Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Acts 27:8
And, hardly passing it, came unto a place which is called The fair havens; nigh whereunto was the city [of] Lasea.
8. and hardly passing it ] “Hardly” is in the original the same word which was rendered “scarce” in the previous verse. Read (with R. V.) “with difficulty coasting along it.” The verb represents the voyage as made by keeping close in to the southern shores of the island.
came unto a place ] i.e. on the coast of Crete. The Gk. gives (as R. V.) “a certain place.”
which is called The fair havens ] R. V. “called Fair Havens.” This place, though mentioned nowhere else in literature, yet is known by the same name still. It is on the south of Crete, four or five miles east of Cape Matala, which is the largest headland on that side of the island.
Lasea ] This city has also been identified very recently. Its ruins were discovered in 1856, a few miles east of Fair Havens. See Smith’s Voyage and Shipwreck of St Paul, App. iii. pp. 262, 263.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
And, hardly passing it – Scarcely being able to pass by it without being wrecked. Being almost driven on it. They passed round the east end of the island because they had been unable to sail directly forward between the island and the mainland,
The fair havens – This was on the southeastern part of the island of Crete. It was probably not so much a harbor as an open roadstead, which afforded good anchorage for a time. It is called by Stephen, the geographer, the fair shore. It still retains the name which it formerly had. It is called in ancient Dutch and French Sailing Directions the beautiful bay.
Nigh whereunto was the city of Lasea – There was no town or city at the Fair Havens, but the city of Lasea seems to have been well known, and it is mentioned here to identify the place.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 8. The Fair Havens] This port still remains, and is known by the same name; it was situated towards the northern extremity of the island.
Was the city of Lasea.] There is no city of this name now remaining: the Codex Alexandrinus reads , Alassa; probably Lysia, near the port of Gortyna, to the eastward.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The fair havens; or, the fair or good shore, that being accounted the best which is safest for ships to ride in or enter into. A place of this name remains to this day (as some tell us) in the island of Candia.
Lasea; called Lasos, and more inland; yet some think that this town is not certainly known, not having been mentioned by any ancient geographer.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
8. And hardly passing it“withdifficulty coasting along it,” from the same cause as before,the westerly current and head winds.
came to . . . the FairHavensan anchorage near the center of the south coast, and alittle east of Cape Matala, the southern most point of the island.
nigh whereunto was the cityLaseaidentified by the REVERENDGEORGE BROWN[SMITH, Voyages andShipwreck of St. Paul, Appendix 3, Second Edition, 1856]. (Tothis invaluable book commentators on this chapter, and these notes,are much indebted).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And hardly passing it,…. That is, Salmone, with great difficulty, because of the winds:
came unto a place which is called the Fair Havens; called by other writers Cale Acte, or the fair shore, and is placed by Ptolomy c in Eubaea, and by Herodotus d in Sicily; but by Stephanus e is said to be a city of the Cretians, and which agrees with this account;
nigh whereunto was the city of Lasae; there was a city in Crete called by Solinus f Lisson, and by Ptolomy g Lyssus, which he places on the south side of the island; and by Pliny h Lasos, which comes pretty near to this name, but then he places it in the midland part of Crete; who also makes mention of an island called Lasia over against Troezenium, and another that was one of the Cyclades; the Syriac version here read, “Lasia”: Jerom i says, Lasea is a city on the shore of the island of Crete, near the place which is called the Fair Havens, as Luke himself explains it; for which some corruptly read “Thalassa”; as do the Vulgate Latin and Ethiopic versions; and the Alexandrian copy “Alassa”: Beza conjectures that it is the same with Eloea, which Pliny makes mention of in the above cited place, as a city in Crete.
c De ordis Situ. l. 3. c. 15. d L. 6. c. 22. e De urbibus. f Polyhist. c. 16. g Ib. l. 3. c. 17. h L. 4. c. 12. i De locis Hebraicis, fol. 96. D.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Coasting along (). Present middle participle of , to lay beside, not from , to collect or , to say. Diodorus Siculus uses in precisely this sense of coasting along, like Latin legere oram. In N.T. only here and verse 13.
Fair Havens ( ). This harbour is named Kalus Limeonas, a small bay two miles east of Cape Matala. It opens to the East and Southeast, but is not fit to winter in. This harbour would protect them for a time from the winds.
The city of Lasea ( ). Neither Lasea nor Fair Havens is mentioned by any ancient writer, two of the hundred cities of Crete.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
1) “And, hardly passing it,” (molis te paralegomenoi auten) “And hardly sailing along it,” along the island, or sailing with much difficulty along it.
2) “Came unto a place,” (elthomen eis topon tina) “We came to a well known place,” a particular locality.
3) “Which is called the fair havens; (kaloumenon kalous limenas) “Which is called (known by the name of) the Fair or good Havens,” in the Island or near the Island of Crete, east of Cape Matala.
4) “Nigh whereunto was the city of Lasea “ (ho engus en polis Lasaia) “Which was near to a city known as Lasea,” one of near one hundred small towns of Crete, five miles east of Fair Haven.
Lessons on the Ship and Cargo of Life:
1) Every man is sailing the storm tossed sea of life, with his vessel loaded with unneeded cargo.
2) Unneeded cargo, of low morals and unethical matters, had better be thrown overboard and save your sinking ship.
3) Every ship has a captain – – Jesus is the best, one needed most for the storms of life.
4) “Each passenger on the ship of life soon comes to dark days and stormy nights – – to sail much without Christ as a compass and guide is folly.
5) Some ships sail slowly, laden with barnacles, need scraping off.
6) Every ship makes a last voyage – – It may end in shipwreck or safely in a celestial harbor — Where are you now sailing?
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
9.
AT FAIR HAVENS. Act. 27:8-15.
Act. 27:8
and with difficulty coasting along it we came unto a certain place called Fair Havens; nigh whereunto was the city of Lasea.
Act. 27:9
And when much time was spent, and the voyage was now dangerous, because the Fast was now already gone by, Paul admonished them,
Act. 27:10
and said unto them, Sirs, I perceive that the voyage will be with injury and much loss, not only of the lading and the ship, but also of our lives.
Act. 27:11
But the centurion gave more heed to the master and to the owner of the ship, than to those things which were spoken by Paul.
Act. 27:12
And because the haven was not commodious to winter in, the more part advised to put to sea from thence, if by any means they could reach Phoenix, and winter there; which is a haven of Crete, looking north-east and south-east.
Act. 27:13
And when the south wind blew softly, supposing that they had obtained their purpose, they weighed anchor and sailed along Crete, close in shore.
Act. 27:14
But after no long time there beat down from it a tempestuous wind, which is called Euraquilo:
Act. 27:15
and when the ship was caught, and could not face the wind, we gave way to it, and were driven.
Act. 27:8-10 Why was much time spent at Fair Haven? Was it not in waiting for winds to change? But they did not change. The feast of the Jewish day of atonement (September 15 or 24) came and went and yet they remained in the habor. Soon it was October when the time for sailing was almost past. Something must be done for a winters stay. Paul came forward with his advice. It was to stay where they were as it was too late for sailing and it would only result in a possible loss to the ship and injury to those on board. When Paul said I perceive he was speaking from experience and not necessarily from inspiration. This advice was offered to Julius, since he was the imperial representative and the one who seemed to determine the action of the voyage. The pilot as well as the owner had other ideas. And there was much to be said in their favor. Their argument was:
(1)
Fair Haven is not a commodious place to winterexposed as it is from almost every point of the compass. Besides that, it is a long way from any town and it will be indeed dreary and lonesome for the sailors.
(2)
Phoenix is only a short 32 miles up the coast (of course it is around the Cape of Crete but we can make it). This harbor will be perfect for our wintering. A south wind will soon spring up and we will be there before day dawns.
980.
What time of the year was it when they arrived at Fair Haven?
981.
What two arguments were used as to sailing for Phoenix?
Act. 27:11-15 The centurion listened to both sides and cast his vote for the owner and the captain. Sure enough a south wind did come up and they weighed anchor and pushed along the coast of Crete. The little boat that trailed behind was soon to be used as a means of landing when they reached their destination in the harbor of Phoenix. But after no little while the sailors must have looked up in alarm as the wind began to change and a great thunderhead gathered in the northeast. It proved to be the very tempest that they fearedThe Eurquilo or Noreaster.
982.
What encouraged the sailors to think they had obtained their goal?
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(8) And, hardly passing it.The Greek adverb is the same as the scarce of Act. 27:7, and should be translated as before, with difficulty.
A place which is called The fair havens.It was obvious that the ship would have been again exposed, after passing Crete, or even its central promontory, Cape Matala, to the full force of the northwest gales. About two miles to the east of the promontory, however, and therefore sheltered by it, there was tolerably good anchorage, in a harbour known then and now as the Fair Havens (Limenes kaloi).
Nigh whereunto was the city of Lasea.The comparative obscurity of the place has led to a large variety of readings of the nameLassa, Alassa, Thalassa, and other forms. Pliny mentions a city in Crete named Lasos, but does not describe its position. The remains of buildings, columns, the walls and foundations of temples have been found about two hours walk from the Fair Havens, under Cape Leonda, and are locally known as Lasea (Rev. G. Brown, in Smiths Voyage and Shipwreck of St. Paul, Appendix 3).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
8. The Fair Havens After arriving at the southern shore of Crete, the first port, and that an indifferent one. From it, further west about five miles, was the Cape of Matala, projecting far into the sea, which would have to be passed with much danger in any farther progress. Lasea has lately been identified as the proper town of which Fair Havens is the port. (See chart.)
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Act 27:8. And, hardly passing it, And passing it with difficulty. The fair havens, so called to this day, was a considerable port in that part of Crete; not far from which was the city of Lasea, or Alassa.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Act 27:8 . ] corresponds entirely to the Latin legere (oram), to sail along the coast , Diod. Sic xiii. 3, xiv. 55. This keeping to the coast was only with difficulty ( ) successful.
refers to . .
Nothing is known from antiquity of the anchorage (Fair Havens [168] ). The name is perhaps, on account of Act 27:12 ( . . .), to be considered as euphemistic . The view that the place is identical with the town called by Stephanus Byzantinus , is improbable, because the Fair Havens here was not a town, as may be inferred from the appended remark: .
] not . The preterite belongs to the graphic description . They saw the neighbouring city. Comp. Krger, and Khner, ad Xen. Anab. i. 4. 9; Breitenb. ad Xen. Hier . xi. 4. The town also is entirely unknown; [169] hence the many variations, (B. min.; so Tischendorf), (A, 40, 96, Syr. p. on the margin; so Grotius, Lachmann, Ewald), Thalassa (Vulgate, Aethiopic), Thessala (codd. Lat.), et al. The evidence in support of these other forms is not strong enough to displace the Recepta (G H), seeing that it is also supported by B * (which has ). Beza conjectured (Plin. N. H. iv. 12); but such a conjecture, especially in the case of Crete with its hundred cities, was uncalled for.
[168] It is certainly the bay still called Limenes kali , Pococke, Morg. II. p. 361. Comp. Smith, p. 88, Exo 2 . See, moreover, on the above localities generally, Hoeck, Kreta , I. p. 439 ff.
[169] Yet see on ruins with this name, Smith, p. 262.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
8 And, hardly passing it, came unto a place which is called The fair havens; nigh whereunto was the city of Lasea.
Ver. 8. Called The fair havens ] Which name it retains also at this day, Calos Limenas: for better cause, I believe, than the sea called Pacific, or calm, which Sir Francis Drake ever found rough and troublous above measure.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
8. . ] “After passing this point (Salmone), the difficulty they experienced in navigating to the westward along the coasts of Asia, would recur; but as the south side of Crete is also a weather shore with N.W. winds, they would be able to work up as far as Cape Matala. Here the land trends suddenly to the N., and the advantages of a weather shore cease, and their only resource was to make for a harbour. Now Fair Havens is the harbour nearest to Cape Matala, the farthest point to which an ancient ship could have attained with N.W.-ly winds”. Smith, ib.
. does not, as Servius on n. iii. 127 supposes, imply that the ship was towed (“funem legendo, i.e. colligendo, aspera loca prtereunt”), but, as Meyer explains it, that, the places on the coast being touched (or perhaps, rather, appearing ) one after another, are, as it were, gathered up by the navigators.
Mr. Smith (p. 42) exposes the mistake of Eustathius (adopted by Valpy, from Dr. Falconer), by which the ship taking the S. coast of Crete is attempted to be explained: viz. : whereas there are, in fact, excellent harbours on the N. side of Crete, Souda and Spina Longa.
] The situation of this anchorage was ascertained by Pococke, from the fact of the name still remaining. “In searching after Lebena farther to the west, I found out a place which I thought to be of greater consequence, because mentioned in Holy Scripture, and also honoured by the presence of St. Paul, that is, ‘the Fair Havens, near unto the city of Lasea;’ for there is another small bay about two leagues to the E. of Matala, which is now called by the Greeks good or fair havens ( ):” (Calolimounias of Mr. Brown’s letter: see excursus as above.) Travels in the East, ii. p. 250: cited by Mr. Smith, who adds: “The most conclusive evidence that this is the Fair Havens of Scripture, is, that its position is precisely that where a ship circumstanced as St. Paul’s was, must have put in. I have already shewn that the wind must have been about N.W.; but with such a wind she could not pass Cape Matala: we must therefore look near, but to the E. of this promontory, for an anchorage well calculated to shelter a vessel in N.W. winds, but not from all winds , otherwise it would not have been, in the opinion of seamen ( Act 27:12 ), an unsafe winter harbour. Now here we have a harbour which not only fulfils every one of the conditions, but still retains the name given to it by St. Luke.” Smith, p. 45. He also gives an engraving of the place from a sketch by Signr. Schranz, the artist who accompanied Mr. Pashley in his travels.
There is no ground for identifying this anchorage with mentioned as a city in Crete by Steph. Byzant. For this is clearly not the name of a city, by the subjoined notice, .
Nor is there any reason to suppose, with Meyer, that the name . was euphemistically given, because the harbour was not one to winter in: this (see above) it may not have been, and yet may have been an excellent refuge at particular times, as now, from prevailing westerly winds.
] This place was, until recently, altogether unknown; and from the variety of readings, the very name was uncertain. Pliny (iv. 12) mentions Lasos among the cities of Crete, but does not indicate its situation. It is singular, and tends to support the identity of Lasos with our Lasea, that as here Alassa, so there Alos, is a various reading. The reading Thalassa appears to have been an error of a transcriber from – forming so considerable a part of a word of such common occurrence.
There is a Lisia named in Crete in the Peutinger Table, which may be the same. On the very interesting discovery of Lasea by the Rev. G. Brown in the beginning of the year 1856, see the excursus at the end of Prolegg. to Acts. The ruins are on the beach, about two hours eastward of Fair Havens.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Act 27:8 . . : “and with difficulty coasting along it,” i.e. , Crete on the southern side with difficulty because under the same conditions as in their journey along the coast of Asia Minor (Breusing) (this is better than to refer to , and render to work past, to weather, cf. Grimm-Thayer); , oram legere , Diodorus Siculus, Strabo. : a small bay two miles east of Cape Matala, in modern Greek, , J. Smith, p. 82, and Appendix, p. 251 ff., 4th edition; not mentioned, however, elsewhere. This harbour would afford them shelter for a time, for west of Cape Matala the land trends suddenly to the north, and they would have been again exposed to the north-westerly winds; see further for a description of the place Findlay’s Mediterranean Directory , p. 66, quoted by Breusing and Goerne, who also have no doubt that the place is identical with that mentioned by St. Luke (see also Wendt, 1898 and 1899). , see critical note; like the Fair Havens not mentioned by name in any ancient writer. but since 1856 it may be fairly said that its identification has been established with a place some four miles to the east of Fair Havens, or rather the ruins of a place to which the name Lasea was still given, see J. Smith, 4th edition, p. 82, and p. 268 (Appendix); Alford, Proleg. to Acts, p. 27. If Lasea was one of “the (ninety or) hundred towns of Crete,” and one of the smaller amongst them, it ceases to be strange that no precise mention of it should occur in ancient writers (Grimm).
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
hardly. Greek. molis, as Act 27:7.
passing. Greek. paralegomai. Only here and Act 27:13. They had difficulty in weathering the point.
unto. Greek. eis. App-104.
The fair havens = Fair Havens. It bears the same name still.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
8. .] After passing this point (Salmone), the difficulty they experienced in navigating to the westward along the coasts of Asia, would recur; but as the south side of Crete is also a weather shore with N.W. winds, they would be able to work up as far as Cape Matala. Here the land trends suddenly to the N., and the advantages of a weather shore cease, and their only resource was to make for a harbour. Now Fair Havens is the harbour nearest to Cape Matala, the farthest point to which an ancient ship could have attained with N.W.-ly winds. Smith, ib.
. does not, as Servius on n. iii. 127 supposes, imply that the ship was towed (funem legendo, i.e. colligendo, aspera loca prtereunt), but, as Meyer explains it, that, the places on the coast being touched (or perhaps, rather, appearing) one after another, are, as it were, gathered up by the navigators.
Mr. Smith (p. 42) exposes the mistake of Eustathius (adopted by Valpy, from Dr. Falconer), by which the ship taking the S. coast of Crete is attempted to be explained: viz. : whereas there are, in fact, excellent harbours on the N. side of Crete,-Souda and Spina Longa.
] The situation of this anchorage was ascertained by Pococke, from the fact of the name still remaining. In searching after Lebena farther to the west, I found out a place which I thought to be of greater consequence, because mentioned in Holy Scripture, and also honoured by the presence of St. Paul, that is, the Fair Havens, near unto the city of Lasea; for there is another small bay about two leagues to the E. of Matala, which is now called by the Greeks good or fair havens ( ): (Calolimounias of Mr. Browns letter: see excursus as above.) Travels in the East, ii. p. 250: cited by Mr. Smith, who adds: The most conclusive evidence that this is the Fair Havens of Scripture, is, that its position is precisely that where a ship circumstanced as St. Pauls was, must have put in. I have already shewn that the wind must have been about N.W.;-but with such a wind she could not pass Cape Matala: we must therefore look near, but to the E. of this promontory, for an anchorage well calculated to shelter a vessel in N.W. winds, but not from all winds, otherwise it would not have been, in the opinion of seamen (Act 27:12), an unsafe winter harbour. Now here we have a harbour which not only fulfils every one of the conditions, but still retains the name given to it by St. Luke. Smith, p. 45. He also gives an engraving of the place from a sketch by Signr. Schranz, the artist who accompanied Mr. Pashley in his travels.
There is no ground for identifying this anchorage with mentioned as a city in Crete by Steph. Byzant. For this is clearly not the name of a city, by the subjoined notice, .
Nor is there any reason to suppose, with Meyer, that the name . was euphemistically given,-because the harbour was not one to winter in: this (see above) it may not have been, and yet may have been an excellent refuge at particular times, as now, from prevailing westerly winds.
] This place was, until recently, altogether unknown; and from the variety of readings, the very name was uncertain. Pliny (iv. 12) mentions Lasos among the cities of Crete, but does not indicate its situation. It is singular, and tends to support the identity of Lasos with our Lasea, that as here Alassa, so there Alos, is a various reading. The reading Thalassa appears to have been an error of a transcriber from – forming so considerable a part of a word of such common occurrence.
There is a Lisia named in Crete in the Peutinger Table, which may be the same. On the very interesting discovery of Lasea by the Rev. G. Brown in the beginning of the year 1856, see the excursus at the end of Prolegg. to Acts. The ruins are on the beach, about two hours eastward of Fair Havens.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Act 27:8. , hardly) Construed with , we came.-) Perhaps this epithet was given by antiphrasis; comp. Act 27:12, the haven was not commodious: as the name, Pontus Euxinus.[148]-) So the best MSS.: two have : whence the Latin Vulg. has Thalassa.[149] The word civitas, immediately preceding (in the Vulg.), may have caused the prefixing of the letter t from its third syllable.[150] We assign more weight to the Asiatic MSS. than to the African, when the question is concerning the names of places. Crete is said to be , as is remarked in the Periplus of Scylax. Among the hundred towns, how many are unknown in our days?
[148] Which means hospitable to strangers, whereas it was a sea notoriously inhospitable, , and inclement: but was called the former from a superstitious feeling to avoid a bad omen.-E. and T.
[149] Rec. Text and Tisch. read , with the sanction of the two Syr. Versions alone of the oldest authorities. B and Memph. read . A has ; and so Lachm. Vulg. has Thalassa, and in other MSS. Thassala.-E. and T.
[150] Before , which would favour the reading of A: Alassa, Talassa, Thalassa.-E. and T.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
The fair havens: The Fair Havens, still known by the same name, was a port on the south-eastern part of Crete, near Lasea, of which nothing now remains. Act 27:8
Reciprocal: Act 27:12 – the haven
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
8
Act 27:8. Hardly (with difficulty) they sailed round along the southern shore of Crete and came to a harbor called fair havens, near the city of Lasea.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Act 27:8. Hardly passing it. The word here again is , which expresses difficulty. It seems that they were hardly able to accomplish their purpose: but they did accomplish it; and from this circumstance, added to the fact that they could not fetch the southernmost point of the Morea, Mr. Smith of Jordanhill has drawn an ingenious indirect proof confirming the evidence that the wind was blowing from the north-west. The argument shall be given in his own words: The direct course of a ship on her voyage from Myra to Italy, after she had reached Cnidus, is by the north side of Crete, through the Archipelago, west by south. Hence a ship which can make good a course of about seven points from the wind, would not have been prevented from proceeding on her course unless the wind had been to the west of north-north-west. We are next told that she ran under Crete, over against Salmone, which implies that she was able to fetch that cape, which bears about south-west by south from Cnidus; but unless the wind had been to the north of north-north-west, she could not have done so. The wind was, therefore, between north-north-west and west-north-west. The middle point between the points is north-west, which cannot be more than two points, and is probably not more than one, from the true direction. The wind, therefore, would in common language have been termed northwest.
A place which is called the Fair Havens. This place, on the south coast of Crete, is well known, and has always, up to the present day, retained the same name. It lies a few miles to the east of Cape Matala, beyond which (westwards) the coast suddenly trends to the north.
Nigh whereunto is the city of Lasea. The proximity of this town to the roadstead of Fair Havens, evidently attracted the attention of St. Luke and of the others who were on board. The natives of the place would bring supplies to their ship when she was anchored in the roadstead. But the very name and existence of Lasea have remained unknown until recently, except through very obscure and precarious intimations. Now, however, both the name and the ruins of Lasea have been found precisely in the right place. This curious discovery of a Scotch yachting party may be classed among the really valuable geographical evidences of the truth of the Bible which have been accumulating of late years. See Appendix to recent edition of Hora Paulina issued by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
See notes on verse 7
Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)
8-10. They seemed to have embarked from Caesarea in August, A. D. 58. Without steam-engines and mariners compass, subject to all the caprices and mutations of winds and tides, navigation was regarded as very unsafe after the autumnal equinox, celebrated by the Jews in a fast. Now, having been so detained by contrary winds, they have been caught out in the winter, the equinox having already passed, and Paul avails himself of Gods gift of prophecy to warn them against departing from the harbor called Fair Havens, in the island of Crete, assuring them of great perils and loss awaiting them.