St Paul's interviews with the Jews of Rome

  [The posts which follow make extensive use of The Acts of the Apostles, by Madame Cecilia, (Religious of St Andrew's Convent, Streatham), with an Imprimi potest dated 16 October 1907 (Westminster); Burns, Oates & Washbourne Ltd. (London). With grateful prayers for the author and her team: 

REQUIEM æternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis. Requiescant in pace. Amen.

ETERNAL rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen.]

 

Acts XXVIII :  17-31

St Paul Outside the Walls, Rome.
Berthold Werner, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

[17] And after the third day, he called together the chief of the Jews. And when they were assembled, he said to them: Men, brethren, I, having done nothing against the people, or the custom of our fathers, was delivered prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans; 

[18] Who, when they had examined me, would have released me, for that there was no cause of death in me; 

[19] But the Jews contradicting it, I was constrained to appeal unto Caesar; not that I had any thing to accuse my nation of. 

[20] For this cause therefore I desired to see you, and to speak to you. Because that for the hope of Israel, I am bound with this chain.

[21] But they said to him: We neither received letters concerning thee from Judea, neither did any of the brethren that came hither, relate or speak any evil of thee. 

[22] But we desire to hear of thee what thou thinkest; for as concerning this sect, we know that it is everywhere contradicted. 

[23] And when they had appointed him a day, there came very many to him unto his lodgings; to whom he expounded, testifying the kingdom of God, and persuading them concerning Jesus, out of the law of Moses and the prophets, from morning until evening. 

[24] And some believed the things that were said; but some believed not. 

[25] And when they agreed not among themselves, they departed, Paul speaking this one word: Well did the Holy Ghost speak to our fathers by Isaias the prophet,

[26] Saying: Go to this people, and say to them: With the ear you shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing you shall see, and shall not perceive. 

[27] For the heart of this people is grown gross, and with their ears have they heard heavily, and their eyes they have shut; lest perhaps 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 to you, that this salvation of God is sent to the Gentiles, and they will hear it.

[29] And when he had said these things, the Jews went out from him, having much reasoning among themselves. 

[30] And he remained two whole years in his own hired lodging; and he received all that came in to him,

[31] Preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence, without prohibition.

[17] Post tertium autem diem convocavit primos Judaeorum. Cumque convenissent, dicebat eis : Ego, viri fratres, nihil adversus plebem faciens, aut morem paternum, vinctus ab Jerosolymis traditus sum in manus Romanorum, [18] qui cum interrogationem de me habuissent, voluerunt me dimittere, eo quod nulla esset causa mortis in me. [19] Contradicentibus autem Judaeis, coactus sum appellare Caesarem, non quasi gentem meam habens aliquid accusare. [20] Propter hanc igitur causam rogavi vos videre, et alloqui. Propter spem enim Israel catena hac circumdatus sum.

[21] At illi dixerunt ad eum : Nos neque litteras accepimus de te a Judaea, neque adveniens aliquis fratrum nuntiavit, aut locutus est quid de te malum. [22] Rogamus autem a te audire quae sentis : nam de secta hac notum est nobis quia ubique ei contradicitur. [23] Cum constituissent autem illi diem, venerunt ad eum in hospitium plurimi, quibus exponebat testificans regnum Dei, suadensque eis de Jesu ex lege Moysi et prophetis a mane usque ad vesperam. [24] Et quidam credebant his quae dicebantur : quidam vero non credebant. [25] Cumque invicem non essent consentientes, discedebant dicente Paulo unum verbum : Quia bene Spiritus Sanctus locutus est per Isaiam prophetam ad patres nostros,

[26] dicens : Vade ad populum istum, et dic ad eos : Aure audietis, et non intelligetis : et videntes videbitis, et non perspicietis. [27] Incrassatum est enim cor populi hujus, et auribus graviter audierunt, et oculos suos compresserunt : ne forte videant oculis, et auribus audiant, et corde intelligant, et convertantur, et sanem eos. [28] Notum ergo sit vobis, quoniam gentibus missum est hoc salutare Dei, et ipsi audient. [29] Et cum haec dixisset, exierunt ab eo Judaei, multam habentes inter se quaestionem. [30] Mansit autem biennio toto in suo conducto : et suscipiebat omnes qui ingrediebantur ad eum,

[31] praedicans regnum Dei, et docens quae sunt de Domino Jesu Christo cum omni fiducia, sine prohibitione.

Notes

    17. after the third day, — i.e. after his arrival in Rome. During this time a lodging had been procured for him, and he had conversed with the Christians of Rome.

    called together. As St Paul was a prisoner, he could not address them in the synagogue, according to his custom.

    the chief. Evidently by this we must understand the rulers of the synagogues and the leading men of the nation then present in Rome. He had already seen the Jewish converts, so the allusion here is to the heads of the Hebrew colony. Josephus often refers to the rulers of Israel as “the chiefs” (οἱ πρῶτοι).

    Plumptre suggests that St Paul’s invitation included also scribes, students of the Law, wealthy traders, and freedmen who held important offices in the imperial court. “ To such a mingled crowd, summoned by a special messenger, or, it may be, by a notice read on the Sabbath in the .synagogue, or posted on some wall or pillar in the Jewish quarter, after three days, spent partly in settling in his lodging, partly in the delivery of the summons. St Paul now addressed himself. These he was seeking to win, if possible, for Christ ” (Comm., in h. 1.).

    of the Jews. The edict of Claudius promulgated in 49 A.D. (see Annot. on ch. xviii. 2) had evidently been formally repealed or allowed to lapse. The Jews had returned some few years previous to St Paul's visit, as Prisca and Aquila were in Rome when St Paul wrote bis epistle to the Romans (see Rom. xvi. 3).

    The Jews dwelt in the district beyond the Tiber, where the Ghetto is situated in the present day. They were a numerous colony.

    Men brethren. He uses the same form of address as to the Jews of Jerusalem (ch. xxiii. 1).

    I having done nothing, etc. This is a reference to the calumnies circulated against him by the judaizing brethren of Jerusalem (see ch. xxi. 21). Although a follower of Jesus of Nazareth, St Paul had kept the Jewish Law, and taught that all Jews should observe it.

    against the people. He addresses them by their favourite name. They loved to speak of themselves as “ the people ” of God, to the exclusion of all others. Also he speaks respectfully of their “ customs.” The apostle bore this testimony to himself on several occasions, e.g . —

(a) Before the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem. (ch. xxiii. 6.)

(b) Before Felix and the high-priest and ancients in Cesarea. (ch. xxiv. 10-20.)

(c) In presence of Festus. (ch. xxv. 8.)

(d) Before Festus and Agrippa. (ch. xxvi. 5.)

    was delivered prisoner. The Jews bad not formally handed over St Paul to the Romans, but their violence and injustice had compelled the former to protect the apostle's life. But for their hatred and conspiracies, he would not have appealed to Cesar. Twice the Romans had snatched him from a violent death ; twice they had defeated the plots of the Jews to kill him.

    18. would have released me. All the Roman governors before whose tribunals St Paul was arraigned had declared him innocent. Agrippa and Festus had formally stated that he might have been released had he not appealed to Cesar. Had a bribe been offered to Felix, he would certainly have set St Paul at liberty (supra, xxv. 18, 19, 25, xxvi. 31-32).

    19. contradicting. Lit. “speaking against” (ἀντιλεγόντων). They wished him to be sent back to Jerusalem to be judged by the Sanhedrin.

    I was constrained. St Paul lays great stress on the fact that in self-defence he had no alternative but to appeal to Cesar. In the eyes of the Jews, an appeal made to a secular power on a religious matter was equivalent to renouncing the Jewish faith. St Paul explains that he had not appealed to Cesar in order to bring any complaint against his nation.

    “ In a word, St Paul was compelled by the Jews themselves to appeal for justice from the spiritual court at Jerusalem to the tribunal of Nero at Rome. ... All this was foreseen and pre-announced by God, and was made instrumental by Him for the propagation of Christianity, and for the transfer of its mission from the centre of Judaism to the metropolis of the heathen world. Thus the malice of the Jews recoiled against themselves, and was used as an instrument for the glory of Christ ” (Wordsworth, p. 127).

    St Paul was a true Jewish patriot, and “his love to his own people was so great that the ever-recurring suspicions of his work and conduct on the part of the Jews were the occasion of the most bitter grief to him. He longed to set himself right with the representatives of the nation dwelling in Rome, and with this hope he had sent for them to his prison room  ” (Schaff, Comm. Acts, p. 578).

20. the hope of Israel. This hope included—

1. The belief in the coming of a Messias, who should inaugurate the Messianic Kingdom, and deliver the people of Israel from their conquerors and oppressors.

2. The hope of a resurrection from the dead.

All devout Jews believed firmly in this “hope of Israel.” But St Paul differed from his Hebrew brethren, inasmuch as he recognised Christ as the Messias, and in His Resurrection he saw a guarantee of the resurrection for all men. These were the glad tidings St Paul longed to communicate to them.

    with this chain. The apostle raised his hand as he spoke and shewed the chain to his listeners. These words confirm the statement made in verse 16, where it is said that he was guarded by one soldier, i.e. during the day, but at night, according to the Roman law, there were two (nox custodium geminat), a regulation which was probably enforced in the case of the apostle. It must have been a great trial for St Paul, since, by night and day, for more than four years, he never had a moment of privacy.

    21. neither received letters, etc. This does not mean that the Jews in Rome had never heard of St Paul and his active propagation of the Gospel of Christ, to which they refer as “ this sect ” but that they had had no formal letters or delegates from Jerusalem touching the questions which led him to appeal to Cesar.

    There was scarcely time for news to have reached them, as St Paul was sent to Rome without delay after he had appealed to Cesar, so that any letters on the subject could not reach Rome before he himself arrived there. As the Jews of Jerusalem had anticipated that the apostle would have been given up to them, and that bis formal condemnation and death would follow, it was clearly unnecessary for them to write to their brethren in Rome concerning him.

St Paul’s arguments may be thus summarized : —

1 . Although he was a prisoner, he was no renegade Jew.

2. The Romans had testified to his innocence, but could not release him on account of the opposition of the Jews.

3. In appealing to Cesar, his one desire was to save his own life.

4. He had no complaint to bring before Cesar concerning his brethren.

5. He was in chains because —

(a) he believed that Jesus was the long-expected Messias ;

(b) he held that the Resurrection of Christ was a proof of His being the Messias.

    22. we desire to hear. These Jews of Rome appear to listen with an impartiality which St Paul had not met with elsewhere except in Berea. It is possible that their toleration was due to the following circumstances : —

1. They had but recently been allowed to return to Rome, and, being on a very insecure footing there, they wished to avoid anything resembling a tumult.

2. St Paul was evidently favoured by the Roman officials, whose ill-will they had no wish to incur by attacking him.

3. It is highly probable that the edict of expulsion in 49 A.D. had been brought about by the strife of party feeling and the riots raised by the Jews against those of their brethren who had embraced Christianity.

    of thee. From these words we may certainly infer that these Roman Jews knew that St Paul was a Christian teacher, otherwise they would not have appealed to him for information on the subject.

    this sect. They use the same term as Tertullus, who spoke of “ the sect of the Nazarenes” (ch. xxiv. 5). Those Jews who embraced Christianity appear to have settled in another quarter of Rome, Probably in order to avoid disturbances and to practise their own religious rites more freely.

    gainsayed everywhere. Reports of the attacks made by Jews against those who professed their faith in Christ as the Messias, had reached the Jews in Rome. Aquila and Priscilla could have supplied many details on this subject, and as they were prominent zealous members of the Church in Corinth, they would not have kept silence in Rome, where there was such a large Jewish population.

    23. there came very many. The Greek gives the comparative “ more ” (πλείονες). There were more Jews at the second assembly in St Paul's lodging than at the first.

unto his lodgings. As the Greek word employed here (ξενία) is used for the hospitality shown to a visitor, it has been conjectured that the apostle was a guest of some of the brethren, perhaps of Aquila and Priscilla, at least for a time.

    he expounded. We must supply with the R.V. some such words as “ the matter ” or ‘‘ these things.” Some commentators take the words in a different order — “expounding the kingdom of God, testifying and persuading,” etc.

    testifying. This verb in the original signifies “to bear full or earnest witness” to a matter.

    the kingdom of God, — i.e. the establishment of the Church of Christ as the fulfilment of the hope of Israel.

    persuading them. St Paul did his utmost to convince them, but his efforts were only partially successful.

    out of the law of Moses. The same truth is taught in St Luke’s gospel, where it is recorded of our Lord that, beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded to them in all the scriptures, the things that were concerning him (xxiv, 27). When we recite the Nicene Creed we profess our faith in the Holy Ghost, who “spake by the prophets. ”

    from morning until evening. From early morn until sunset. The Jewish evening began about three o’clock and ended at sunset, after which another day commenced.

    The apostle was indefatigable, and spared neither time nor efforts to convert his brethren. Like their Divine Master, Christ’s servants, in their laborious ministry, often had not so much as time to eat (St Mark vi. 31).

    24. some believed, etc. From the context it appears that those who believed were in the minority.

    “ There is something terribly dramatic in the words of the Isaiah blessing and the Isaiah curse which the sorrowful servant of Jesus Christ pronounced, as the Hebrew rejectors of the glorious message of his Divine Master departed from his prison chamber that same evening, resolved to see his face no more .... The melancholy and indignant tone of the apostle’s words, with which he closed the memorable day of argument and exhortation, only too plainly tell us of a loving patience at last exhausted. They are the words of one giving up a hopeless struggle ” (Schaff, Comm. Jets, p. 574).

    25. this one word. This quotation from their own Scriptures brought two points clearly into relief : —

(a) The incredulity of the Jews had been foretold by the prophets.

(b) Their very rejection of the Gospel served to confirm the truths taught, since their obduracy had been predicted.

    This was not the first warning the apostle had given his unbelieving brethren, for in his epistle to the Romans he had also quoted this “one, word,” telling them plainly that blindness in part has happened in Israel until the fulness of the Gentiles should come in (Rom. xi. 26).

    Well did the Holy Ghost speak, etc. St Paul here clearly asserts that Isaias was an inspired writer.

    Our Lord taught this doctrine when He said : David himself saith by the Holy Ghost ; The Lord said to my Lord, Sit on my right hand, until I make thy enemies thy footstool (St Mark xii. 36).

    to our fathers. Codices A, B give “ your fathers.”

    26. Go to this people, etc. The quotation is given almost verbatim from Isaias vi. 9, in that graphic passage which records the vision and mission of Isaias. These words are quoted several times in the New Testament, e.g . —

1. By our Lord Himself when He explained to the Jews why He taught in parables. (See St Matt. xiii. 14 ; St Mark iv. 12; St Luke viii, 10.)

2. It is applied by St John the Evangelist to the unbelieving Jews (St John xii 40).

3. It is quoted by St Paul in this chapter and in the epistle to the Romans (xi. 8).

    With the ear. Lit. ‘‘by hearing” (ἀκπῇ).

    you shall them. The Hebrew Scriptures give the imperative “hear ye,” “see ye,” which is a poetical Hebrew idiom for expressing the future.

    and shall not perceive. In the Greek there is great emphasis shewn by the use of the double negatives. The phrase may be rendered “surely you shall not perceive.” As a punishment for not understanding and accepting what was so clearly explained to them, they should not be able to grasp it eventually. God punishes men by the very thing which led them into sin. “Per quæ quis peccaverit, per hæc et punietur.”

    ‘‘Where there is the power of choice, there is the presentation of new light or truth ; if it is rejected, it becomes a judgment. Before the coming of the light or truth, the darkness is not felt, the sin is dormant; when the light and truth come and are rejected, then the sin becomes alive, the darkness conscious. Accordingly, the effect of the preaching of the Gospel is to harden the hearts of those who will not receive it; and this hardening is not to be thought of as a fate predestined for certain individuals, but as a judgment allowed by, and in fact the expression of, the divine law. Thus St Paul’s preaching was for life or death ; wherever he went, he divided the Jews into two ; they had either to believe or disbelieve ” (Rackham, Acts of the Apostles, p. 605). 

    27. For the heart, etc. The heart was formerly regarded as the seat of the intellect.

    Note that the order of the words is reversed. In the first part of verse 15 we have heart— ears — eyes. In the second part the order is eyes - ears—heart. This inversion brings out a psychological truth, viz. that when the sinner turns away from God, it is the heart which is first corrupted, and this interior depravity affects and deadens the ears and eyes. When man turns to God, the eyes and earn are the channels through which the truth penetrates to the heart.

    be converted. Lit “turn round and retrace their footsteps,” a metaphorical expression for amendment of life.

    I should heal. God would certainly heal them if only they turned towards Him. This prophecy was fulfilled in the time of Isaias, when calamities overwhelmed the Israelites, and when they were led into captivity, and, in spite of these punishments, they persevered in their obduracy. It was also fulfilled in a more remote sense, when the Jews rejected the messengers of the Gospel, and refused to accept Christ as the Messias.

    28. this salvation of God, — i.e. that which the apostle preached to them, and which they could secure by faith in Christ.

    is sent to the Gentiles. Once more St Paul announces that the graces, which the unbelieving Jews refuse to accept, are to be given to the Gentiles.

    “On the rejection of the Gospel by the Jews, he declared that intention to them at Antioch, xlii. 46 ; at Corinth, xviii. 6 ; and now, for the third time, he declares it at Rome. Thus he gave them a triple warning — in Asia, in Greece, in Italy ” (Bengel).

    they will hear it. St Paul had already experienced how readily the Gentiles listened to and accepted the glad tidings of salvation. Moreover, he knew by revelation that God would bless his ministry in Rome, and, as the majority of the Jews refused to accept the Gospel, the apostle understood that these blessings were reserved for the Gentiles,

    29. and when he had said, etc. This verse is found in the Vulgate and in the Bezan text, but it is not represented in א, A, B, E. Tischendorf rejects it ; but, as Alford remarks, “This verse has not the usual characteristic of spurious passages, viz. the variety of readings in those MSS. which contain it. It may perhaps, after all, have been omitted, as appearing superfluous after verse 25” (Greek Testament, p. 288).

    St John Chrysostom accepts this passage, which is certainly written in St Luke’s style, and necessary for completing the narrative. Without it we are left in ignorance of the result of the discussion.

    30. two whole years. All this time St Paul was a state prisoner, and we learn from his epistles that during these two years the Philippian converts ministered to his temporal wants, sending their offerings on one occasion by Epaphroditus. In return for their generous gifts, the apostle thanks them in these words : You have done well in communicating to my tribulation . . . .  Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that may abound to your account . . . . And may my God supply all your wants, according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus (Phil. iv. 14-19).

    During his captivity in Rome, St Paul wrote his epistles to the Ephesians, the Colossians, and the Philippians, and a short letter to Philemon. These writings throw a light on his life in Rome, and they give the names of some of his companions, among whom we may cite St Luke, Timothy, Aristarchus, St Mark, and Tychicus. During this time some of these companions were sent on different missions, e.g. Tychicus took St Paul’s letter to the Ephesians.

    he received all that came. Being a prisoner, it is not probable that he was allowed to attend the services in the synagogue, but crowds flocked to his humble dwelling, and for all there was a hearty welcome, as the ardent zeal of the apostle found an outlet in ministering to these souls and bringing them into the one true Fold.

    31. the things which concern the Lord Jesus. Christ’s ambassador in chains spoke to these enquiring souls of all things which Jesus began to do and, teach.

    with all confidence. St Paul’s discourses were characterized by fearlessness.

    without prohibition. The Bezan text adds, “ saying that this Jesus is the Christ the Son of God, by whom the world will be judged.” There was no active opposition on the part of the unbelieving Jews, and the Romans tolerated the Christian Faith and allowed St Paul to preach it freely. This period of rest gave the apostle time and opportunity for gathering many into the Church, and for instructing and confirming them in the Faith. A few years later the scene was changed, when the tyrannical Tigellinus urged Nero to exterminate the Christians from the face of the earth, and Rome was steeped in the blood of the martyrs.

    The Acts closes somewhat abruptly. St Luke does not even record the circumstances which led to the apostle’s release, though he must have written these closing lines after it had taken place, otherwise he could not have given the duration of his captivity, but he closes with “the victory of the Word of God,” with Paul at Rome, which is the culminating point of the Gospel. Thus the Acts end “Victoria Verbi Dei. Paulus Romæ. Apex Evangelii Actorum Finis ” (Bengel). St Paul, the minister of the Gospel, is in bonds, but, as he triumphantly exclaims, “The Word of God is not bound” (Verbum Dei non est alligatum), (2 Tim. ii. 9).

Totus tuus ego sum 
Et omnia mea tua sunt;
Tecum tutus semper sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam

Three months in Malta : the journey to Rome

   [The posts which follow make extensive use of The Acts of the Apostles, by Madame Cecilia, (Religious of St Andrew's Convent, Streatham), with an Imprimi potest dated 16 October 1907 (Westminster); Burns, Oates & Washbourne Ltd. (London). With grateful prayers for the author and her team: 

REQUIEM æternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis. Requiescant in pace. Amen.

ETERNAL rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen.]

 

Acts XXVIII :  1-16

 St Paul Bitten by a Viper on the Island of Malta. Marten de Vos (1567).
Department of Paintings of the Louvre.

[1] And when we had escaped, then we knew that the island was called Melita. But the barbarians shewed us no small courtesy. 

[2] For kindling a fire, they refreshed us all, because of the present rain, and of the cold. 

[3] And when Paul had gathered together a bundle of sticks, and had laid them on the fire, a viper coming out of the heat, fastened on his hand. 

[4] And when the barbarians saw the beast hanging on his hand, they said one to another: Undoubtedly this man is a murderer, who though he hath escaped the sea, yet vengeance doth not suffer him to live.

[5] And he indeed shaking off the beast into the fire, suffered no harm.

[6] But they supposed that he would begin to swell up, and that he would suddenly fall down and die. But expecting long, and seeing that there came no harm to him, changing their minds, they said, that he was a god. 

[7] Now in these places were possessions of the chief man of the island, named Publius, who receiving us, for three days entertained us courteously. 

[8] And it happened that the father of Publius lay sick of a fever, and of a bloody flux. To whom Paul entered in; and when he had prayed, and laid his hands on him, he healed him. 

[9] Which being done, all that had diseases in the island, came and were healed: 

[10] Who also honoured us with many honours, and when we were to set sail, they laded us with such things as were necessary.

Reproduced from FreeBibleImages. Creative Commons non-commercial.

[11] And after three months, we sailed in a ship of Alexandria, that had wintered in the island, whose sign was the Castors. 

[12] And when we were come to Syracusa, we tarried there three days. 

[13] From thence, compassing by the shore, we came to Rhegium: and after one day, the south wind blowing, we came the second day to Puteoli; 

[14] Where, finding brethren, we were desired to tarry with them seven days: and so we went to Rome. [15] And from thence, when the brethren had heard of us, they came to meet us as far as Appii Forum, and the Three Taverns: whom when Paul saw, he gave thanks to God, and took courage.

[16] And when we were come to Rome, Paul was suffered to dwell by himself, with a soldier that kept him.

[1] Et cum evasissemus, tunc cognovimus quia Melita insula vocabatur. Barbari vero praestabant non modicam humanitatem nobis. [2] Accensa enim pyra, reficiebant nos omnes propter imbrem, qui imminebat, et frigus. [3] Cum congregasset autem Paulus sarmentorum aliquantam multitudinem, et imposuisset super ignem, vipera a calore cum processisset, invasit manum ejus. [4] Ut vero viderunt Barbari pendentem bestiam de manu ejus, ad invicem dicebant : Utique homicida est homo hic, qui cum evaserit de mari, ultio non sinit eum vivere. [5] Et ille quidem excutiens bestiam in ignem, nihil mali passus est.

[6] At illi existimabant eum in tumorem convertendum, et subito casurum et mori. Diu autem illis exspectantibus, et videntibus nihil mali in eo fieri, convertentes se, dicebant eum esse deum. [7] In locis autem illis erant praedia principis insulae, nomine Publii, qui nos suscipiens, triduo benigne exhibuit. [8] Contigit autem patrem Publii febribus et dysenteria vexatum jacere. Ad quem Paulus intravit : et cum orasset, et imposuisset ei manus, salvavit eum. [9] Quo facto, omnes qui in insula habebant infirmitates, accedebant, et curabantur : [10] qui etiam multis honoribus nos honoraverunt, et navigantibus imposuerunt quae necessaria erant.

[11] Post menses autem tres navigavimus in navi Alexandrina, quae in insula hiemaverat, cui erat insigne Castorum. [12] Et cum venissemus Syracusam, mansimus ibi triduo. [13] Inde circumlegentes devenimus Rhegium : et post unum diem, flante austro, secunda die venimus Puteolos; [14] ubi inventis fratribus rogati sumus manere apud eos dies septem : et sic venimus Romam. [15] Et inde cum audissent fratres, occurrerunt nobis usque ad Apii forum, ac tres Tabernas. Quos cum vidisset Paulus, gratias agens Deo, accepit fiduciam.

[16] Cum autem venissemus Romam, permissum est Paulo manere sibimet cum custodiente se milite.

Notes

    1. when we had escaped. Some MSS. give “ when they had escaped ” but the Vulgate reading is the better supported. St Luke would certainly include St Paul and his companions among the saved.

    we knew. They learned this from the natives. St Luke almost gives their words — “ This island is called (καλεῖται) Melita.”

    Melita. There is no ground for questioning the ancient tradition that this place was the modern Malta, known to the Greeks and Romans as “ Melita.” The local features of St Paul’s Bay agree with those described by St Luke, and in the earliest centuries this tradition was unquestioned. In the tenth century, however, Constantine Porphyrogenetus, a Greek writer, put forth the theory that the scene of the shipwreck was Melita, the modern Meleda, in the Adriatic Sea ; and in the eighteenth century Padre Giorgi, a native of Meleda, revived this theory, which Dr. Falconer also supported. This hypothesis, however, is based on two errors viz. —

1. That “Adria” is to be identified with the Adriatic Sea (i.e. the Gulf of Venice).

2. That the islanders were barbarians, in the modern acceptation of the term.

    But it can be proved from the writings of classical authors that “Adria” embraced all the central part of the Mediterranean Sea, and that it extended from the southern shores of Greece, Italy, and Sicily to the coasts of Africa. Further, the word “barbarian,” on the lips of an ancient author, simply means a foreigner.

    Cf. “ Barbarus hic sum ego, quia non intelligor ulli ” (Ovid, Trial., v. 10, .87). (Here I am a barbarian, because I am undcrstood by none.) “Barburi antiquitus dicebantur omnes gentes exceptis Græcis. ” (The ancients used to call all nations “barbarians” except the Greeks.)

    The Maltese were far from being barbarians in the modern sense of the word. They spoke the Phœnician language, and were descended from the Tyrians and Carthaginians. Malta was acquired by the Romans during the Punic War, and undoubtedly, since that time, there were many Roman and Greek residents. The Maltese still speak an Arabian dialect, which was probably introduced when the island was under the Turks. So far from being uncivilized in the time of St Paul, they had important manufactures and magnificent buildings, as Cicero (in Verrem) and Diodorus Siculus attest.

    The Jews also spoke of foreigners as “ barbarians.” Cf. They besought the Lord .... that they might be chastised by him more gently, and not he delivered up to barbarians and blasphemous men (2 Mach. x. 4). Thus the Jews prayed that they might not he delivered into the power of the Syrians, a highly civilized nation.

    2. kindling afire. As the shipwrecked passengers were drenched to the skin and it was bitterly cold, a fire was essential for their welfare.

    refreshed us all. Lit. “received us tinder their care ” (προσελάβοντο). The word indicates both shelter and hospitality.

    the present rain and of the cold. “ Heavy rains generally follow violent winds” (“Post ingentes ventos solent imbres sequi,” — Grotius). The wind was still blowing from the north-east.

    The fact that the temperature was so low proves that the wind could not have been the sirocco, as Porphyrogenetus asserts. Also, this hot wind rarely lasts more than three days.

    3. when Paul had gathered, etc. As St Paul had helped in throwing the tackling and cargo overboard, so now he is foremost in ministering to the needs of his companions.

    On this passage St John Chrysostom remarks : “See how active he is: observe how we nowhere find him doing miracles for the sake of doing them, but only upon emergency. Both during the storm, when there was a cause, he prophesied, not for the sake of prophesying ; but here again, in the first instance, he lays on brushwood : — nothing for vain display, but (with a simple view) to their being preserved, and enjoying some warmth” [Hom., liv. 1, p. 710).

    a bundle of sticks. The word here rendered “ sticks ” (φρυγάνων) is a general term for fuel of any description, and it probably signifies here the brushwood and furze which still grow in the vicinity of St Paul’s Bay.

    Owing to the dense population of Malta in the present day, viz. 1200 to the square mile, there is very little wood in the island, with the exception of Bosquetta, which, as the name indicates, still boasts of trees and brushwood.

    a viper. These reptiles are now unknown in the island, and this is due to the increased population. The inhabitants, by draining marshes and building, have completely extirpated vipers, just as wolves were extirpated from England by our Saxon forefathers.

    coming out of the heat. The viper, which had been numbed by the cold, revived on feeling the heat, and fastened on to St Paul’s hand.

    fastened. The Greek verb (καθάπτεσθαι) signifies “ to hold tightly on ” to a thing. Although certain modern critics assert that the viper did not bite St Paul, St Luke’s narrative clearly gives us to understand the contrary, for how could it fasten on firmly except by its fangs ? Further, the natives saw the viper cling to the apostle’s hand, and they were convinced that he had been bitten by it, otherwise we cannot account for their fears on the subject, nor for their rapid change of opinion concerning St Paul.

    4. this man is a murderer. Evidently the natives perceived at once that St Paul was a prisoner, and they concluded that he must have been guilty of murder. By the light of reason and by experience, these heathens knew that punishment follows crime sooner or later.

    vengeance. Better, “justice” (ἡ δίκη). In Greek mythology, Dike, the daughter of Zeus, was supposed to be the avenger of crime.

    It is possible that the natives had heard of this goddess from the Greeks who dwelt in the island, or they may have named one of their own deities, and St Luke rendered this name by “Dike,” so as to be better understood. The names of Melkarth (Hercules), Osiris, and Baal are found on Maltese coins and in their inscriptions.

    doth not suffer him to live. The Greek gives the past tense “suffered hot” (εἴασεν) They looked upon his immediate death as inevitable. They were quite convinced that the viper had bitten the apostle.

    5. shaking off the beast. Trusting in his Divine Master’s promise, St Paul feared not.

    This is the only instance recorded in Scripture of the fulfilment of the promise : They shall take up serpents ; and if they shall drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them: they shall lay their hands upon the sick, and they shall recover (St Mark. xvi. 18).

    It is a noteworthy coincidence that, in verses 8 and 9 of this chapter, we also have a reference to miracles being worked by the laying on of hands.

    into the fire. “The same God who delivered Paul from the sea saved him from the serpent (see Christ’s prophecy, Mark xvi. 18), and enabled him to cast it into the fire — a figurative and prophetic emblem of what awaits him who is the Old Serpent (Apoc. xii. 9, xx. 2), the enemy of the Church, "which he endeavours to destroy by the storms of persecution (Apoc, xii. 14, 16), and by the venom of heresy; and whose doom it will be to be cast into the lake of fire (Apoc. xx. 10),” (Wordsworth, p. 125).

    6. begin to swell up . . . . suddenly fall down and die. These are the usual results of the bite of a venomous African serpent. The word here rendered by “swell up” signifies inflammation as well as swelling. One species of African serpent was named “prestes,” i.e. the inflamer.

    changing their minds. These islanders furnish us with “ the graphic picture of the untutored mind yielding to every impulse.” The change in their opinions was the reverse of that experienced by the Lycaoniaus (see supra, xiv. 11-19).

    7. the chief man of the island. (πρώτῳ τῆς νήσου) The title “chief man” has been found in ancient inscriptions at Citta Vecchia in Malta ; it clearly denotes an official rank. Smith (p. 113) quotes Ciantar, who states that in his time an inscription was engraved on the gates of Citta Vecchia, in which were the words “ Prudens, a Roman knight, chief of the Maltese” (Προυδευς ἵππευς Πωμ πρῶτως Μελιταίων). This inscription, however, no longer exists, but in 1747 a Latin inscription was found in Malta bearing the words MEL PRIMUS OMNI (i.e. Militensium primus omnium), “ chief of the Maltese.”

    “As the word ‘ head-man ’ signified an official rank among the Phœnicians, it is prob-able that the Romans, on acquiring the island, retained this title. The name Publius indicates that this ‘ chief man ’ was a Roman. If this conjecture be correct, Publius was legatus of the prætor of Sicily, to whose province Malta belonged ” (Alford). See Cicero, in Verrem, ii. 4. 18.

    receiving us. If Publius was the chief Roman officer in Malta, it was natural that he should receive Julius and his prisoners.

    for three days. Until provision could be made for a permanent dwelling. It was necessary to provide them with settled quarters, as they had to winter in Malta.

    8. fever. The plural number, given in the Greek, shews that he refers to intermittent attacks of fever, such as characterize some diseases.

    a bloody flux, — i.e. dysentery (δυσεντερίῳ). These symptoms denote two stages of a disease which, it is said, still exists in Malta.

    when he had prayed. Prayer and the imposition of hands were the ordinary means by which miracles of healing were worked.

    9. came, and were healed. For their hospitality, St Paul had no treasures of silver and gold to bestow, but he healed those who were sick, and thus gave them greater gifts than he had received at their hands. Undoubtedly the apostle also preached the Gospel of Christ to the natives, during the three months that he dwelt in Malta.

    The numerous sick being brought by friends from all parts of the island, or walking painfully along under the weight of their infirmities, remind us of the scenes in the life of our Lord, when people came in crowds to be healed, and His divine power was put forth for each one. Cf. And when the sun was down, all they that had any sick with divers diseases brought them to him. But he laying his hands on every one of them, healed them (St Luke iv. 40).

    10. honoured us with many honours. The gratitude of the islanders was expressed by marks of esteem and gifts in kind, which were most acceptable to the shipwrecked passengers.

    11. after three months. As the Day of Atonement (which it has been calculated fell on the 24th of September in 62 A.D.) was passed before the ship left Fair Havens, we may conclude that the “fourteen days” during which the ship was driven before the wind were the last days of October or the early days of November. Three months later they set sail again from Malta, which brings us to the month of February.

    Although the sea was not supposed to be open till March, yet sailors were often willing to take the risk of sailing earlier, especially on short voyages.

    a ship of Alexandria. Probably a corn vessel, which the storm had driven to take shelter in Valetta.

    whose sign, etc. The ancient Greeks and Romans placed figureheads at each end of the ships. The “ insigne ’’ (τὸ παρασήμον) was a figure a bas-relief, or a painting representing a god, a hero, an animal,, or even an inanimate thing, such as a shield or helmet. These sculptures were of gilded metal or carved ivory. The “ insigne ” gave the name to the ship. In addition to this sign, the ship often carried a tutela at her poop, i.e. a picture or image of some tutelary god. In some ships, as in the one in which St Paul sailed, the insigne and the tutela coincided.

    Ovid rclatcs that he sailed once in a vessel which carried a figure of Minerva as her tutelary goddess, and the helmet of this deity gave the name of the vessel (Trist., i., ix. I).

    A bronze figurehead of an ancient galley, found on the scene of the battle of Actium, is preserved in the British Museum (Bronze Room, Case 54, 55). This “tutela” or “insigne” represents some deity clad in armour, perhaps Mars or Minerva.

    Castors. Lit. “ tho Twin Brothers (Διοσκούροις). In Greek mythology, Castor and Pollux were the sons of Zeus and Leda, and the brothers of Helena (“ Fratres Helenæ, lucida sidora,” — Horace, Ode i. 3. 2. Brothers of Helen, shining stars).

    When they wore translated to the next world, Zuss is said to have placed them in the constellation known as the Gemini, which in the zodiac is connected with the month of May. Poseidon, i.e. Neptune, having confided to them the sovereignty of the winds and waves, they were invoked as the tutelary gods of sailors, who imagined that these deities manifested themselves under the form of the phosphorescent lights that often play round the masts of .ships after a storm, and which modern  called “ St Elmo’s fire.”

    12. Syracuse. This was “ the first port at which she was to touch; it was about one hundred miles from Malta. Here the vessel rested three days for the purposes of trade, as Syracuse was at that period a flourishing emporium, for which it was peculiarly calculated from its excellent port. The city was situated on a broad foreland on the eastern coast of Sicily, and on the south-west was a magnificent basin, protected by the Island of Ortygia, which, stretching in front of it, and almost touching the mainland at the north, left a spacious entrance into the harbour on the south (Lewin, Life and Epistles of St Paul, vol. ii. p. 215),

    13. compassing by the shore. They proceeded circuitously (περιελόντες). Smith concludes that “the wind was north-west, and that they worked to windward, availing themselves of the sinuosities of the coast ; but with this wind they could not proceed through the Straits of Messina, from the tendency which the wind always has to blow parallel to the direction of narrow channels ; they were therefore obliged to put into Rhegium, at the entrance of the strait. But after one day the wind became fair (from the south), and on the following they arrived at Puteoli, having accomplished a distance of about a hundred and eighty nautical miles in less than two days” (Smith, The Voyage and Shipwreck of St Paul, p. 116).

    Rhegnium. The modern Reggio, a town on the Italian side of the Straits of Rhegium, and opposite Messina.

    Ancient coins of Rhegium have been found stamped with the effigies of the Twin Brothers, with stars encircling their heads. Alexandrian corn vessels generally called at this port. The Emperor Titus, when journeying from Judea to Puteoli, touched at Rhegium and at Puteoli, thus following the same track as the vessel which carried St Paul.

    the south wind blowing. This was decidedly in their favour, and they sailed safely and rapidly through the narrow strait, famous for the rugged rocks of Scylla and the dangerous whirlpool of Charybdis.

    Puteoli. This seaport lies in a sheltered recess in the Bay of Naples. Its modern name is Pozzuoli, and it is about one hundred and eighty miles from Rhegium. At this time Puteoli was the great emporium for corn, which was brought from Egypt by the Alexandrian ships.

    14. finding brethren. As Puteoli was an important seaport of Rome, to which the Egyptian and Syrian ships brought their passengers and merchandise, we may infer that the disciples from Ephesus, Corinth, Cæsarea, etc. had been the means of spreading the Gospel in this town.

    The very fact of the existence of the epistle to the Romans, written some three years earlier, shews that St Paul knew that there were a certain number of Christians in Italy, and especially in the metropolis of the Roman empire. St Peter, in his first visit to Rome, may have laid the foundations of the Church in Puteoli, whose members now so warmly greeted St Paul. There was a large Jewish colony In this seaport, and they had several synagogues.

    we were desired to tarry, etc. These seven days with the brethren must have been a welcome respite to St Paul, and his stay there certainly gave great joy to these brethren who had heard of his work in Asia Minor and Greece through members of the Christian communities founded there.

    As St Paul remained at Puteoli a week, he passed at least one Sabbath-day with the brethren, and we may feel sure that one of the reasons for tarrying  “seven” days was that he might celebrate the Holy Eucharist on the first day of the week, i.e. on the Christian Sabbath.

    Thus he had spent “seven days” with the disciples in Troas (ch. xx. 6, 7), and with those of Tyre (ch. xxi. 4). Note that Julius still continued to treat his prisoners courteously since he delayed the journey to oblige the apostle.

    so we went to Rome. “We can trace in the anticipatory form of speech here used by St Luke, simple as the words are, his deep sense of the transcendent interest of the arrival of the Apostle of the Gentiles at the colossal capital of the heathen world. Yes ; after all the conspiracies of the Jews who sought to take away his life, after the two years’ delay at Cæsarea, after the perils of that terrible shipwreck, in spite of the counsel of the soldiers to kill the prisoners, and in spite of the ‘ venomous beast,’ Paul came to Rome. The word of God, ‘ Thou must bear witness also at Rome’ (ch. xxiii. 11), had triumphed over all ‘the power of the enemy ’ (Luke x. 10). And doubtless the hearts both of Paul and Luke beat quicker when they first caught sight of the city on the seven hills” (Pulp. Comm. Acts, vol ii. p. 322).

    Note. — The route from Puteoli to Rome, a distance of one hundred and forty miles, lay through Capua. Here the Roman road called the Via Appia began. This highway was commenced in B.C. 312 by Appius Claudius, the Roman censor. The Via Appia passed through Sinuessa, Minturnæ, Formiæ, Anxur, and Templum Feroniæ. Here a canal ran fairly parallel with the highway, through the Pomptinæ Paludes (Eng. Pontine Marshes), as far as Appii Forum, and this waterway was often taken by travellers in preference to the high road. From Appii Forum, the highway lay through Three Taverns and Aricia, until it reached the city of Rome at the Porta Capena.

    15. the brethren. Those who were members of the Christian Church in Rome, and to whom St Paul had addressed his Epistle to the Romans. News had reached them that the apostle and his companions were in Puteoli. They came in two parties : the first met him at Appii Forum, the second at Three Taverns.

    Appii Forum. The name “Forum” was given by the Romans to what we should call a “ borough,” being a centre of local government. Both the town and the Roman road were named after Appius Claudius. Horace gives the town a bad reputation for its sailors and “ scoundrel publicans.” It was prudent for the brethren to wait for St Paul at Appii Forum, as the travellers might have taken the canal route at Templum Feroniæ. These brethren travelled about forty miles to welcome St Paul and his companions.

    Three Taverns. The Latin word “tabernæ” signifies shops in general, not simply inns. The site of this place has not been identified, so far. The Itineraries give it as thirty-three miles from Rome.

he gave thanks to God. He rejoiced on seeing the brethren, for whom he had prayed “ without ceasing ” ; to whom he longed to impart “ some spiritual grace ” and to whom he so earnestly desired to preach the Gospel (see Rom. i. 8-15).

    took courage. St Paul had evidently feared that his bonds might be detrimental to the cause of the Gospel, but his interview with the brethren of Rome and the hearty welcome they gave him dispelled his apprehensions.

    16. Paul was suffered to dwell, etc. Humanly speaking, this privilege was due to the favourable report sent by Festus and to the kindly influence of Julius. Some MSS. (D, H, L, P, and a few cursives and versions), after “ when we were come to Rome ” add “the centurion delivered the prisoners to the captain of the guard.” Although these words are not in some of the ancient codices nor in the Vulgate, yet they have good manuscript authority, and are probably in accordance with facts, as all prisoners brought to Rome were handed over to the captain of the prætorian cohort on duty in the palace of Cæsar. Thus Trajan, writing to Pliny concerning a certain prisoner, says : — “ He whom Julius Bassus has condemned to imprisonment for life must be sent bound to the præfects of my prætorium (qui a Julio Basso in perpetuum relegatus est .... vinctus mitti ad præfectos prætorii mei debet” (Epis., X. 65). The variant reading cited above refers to one captain only, but we know that there were generally two præfects to each cohort, except between 51 and 62 A.D., when Burrhus, the friend of Seneca, held this office alone. Hence some commentators conclude that St Paul was handed over to Burrhus. If this were so, we have here another note of time, for as Burrhus died early in the spring of 62 A.D., it follows that St Paul could not have arrived in Rome later than this date. But the use of the singular cannot be pressed, for even if there were two prætors, Julius would not have delivered his prisoners to both of them.

    with a soldier that kept him. St Paul, being in custodia libera, was chained by one hand to a soldier, who was on guard for a given time. Thus the prætorian gaolers of St Paul had many an opportunity of hearing the Gospel truths. St Paul frequently alludes to his chains when writing to the different churches he had founded in Asia Minor. Cf. I am, an ambassador in a chain (Eph. vi. 20).

    St John Chrysostom remarks that St Paul was thus guarded “that it might not be possible for any plot to be laid against him there either, for there could be no raising of sedition now. So that, in fact, they were not keeping Paul in custody, but guarding him, so that nothing unpleasant should happen : for it was not possible now, in so great a city, and with the emperor there, and with Paul’s appeal, for anything to be done contrary to order. So surely is it the case, that always through the things which seem to be against us, all things turn out for us” (Hom., liv. p. 714).

Totus tuus ego sum 
Et omnia mea tua sunt;
Tecum tutus semper sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam

The Shipwreck : Part 2

   [The posts which follow make extensive use of The Acts of the Apostles, by Madame Cecilia, (Religious of St Andrew's Convent, Streatham), with an Imprimi potest dated 16 October 1907 (Westminster); Burns, Oates & Washbourne Ltd. (London). With grateful prayers for the author and her team: 

REQUIEM æternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis. Requiescant in pace. Amen.

ETERNAL rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen.]

 

Acts XXVII :  27-44

Reproduced from FreeBibleImages. Creative Commons non-commercial.

[27] But after the fourteenth night was come, as we were sailing in Adria, about midnight, the shipmen deemed that they discovered some country. 

[28] Who also sounding, found twenty fathoms; and going on a little further, they found fifteen fathoms. [29] Then fearing lest we should fall upon rough places, they cast four anchors out of the stern, and wished for the day. 

[30] But as the shipmen sought to fly out of the ship, having let down the boat into the sea, under colour, as though they would have cast anchors out of the forepart of the ship,

[31] Paul said to the centurion, and to the soldiers: Except these stay in the ship, you cannot be saved.

[32] Then the soldiers cut off the ropes of the boat, and let her fall off. 

[33] And when it began to be light, Paul besought them all to take meat, saying: This day is the fourteenth day that you have waited, and continued fasting, taking nothing. 

[34] Wherefore I pray you to take some meat for your health's sake; for there shall not an hair of the head of any of you perish. 

[35] And when he had said these things, taking bread, he gave thanks to God in the sight of them all; and when he had broken it, he began to eat.

[36] Then were they all of better cheer, and they also took some meat. 

[37] And we were in all in the ship, two hundred threescore and sixteen souls. 

[38] And when they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship, casting the wheat into the sea. 

[39] And when it was day, they knew not the land; but they discovered a certain creek that had a shore, into which they minded, if they could, to thrust in the ship. 

[40] And when they had taken up the anchors, they committed themselves to the sea, loosing withal the rudder bands; and hoisting up the mainsail to the wind, they made towards shore.

[41] And when we were fallen into a place where two seas met, they run the ship aground; and the forepart indeed, sticking fast, remained unmoveable: but the hinder part was broken with the violence of the sea. 

[42] And the soldiers' counsel was, that they should kill the prisoners, lest any of them, swimming out, should escape. 

[43] But the centurion, willing to save Paul, forbade it to be done; and he commanded that they who could swim, should cast themselves first into the sea, and save themselves, and get to land. 

[44] And the rest, some they carried on boards, and some on those things that belonged to the ship. And so it came to pass, that every soul got safe to land.

[27] Sed posteaquam quartadecima nox supervenit, navigantibus nobis in Adria circa mediam noctem, suspicabantur nautae apparere sibi aliquam regionem. [28] Qui et summittentes bolidem, invenerunt passus viginti : et pusillum inde separati, invenerunt passus quindecim. [29] Timentes autem ne in aspera loca incideremus, de puppi mittentes anchoras quatuor, optabant diem fieri. [30] Nautis vero quaerentibus fugere de navi, cum misissent scapham in mare, sub obtentu quasi inciperent a prora anchoras extendere, [31] dixit Paulus centurioni et militibus : Nisi hi in navi manserint, vos salvi fieri non potestis. [32] Tunc absciderunt milites funes scaphae, et passi sunt eam excidere. [33] Et cum lux inciperet fieri, rogabat Paulus omnes sumere cibum, dicens : Quartadecima die hodie exspectantes jejuni permanetis, nihil accipientes. [34] Propter quod rogo vos accipere cibum pro salute vestra : quia nullius vestrum capillus de capite peribit. [35] Et cum haec dixisset, sumens panem, gratias egit Deo in conspectu omnium : et cum fregisset, coepit manducare.

[36] Animaequiores autem facti omnes, et ipsi sumpserunt cibum. [37] Eramus vero universae animae in navi ducentae septuaginta sex. [38] Et satiati cibo alleviabant navem, jactantes triticum in mare. [39] Cum autem dies factus esset, terram non agnoscebant : sinum vero quemdam considerabant habentem littus, in quem cogitabant si possent ejicere navem. [40] Et cum anchoras sustulissent, committebant se mari, simul laxantes juncturas gubernaculorum : et levato artemone secundum aurae flatum, tendebant ad littus.

[41] Et cum incidissemus in locum dithalassum, impegerunt navem : et prora quidem fixa manebat immobilis, puppis vero solvebatur a vi maris. [42] Militum autem consilium fuit ut custodias occiderent : nequis cum enatasset, effugeret. [43] Centurio autem volens servare Paulum, prohibuit fieri : jussitque eos, qui possent natare, emittere se primos, et evadere, et ad terram exire : [44] et ceteros alios in tabulis ferebant : quosdam super ea quae de navi erant. Et sic factum est, ut omnes animae evaderent ad terram.

dd

Notes

    27. after the fourteenth night, — i.e., from the time when they left Good-havens.

    we were sailing. For a fortnight they had been at the mercy of the winds ; but although the course of the vessel varied slightly as the gale blew more or less fiercely, on the whole she sailed in a fairly straight line.

    in Adria. This is not that part of the Mediterranean now known as “the Gulf of Venice,” but the Adriatic Sea, which, according to Ptolemy and Strabo, included the waters between Greece, Italy, Sicily, and Africa.

    Josephus, some twenty years later, made the voyage from Cesarea to Puteoli, and he too suffered shipwreck “ in the middle of the Adria.” A ship from Cyrene picked up Josephus and other passengers from this vessel, and conveyed eighty of them safely to their destination.

    deemed. The Bezan text reads, “ some country was resounding.”

    “ It was on the fourteenth night of their drift across the broad expanse of waters when the watchful mariners caught the first prognostication of an approaching shore. No mountain range towered before them, but the ear caught the sound of breakers, and the experienced eye detected through the darkness on the left a white surge, as of billows beating against a foreland " (Lewin, pp. 200-1).

    discovered some country. Lit. “that some land was nearing them.” St Luke speaks like a sailor who views all from his point of view at sea. It was still dark, and rain was falling in torrents.

    28. twenty fathoms. The Greek word here rendered “fathom” was defined as the length of the outstretched arms, including the breadth of the expanded chest. It equals four cubits— six feet, the length of our English fathom.

The soundings here given agree with those which modern navigators have taken among the breakers off Cape Kouro,

    going on a little further. “After a little space” (R.V.). This Greek idiom may be used with reference to time or space (βραχὺ δὲ διαστήσαντες). Here either sense can he taken, as there was an interval between taking the soundings, and meanwhile the ship had been driven nearer land.

    they found fifteen fathoms. The shallower depth and the noise of the breakers proved that land or a reef was very near.

    29. cast four anchors. To prevent the vessel from drifting further in the darkness, as they were on an unknown coast.

    out of the stem. In ancient times, as now, anchors were usually cast out from the prow of the ship. (Thus Virgil writes,  “ anchora de prora jacitur, — Æneid, iii. 277.) But they could be cast out at the stern by utilizing the rudder-cases as port-holes for the anchor cables. To cast out anchors from the stern, the sailors triced up the rudders by means of “braces” or “rudder-bands,” so as to keep them clear of the anchor cables. St Luke does not mention this manœuvre, hut he supposes it, since in verse 40 he speaks of “ loosing withal the rudder-bands.”

    It ifi interesting to note that in the battles of the Nile and of Copenhagen “ All the line-of-battle ships were to anchor by the stern, abreast of the different vessels composing the enemy’s line, and for this purpose they bad already prepared themselves with cables out of their stern ports ” (Southey, Life of Nelson).

Nelson is said to have read the twenty-seventh chapter of the Acts on the morning of the battle of Copenhagen.

    wished for the day. The R.V. gives as a marginal reading “prayed,” and the Bezan text adds: “that they might know if we should be saved.” Certainly all devout Jews on hoard that ill-fated vessel prayed, and doubtless the pagans invoked their gods.

    Throughout the long night watch, the drenched, emaciated passengers waited for the dawn in anxious suspense, now inclining to hope, now yielding to despair. But St Paul and his companions firmly trusted in God, and did their best to encourage and sustain their fellow-passengers.

    30. letdown the boat. They lowered it from the davits and prepared to accomplish their purpose.

    under colour, as though, etc. Under pretence of casting out anchors from the bow of the ship, in order to steady it more effectually. To accomplish this it was necessary to carry out the anchors as far as the cable would allow, and then drop them into the sea. As a piece of seamanship the manœuvre was excellent, and calculated, as the Bezan text adds, “to make the ship ride more securely,” but the sailors’ real intention was to get possession of the boat, and to leave the ship and its passengers to their fate.

    31. Paul said to the centurion. St Paul either intuitively saw through their pretext, or he was supernaturally enlightened on the subject. The apostle had gained a great ascendency over all on board, as the whole narrative of the shipwreck proves. Had the crew deserted the ship, the soldiers and passengers could not have managed it. The divine promise that all on board should be saved, was evidently conditional on man’s co-operation,— a truth which applies to so many promises of Holy Scripture — God helps those who help themselves.

    you cannot he saved. The apostle appeals to their own instinct of self-preservation.

    32. cut off the ropes, etc., — i.e. the soldiers had their short swords at hand, and they used them in order to defeat the sailors’ cowardly project. In this crisis it was necessary t.o act promptly.

    33. when it began to be light. While “ the day was coming on.” St Paul urged them to profit by this interval to take a good meal, in order to be ready for action as soon as it was light.

    remain fasting. — i.e. without having had any regular meals.

    34. for your health’s sake. Lit. “for your safety.”

    shall not an hair, etc. This is a proverbial exprcission for deliverance from imminent ])eril.

perish. The proverb varies between “fall” and “perish.” Cf. As the Lord liveth, there shall not one hair of his head fall to the ground, for he hath wrought with God this day (1 Kings xiv. 45).

    “ Noli timere, Cæsaris fortunas vehis ” — Fear not, thou carriest the fortune of Cæsar— was the saying of Julius Cesar to the panic-stricken mariner in the Adriatic. “ Nolite timere, Christi Evangelium vehitis ’ — Fear not, you carry the Gospel of Christ— might have been that of St Paul.

    35. taking bread .... gave thanks .... broken .... to eat. The words bring to mind the account of the institution of the Holy Eucharist, although there could be no question at this moment of offering the Holy Sacrifice. All devout Jews gave thanks before partaking of food.

    “Making of the simplest necessity of life a religious and eucharistic act, he took bread, gave thanks to God in the presence of them all, broke it, and began to eat. Catching the contagion of his cheerful trust, the drenched, miserable throng of 276 souls, who had so long been huddled together in their unspeakable wretchedness and discomfort, as their shattered vessel lay rolling and tossing under the dismal clouds, took fresh courage, and shared with him in a hearty meal’' (Farrar, Life and Work of St Paul, pp. 5712).

    he begjan to eat. The Bezan text adds, ‘‘and gave also unto us.”

    37. two hundred threescore and sixteen souls. As they were on the point of making for the land, it was natural that the people on board should he numbered. The captain was responsible for the crew and the passengers in general, and the centurion for his soldiers and prisoners.

    38. they lightened the ship. They cast out the rest of the cargo of wheat. Doubtless it was sodden with salt water and had shifted over to the port side. In this work the passengers could help, and at the same time, as the ship was leaking, the pumps had to be kept working constantly.

    39. they knew not the land. The traditional scene of the wreck, known as St Paul’s Bay (La Cala di San Paolo), lies on the north-west of the island of Malta, near Koura Point. The bay is about two miles long and one mile broad. Its western .side is bounded by a pebbly beach, which gradually rises towards the east into steep rocks. During the night the ship had anchored north of this bay. Calculating from the average rate of drifting of modern vessels under similar circumstances, a ship would have covered about four hundred and eighty miles in fourteen days, and this is precisely the distance between Gozzo and Malta. Futher, this is exactly the direction in which a ship would he blown by a north-east wind. All the features of this locality, as given by modern navigators, correspond so exactly with St Luke’s description of the shipwreck, that there can be no valid reason urged against accepting the Bay off Koura Point as the scene of the wreck.

    As the bay is seven miles from Valetta and has no very marked features, it is not astonishing that the sailors did not recognize the Island of Malta.

    they minded. Better, “ they took counsel ” (ἐβουλεύοντο). The beach was most suitable for their purpose, which was to run the ship aground, but it was difficult to accomplish this with a heavily waterlogged, disabled vessel.

    40. when they had taken up the anchors. Better, “ casting off ” (περιελόντες) the anchors. They now cut the cables and left the anchors in the water. As they wished to lighten the ship, which was doomed to destruction, they did not trouble to hoist up the heavy anchors on hoard.

    they committed themselves. There is no authority for the insertion of the pronoun “themselves” (which is given in the A.V. in italics). It was the anchors that were cut away and “let go” in the sea. The Greek reads simply “ let, go into the sea.”

    loosing withal the rudder-bands. See Annot. on verse 29. The rudders were now required to steer the ship to the shore.

    The ancient Greeks and Romans used two paddle-rudders, one on each quarter. The hinged-rudder only came into use in the Middle Ages.

    the main-sail. (τὸν ἀρτέμωνα.) The Greek word “artemon” was the name given to the fore-sail, the best possible sail that could have been set under the circumstances. It was hoisted on a short mast at the prow.

    41. And. They intended making for the shore, hut the currents rendering this impossible, they ran the ship aground. The last re- source with a foundering ship is to strand her.

From Google Earth.

    a place where two seas met. The Island of Salmonetta (or Salmoon) lies off the west end of St Paul's Bay. From the place of anchorage north of the bay, the sailors could not see the channel which separated Salmonetta from the mainland. Hence they made for the beach, and in so doing ran upon a mudbank formed by the meeting of the current which flowed through the channel, and the tide in the bay. The prow of the ship was embedded in the mud, while the billows beat upon the stern, which immediately began to break up.

    42. the soldiers' counsel was, etc. The only hope of safety lay in reaching the shore, and the soldiers feared that their prisoners might attempt to escape by swimming out. This counsel was prompted by an instinct of self-preservation, and perhaps of honour, for a Roman soldier, who allowed his prisoner to escape, forfeited his own life and tarnished his military reputation.

    43. the centurion, willing, etc. This is another proof of how greatly the centurion esteemed St Paul. He was indifferent as to the fate of the other prisoners, but he would not sacrifice the apostle, to whom all on board owed their safety,

    they who could, swim, should east themselves first. This was an excellent plan, since, if these reached the shore safely, they could help those who were unable to swim, either from lack of strength or knowledge. Some of the passengers must have been utterly prostrate after such a terrible ordeal, lasting for fourteen days.

    44. things that belonged. The planks broken off from the frame of the vessel. By clinging to these spars they were blown towards the shore, and those who had reached it by swimming plunged into the surf to rescue their comrades.

    Thus “ a motley group of nearly three hundred drenched, and shivering, and weather-beaten sailors and soldiers, and prisoners and passengers, stood on that chill and stormy November morning upon the desolate and surf-beat shore of the Island of Malta. Some, we are sure, there were who joined with Paul in hearty thanks to the God who, though He had not made the storm to cease, so that the waves thereof were still, had yet brought them safe to land, through all the perils of that tempestuous month” (Parrer, Life and Work of St Paul, p. 573).

    May we not hope that some were converted by Paul’s preaching and example, and the proofs they had received of the Divine intervention on their behalf? If this were so, the storm in Adria was indeed a blessing in disguise, since it brought them to a knowledge of the truth, and ultimately to the haven of eternal rest.

Totus tuus ego sum 
Et omnia mea tua sunt;
Tecum tutus semper sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam

The Shipwreck : Part 1

   [The posts which follow make extensive use of The Acts of the Apostles, by Madame Cecilia, (Religious of St Andrew's Convent, Streatham), with an Imprimi potest dated 16 October 1907 (Westminster); Burns, Oates & Washbourne Ltd. (London). With grateful prayers for the author and her team: 

REQUIEM æternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis. Requiescant in pace. Amen.

ETERNAL rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen.]

 

Acts XXVII :  9-26

Reproduced from FreeBibleImages. Creative Commons non-commercial.

[9] And when much time was spent, and when sailing now was dangerous, because the fast was now past, Paul comforted them, 

[10] Saying to them: Ye men, I see that the voyage beginneth to be with injury and much damage, not only of the lading and ship, but also of our lives.

[11] But the centurion believed the pilot and the master of the ship, more than those things which were said by Paul. 

[12] And whereas it was not a commodious haven to winter in, the greatest part gave counsel to sail thence, if by any means they might reach Phenice to winter there, which is a haven of Crete, looking towards the southwest and northwest. 

[13] And the south wind gently blowing, thinking that they had obtained their purpose, when they had loosed from Asson, they sailed close by Crete. 

[14] But not long after, there arose against it a tempestuous wind, called Euroaquilo. 

[15] And when the ship was caught, and could not bear up against the wind, giving up the ship to the winds, we were driven.

[16] And running under a certain island, that is called Cauda, we had much work to come by the boat.

[17] Which being taken up, they used helps, undergirding the ship, and fearing lest they should fall into the quicksands, they let down the sail yard, and so were driven. 

[18] And we being mightily tossed with the tempest, the next day they lightened the ship. 

[19] And the third day they cast out with their own hands the tackling of the ship. [20] And when neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small storm lay on us, all hope of our being saved was now taken away.

[21] And after they had fasted a long time, Paul standing forth in the midst of them, said: You should indeed, O ye men, have hearkened unto me, and not have loosed from Crete, and have gained this harm and loss. 

[22] And now I exhort you to be of good cheer. For there shall be no loss of any man's life among you, but only of the ship. 

[23] For an angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve, stood by me this night, 

[24] Saying: Fear not, Paul, thou must be brought before Caesar; and behold, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee. 

[25] Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer; for I believe God that it shall so be, as it hath been told me.

[26] And we must come unto a certain island.

[9] Multo autem tempore peracto, et cum jam non esset tuta navigatio, eo quod et jejunium jam praeteriisset, consolabatur eos Paulus, [10] dicens eis : Viri, video quoniam cum injuria et multo damno non solum oneris, et navis, sed etiam animarum nostrarum incipit esse navigatio.

[11] Centurio autem gubernatori et nauclero magis credebat, quam his quae a Paulo dicebantur. [12] Et cum aptus portus non esset ad hiemandum, plurimi statuerunt consilium navigare inde, si quomodo possent, devenientes Phoenicen, hiemare, portum Cretae respicientem ad Africum et ad Corum. [13] Aspirante autem austro, aestimantes propositum se tenere, cum sustulissent de Asson, legebant Cretam. [14] Non post multum autem misit se contra ipsam ventus typhonicus, qui vocatur Euroaquilo. [15] Cumque arrepta esset navis, et non posset conari in ventum, data nave flatibus, ferebamur.

[16] In insulam autem quamdam decurrentes, quae vocatur Cauda, potuimus vix obtinere scapham. [17] Qua sublata, adjutoriis utebantur, accingentes navem, timentes ne in Syrtim inciderent, summisso vase sic ferebantur. [18] Valida autem nobis tempestate jactatis, sequenti die jactum fecerunt : [19] et tertia die suis manibus armamenta navis projecerunt. [20] Neque autem sole, neque sideribus apparentibus per plures dies, et tempestate non exigua imminente, jam ablata erat spes omnis salutis nostrae.

[21] Et cum multa jejunatio fuisset, tunc stans Paulus in medio eorum, dixit : Oportebat quidem, o viri, audito me, non tollere a Creta, lucrique facere injuriam hanc et jacturam. [22] Et nunc suadeo vobis bono animo esse : amissio enim nullius animae erit ex vobis, praeterquam navis. [23] Astitit enim mihi hac nocte angelus Dei, cujus sum ego, et cui deservio, [24] dicens : Ne timeas Paule, Caesari te oportet assistere : et ecce donavit tibi Deus omnes qui navigant tecum. [25] Propter quod bono animo estote viri : credo enim Deo, quia sic erit, quemadmodum dictum est mihi.

[26] In insulam autem quamdam oportet nos devenire.

Notes

    9. when much time was spent. This may embrace a period of a fortnight or three weeks which was spent at Good-havens while waiting for a favourable wind.

    sailing. Better, “the voyage” (τοῦ πλοὸς) — i.e. to Italy. At this season violent winds from the north blew over the Ægean Sea and rendered navigation dangerous. Hesiod gives the setting of the Pleiades (circa Oct. 20) as the close of the sailing season, whereas the Romans gave the Ides of November as the last day. The ancient mariners, having no compass, could not safely sail when the stars which guided them were no longer visible.

    On this subject Smith quotes Vegetius (de Re Milit., iv. 39) : “Ex. die igitur tertio Iduum Novembris, usque in diem sextum Iduum Martiarum, maria clauduntur. Nam lux minima noxque prolixa, nubium densitas, æris obscuritas ventorum, imbriuin, vel nivium, geminata sævitia” (Smith, p. 46).

    (From the third day after the Ides of November until the sixth day after the Ides of March the seas are closed. For daylight decreases, the nights are lengthened, and the darkness of the clouds, the obscurity of the atmosphere, and the severity of the winds, showers, or snow are redoubled.)

    the fast was now past. The Day of Atonement was the only fast prescribed by the Mosaic Law, though the Pharisees observed various fasts of supererogation.

    This solemnity fell on the tenth of Tishri, the seventh month of the Jewish ecclesiastical year, and the first of their civil year. Tishri corresponds to part of our September and October. The Feast of Tabernacles fell on the fifteenth of this month, and the Rabbis held that “ no one ought to sail between the Feast of Tabernacles and the Dedication. ”

    The rules for the observance of the Day of Atonement are fully given in the sixteenth chapter of Leviticus. On this solemn day no devout Jew touched food for the whole twenty-four hours — from sunset to sunset.

    10. Saying to them : Ye men, I see that the voyage,etc. St Paul, in his previous voyages and perils, had acquired a certain experience in navigation, for when writing to the Corinthians some time previously he referred to his having suffered shipwreck thrice, and to having been a night and a day in the deep (2 Cor. xi. 25). We cannot determine whether at this moment the apostle had been enlightened supernaturally, as when be was inspired to assure them of their ultimate safety. He knew for certain that he himself would reach Italy, for he had been assured of this in a vision (see ch. xxiii. 11).

    with injury. This Greek noun is generally used with reference to a personal attack, and might be rendered ‘‘violence” or “ buffeting.” It is here employed metaphorically of a grievous disaster.

    much damage. The actual injury done to the ship by the violence of the storm.

    11. the centurion believed. Better, “gave more heed” (ἐπείθετο μᾶλλον). He naturally took the advice of those who were experts in nautical science.

    pilot. The same word occurs in the Apocalypse (ch. xviii. 17), where it is rendered “shipmaster,” but “pilot” gives the correct sense.

    master of the ship. In small vessels the owner was often the captain.

    12. it was not a commodious, etc. Although Good-havens was an excellent harbour in some seasons, it was not safe in winter, “being open to nearly one-half of the compass.” It might better be described as two open roadsteads [roadstead : A stretch of water near a shore considered as a safe place for ships to ride at anchor; OED] than a harbour.

    Phenice. The correct orthography is “ Phœnix.” Most commentators identify it with the modern port of Lutro, which corresponds to the description given in this verse. They did not succeed in reaching this port.

    Lutro is an admirable harbour. You open it like a box ; unexpectedly, the rocks stand apart, and the town appears within . . . . We thought we had cut him off (i.e. the pirate ship they were chasing), and that we were driving him right upon the rocks. Suddenly he disappeared ; and rounding after him, like a change of scenery, the little basin, its shipping and the town, presented themselves . . . . Excepting Lutro, all the roadsteads looking to the southward are perfectly exposed to the south or east.” (Quoted in Conybeare and Howson, from a letter written by Mr Urquhart to Mr Smith, p. 641.)

    looking towards the south-west arid north-west. The Greek reads lit. “looking down or against the south-west” and “north-west.” We must conclude that the harbour looked to the south-east and north-east, to which these winds blew, and not on the south-west or north-west, whence these winds blew. This explanation gives the harbour as facing the east, and such is the situation of the modern L(o)utro, though, seen from the sea, it looks towards the south-west and the north-west. The accompanying diagram shews that the harbour facing the west must have been exposed to all the fury of the north-westerly and south-westerly winds which prevailed in winter, whereas a harbour looking east was sheltered from them. The accompanying diagram illustrates this point, as at B the harbour is sheltered from the north-west and south-west wind, while the harbour on the west (A) is exposed to them.

The port at Loutro.

13. the south wind gently blowing. The wind had completely veered round. So having weighed anchor, the vessel rounded Cape Matala, which was about five miles from Good -havens. So far they were bearing west by south, and had this favourable south wind continued to blow, the vessel would have reached Phoenix in three or four hours, as this harbour is only thirty-five miles from Cape Matala.

    “The sailors already saw the high land above Lutro, and were proceeding in high spirits,— perhaps with fair-weather sails set, — certainly with the boat towing astern, forgetful of past difficulties, and blind to impending dangers ” (Conybeare and Howson, vol. ii.).

Asson. It is more probable that this is not a proper noun, but the comparative of the Greek adverb “near” (ἄγχι). Hence, “asson” signifies “ nearer.” By keeping very close to the shore they could better double Cape Matala, which lay south-west of Good-havens.

    The A.V. renders this verse correctly : “They weighed anchor and sailed along Crete, close in shore.”

    close by Crete. “It is always safe to anchor under the lee of an island with a northerly wind, as it dies away gradually ; but it would be extremely dangerous with southerly winds as they almost invariably shift to a violent northerly wind ” (Capt. J. Stewart, R. N,, (quoted by Smith).

    14. not long after, — i.e. after they had passed Crete.

    against it. Against, the island of Crete.

    Captain Spratt, in a letter to Mr Smith, records a similar experience : “We left Fair Havens with alight southerly wind and clear sky, everything indicative of a fine day until we rounded the cape to haul up for the head of the bay. Then we saw Mount Ida covered with a dense cloud and met a strong northerly breeze (one of the summer gales, in fact, so frequent in the Levant, but which in general are accompanied by terrific gusts and squalls from those high mountains), the wind blowing direct from Mount Ida” (quoted by Conybeare and Howson).

    a tempestuous wind. Lit. “ a typhonic wind ” (ἄνεμος τυφωνικὸς). This whirlwind caused by the sudden change in the direction of the wind descended “ from the lofty hills in heavy spirls and eddies,” and prevented the pilots from accomplishing their aim of keeping close to the shore.

    called Euro-aquilo. The Greeks called this north-east wind Cœcias. The reading “ Euro-aquilo” is found in Codices א, A, R, and in the Sahidic and Vulgate Versions. Another reading given in H, L, and P is “ Euro-clydon ” (Εὖρος, the east, wind; κλύδον a wave). This word, as the name of a wind, is not found in classical writers.

    Smith accepts the reading “Euro-aquilo,” and gives three arguments in favour of the ship having been driven out of its course by a wind blowing from E.N.E. : —

1. The etymology of the word.

2. The fact that the vessel was driven from its position west of Capo Matala to Cauda.

3. The apprehension of the sailors that the ship would be driven into the Syrtis.

    15. the ship was caught. The wind seized the ship and whirled it out of its course.

    could not bear up. Lit. “could not face or eye the wind ” (ἀντοφθαλμεῖν τῷ ἀνέμῳ). The anccient ships had a large eye painted on each side of the prow.

    giving up the ship to the winds. The vessel was now scudding before the gale in a south-westerly direction.

    16. running under, — i.e. under the lee or sheltered side of Cauda, where the waters would be a little calmer, and this respite enabled the seamen to hoist up the boat which was towed astern, and to prepare for the storm.

    Cauda. The orthography varies considerably, e.g. Claudos, Clauda, Cauden, etc. The modern name is Gozzo. The island lies about twenty miles south of Crete.

    much work. Lit. “with difficiilty,” as in verses 7 and 8. The sea was high, and the boat must have been completely swamped. It is always a difficult task to hoist up a boat during a gale.

    17. being taken up. Better, “ when they had hoisted her up.”

    they used helps. “ Stays and braces to keep the ship together.”

    under-girding the ship. This consisted in passing cables round the framework of the ship and tightening them by means of pulleys and levers, in order to prevent the planks from ‘‘starting” under the great strain. Ancient ships often foundered, owing to leakages arising from the uneven distribution of pressure, which was very great upon the hull of the vessel on account of the large mainmast.

    Ships are rarely undergirded now, as they are more strongly built, but a few examples of this practice are given by James, and by Conybeare and Howson ; thus a Canadian timber-vessel arrived undergirded (or “ flapped ” ) at Aberdeen in 1846. The captain of the ship “St Stephen,” which sailed from New Brunswick to Kingston in Jamaica, describes a similar case: “I found it necessary, for the preservation of the crew and vessel, and the balance of deck load, to secure top of ship ; took a coil of four-inch Manilla rope, commenced forward, passing it round and round the vessel, after which cut up some spars, made heavers, and hove the warp as tight as possible. Fearing the warp would chafe off and part, took one of the chains, passed it round and before with tackles and heavers, and secured the top of the vessel, so that the leak in the waterways was partially stopped. In this state I reached Port Royal, when I took off the warp and chain, and arrived at Kingston on January 12, 1838. Had I not taken the means I did, I am of opinion the vessel could not have been got into port.”

    the quicksands. This refers to the Greater Syrtis, a dangerous bay, full of rocks and shoals, on the north coast of Africa, between Tunis and Tripoli. This bay, “the Goodwin Sands of the Mediterranean,” was much dreaded by navigators.

they let down the sail yard. The R.V. reads, “ they lowered the gear,” which renders the Greek more correctly. In classical Greek, the word which is here rendered “ gear,” when applied to ships, signifies all the tackling, such as sails, ropes, yards, anchors, pulleys, etc. In this case they probably brought down the heavy top-hamper of the mast, and took all necessary precautions for facing the storm.

    The A.V. reads here they “ strake sail,” but this is a mistranslation ; had they furled all their sails, they would have been inevitably driven on the quicksands of Syrtis.

    18. we being mightily tossed. The storm steadily increased.

    they lightened the ship. Lit. “ they made a casting overboard ” (ἐκβολὴν ἐποιοῦντο). St Luke employs the technical term for unlading. They set about lightening the ship by throwing part of the cargo overboard. Evidently, in spite of the undergirding, the vessel was leaking.

    19. the third day, — i.e. of the storm.

    they cast out. Some MSS. read “ we cast out,” but this reading is not so well supported as the one given by the Vulgate.

    the tackling of the ship. Commentators are not agreed as to the meaning of this. Some understand that they threw ‘‘ the huge main- yard ” overboard, others are of opinion that they threw all the movable furniture into the sea. “As σκεῦος (the gear), in verse 17, seems to mean all that could be spared from aloft, so here it appears to signify all that could be removed from the deck or hull of the vessel.”

    20. neither sun nor stars appeared. Consequently they were unable to ascertain their position. We need not suppose that they were in total darkness during the day, but that the mist and spray prevented them from sighting land.

    “ No one who has never been in a leaking ship in a continued gale can know what is suffered under such circumstances. The strain botlh of mind and body— the incessant demand for the labour of all the crew— the terror of the passengers— the hopeless working at the pumps— the labouring of the ship’s frame and cordage— the driving of the storm — the benumbing effect of the cold and wet, make up a scene of no ordinary confusion anxiety, and fatigue ” (Conybeare and Howson, vol. ii.).

    21. after they had fasted. There was certainly sufficient food on board, but as the violence of the storm gave them no respite, it was impossible to prepare meals. Add to this the anxiety, nausea, and exhaustion inevitable under the circumstances, and the “much abstinence” is readily understood.

    Paul standing forth. He came forward as God’s messenger to raise their courage and revive, their hope. While the crew were toiling, he had been praying for them, and now his confidence in God inspires them with fresh energy.

    You should indeed, etc. He had advised them to winter in Good-havens, but they had rejected his advice.

    “ After so great a storm he does not speak insultingly to them, but simply wishes to be believed in future ” (St John Chrys., Hom., liii.).

    have gained, — i.e. to have been spared. In both Greek and Latin idiomatic language, “to gain a loss” is to avoid experiencing it.

    harm and loss. “Harm” refers to the persons, “loss” to their property.

    22. there shall be no loss, etc. St Paul knows this by revelation, and he delivers his message of mercy precisely when the crew and passengers are in the greatest dejection at the thought of facing death. On this occasion, as ever, “man’s necessity is God’s opportunity.”

    23. an Angel of God. This is the only apparition of an angel to St Paul that is recorded in the Acts. For apparitions to St Peter and others see i. 10, v. 19, viii. 26, x. 3, xii. 7.

    whose I am, etc. These words are characteristic of St Paul’s style, and they recall his address in the Areopagus and various passages in his epistles, e.g. For God is my witness, whom I serve in my spirit (Rom. i. 9).

    whom I serve. The Greek verb here used expresses the act of adoration or worship (λατρεύω).

    stood by me. It was a vision, not a dream,

    24. thou must he brought. This is the second recorded revelation concerning St Paul's mission in Rome. Hence be knew that his life would be spared until he had stood before Cesar.

    It is generally believed that St Paul actually stood before Nero himself, when he was imprisoned a second time in Rome. This view is based on the following passage : At my first answer no man stood with me, but all forsook me : may it not he laid to their charge. But the Lord stood by me, and strengthened me, that by me the preaching may he accomplished, and that all the Gentiles may hear, and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion (2 Tim. iv. 16-17). By “ the lion” Jerome understands Nero.

    God hath given thee, etc. The safety of the crew and passengers was evidently due to St Paul’s prayers. ‘‘This is not spoken boastfully, but in the wish to win those who were sailing in the ship, for he spoke thus not that they might feel themselves obliged to him, but that they might believe what be was saying” (St John Cbrys., Hom., liii. 2). The assurance of safety, however, did not dispense the sailors from exerting themselves.

    25. Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer. These consoling, inspiriting words, uttered so confidently in the midst of danger, were well calculated to rekindle hope in their breasts.

    I believe God. “ Note how the servant of God has the light of hope and trust in the darkest night of danger and suffering.”

    as it hath been told me. To St Paul, as to our Blessed Lady, the words might have been addressed : Blessed art thou that hast believed, because those things shall he accomplished that were spoken to thee by the Lord (St Luke i. 45). This blessing is reserved for all who trust God implicitly.

    26. we must come, etc. The angel had revealed this to the apostle.

    In this, as in other miracles and revelations, we see that the chief object was to give authority to the words of God’s minister, to serve as credentials confirming their divine commission.

Totus tuus ego sum 
Et omnia mea tua sunt;
Tecum tutus semper sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam