel's international airport) lay on the Mediterranean coastal plain about 10 miles from the sea. It was about 25 miles ...
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Luke recorded the events of Paul's first missionary journey to document the extension of the church into new territory and to illustrate the principles and methods by which the church grew. He also did so to show God's supern...
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Luke recorded Paul's vision of the Macedonian man to explain God's initiative in encouraging Paul and his companions to carry the gospel farther west into Europe.". . . this section [6:6-10] makes it overwhelmingly clear that...
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"The panel is introduced by the programmatic statement of 19:21-22 and concludes with the summary statement of 28:31. Three features immediately strike the reader in this sixth panel: (1) the disproportionate length of the pa...
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For a number of reasons Luke seems to have described this stage of the gospel expansion in detail. He evidently wanted to demonstrate God's protection of Paul, to illustrate the increasingly Gentile nature of gospel expansion...
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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 w...
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28:7-8 God not only healed Paul miraculously, He also enabled him to heal the father of the island's leading citizen (cf. 3:1-10). "The leading man of the island"was a title indicating that Publius was the Roman governor of M...
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28:11 Paul and his companions spent the winter on the island of Malta. Ships began to sail again toward the middle of February. The centurion was able to secure passage on another Alexandrian ship, perhaps another grain ship,...
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Paul was a Roman citizen who had appealed to Caesar and had gained the respect (to say the least) of his centurion escort. Therefore he was able to reside in a private rented residence with a Roman guard (v. 30).This is the e...
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28:23 Luke's concern in this pericope was to emphasize what Paul preached to these men and their reaction to it. The term "kingdom of God"probably means the same thing here as it usually does in the Gospels, namely Messiah's ...
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Sequence of Paul's ActivitiesDateEventReferenceBirth in TarsusActs 22:3Early life and theological education in Jerusalem under GamalielActs 22:334Participation in Stephen's stoning outside JerusalemActs 7:57-8:134Leadership i...
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Sequence of Paul's ActivitiesDateEventReferenceBirth in TarsusActs 22:3Early life and theological education in Jerusalem under GamalielActs 22:334Participation in Stephen's stoning outside JerusalemActs 7:57-8:134Leadership i...
Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)
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And when they were escaped, then they knew that the island was called Melita. 2. And the barbarous people showed us no little kindness: for they kindled a fire, and received us every one, because of the present rain, and beca...