Acts 27:1-9

Context

Paul and Company Sail for Rome

27:1 When it was decided we¹ would sail to Italy,² they handed over Paul and some other prisoners to a centurion³ of the Augustan Cohort⁴ named Julius. 27:2 We went on board⁵ a ship from Adramyttium⁶ that was about to sail to various ports⁷ along the coast of the province of Asia⁸ and put out to sea,⁹ accompanied by Aristarchus, a Macedonian¹⁰ from Thessalonica.¹¹ 27:3 The next day we put in¹² at Sidon,¹³ and Julius, treating Paul kindly,¹⁴ allowed him to go to his friends so they could provide him with what he needed.¹⁵ 27:4 From there we put out to sea¹⁶ and sailed under the lee¹⁷ of Cyprus because the winds were against us. 27:5 After we had sailed across the open sea¹⁸ off Cilicia and Pamphylia,¹⁹ we put in²⁰ at Myra²¹ in Lycia.²² 27:6 There the centurion²³ found²⁴ a ship from Alexandria²⁵ sailing for Italy, and he put us aboard it. 27:7 We sailed slowly²⁶ for many days and arrived with difficulty off Cnidus.²⁷ Because the wind prevented us from going any farther,²⁸ we sailed under the lee²⁹ of Crete off Salmone.³⁰ 27:8 With difficulty we sailed along the coast³¹ of Crete³² and came to a place called Fair Havens that was near the town of Lasea.³³

Caught in a Violent Storm

27:9 Since considerable time had passed and the voyage was now dangerous³⁴ because the fast³⁵ was already over,³⁶ Paul advised them,³⁷

[27:1] ¹sn The last “we” section in Acts begins here and extends to 28:16 (the previous one ended at 21:18).

[27:1] ²sn Sail to Italy. This voyage with its difficulty serves to show how God protected Paul on his long journey to Rome. From the perspective of someone in Palestine, this may well picture “the end of the earth” quite literally (cf. Acts 1:8).

[27:1] ³sn See the note on the word centurion in 10:1.

[27:1] ⁴tn According to BDAG 917 s.v. σεβαστός, “In σπεῖρα Σεβαστή 27:1 (cp. OGI 421) Σεβαστή is likew. an exact transl. of Lat. Augusta, an honorary title freq. given to auxiliary troops (Ptolem. renders it Σεβαστή in connection w. three legions that bore it: 2, 3, 30; 2, 9, 18; 4, 3, 30) imperial cohort.” According to W. Foerster (TDNT 7:175), “In Ac. 27:1 the σπεῖρα Σεβαστή is an expression also found elsewhere for ‘auxiliary troops.’” In no case would this refer to a special imperial bodyguard, and to translate “imperial regiment” or “imperial cohort” might give this impression. There is some archaeological evidence for a Cohors Augusta I stationed in Syria during the time of Augustus, but whether this is the same unit is very debatable.

[27:2] ⁵tn Grk “Going on board.” The participle ἐπιβάντες (epibante") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[27:2] ⁶sn Adramyttium was a seaport in Mysia on the western coast of Asia Minor.

[27:2] ⁷tn Grk “places.”

[27:2] ⁸tn Grk “Asia”; in the NT this always refers to the Roman province of Asia, made up of about one-third of the west and southwest end of modern Asia Minor. Asia lay to the west of the region of Phrygia and Galatia. The words “the province of” are supplied to indicate to the modern reader that this does not refer to the continent of Asia.

[27:2] ⁹tn BDAG 62 s.v. ἀνάγω 4 states, “as a nautical t.t. (ἀ. τὴν ναῦν put a ship to sea), mid. or pass. ἀνάγεσθαι to begin to go by boat, put out to sea.”

[27:2] ¹⁰sn A Macedonian. The city of Thessalonica (modern Salonica) was in the Roman province of Macedonia in Greece.

[27:2] ¹¹map For location see JP1 C1; JP2 C1; JP3 C1; JP4 C1.

[27:3] ¹²tn BDAG 516 s.v. κατάγω states, “Hence the pass., in act. sense, of ships and seafarers put in εἴς τι at a harbor…εἰς Σιδῶνα Ac 27:3.”

[27:3] ¹³sn Sidon is another seaport 75 mi (120 km) north of Caesarea.

[27:3] ¹⁴tn BDAG 1056 s.v. φιλανθρώπως states, “benevolently, kindly φιλανθρώπως χρῆσθαί (τινι) treat someone in kindly fashion…Ac 27:3.”

[27:3] ¹⁵tn Grk “to go to his friends to be cared for.” The scene is an indication of Christian hospitality.

[27:4] ¹⁶tn Grk “putting out to sea.” The participle ἀναχθέντες (anacqente") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. BDAG 62 s.v. ἀνάγω 4 states, “as a nautical t.t. (ἀ. τὴν ναῦν put a ship to sea), mid. or pass. ἀνάγεσθαι to begin to go by boat, put out to sea.”

[27:4] ¹⁷tn BDAG 1040 s.v. ὑποπλέω states, “sail under the lee of an island, i.e. in such a way that the island protects the ship fr. the wind Ac 27:4, 7.” Thus they were east and north of the island.

[27:5] ¹⁸tn Grk “the depths,” the deep area of a sea far enough from land that it is not protected by the coast (L&N 1.73).

[27:5] ¹⁹sn Pamphylia was a province in the southern part of Asia Minor; it was west of Cilicia (see BDAG 753 s.v. Παμφυλία).

[27:5] ²⁰tn BDAG 531 s.v. κατέρχομαι 2 states, “Of ships and those who sail in them, who ‘come down’ fr. the ‘high seas’: arrive, put in…ἔις τι at someth. a harbor 18:22; 21:3; 27:5.”

[27:5] ²¹sn Myra was a city on the southern coast of Lycia in Asia Minor. This journey from Sidon (v. 3) was 440 mi (700 km) and took about 15 days.

[27:5] ²²sn Lycia was the name of a peninsula on the southern coast of Asia Minor between Caria and Pamphylia.

[27:6] ²³sn See the note on the word centurion in 10:1.

[27:6] ²⁴tn Grk “finding.” The participle εὑρών (Jeurwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[27:6] ²⁵sn Alexandria (modern Alexandria) was a great city of northern Egypt which was a center for grain trade to Rome. Therefore this type of travel connection was common at the time. For a winter journey (considered hazardous) there were special bonuses and insurance provided (Suetonius, Life of Claudius 18.1-2).

[27:7] ²⁶tn The participle βραδυπλοοῦντες (braduploounte") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[27:7] ²⁷sn Cnidus was the name of a peninsula on the southwestern coast of Asia Minor. This was about 130 mi (210 km) from Myra.

[27:7] ²⁸tn This genitive absolute construction with προσεῶντος (prosewnto") has been translated as a causal adverbial participle. L&N 13.139 translates the phrase μὴ προσεῶντος ἡμᾶς τοῦ ἀνέμου (mh prosewnto" Jhma" tou anemou) as “the wind would not let us go any farther.”

[27:7] ²⁹tn BDAG 1040 s.v. ὑποπλέω states, “sail under the lee of an island, i.e. in such a way that the island protects the ship fr. the wind Ac 27:4, 7.”

[27:7] ³⁰sn Salmone was the name of a promontory on the northeastern corner of the island of Crete. This was about 100 mi (160 km) farther along.

[27:8] ³¹tn Grk “sailing along the coast…we came.” The participle παραλεγόμενοι (paralegomenoi) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. L&N 54.8, “παραλέγομαι: (a technical, nautical term) to sail along beside some object – ‘to sail along the coast, to sail along the shore.’ …‘they sailed along the coast of Crete’ Ac 27:13.”

[27:8] ³²tn Grk “it”; the referent (Crete) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[27:8] ³³sn Lasea was a city on the southern coast of the island of Crete. This was about 60 mi (96 km) farther.

[27:9] ³⁴tn Or “unsafe” (BDAG 383 s.v. ἐπισφαλής). The term is a NT hapax legomenon.

[27:9] ³⁵sn The fast refers to the Jewish Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur. It was now into October and the dangerous winter winds would soon occur (Suetonius, Life of Claudius 18; Josephus, J. W. 1.14.2-3 [1.279-281]).

[27:9] ³⁶tn The accusative articular infinitive παρεληλυθέναι (parelhluqenai) after the preposition διά (dia) is causal. BDAG 776 s.v. παρέρχομαι 2 has “διὰ τὸ τὴν νηστείαν ἤδη παρεληλυθέναι because the fast was already over Ac 27:9.”

[27:9] ³⁷tn Grk “Paul advised, saying to them.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant in English and has not been translated. On the term translated “advised,” see BDAG 764 s.v. παραινέω, which usually refers to recommendations.