prophesied to be called down on sinners.—Isa. 65:17, 20.

MALLOTHI

(Mal·loʹthi) [my discourse].

A Kohathite Levite and one of the fourteen sons of the singer Heman. (1 Chron. 25:4, 5) The family served as musicians under the direction of their father, Heman. (Vs. 6) When David organized the divisions of the Levites to serve in turns at the house of Jehovah, the nineteenth lot fell to Mallothi, who assumed the headship of that division of twelve musicians.—Vs. 26.

MALLOW

This translates the Hebrew word ʼo·rohthʹ (2 Ki. 4:39; Isa. 26:19), considered to be the plural of ʼoh·rahʹ, “light.” (Esther 8:16; Ps. 139:12) According to Koehler and Baumgartner’s Lexicon in Veteris Testamenti Libros, ʼo·rothʹ denotes the dwarf mallow (Malva rotundifolia). This identification is based on the fact that this plant is very sensitive to light, hence perhaps the Hebrew designation ʼo·rohthʹ, “light-[herb].” Also, its fruit is edible, thus harmonizing with 2 Kings 4:39. The dwarf mallow is a creeping plant having nearly round, somewhat lobed, saw-edged leaves with long leafstalks. Its flowers are only about a half inch (c. 1.3 centimeters) across and vary in color from pale blue to white. The flat and circular mucilaginous fruits are commonly called “cheeses.”

MALLUCH

(Malʹluch) [reigning, or, perhaps, counselor].

1. A Merarite Levite and a forefather of the Levitical singer Ethan.—1 Chron. 6:44-47.

2. One of the priests accompanying Zerubbabel when the Jews returned from Babylonian exile.—Neh. 12:1, 2, 7.

3. An Israelite “of the sons of Bani” among those who had accepted foreign wives but who sent them away in the days of Ezra.—Ezra 10:29, 44.

4. An Israelite “of the sons of Harim” among those who had taken foreign wives but who dismissed them in Ezra’s time.—Ezra 10:31, 32, 44.

5. One of the priests, or a forefather of one, attesting by seal the “trustworthy arrangement” made in Nehemiah’s day.—Neh. 9:38–10:4.

6. An Israelite, one of the heads of the people, whose descendant, if not himself, attested the “trustworthy arrangement” made in the time of Nehemiah.—Neh. 9:38; 10:1, 14, 27.

MALLUCHI

(Malʹlu·chi) [my counselor].

A priestly family whose representative served in the days of High Priest Joiakim, and in the days of Ezra and Governor Nehemiah.—Neh. 12:12, 14, 26.

The name “Malluchi” is in the Masoretic text with the q^eriʹ or marginal notation that it should be read as “Melicu,” which latter form is found in the Authorized Version. Several ancient Greek manuscripts, including the Alexandrine, Vatican No. 1209 and the Sinaitic (as well as the Lagardian edition) read “Malluch,” which some scholars think was the original form. These scholars suggest (but there is no way of proving it) that the adding of “i” (yohdh [י] in Hebrew) at the end of the name came about when the first letter of the following word was unintentionally repeated in manuscript copying.

MALTA

(Malʹta) [refuge (in the Phoenician tongue)].

An island in the Mediterranean lying over fifty miles (80 kilometers) S of Sicily and having an area of about ninety-five square miles (246 square kilometers). It was at Malta that the apostle Paul was shipwrecked and there he remained for three months. During this time he healed Publius’ father and others afflicted with sicknesses.—Acts 28:1, 7-9, 11.

In the past some associated the Greek word rendered “Malta” (Me·liʹte) with Meleda (Mljet) off the coast of Yugoslavia, because anciently this island was also called Me·liʹte. But tradition and the evidence of Scripture points to Malta as the place where Paul experienced shipwreck. The designation “sea of Adria,” where the boat was said to be as it approached Malta, came to include the waters of the Mediterranean E of Sicily and W of Crete and, therefore, it could be said that Malta was bounded by this sea.—Acts 27:27.

PAUL’S SHIPWRECK

Sometime after atonement day (in September or October) the ship on which Paul was traveling as a prisoner left the Cretan harbor of Fair Havens and was seized by a tempestuous wind (Euroaquilo), apparently from the E-NE. It drove the ship away from the coast of Crete to Cauda, and the mariners feared being run aground on the “Syrtis,” the quick-sands along the shores of northern Africa. (Acts 27:8, 9, 13-17) An E-NE wind could not have caused the vessel to drift toward Meleda, over 600 miles (960 kilometers) N-NW of Cauda. Evidently the boat, after drifting some two weeks, neared Malta, about 540 miles (869 kilometers) W-NW of Cauda.—Acts 27:33; see EUROAQUILO.

What is today called St. Paul’s Bay, situated on the NW end of Malta, could have been reached on an E-NE course without previously touching any other part of the island. Perhaps when their trained ears heard breakers dashing against rocky Koura Head, which juts out into the Mediterranean from the eastern side of St. Paul’s Bay, the sailors began to suspect that they were approaching land. The depths of “twenty fathoms” and “fifteen fathoms” ascertained by them basically correspond to soundings made in the mid-nineteenth century in the St. Paul’s Bay area.—Acts 27:27, 28.

Possibly because of being familiar with another of Malta’s harbors, the mariners did not recognize the land as Malta even in daylight. The island’s largest and best-known harbor is at Valetta, some eight miles (13 kilometers) SE of St. Paul’s Bay.—Acts 27:39.

Along the western side of St. Paul’s Bay there are two inlets. Today the more southerly one has a beach. Anciently this may also have been true of the other inlet. Probably at one of these the sailors hoped to “beach the boat,” but were unsuccessful, the reason for the failure (according to the literal Greek text) being their ‘having fallen around into a place of two seas.’ This may mean that the ship struck “a place where two seas met” (AS) or “a shoal washed on each side by the sea.” (NW) Or, the vessel was caught between crosscurrents and ran aground. (Compare JB, NE.) The ship’s bow became immovably stuck, perhaps in the mud and clay that lie less than three fathoms below the surface in parts of St. Paul’s Bay, while the stern was broken in pieces by the waves.—Acts 27:39-41.

Paul’s experience in Malta

At this time the soldiers determined to kill Paul and the other prisoners. This may have been because of the strict Roman military discipline that held guards accountable for the escape of prisoners under their control. (Compare Acts 12:19; 16:27.) Since the army officer (centurion) restrained the soldiers on account of Paul, all those aboard, numbering about 276, survived the shipwreck, either by swimming ashore or getting safely to land upon planks and other floatable items from the wrecked vessel.—Acts 27:37, 42-44.

The non-Greek-speaking inhabitants of Malta showed extraordinary human kindness to the survivors, even building a fire for them so that they might warm themselves. When the apostle Paul placed a bundle of sticks on this fire a venomous viper came out and fastened itself to his hand. Amazed that Paul did not swell up or die, the people of Malta began to view him as a god.—Acts 28:1-6.

Today there are no vipers indigenous to Malta. Great changes have taken place since the first century C.E. Whereas now Malta is one of the most