Acts Chapter 28 verse 2 Holy Bible

Pulpit Commentary

Pulpit CommentaryVerse 2. - Barbarians for barbarous people, A.V.; common for little, A.V.; all for every one, A.V. Barbarians; i.e. not Greeks or Romans, or (in the mouth of a Jew) not Jews. The phrase had especial reference to the strange language of the "barbarian." See St. Paul's use of it (Romans 1:14; 1 Corinthians 14:11; Colossians 3:11); and compare Ovid's saying ('Trist.,' 3:10, 37), "Barbarus hic ego sum, quia non intelligor ulli;" and that of Herodotus (2, 158), that the Egyptians call all barbarians who do not speak the Egyptian language(Kuinoel). The word is thought to be formed onomate-poetically, to express the confused sound which a strange language has in a man's ears. Kindness; φιλανθρωπία, here and Titus 3:4 (comp. Acts 27:3). Received us all. The whole party, numbering two hundred and seventy-six. The present rain, and... cold; showing that the gale still continued, and the wind was still north-east. The plight of the shipwrecked party must have been lamentable, drenched to the skin, with no change of clothes, a cold wind blowing. Probably the hearty meal they had taken on beard ship was the means of saving their lives.

Ellicott's Commentary

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(2) The barbarous people . . .--It has been urged in favour of Meleda that this description is more applicable to the people of that island than to those of Malta, whom Diodorus Siculus (v. 12) describes as "very rich, practising many trades, manufacturing fine clothes, and dwelling in large and splendid houses." It is obvious, however, that St. Luke uses the term, as St. Paul does (Romans 1:14; 1Corinthians 14:11), and as was then common, as applicable to all races that did not speak Greek, and that such a term as "Scythian" (Colossians 3:11) was used to describe what we should call "barbarians" or "savages." For him "barbarian" was like the term "native," which our travellers apply indiscriminately to Fiji Islanders and Cingalese. The language of Malta at the time, if not absolutely Punic, was probably a very bastard Greek. The inscriptions which have been found in the island are, as was natural, in the Greek and Latin, which were used as official languages by their rulers.No little kindness.--Literally, no common (or average) philanthropy. The idiom is the same as that of the "special miracles" of Acts 19:11.And received us . . .--The word implies both shelter and hospitality. Warmth, above all things, was needful for those who had been chilled and drenched; and for this purpose, probably in some open space, or atrium, a large fire was lighted.Because of the present rain . . .--The rain followed naturally on the cessation of the gale. The "cold" shows that the wind was not the Sirocco, which is always accompanied by heat. . . .