No little (od tvyodcav). See on special, ch. xix. 11. Rev., much better, “20 common kindness.”
Kindness (di\av3pwriav). See on the kindred adverb courteously, ch. xxvii. 3.
Present rain (derov tov épectara). Lit., which was upon us, or had set in. No mention of rain occurs up to this point in the narrative of the shipwreck. The tempest may thus far have been unattended with rain, but it is hardly probable.
3. Of sticks (fpvydvwv). Only here in New Testament. From ¢ptya, to roast or parch. ence, dry sticks.
Out of (ex). The best texts read amo, by reason of. 4. Justice (Jinn). Personified.
Suffereth not (ov« elacev). The aorist tense: did not suffer. His death is regarded as fixed by the divine decree.
5. The beast (70 Inplov). Luke uses the word in the same way as the medical writers, who employed it to denote venom-
598 WORD STUDIES IN THE NEW TESTAMENT. [Ca. XXVIII.
ous serpents, and particularly the viper ; so much so that an antidote, made chietly from the flesh of vipers, was termed Snpiaxy. A curious bit of etymological history attaches to this latter word. From it came the Latin theriaca, of which our treacle (molasses) is a corruption. Treacle, therefore, is origi- nally a preparation of viper’s flesh, and was used later of any antidote. Thus Coverdale’s translation of Jer. viii. 22 has, “There is no more ¢reacle in Gilead.” Gurnall (“ Christian in Complete Armor”) says: “The saints’ experiences help them to a sovereign treacle made of the scorpion’s own flesh (which they through Christ have slain), and that hath a virtue above all other to expel the venom of Satan’s temptations from the heart.” So Jeremy Taylor: “ We kill the viper and make treacle of lim.”
6. Swollen (a(umpacIar). Only here in New Testament. The usual medical word for inflammation.
Looked (apocdoxwvrwv). Occurring eleven times in Luke, and only five times in the rest of the New Testament. Fre- quent in medical writers, to denote expectation of the fatal re- sult of illness.
No harm (udev atorrov). Lit., nothing out of place. The word a@torros occurs three times in Luke, and only once elsewhere in the New Testament (2 Thess. i. 2). Used by physicians to denote something wnusual in the symptoms of disease, and also something fatal or deadly.as here. Rev., nothing amiss. Com- pare Luke xxiii. 41; and Acts xxv.5, where the best texts in- sert the word.
Said (édeyov). The imperfect, denoting current talk. A god. “Observe,” says Bengel, “the fickleness of human reasoning. He is either an assassin, say they, or a god. So,
at one time bwdls, at another stones” (Acts xiv. 18, 19).
7. The chief man (76 wpér@). Official title, without refer-
Cu. XXVITL.J THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 599
ence to his rank and possessions. Though not occurring as the official designation of the governor of Malta in any ancient author, it has been found in two inscriptions discovered in the island.
8. Sick (cuveydpuevov). Lit., taken or holden. See on taken, Luke iv. 38.
Fever (upetots). Lit., fevers. This peculiarly medical use of the plural is confined to Luke in the New Testament. It de- notes successive and varying attacks of fever.
Bloody flux (dvcevrepia). Only here in New Testament. Our word dysentery is nearly a transcript of it. Hippocrates often speaks of the two complaints in combination.
Healed (facaro). See on Luke vi. 19.
10. Honors (tipais). The word was applied to payments for professional services, and that fact may have influenced Luke in selecting it; but it is evidently not used in that sense here.
11. Sign. Answering to the ship’s name in modern times. It was the image of ‘a god, a man, a beast, or of some other object, sculptured or painted on the prow. ‘The figure of the guardian deity was affixed to the stern.