--- title: "Acts 28 - Study King James Bible with clarkes commentary" description: "Read Acts 28 with clarkes commentary commentary. 1 And when they were escaped, then they knew that the island was called Melita. 2 And the barbarous people shewed us no little kindness: for they kindled" image: "/_app/immutable/assets/missing.C7wGMEZ6.jpg" url: "https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/clarkes-commentary/acts/28" --- [ Read](/kjv/acts/28)[ Commentary](/study/acts/28)[ Interlinear](/interlinear/acts/28) Audio 1 And when they were escaped, then they knew that the island was called Melita. 2 And the barbarous people shewed us no little kindness: for they kindled a fire, and received us every one, because of the present rain, and because of the cold. 3 And when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks, and laid *them* on the fire, there came a viper out of the heat, and fastened on his hand. 4 And when the barbarians saw the *venomous* beast hang on his hand, they said among themselves, No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he hath escaped the sea, yet vengeance suffereth not to live. 5 And he shook off the beast into the fire, and felt no harm. 6 Howbeit they looked when he should have swollen, or fallen down dead suddenly: but after they had looked a great while, and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds, and said that he was a god. 7 In the same quarters were possessions of the chief man of the island, whose name was Publius; who received us, and lodged us three days courteously. 8 And it came to pass, that the father of Publius lay sick of a fever and of a bloody flux: to whom Paul entered in, and prayed, and laid his hands on him, and healed him. 9 So when this was done, others also, which had diseases in the island, came, and were healed: 10 Who also honoured us with many honours; and when we departed, they laded *us* with such things as were necessary. 11 And after three months we departed in a ship of Alexandria, which had wintered in the isle, whose sign was Castor and Pollux. 12 And landing at Syracuse, we tarried *there* three days. 13 And from thence we fetched a compass, and came to Rhegium: and after one day the south wind blew, and we came the next day to Puteoli: 14 Where we found brethren, and were desired to tarry with them seven days: and so we went toward Rome. 15 And from thence, when the brethren heard of us, they came to meet us as far as Appii forum, and The three taverns: whom when Paul saw, he thanked God, and took courage. 16 And when we came to Rome, the centurion delivered the prisoners to the captain of the guard: but Paul was suffered to dwell by himself with a soldier that kept him. 17 And it came to pass, that after three days Paul called the chief of the Jews together: and when they were come together, he said unto them, Men *and* brethren, though I have committed nothing against the people, or customs of our fathers, yet was I delivered prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans. 18 Who, when they had examined me, would have let *me* go, because there was no cause of death in me. 19 But when the Jews spake against *it*, I was constrained to appeal unto Cæsar; not that I had ought to accuse my nation of. 20 For this cause therefore have I called for you, to see *you*, and to speak with *you*: because that for the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain. 21 And they said unto him, We neither received letters out of Judæa concerning thee, neither any of the brethren that came shewed or spake any harm of thee. 22 But we desire to hear of thee what thou thinkest: for as concerning this sect, we know that every where it is spoken against. 23 And when they had appointed him a day, there came many to him into *his* lodging; to whom he expounded and testified the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus, both out of the law of Moses, and *out of* the prophets, from morning till evening. 24 And some believed the things which were spoken, and some believed not. 25 And when they agreed not among themselves, they departed, after that Paul had spoken one word, Well spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet unto our fathers, 26 Saying, Go unto this people, and say, Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive: 27 For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with *their* eyes, and hear with *their* ears, and understand with *their* heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. 28 Be it known therefore unto you, that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and *that* they will hear it. 29 And when he had said these words, the Jews departed, and had great reasoning among themselves. 30 And Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house, and received all that came in unto him, 31 Preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence, no man forbidding him. [Acts 27](/study/acts/27) [Romans 1](/study/romans/1) ## Commentary To verse 1 Verse [Acts 28:1](/kjv/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 earth on an average, and most of this has been brought from Sicily! It produces cotton, excellent fruits, and fine *honey*; from which it appears the island originally had its name; for μελι, *meli*, and in the genitive case, μελιτος, *melitos*, signifies *honey*. Others suppose that it derived its name from the Phoenicians, who established a colony in it, and made it a place of *refuge*, when they extended their traffic to the ocean, because it was furnished with excellent harbours: (on the E. and W. shores:) hence, in their tongue, it would be called מליטה *Meliteh*, escape or refuge, from מלט *malat*, to *escape*. The *Phaeacians* were probably the *first* inhabitants of this island: they were expelled by the *Phoenicians*; the Phoenicians by the *Greeks*; the Greeks by the *Carthaginians*; the Carthaginians by the *Romans*, who possessed it in the time of the apostle; the Romans by the *Goths*; the Goths by the *Saracens*; the Saracens by the *Sicilians*, under Roger, earl of Sicily, in 1190. Charles V., emperor of Germany, took possession of it by his conquest of Naples and Sicily; and he gave it in 1525 to the *knights of* *Rhodes*, who are also called the knights of St. John of Jerusalem. In 1798, this island surrendered to the *French*, under Bonaparte, and in 1800, after a blockade of two years, the island being reduced by famine, surrendered to the *British*, under whose dominion it still remains (1814.) Every thing considered, there can be little doubt that this is the *Melita* at which St. Paul was wrecked, and not at that other island in the *Adriatic*, or *Venitian* *Gulf*, as high up *northward* as Illyricum. The following reasons make this greatly evident: 1. *Tradition* has unvaryingly asserted this as the place of the apostle's shipwreck. 2. The island in the Venitian Gulf, in favour of which Mr. Bryant so learnedly contends, is totally *out of the track* in which the *euroclydon* must have driven the vessel. 3. It is said, in [Acts 28:11](/kjv/acts/28/11), that another ship of Alexandria, bound, as we must suppose, for Italy, and very probably carrying *wheat* thither, as St. Paul's vessel did, ([Acts 27:38](/kjv/acts/27/38),) had been driven out of its course of sailing, by stress of weather, up to the Illyricum *Melita*, and had been for that cause obliged to winter in the isle. Now this is a *supposition* which, as I think, is too much of a *supposition* to be made. 4. In St. Paul's voyage to Italy from Melita, on board the Alexandrian ship that had wintered there, he and his companions landed at Syracuse, [Acts 28:12-13](/kjv/acts/28/12-13), and from thence went to Rhegium. But if it had been the *Illyrican Melita*, the proper course of the ship would have been, first to *Rhegium*, before it reached *Syracuse*, and needed not to have gone to Syracuse at all; whereas, in a voyage from the present *Malta* to Italy, it was necessary to reach Syracuse, in Sicily, before the ship could arrive at Rhegium in Italy. See the map; and see Bp. Pearce, from whom I have extracted the *two* last arguments. That Malta was possessed by the *Phoenicians*, before the Romans conquered it, Bochart has largely proved; and indeed the language to the present day, notwithstanding all the political vicissitudes through which the island has passed, bears sufficient evidence of its *Punic* origin. In the year 1761, near a place called *Ben Ghisa*, in this island, a sepulchral cave was discovered, in which was a square stone with an inscription in *Punic* or *Phoenician* *characters*, on which Sir Wm. Drummond has written a learned essay, (London, Valpy, 1810, 4to.,) which he supposes marks the burial place, at least of the *ashes*, of the famous Carthaginian general, *Hannibal*. I shall give this inscription in Samaritan characters, as being the present form of the ancient Punic, with Sir Wm. Drummond's translation: - "The inner chamber of the sanctuary of the sepulchre of Hannibal, Illustrious in the consummation of calamity. He was beloved; The people lament, when arrayed In order of battle, Hannibal the son of Bar-Melec." As this is a curious piece, and one of the largest remains of the Punic language now in existence, and as it helps to ascertain the ancient inhabitants of this *island*, I thought it not improper to insert it here. For the illustration of this and several other points of Punic antiquity, I must refer the curious reader to the essay itself. ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#website","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com","name":"Real Bible Believers","description":"RBB","publisher":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#/schema/person/e966585dde703268e7f6ae890ea98509"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/search?q={search_term_string}","query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/clarkes-commentary/acts/28#primaryimage","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/_app/immutable/assets/missing.C7wGMEZ6.jpg","contentUrl":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/_app/immutable/assets/missing.C7wGMEZ6.jpg","width":672,"height":448,"caption":"Real Bible Believers"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/clarkes-commentary/acts/28#webpage","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/clarkes-commentary/acts/28","name":"Acts 28 - Study King James Bible with clarkes commentary","isPartOf":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/clarkes-commentary/acts/28#primaryimage"},"author":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#/schema/person/e966585dde703268e7f6ae890ea98509"},"description":"Read Acts 28 with clarkes commentary commentary. 1 And when they were escaped, then they knew that the island was called Melita. 2 And the barbarous people shewed us no little kindness: for they kindled","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/clarkes-commentary/acts/28#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/clarkes-commentary/acts/28"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/clarkes-commentary/acts/28#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/","name":"Home"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study","name":"Study Bible"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/clarkes-commentary","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/clarkes-commentary","name":"clarkes commentary"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/clarkes-commentary/acts","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/clarkes-commentary/acts","name":"Acts"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":5,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/clarkes-commentary/acts/28","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/clarkes-commentary/acts/28","name":"28"}}]},{"@type":["Person","Organization"],"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#/schema/person/e966585dde703268e7f6ae890ea98509","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#personlogo","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/android-chrome-512x512.png","contentUrl":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/android-chrome-512x512.png","width":512,"height":512},"logo":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#personlogo"},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/RBiblebeliever","https://www.facebook.com/RBibleBelievers"]}]} ```