I have checked a bunch of versions of the Bible. Depending on the version various words are used concerning the snake:
.Viper
.Adder ............. the adder is a member of the viper family.
.bad snake
.poisonous snake
.snake
Just a bit more information.
Paul, Malta and the snake
Discussion in 'General Baptist Discussions' started by Crabtownboy, Jan 27, 2011.
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Crabtownboy Well-Known MemberSite Supporter
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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... :D :D -
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. -
Crabtownboy Well-Known MemberSite Supporter
Other possibilities ....
1-The snake was being transported in the ship and escaped ... thus poisonous but not native to Malta.
2-The passengers with Paul were not from Malta and thought the snake was poisonous. The Leopard Snake could easily be mistaken for a poisonous one by someone not from Malta.
3-People then thought all snakes were poisonous ... not very likely, but possible.
4-The snake was a stow-away on the ship and escaped on Malta.
To me the bottom line was that God used the incident for his glory and for Paul's credibility with the people he was with. -
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 -
Crabtownboy Well-Known MemberSite Supporter
You are right about people and snakes. I know some folk who panic when they hear the word. I don't mind snakes, the type that crawl, as long as I can see them. It is the ones I can't see that are a concern to me.
The two-legged snake is a topic for another thread. :laugh: -
pinoybaptist Active MemberSite Supporter
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!!! -
pinoybaptist Active MemberSite Supporter
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... :)
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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. -
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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. -
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! -
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. :) -
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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
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