Chapter 27

Shipping in the Graeco-Roman world

1. The ships of the Romans were not steered by a single rudder. All Roman ships had a two-paddle rudder system. Acts 27:40: rudders (plural).

2. Most of the ancient ships had one large mast and therefore one sail.

3. The one mast system concentrated the strain rather than distributing it over the entire hull. This gave the ancient ships a greater tendency to break up.

4. Because of leakage and the danger of foundering ancient ships were equipped with undergirders (Acts 20:17). The technical term for it is strapping. It is a system of passing ropes, and later on chains, completely around the hull. They were used to keep the planks from springing in a storm.

5. The ships in Paul’s day were not canoes. The ship in which Paul was wrecked in Acts 27:37 carried 276 people. After the wreck Paul eventually went to Rome on a ship called Castor and Pollux, and this carried the 276 who were wrecked plus its full compliment of passengers and crew. So it was probably carrying 500 people. Josephus was once involved in a wreck and there were 600 people aboard (80 survived). So they were not small boats.

6. Paul’s ship in Acts 27:15 could not look at the wind—which is what the Greek says. Ancient ships could not make headway into the wind in a storm. A ship could only sail within seven points of the wind [32-point compass].

7. The speed on an ancient ship can be determined from historical information. Under fair winds a ship could sail about 7 knots per hour.

8. The Romans had no natural love for the sea. As far as possible they left all seamanship in the hands of the Greeks and the Phoenicians, and later on the Egyptians.

9. But seamanship had a great deal to do with the Roman empire because in the ports of Naples and Rome the harbours were constantly filled with ships.

Chapter outline: Chapter 27 is the first lap to Rome—Caesarea to Malta; chapter 28 is the second lap to Rome—Malta to Rome.

Verses 1-13, the itinerary from Caesarea to Lasea.

Verses 14-32, from Crete to Malta.

Verses 33-44, the shipwreck at Malta.

Throughout this chapter, unseen but definitely a part of the picture, is God’s grace. There are no miracles as such—except at the end of it where the ship is wrecked. This is not a chapter of miracles, it is a chapter of one man applying doctrine all the way through; one man who knew doctrine, applied doctrine, and who was the man of the hour. There was undoubtedly a great concentration of demons, and wherever there is a concentration of demons there is always a tendency on the part of people, believer and unbeliever, to be depressed. There is one period in this chapter where we will see mass depression, and also how doctrine breaks it.

Verse 1 – “And when it was determined” is an aorist passive indicative of the verb krinw, which means primarily to judge. It also means to discern, to determine, and to make a decision. Here it really means to make a decision—a decision was made. It was a bad decision to move people at this time of the year across the Mediterranean. Festus made the decision, and apparently he thought that this was the best way to get rid of Paul. He knew that the chances of this ship getting through were bad. The easiest way to go was from Caesarea to Alexandria, but Festus sent them up the other way. We see in this chapter how God can overrule the plans of men. If this had been a legitimate decision the Greek word would be boulomai, a thoughtful well-planned decision. When the word krinw is used it means politics, so the first thing we smell is the evil of politics. When we see the word krinw we see that Festus has become a cheap politician trying to save his own skin, and he has lost anything that might be regarded as statesmanship.

“sail” means to depart by ship, a)poplew; “they delivered” – this means to take out of prison and bring to the ship Paul and certain other prisoners. Paul, Luke and Aristarchus are apparently the only believers on the ship.

Verse 2 – “And entering into a ship of Adramyttium.” Adramyttium was famous for having poor quality ships. By mentioning this Luke is telling us something. These ships were coasters, they went up and down the coast, and that’s all. They were not well-built ships and the closer they sailed to the coast the better off they were. So a ship of Adramyttium is a leaky tub.

Verse 3 – “And Julius courteously entreated Paul.” The word “courteously” is filanqropoj, our word philanthropos [filew and a)nqropoj]. It means that Julius was a man of great character who had the capacity for category #3 love. He is immediately thoughtful of his prisoners.

“entreated” means to treat kindly; “refresh” is the noun e)pimileia and it means to be refreshed in a number of ways. First of all, by fellowship. There are certain people you can be with and be refreshed.

Verse 4 – “And when we had launched,” i.e. put to sea; “we sailed under” is a technical word which means to sail under the lee of an island; “because the winds were contrary” – actually, the winds were in opposition to sailing any other way. This is the beginning of the nor-wester. The could not sail in the open sea. The lee is that part of the island which is protected from the storm. Paul will never see his native land again.

Verse 6 – “a ship of Alexandria” would have been a large grain ship; “and he put us therein” – the Greek verb is e)mbibazw which means to put everyone aboard, bag and baggage.

Verse 7 – “And when we had sailed slowly.” It means because of the storm to be beating into the wind. This is very difficult sailing, and this is the concept of the word “slowly.”

Verse 8 – the ruins of Lasea were discovered in 1856, on 15 January, by a Scotsman.

Verse 9 – “Now when much time was spent [had elapsed]”, i.e. from Caesarea to Crete; “and when sailing was now hazardous” – this is the storm season; “because the fast was now already past.” The fast is a reference to the day of atonement which occurred in Jerusalem on the 10^th day of October. This was the autumn equinox and therefore the end of sailing on the open sea. There was a series of storms for the next five or six months and all sailing ceased in the Mediterranean. Sailing would not resume until about March.

“Paul admonished them” – the word for admonish means to advise from the immediate source of his own wisdom. The word is parainew in the inchoative imperfect tense: he began to advise them.

Verse 10 – “I perceive” is the present active indicative of the verb qewrew. There are other words for “I perceive” –blepw, which means a quick glance at the situation; if he had used o(raw it would have indicated, possibly, divine revelation, for God did speak to Paul at various times. Qewrew means to observe from the situation, to simply assemble the facts of the case and to use logic to employ good common sense. It means to make a conclusion on the basis of observation rather than to get some kind of divine revelation. Paul’s own common sense tells him this is the wrong time of the year to be out on the open sea. Principle: Bible doctrine provides good judgment and common sense in critical moments of impending danger.

The word “hurt” is disaster directed toward people; “much damage” is directed toward materialistic things: cargo.

Verse 11 – “Nevertheless the centurion.” In the Roman world the captain of a ship is the ruler, but if a Roman officer is aboard that ship is the same as Roman soil and the Roman officer makes the final decision. The majority are wanting to proceed, the minority are saying to stay, and the centurion has to make a decision.

“believed the master, even the owner” – the master was the owner. The centurion is smart enough to know that a ship owner would not endanger his cargo, and obviously is not going to take any chances with his business. Therefore the centurion “believed,” but the word is peiqw which means he was persuaded.

Verse 12 – “And because the haven was not commodious to winter.” “Commodious” means not suitable in the sense of not a pleasant place. It was not a pleasant place to spend the winter.

“the more part” is the plural of pleion and should be translated “the majority.” And typical of any age the majority is rarely right!

Verse 13 – “And when the south wind blew softly” should be “having been blowing softly.” In other words, the first storm has been replaced by good weather.

“supposing they had obtained their purpose” – dokew, assuming. They assume that it is safe to sail along the coast.

Verse 14 – the second storm: “there arose” – ballw means to throw, and in this case to throw against. It has a preposition kati which follows, meaning to throw against. It means that the storm was suddenly thrown against the little ship; “tempestuous” is tufwnikoj, from which we get our English word “typhoon.” It means a violent wind of hurricane force which moves clockwise. This particular wind has a name, Euroclydon, which is a Latin name meaning a north-east wind.

Verse 15 – “And when the ship was caught and could not bear up into the wind.” The word for “caught,” means that it was seized by a violent force—sunarpazw. To bear up means to look the storm in the eye.

“we let her drive” – there are two verbs here. “Giving way we were borne along” is what the Greek says.

Verse 16 – “But running under a small island.” This gave them a little protection.

Verse 17 – “Which when they had taken up” – hoisted aboard; “they used helps.” The helps were contrivances, machines, to wrap ropes around the ship to stop it from springing the boards and causing major leaks.

“and, fearing” – fobew, present linear aktionsart. They had a constant fear; “lest they should fall” – e)kpiptw, meaning to move aground; “quicksands” is not quicksands, it is surtij for “sandbars.”

“strake sail” – they must get the ship around and off from the sandbar, and they had to do this by sail. This does not mean to lower their sails. They had a small sail which they used in a storm, and they used this to keep them from going on the sandbars.

Verse 18 – “And we being exceedingly tossed with a tempest.” Apparently in being tossed about the cargo shifts and this means it develops a list; “they lightened the ship” – getting rid of part of the cargo.

Verse 19 – the word for “tackling” is skeuoj, referring to equipment used in the function of a ship. By the third day the captain had apparently given up any hope of having a normal type ship and he threw away things that were absolutely necessary. The ship was evidently leaking. This verse describes a desperate situation.

Verse 20 – from desperation to depression. For eleven days they had been confined to that ship in darkness.

“and no small tempest lay upon us” – e)pikeimai, which means the storm was coming at them from the starboard quarter; “all hope” – the fatigue, anxiety, confusion, pressure, disaster, causes them to give up; “that we should be saved” – present passive infinitive of swzw; “was taken away” – picked up and taken away, periairew [peri = around; airew = to lift up] means it was lifted up from around them and removed. Imperfect tense.

1. We have to recognise that “taken away” is an inchoative imperfect. This means that this is the beginning of total despair.

2. Note that the crew and passengers alike have done everything humanly possible to survive.

3. The situation is hopeless. Principle: Man by man’s efforts cannot cope with the situation, even though every effort has been made to do so.

4. There is evidence of excellent seamanship in the Greek account, but the best efforts of man cannot resolve the problems of the storm. And by application, the best efforts of man cannot resolve the problems of life.

5. But God’s grace was designed for hopeless situations. In other words, grace finds a way.

6. Note that Paul himself is in the same situation as the disciples with Jesus in Matthew 8:23-27.

7. The twelfth apostle, Paul, did not fail in a similar situation.

8. The reason is that Paul availed himself of the grace of God—soul breathing, the filling of the Spirit, residual doctrine in the soul, the erection of an ECS.

9. Doctrine carries Paul through the crisis; doctrine is the stabiliser of his life.

Verse 21 – Paul speaks up. “But after a long abstinence” is literally, “When they had been a long time without food.” The people had given up, they are disturbed and are falling apart. There are two words here: the present active participle of u(parxw meaning to keep on existing, and the noun a)sitia which means to be without food—they kept on existing without food. In the midst of this Paul is the man for the hour.

“Paul stood forth” – the verb here is i(sthmi which means to stand up. This means that Paul is taking a stand—aorist tense, at the maximum point of the crisis. Passive voice: Paul receives the action of the verb. He receives courage in the crisis on the basis of residual doctrine in his soul.

“Sirs” – “men,” a)nhr, noble men. They have done a fantastic job in preserving the ship up to this point and all of a sudden they are discouraged.

“you should have listened” – peiqarxew, which means to obey one in authority, to conform to advice. What he really says is, “Men, you should have taken my advice.”

“and not have loosed” – literally, set sail. This is a dramatic present tense, a middle voice [they set sail from their decision. They are in a jamb; they did it themselves], infinitive mood: it was their purpose to depart in spite of Paul’s warning. This is a bona fide use of “I told you so.” This is a reminder of their stupidity. Paul must establish his authority with these people because in the crisis to come it is the commands that are given by Paul that are going to save the crew. The basis for it is authority; someone must be in authority in the crisis.

“and to have gained this harm and loss” – the word “gain” is kerdainw doesn’t always mean to gain. In the aorist infinitive it also has another meaning which means to avoid. It means here to avoid this harm and this loss.

Verse 22 – “And now I exhort you to be of good cheer.” It should be, “And now I advise” – parainew means to advise; “to have courage” – e)uqumew. It is going to take nerve to carry out his orders. It simply means disregard your pressure and regard your function. Present active infinitive: “keep on being courageous: for there shall be no loss of souls among you, but [except] the ship.”

Verse 23 – “For there stood by me this night the angel of God.” Paul “stood up” – i(sthmi; the angel of God paristhmi. Before Paul stood up in the midst the angel stood by—par = beside. The angel stood beside him—aorist active indicative, in a point of time. Who is this angel of God? It is not Jesus Christ, the Old Testament is past; this is not a Christophany. This is Paul’s teacher—his ‘theological seminary’. Paul’s knowledge of God’s plan gives him authority.

Paul has a testimony with regard to his relationship to God: “whose I am, and whom I serve” – “whose” is a relative pronoun referring to God; he belongs to God. “I am” is present linear aktionsart, he keeps on belonging to God and there never will be a time when he doesn’t. The second relative pronoun “whom” also refers to God, and the verb latreuw is present linear aktionsart, he is aware that he will always belong to God and he is also aware if the fact that he constantly serves God. (Just because he was an apostle doesn’t mean that he is the only one who served. Every believer has the same relationship with God that Paul does here) The word for “serve” here is not the ordinary word for service, it means to present a sacrifice. It was used for the Levitical sacrifices when the Old Testament was translated into Greek. It means to render a spiritual service.

Verse 24 – “Saying,” present active participle; “Fear not, Paul” – the angel uses a different word with Paul than Paul used with them. He told Paul, fobew plus mh. The negative mh is the one that always expects a positive response.

“thou must” should be “it is necessary” – dei; “be brought before” – paristhmi, stand up and face.

“and, lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee” – “with you.” Meta means association. The salt of the earth principle.

Verse 25 – “Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer [be courageous].” This is a dogmatic command. He uses the word e)uqumew which is not the usual word for courage, it is the word for objective courage, rather than subjective courage; and the difference is in the subconscious. When the subconscious has been stuffed with a guilt complex and fears that have been suppressed there is a subjective type courage that can exist, even with these factors. But Paul’s is the objective type of courage because he says, “I believe” – the principle of functioning under GAP, doctrine from the mind to the spirit, gnwsij to e)pignwsij.

“that it shall be even as it was told me” – perfect passive indicative of lalew—communicated. Perfect tense: what has been told is permanent, it is from God. Passive voice: Paul receives this information.

Verse 26 – there are no islands in the vicinity as far as they know, the storm is raging, the ship is in very serious trouble, and Paul has made this dogmatic statement in view of a hopeless situation.

Verse 27 – “driven” means to be tossed around in a storm; the word “Adria” is a reference to a part of the Mediterranean which lies between Crete and Greece, and Malta and Sicily on the west; the word “deemed” is u(ponoew which means to suspect; “country” – xwra which means “land.”

Verse 29 – “Then fearing” – foboj, which here means to fear the unknown. It has two meanings. In Ephesians chapter five it means to have respect for the known. To fear something means to be occupied with it. When you fear the unknown you are concentrating and trying to discover the solution to it.

“cast four anchors out of the stern” – the anchors kept the ship facing the storm; “wished” – the word means to pray as well as wish. As far as we know Paul never led anyone on this ship to the Lord. All except three were apparently unbelievers, so this verb possibly covers both groups—wishing and praying.

Verse 30 – “were about to flee out of the ship.” Present active participle of zhtew—“they sought to flee.”

“the boat” – skafh, from which we get “skiff”; “under the colour” is under the pretence.

Verse 31 – “If these do not remain in the ship, you cannot be delivered,” literally.

Verses 33-44, the shipwreck at Malta.

Verse 33 – Paul now takes charge. “Now until day was come Paul was encouraging all hands to take food.” Food is necessary for physical energy as well as the ability to think.

Verse 34 – “I pray you.” Parakalew, he kept in insisting that they take [share]” – metalambanw means to share. “Wherefore I insist that you share food.”

“for there shall not an hair fall from the head of any of you” – fall should be perish.

Verse 36 – at this point they began to follow his leadership. “Then were they all of good cheer” – “were” is “became,” ginomai. “Good cheer” is e)uqumoj and it means courage.

“and they also took some food” – proslambanw, they seized for their own face, took for themselves.

Verse 39 – the word “creek” is not creek, it is bay; “shore” is beach; “minded” is boulomai which is a decision based on thinking.

Verse 42 – “And the soldiers’ counsel was to kill the prisoners.” The soldiers owed their lives to Paul and Paul’s counsel, but with typical Roman cruelty they wanted to kill them. Their “counsel” means their resolution—boulh. The Roman soldiers were in charge of the prisoners and they could be killed if they lose them.

Verse 43 – “But the centurion, willing to save Paul, kept them from their purpose.” Boulomai means that he made a decision. He counsels within himself to bring to safety, Paul, and restrained them from their purpose.

“and commanded” – keleuw, strongly commanded, ordered.

Verse 44 – the non-swimmers; “they all escaped safe to land.”