Bible Person
Meaning: common · Male · 2 cross references
Publius is the chief man of Malta who receives Paul and his shipwrecked companions with hospitality. He appears in the final travel narrative of Acts, where danger gives way to unexpected welcome and healing. First appears in Acts 28:7.1
AI summary: Publius matters because his cross references place him at the meeting point of Roman travel, local hospitality, and apostolic healing. His reception of Paul creates the setting in which mercy is shown on the island and the gospel's servant continues ministering even after disaster. Taken together, the material presents Publius as a gracious local leader in one of Acts' closing scenes of providential care.1
Central Figure
Publius
Meaning: common
“the chief man of the island” of Malta (Acts 28:7), who courteously entertained Paul and his shipwrecked companions for three days, till they found a more permanent place of residence; for they remained on the island for three months, till the stormy season had passed.
“the chief man of the island” of Malta (Acts 28:7), who courteously entertained Paul and his shipwrecked companions for three days, till they found a more permanent place of residence; for they remained on the island for three months, till the stormy season had passed. The word here rendered “chief man” (protos) is supposed by some to be properly a Maltese term, the official title of the governor. 3
AI-assisted summary prepared for ai-BIBLE and stored as page content, based on dictionary material, person metadata, and linked Bible cross references.
Alistair de Blacquiere-Clarkson, “ai-BIBLE Bible Names JSON Factsheet Aggregating Material from Smith’s Bible Dictionary & Hitcocks’s New and Complete Analysis of the Bible.” ai-BIBLE electronic edition, version 1.0.
M.G.Easton, Illustrated Bible Dictionary, ai-BIBLE electronic edition, version 1.0.
Robert Rouse, “Theographic Bible Information,” Theographic-Bible-Metadata, 2020, https://github.com/robertrouse/theographic-bible-metadata.