Melita

Biblical Text

Melita appears in Acts 27–28. Paul, who was being taken to Rome as a prisoner, boarded a ship of Alexandria with his companions. Off the coast of Crete the ship ran into a violent storm, drifted for fourteen days, and broke apart near an island. There were 276 people aboard, and all of them reached land, some by swimming and others by clinging to pieces of the ship (Acts 27:37-44). The company then learned that the island was called Melita (Acts 28:1).

The following events took place on the island:

• The kindness of the islanders: The islanders kindled a fire and welcomed the company, who were suffering from the rain and cold (Acts 28:2).
• The viper incident: When Paul laid a bundle of sticks on the fire, a viper came out and fastened on his hand. The islanders took him for a murderer and said that "vengeance" would not allow him to live. When Paul suffered no harm, they changed their minds and said that he was a god (Acts 28:3-6).
• The house of Publius: Publius, the chief man of the island, lodged the company for three days. Paul prayed for Publius's father, who lay sick with a fever and a bloody flux, laid his hands on him, and healed him. Afterward, others on the island who had diseases also came and were healed (Acts 28:7-9).
• Departure: The company stayed on the island for three months. They then sailed for Rome on a ship of Alexandria that had wintered there, whose sign was Castor and Pollux (Acts 28:10-11).

Background

The Greek name of the island is Melitē. At the time it was under Roman rule and is understood to have been attached to the province of Sicily. The Greek word used for the islanders, barbaroi, means "people who do not speak Greek." The Korean Revised Version renders it with a word meaning "natives," and the New Korean Revised Version with a word meaning "indigenous people." The term does not mean "savages." The inhabitants of the island appear to have spoken a language of Phoenician origin.

The ship of Alexandria is understood to have been one of the vessels that carried Egyptian grain to Rome. The ship on which Paul sailed was also carrying wheat (Acts 27:38).

Significance in Scripture as a Whole

The Melita narrative forms part of the account of how the promise that Paul would also bear witness in Rome (Acts 23:11; 27:24) was fulfilled even through storm and shipwreck. Many interpreters read it within the broader movement of Acts, in which God's providence carries the gospel to Rome.

It is also notable that the text is narrated in the first person plural, "we." Traditionally, this "we" has been understood to include Luke.

Interpretation and Issues

• Location: The traditional and widely accepted view identifies the island with Malta. A frequently cited piece of evidence is the discovery on Malta of inscriptions bearing a title similar to "the chief man of the island." Some scholars, however, pointing to the description of the sea in which the ship drifted as "Adria" (Acts 27:27), have proposed other locations, such as the island of Mljet in the Adriatic. Others respond that the ancient term "Adria" referred to a wider body of water than the present-day Adriatic Sea.
• The viper and the healings: This episode is often read alongside the promise in Mark 16:18. The passage containing that verse, Mark 16:9-20, is textually disputed. Pentecostal and charismatic traditions regard the episode as an example of divine healing and the gifts of the Holy Spirit that continue today. Some in the Reformed tradition read it as a sign that confirmed the apostolic ministry. This difference is connected to the cessationism and continuationism debate. The text records that Paul did not deliberately take up the snake but was bitten unexpectedly.
• Traditions outside the text: Stories handed down in Malta contain material not found in the biblical text. These include the tradition identifying the site of the shipwreck with present-day St. Paul's Bay, the tradition that Publius became the first bishop of Malta, and the story that the island's snakes lost their venom after Paul's visit.