Acts 28:13

Thursday, 13 June 2024

From there we circled round and reached Rhegium. And after one day the south wind blew; and the next day we came to Puteoli, Acts 28:13

A more literal translation is, “From where, having gone around, we arrived at Rhegium. And after one day, having come upon an Auster, the second day we came to Puteoli” (CG).

Luke just noted that they had landed at Syracuse and stayed three days. Now, the journey to Rome continues with, “From where, having gone around.”

The words “from where” refer to Syracuse which is on the southeast corner of Sicily. Leaving that port, they had to make a bit of a sweeping motion. Of the words, “having gone around,” the KJV says, “And from thence we fetched a compass.” The Berean Study Bible says, “From there we weighed anchor.”

It is generally accepted that the Greek term is speaking of making a circuitous route around Sicily. As Syracuse is on the southeast corner of the island, and they need to head northward to the Italian peninsula, they set sail and worked off the coast of Sicily to reach their destination.

It was probably a west or a northwest wind at this time and this caused them to head out to sea in order to catch the winds while traveling north. Thus, one gets the idea of circling around, or going around, instead of traveling straight to their destination. From there, it next says, “we arrived at Rhegium.”

Rhegium, now known as Reggio, is on the southwest extremity of the toe of Italy. According to Wikipedia, Reggio “commonly and officially referred to as Reggio Calabria, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, is the largest city in Calabria as well as the seat of the Regional Council of Calabria. It has an estimated population between 150,000 and 200,000 and is the twenty-first most populous city in Italy, after Modena and other Italian cities, and the 100th most populated city in Europe. Reggio Calabria is located near the center of the Mediterranean and is known for its climate, ethnic and cultural diversity. It is the third economic centre of mainland Southern Italy. About 560,000 people live in the metropolitan area, recognised in 2015 by Italy as a metropolitan city.”

The city is right at the southern opening of the Straits of Messina. These straits pass between Sicily and Italy. They connect the Tyrrhenian Sea to the north with the Ionian Sea to the south. At its narrowest point, it measures 1.9 miles in width. However, near the town of Messina the width is some 3.2 miles. It has a maximum depth of 830 feet.

Certainly because of the narrowness of the straits and the contrary wind, they stopped at Rhegium. However, Luke next records, “And after one day, having come upon an Auster.”

The words “having come upon” are from a word found only here in Scripture, epiginomai. It is derived from two words signifying “upon” and “to come about.” The word translated as Auster is the same word as in Acts 27:13, notos. It signifies the South and thus a south wind. A single English word which corresponds to this is Auster, a south wind. Once this favorable wind came upon them, it next says, “the second day we came to Puteoli.”

Here is another word unique to Scripture, deuteraios. It is derived from deuteros, second, and signifies the second day. With the favorable wind that came from the south, it allowed them to pass through the straits. Once through the straits, they were able to sail all the way to Puteoli.

This is the modern city known as Pozzuoli. It is located very near Naples and was once a port city. Today, however, it is too shallow for large ships to arrive at. Its name means “The wells.” Being known for its warm baths, it is supposed that is how it got its name. Some relevant information from the era that these men arrived there is found in Wikipedia –

“Puteoli became the great emporium for the Alexandrian grain ships and other ships from all over the Roman world. It also was the main hub for goods exported from Campania, including blown glass, mosaics, wrought iron, and marble. Lucilius wrote in about 125 BC that it was second only to Delos in importance, then the greatest harbour of the ancient world. Many inscriptions show that a polyglot population established companies (stationes) for trade and transport and formed professional guilds for arts, crafts and religious associations for foreign cults; they included Greeks from the islands and the coast of Asia, Jews and later Christians. Under the Roman Empire, it was the greatest emporium of foreign trade in all of Italy. Trade with Tyre was so important that the Tyrians established a factory there in 174.”

Life application: In one verse, travel has gone from Syracuse to Rhegium to Puteoli. The population of these three cities totals about four hundred thousand people. Think of how many of them may have never heard of Jesus. Now imagine that you encounter people just like them throughout the week or even every day. They may never have heard of Jesus. Who is going to tell them? If not you, then who?

If you are saved, hooray for Jesus in your life. But be sure to now tell others about what He has done for you, and indeed for all the people of the world. Without hearing about Him, people cannot be saved. Hopefully, you will be affected enough about their plight to at least try to share what you know.

Lord God, help us to be responsible in sharing our faith in Jesus. We have family, friends, and acquaintances that need to hear the good news. We go to restaurants and are served by people that may have never been told the simple message of Your goodness to us in sending Jesus. Help us, O God, to faithfully proclaim what we know. Amen.