Paul, Malta and the snake

Right.

Also, remember, we're talking about a shipwreck, a storm, and a brushpile.

The snake could've been a "stowaway" on this ship, or another (after all, this was a crossroads.

This could've been an aquatic snake.

One other likely scenario: Malta certainly has lawyers. I've known many who bit, and were quite poisonous. That Paul survived the bite of a lawyer would be a miracle indeed...

 

The UK, much larger than Malta, has just one species of poisonous snake - the adder. So here, it would only need that one species to become extinct for there to be no poisonous snakes.

I've no idea how many varieties of poisonous snake there were on Malta in Paul's day - perhaps just one, in which case, your scenario of "all the poisonous disappearing" would not be so far-fetched.

 

Well said. Not to beat a dead horse, or snake, but let me add a couple things Ctown.

First, reading different versions can help our understanding, but if you really want to know what the Holy Spirit inspired I believe you should check the Greek that Luke wrote. The Greek does not indicate that this has to be a poisonous snake, it could be, but does not have to be.

Second, and this is more of a question. The “Barbarians” who expected Paul to die after he was bit, were they survivors of the shipwreck or natives of Melita? I always thought they were natives to the island who built the fire and helped rescue the shipwreck survivors. If they were natives to the island that would seem to indicate they should have been familiar with the types of snakes present.

Did everyone have to believe the snake was poisonous, or only some of them? People hate snakes and I don’t think that is a new development.

 

Definition of Extinction: Here today, gone tomorrow.

HankD

 

I didn't know we had electric flying lizards in the jungles of Samar until I actually saw two kids, 8 and 10, dead, and the lizard dead beside them back in the early 70's.
It lit on the younger, and the elder tried to brush it off her.
I was hunting for deer and boar deep into the forests when I met a few villagers rushing to the spot.
I went with them and saw the bodies, and the lizard.
They said the lizard "flies" (I'd think they meant floated down from tree limbs), attaches itself to you, and expends all its electric charge.
They're very rare, though.
Now, your PH D student may have been born and raised in Malta, but perhaps she's not the outdoor type ?

 

Soooooooooooooooo----what you're trying to say, Pinoy----is----there's more electricity in a lizard than there is venom in a Rattlesnake????!!!:saint::saint:

I was bit by a Copperhead(lovely experience---I believe everybody ought to try it!!)--------required a hospital stay, etc.

When Paul was biten---those natives knew he only had so much time to live and that he was fixin' to "check out" of this world!!!

 

Well, what I'm trying to say in so many words is maybe the PH D stude may have been a "sheltered" individual and wasn't much into outdoors.

I was bit by a Philippine cobra back in the early '80's while gathering firewood. Not a very pleasant experience.

 

....I stepped on a yellowjacket nest while digging yellowroot in the woods....not a very pleasant experience...

 

Once while swimming off the great barrier reef I was swallowed alive by a great white shark. Lucky for me I was able to grab a tooth as I passed through his mouth and used it to saw out of his belly. After I broke though his hide we were able to sail out of there. Me and the three fisherman who had been swallowed earlier that day along with their boat.

Oh wait, were we comparing real events? :tongue3:

 

My 15lb dog was bitten by a huuuuge copperhead last year right outside my front door and almost died. I haven't gotten over it yet.
The snake ended up chopped to bits by a shovel. I hate snakes.

 

That wasn't real? :tongue3:

 

My two 'boys' are Papillon brothers. They're spoiled rotten inside lap dogs that are a barrel of fun, but, we live in a remote area with coyotes around everywhere, and that's their main threat when they go out to 'pee pee'. Fortunately, we also have an Anatolian Shepherd, Belgian Shepherd, and Spitz [the girls] outside to guard over and oversee this neccessary function.

The 'boys' are 7 lbs and 8 lbs.. A bite from a huge copperhead (which we do have here) like you describe would most likely be the demise for either of them.

 

I have thought of getting a Papillon someday but I'm also afraid of coyotes and hawks. Do you take them out on a leash? I have a fenced yard but that won't stop a hawk.
Yes, the snake that bit my dog (miniature poodle, 15lbs.) would have killed your little ones. The vet said it was the biggest copperhead she'd ever seen. We took the "parts" in a sack to the vet with us. It bit him on the hind foot and caused his body to swell all the way up to his front legs. He went completely unconscious and lost all body function about 10 minutes after the attack.
Sorry to babble on about it, but like I said, I'm not over it yet because I nearly lost my buddy. Although he's gotten over it just fine except for a permanent loss of hair on the inside of his back leg. Horrible experience for a dog lover!

 

Well, yes, it was a horrible experience. You'll never forget it. My Dad lost a full grown collie to a copperhead bite decades ago while out digging mayapple root (bite was in the throat), he's never forgotten it.

No leashes, just open the door, day or night, and say, GO PEE PEE! We always say it loud as to arouse the attention of the outside dogs so they'll know the little ones are out.

Heheh, you can't just own one Papillon Amy. You gotta have at least two. They're a blast (the way they play together is sure entertainment). And intelligent, easily house trained, require little supervision, friendly to everyone, infinitely curious (which makes them very comical at times), not big eaters (or beggars) at all, love to go or content to stay, small and unobtrusive, and just overall lovable. THEY DO SHED THOUGH. Frequent combing does remedy this problem.

I've never thought about hawks. I have a Cooper's Hawk that routinely preys on the birds that are at our feeders in the wintertime, but they're not big enough to take one of the Papillons. But there are also other hawks of all kinds here too. Oh well, there's hazards everywhere I guess.

 

Found out more particulars; dog was a shepherd and found/fought the snake probably preventing Dad from getting bit. It took the dog several months to die from the bite; she would get better and then worse, get better, get worse. A huge lump formed in her throat from the bite.

 

Today, venomous (poisonous) snakes of Europe are found at the following locations.

Silicy (island 60 miles north of Malta; also found in Italy and Southeast Europa)
Vipera aspis - Asp viper





Limited to the Greek islands of Milos, Kimolos, Polyaigos, and Sifnos (500 miles east of Malta)
Macrovipera schweizeri - Milos viper






Italy (southern tip of Italy is 200 miles north of Malta)
Vipera ammodytes - Nose-horned viper, Long nosed viper
Vipera ursinii - Ursini’s Viper





Northeast Africa (200 miles west of Malta)
Echis pyramidum - Northeast African carpet viper, Egyptian saw-scaled viper



Swelling received from a bite to the hand from the Echis pyramidum.


. . .

I think there were poisonous snakes at the time Paul landed on Malta. The snakes may have been brought there for a time from another location in the vicinity (such as the Vipera aspis - Asp viper of Silicy and southern Italy); or the snake could have been indigenous to Malta and later became extinct (the Macrovipera schweizeri - Milos viper is found today on only four Greek islands).

...Bob