Acts 28:4 - Coke's Commentary on the Holy Bible

The venomous beast— The fierce animal seems the proper import of the word θηριον : Bos has shewn that the physicians use it to express any poisonous animal; and Lucian applies it as here to a viper. To render it beast, is by no means proper: venomous creature, would be more allowable. It has been observed, that these people concluded St. Paul to have been guilty of murder, rather than of any other crime, because they saw the viper hanging on his hand, which therefore they judged to have been the offending part; according to the rule which prevailed much among the ancients, that persons were often remarkably punished in that part of the bodywhich had been the immediate instrument of their sin. Beza finely observes in the true spirit of criticism, that the phrase ουκ ειασεν should be rendered according to its exact form, hath not suffered; to signify that they looked upon him as in effect a dead man, after having been bitten by that venomous creature. Though vengeance may here be understood of the divine vengeance in general, yet as these were the words of Heathen idolaters, possibly they might refer to the idol deity worshipped among them under this name.