Commentaries and Other Bible Study Helps - Prayer Tents - Prayer Tents

28:11 After three months probably indicates March (c. a.d. 60), when, after the winter, it became safe to navigate the Mediterranean. The ship of Alexandria was likely a grain ship. Castor and Pollux, the twin sons of Zeus and Leda, were viewed as the gods who protected seamen.

28:12-13 Syracuse was at the eastern end of Sicily. Its fame as a Hellenistic city rivaled that of Athens, and the extensive archaeological remains at Syracuse include a great theater and the temple of Apollo. Rhegium (modern Reggio di Calabria) was at the southern tip of Italy across from Sicily. Inscriptions, literature, and archaeological evidence testify to Rhegium's importance as a port city. Puteoli (modern Pozzuoli) was a major port for Roman traffic, some 257 miles (413 km) by road up the western coast of Italy from Rhegium.

28:14 The brothers at Puteoli are evidence that Christianity had not only reached Rome by this time (c. a.d. 60) but was widely dispersed in Italy. Luke's comment, so we came to Rome, may seem premature (Rome was still 130 miles or 209 km away), but perhaps functions as a summary statement, indicating the process by which Paul reached Rome.

28:15 Paul's party was met by Roman Christians at two points along the way to Rome--the Forum (or "marketplace") of Appius, some 40 miles (64 km) from Rome, and 12 miles (19 km) farther on at Three Taverns. Paul had written his epistle to the Roman church three years earlier, and, though he had not personally visited Rome, his greetings at the end of Romans (Rom. 16:1-16) show that he already had many acquaintances in the church there.

28:16 On the city of Rome, see Introduction to Romans: The Ancient City of Rome. Allowing Paul to provide his own quarters points to his high status as a prisoner and perhaps to the support of local believers.