Acts 28:11-15

Paul Finally Reaches Rome

28:11 After three months we put out to sea ¹  in an Alexandrian ship that had wintered at the island and had the “Heavenly Twins” ²  as its figurehead. ³  28:12 We put in ⁴  at Syracuse ⁵  and stayed there three days. 28:13 From there we cast off ⁶  and arrived at Rhegium, ⁷  and after one day a south wind sprang up ⁸  and on the second day we came to Puteoli. ⁹  28:14 There ¹⁰  we found ¹¹  some brothers ¹²  and were invited to stay with them seven days. And in this way we came to Rome. ¹³  28:15 The brothers from there, ¹⁴  when they heard about us, came as far as the Forum of Appius ¹⁵  and Three Taverns ¹⁶  to meet us. When he saw them, ¹⁷  Paul thanked God and took courage.

¹ tn BDAG 62 s.v. ἀνάγω 4, “as a nautical t.t. (ἀ. τὴν ναῦν put a ship to sea), mid. or pass. ἀνάγεσθαι to begin to go by boat, put out to sea.”

² tn Or “the ‘Twin Gods’”; Grk “the Dioscuri” (a joint name for the pagan deities Castor and Pollux).

³ tn Or “as its emblem.”

⁴ tn Grk “And putting in.” The participle καταχθέντες (katacqente") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. On the meaning of the participle, BDAG 516 s.v. κατάγω states, “Hence the pass., in act. sense, of ships and seafarers put in εἴς τι at a harbor…εἰς Συρακούσας Ac 28:12.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

⁵ sn Syracuse was a city on the eastern coast of the island of Sicily. It was 75 mi (120 km) from Malta.

⁶ tc A few early mss (א* B Ψ [gig] {sa [bo]}) read περιελόντες (perielonte", “[From there we] cast off [and arrived at Rhegium]”; cf. Acts 27:40). The other major variant, περιελθόντες (perielqonte", “[we] sailed from place to place”), is found in Ì⁷⁴ א² A 066 1739 Ï lat sy. Although περιελόντες is minimally attested, it is found in the better witnesses. As well, it is a more difficult reading, for its meaning as a nautical term is uncertain, requiring something like “τὰς ἀγκύρας be supplied = ‘we weighed anchor’” (BDAG 799 s.v. περιαιρέω 1). It thus best explains the rise of the other readings.

⁷ sn Rhegium was a city on the southern tip of Italy. It was 80 mi (130 km) from Syracuse.

⁸ tn Grk “after one day, a south wind springing up, on the second day.” The genitive absolute construction with the participle ἐπιγενομένου (epigenomenou) has been translated as a clause with a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

⁹ sn Puteoli was a city on the western coast of Italy south of Rome. It was in the Bay of Naples some 220 mi (350 km) to the north of Rhegium. Here the voyage ended; the rest of the journey was by land.

¹⁰ tn Grk “where.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the relative pronoun (“where”) has been replaced with the demonstrative pronoun (“there”) and a new sentence begun here in the translation.

¹¹ tn Grk “finding.” The participle εὑρόντες (Jeurontes) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

¹² sn That is, some fellow Christians.

¹³ map For location see JP4-A1.

¹⁴ sn Mention of Christian brothers from there (Rome) shows that God’s message had already spread as far as Italy and the capital of the empire.

¹⁵ sn The Forum of Appius was a small traveler’s stop on the Appian Way about 43 mi (71 km) south of Rome (BDAG 125 s.v. ᾿Αππίου φόρον). It was described by Horace as “crammed with boatmen and stingy tavernkeepers” (Satires 1.5.3).

¹⁶ sn Three Taverns was a stop on the Appian Way 33 mi (55 km) south of Rome.

¹⁷ tn Grk “whom, when he saw [them], Paul.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the relative pronoun (“whom”) was replaced by the personal pronoun (“them”) and a new sentence begun here in the translation.