28:1 After we had safely reached shore, 1 we learned that the island was called Malta. 2
28:11 After three months we put out to sea 14 in an Alexandrian ship that had wintered at the island and had the “Heavenly Twins” 15 as its figurehead. 16
1 tn Grk “We having been brought safely through” [to land] (same verb as 27:44). The word “shore” is implied, and the slight variations in translation from 27:44 have been made to avoid redundancy in English. The participle διασωθέντες (diaswqente") has been taken temporally.
2 sn Malta is an island (known by the same name today) in the Mediterranean Sea south of Sicily. The ship had traveled 625 mi (1,000 km) in the storm.
map For location see JP4-A3.
3 tn Grk “a wind like a typhoon.” That is, a very violent wind like a typhoon or hurricane (BDAG 1021 s.v. τυφωνικός).
4 sn Or called Euraquilo (the actual name of the wind, a sailor’s term which was a combination of Greek and Latin). According to Strabo (Geography 1.2.21), this was a violent northern wind.
5 tn Grk “from it”; the referent (the island) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
6 tn BDAG 142 s.v. ἀσθένεια 1 states, “ἔχειν ἀ. be ill Ac 28:9.”
7 sn Many…also came and were healed. Again, here is irony. Paul, though imprisoned, “frees” others of their diseases.
8 tn Or “had passed through,” “had traveled through.”
9 sn Paphos. A city on the southwestern coast of the island of Cyprus. It was the seat of the Roman proconsul.
10 sn Named Bar-Jesus. “Jesus” is the Latin form of the name “Joshua.” The Aramaic “bar” means “son of,” so this man was surnamed “son of Joshua.” The scene depicts the conflict between Judaism and the emerging new faith at a cosmic level, much like the Simon Magus incident in Acts 8:9-24. Paul’s ministry looks like Philip’s and Peter’s here.
11 tn BDAG 1042 s.v. ὑποτρέχω states, “run or sail under the lee of, nautical t.t.…Ac 27:16.” The participle ὑποδραμόντες (Jupodramonte") has been taken temporally (“as we ran under the lee of”). While this could also be translated as a participle of means (“by running…”) this might suggest the ship was still under a greater degree of control by its crew than it probably was.
12 sn Cauda. This island was located south of Crete, about 23 mi (36 km) from where they began. There are various ways to spell the island’s name (e.g., Clauda, BDAG 546 s.v. Κλαῦδα).
13 sn The ship’s boat was a small rowboat, normally towed behind a ship in good weather rather than stowed on board. It was used for landings, to maneuver the ship for tacking, and to lay anchors (not a lifeboat in the modern sense, although it could have served as a means of escape for some of the sailors; see v. 30). See L. Casson, Ships and Seamanship in the Ancient World, 248f.
14 tn BDAG 62 s.v. ἀνάγω 4, “as a nautical t.t. (ἀ. τὴν ναῦν put a ship to sea), mid. or pass. ἀνάγεσθαι to begin to go by boat, put out to sea.”
15 tn Or “the ‘Twin Gods’”; Grk “the Dioscuri” (a joint name for the pagan deities Castor and Pollux).
sn That had the ‘Heavenly Twins’ as its figurehead. The twin brothers Castor and Pollux, known collectively as the Dioscuri or ‘Heavenly Twins,’ were the twin sons of Zeus and Leda according to Greek mythology. The Alexandrian ship on which Paul and his companions sailed from Malta had a carved emblem or figurehead of these figures, and they would have been the patron deities of the vessel. Castor and Pollux were the “gods of navigation.” To see their stars was considered a good omen (Epictetus, Discourses 2.18.29; Lucian of Samosata, The Ship 9).
16 tn Or “as its emblem.”