Charles Ellicott Commentary Acts 28:13

"And from thence we made a circuit, and arrived at Rhegium: and after one day a south wind sprang up, and on the second day we came to Puteoli;" — Acts 28:13 (ASV)

From thence we fetched a compass.—The phrase, now somewhat obsolete, was formerly in common use for a circuitous route by land or sea from one point to another (compare 2 Samuel 5:23; 2 Kings 3:9; and this example:

“For it is his custom, like a creeping fool,
To fetch a compass of a mile about,”

from Heywood’s Fair Maid of the Exchange, ii. 3). The phrase is found in most of the English versions, but Wiclif gives “we sailed about,” and the Rhemish, “compassing by the shore.” The latter, however, hardly expresses the fact. The wind was probably from the west, so they were compelled to tack, standing out from the shore to catch the breeze, instead of coasting.

Came to Rhegium.—This town, now Reggio, was in Italy, on the southern opening of the Straits of Messina. Ships from Alexandria to Italy commonly touched there. Suetonius relates that the Emperor Titus, taking the same course as St. Paul, put in there on his way from Judea to Puteoli, and from there to Rome. Caligula began the construction of a harbour at Rhegium for the grain-ships of Egypt. However, this work, which the Jewish historian notes as the one “great and kingly undertaking” of his reign, was left unfinished (Josephus, Antiquities 19.2.5).

The south wind blew.—More accurately, when a breeze from the south had sprung up, the form of the Greek verb implies a change of wind. The south wind was, of course, directly in their favour, and they sailed without danger between the famous rocks of Scylla and the whirlpool of Charybdis.

We came the next day to Puteoli.—As the distance was about one hundred and eighty miles, the ship was clearly making good way before the wind. Puteoli (more anciently Dikæarchia, now Pozzuoli) lies in a sheltered recess, forming the northern part of the Bay of Naples. It was at this time the chief port of Rome and, in particular, the great emporium for the grain ships from Alexandria, upon which the people of Rome largely depended for their food. The arrival of these ships was accordingly eagerly welcomed.

A pier on twenty-five arches was thrown out into the sea for the protection of the harbour. It may be noted further that just a few months prior to St. Paul’s arrival, Puteoli had been raised to the dignity of a colonia (Tacitus, Annals 14.27).

It is hardly necessary to describe the well-known beauties of the bay. However, the reader may be reminded that as the ship entered it, St. Paul’s eye must have rested on several sights: the point of Misenum to the north, behind which the imperial fleet was stationed; Vesuvius to the south; the town of Neapolis (meaning New-town), now Naples, which had replaced the old Parthenope; and the islands of Capreæ, Ischia, and Procida.