Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Acts 27:41
And falling into a place where two seas met, they ran the ship aground; and the forepart stuck fast, and remained unmovable, but the hinder part was broken with the violence of the waves.
41. And falling into a place where two seas met ] The conjunction should here be rendered adversatively “But.” The verse goes on to describe some circumstances which defeated the intention of the sailors. Read “But lighting upon a place, &c.” This is one of the features of the narrative by which the locality can almost certainly be identified. The little island of Salmonetta forms with the Maltese coast near St Paul’s Bay exactly such a position as is here described. From the sea at a little distance, it appears as though the land were all continuous, and the current between the island and the mainland is only discovered on a nearer approach. This current by its deposits has raised a mud-bank where its force is broken by the opposing sea, and into this bank, just at the place where the current meets the sea-waves, was the ship driven, the force of the water preventing the vessel from reaching the beach just beyond. So it came to pass that though they got much nearer to the shore than at first, yet after all they had to swim for their lives.
but the hinder part was broken ] Read (as R. V.) “the stern began to break up.” The verb in the orginal expresses an incomplete and gradual process. When the foreship was immoveable, the stern would also be held fast, and so be acted on by the waves with great violence and begin to go to pieces.
with the violence of the waves ] The best MSS. do not represent the last three words. Of course they are to be understood, if they be not there.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
And falling – Being carried by the wind and waves.
Into a place where two seas met – Greek: into a place of a double sea – dithalasson. That is, a place which was washed on both sides by the sea. It refers properly to an isthmus, tongue of land, or a sand-bar stretching out from the mainland, and which was washed on both sides by the waves. It is evident that this was not properly an isthmus that was above the waves, but was probably a long sand-bank that stretched far out into the sea, and which they did not perceive. In endeavoring to make the harbor, they ran into this bar (sand-bank).
They ran the ship aground – Not designedly, but in endeavoring to reach the harbor, Act 27:39.The hinder part was broken – The stern was broken or staved in. By this means the company was furnished with boards, etc., on which they were safely conveyed to shore, Act 27:44.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 41. Where two seas meet] The tide running down from each side of the tongue of land, mentioned Ac 27:39, and meeting at the point.
Ran the ship aground] In striving to cross at this point of land, they had not taken a sufficiency of sea-room, and therefore ran aground.
The forepart stuck fast] Got into the sands; and perhaps the shore here was very bold or steep, so that the stem of the vessel might be immersed in the quicksands, which would soon close round it, while the stern, violently agitated with the surge, would soon be broken to pieces. It is extremely difficult to find the true meaning of several of the nautical terms used in this chapter. I have given that which appeared to me to be the most likely; but cannot absolutely say that I have everywhere hit the true meaning.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
A place where two seas met; a shoal, sand or isthmus, where the sea was on both sides of it. They were now in the greatest extremity; and God suffers them to fall into it before he sends them deliverance, that he might have the more glory by it.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
41. falling into a place where twoseas metSMITHthinks this refers to the channel, not more than one hundred yardsbroad, which separates the small island of Salmone from Malta,forming a communication between the sea inside the bay and thatoutside.
the fore part stuck fast, andremained immovable“The rocks of Malta disintegrate intoextremely minute particles of sand and clay, which, when acted uponby the currents or surface agitation, form a deposit of tenaciousclay; but, in still waters, where these causes do not act, mud isformed; but it is only in creeks, where there are no currents, and atsuch a depth as to be undisturbed by the waves, that the mud occurs.A ship, therefore, impelled by the force of a gale, into a creek,with such a bottom, would strike a bottom of mud, graduating intotenacious clay, into which the fore part would fix itself, and beheld fast, while the stern was exposed to the force of the waves”[SMITH].
hinder part was brokenThecontinued action denoted by the tense here is to be noted”wasfast breaking,” going to pieces.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And falling into a place where two seas met,…. An “isthmus”, on each side of which the sea ran; and which the inhabitants of Malta, as Beza says, show to this day, and call it, “la Cala de San Paulo”, or the Descent of Saint Paul. The meeting of these two seas might occasion a great rippling in the sea like to a large eddy, or counter tide; and here might be a sand on which
they ran the ship aground; for this place where the two seas met, as the same annotator observes, could not be the shore itself; for otherwise, to what purpose should they cast themselves into the sea, as they afterwards did, if the head of the ship struck upon the shore, and stuck fast there? but must rather mean a shelf of sand, opposite, or near the entrance into the bay, and where the shipwreck was.
And the fore part stuck fast, and remained unmovable; so that there was no getting her off:
but the hinder part was broken by the violence of the waves; that is, the stern; by which means there were boards and broken pieces for the company to get ashore upon.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
But lighting upon ( ). Second aorist active participle of , old verb to fall into and so be encompassed by as in Luke 10:30; Jas 1:2. There is a current on one side of St. Paul’s Bay between a little island (Salmonetta) and Malta which makes a sand bank between the two currents. Unexpectedly the ship stuck in this sandbar.
Where two seas met (). Used in Strabo and Dio Chrysostom for divided seas (, ).
They ran the vessel aground ( ). First aorist active indicative of old verb , to run a ship ashore. Only here in N.T. Here also we have the only N.T. use of for ship (from , , to swim) so common in ancient Greek. Our word navy is from this word through the Latin.
Struck (). First aorist active participle of , old verb to fix firmly. Only here in N.T.
Unmoveable (). From privative and to shake. Old word. In N.T. only here and Heb 12:28.
Began to break up (). Inchoative imperfect passive of the old verb , to loosen. The prow was stuck in the sand-bar, and the stern was breaking to pieces by the opposing waves lashing on both sides. It was a critical moment.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
1) “And falling into a place where two seas met,” (peripesontes de eis topon kethalasson) “Then coming to rest upon a place where two seas met,” where two currents met, from each side of the islet.
2) “They ran the ship aground; and the forepart stuck fast,” (epekeilan ten naun kai he men prora epeisasa) “They drove the vessel (ship) hard, and the prow (fore-part) stuck fast aground;- They ran the ship aground at the front of the ship, while the stern was whipped by wind and waves, some distance yet from the beach.
3) “And remained unmoveable,” (emeinen asaleutos) “And it remained immovable,” it settled hard upon the bottom in the mud, so that it could not be moved by sail or rowing any further or closer toward the beach-shore.
4) “But the hinder part was broken,” (he de prumna elueto) “Yet the stern (the back part) was broken off, torn away, so that the ship began to sink.” This is one of three shipwreck experiences that Paul encountered and related, 2Co 11:25.
5) “With the violence of the waves.” (hupotes bias) “By the force,” of the violent waves yet raging from the typhoon (Euroclydon) Act 27:14-15.
The sea is still a theatre of God’s Holy Acts today:
1 . Of His creative power.
2. Of His retributive judgement for wrong, a) As in the flood, Gen 7:4-24. b) As in Jonah’s rebellion, Jon 1:1 to Jon 2:10. c) As in Pharaohs rebellion, Exo 14:10-31.
3. Of His delivering power of Noah and his family, Israel at the Red Sea, and Jonah — when he cried to God, Jon 2:1-10.
A VISIT TO ST. PAUL’S BAY
We had advanced some eight or ten miles in our excursion, when the bright and broad Mediterranean broke upon our view upon the right. Having ascended another range of hills, we came in sight of an object that riveted my eyes to the spot, with an emotion I cannot well describe- – -what is called St. Paul’s Bay. When I reached the shores of this bay, where tradition has located the place of landing of the wrecked mariners of that ill-fated ship, I felt I was treading on sacred ground. The waters now were all calm and radiant with the beams of a resplendent sun. But I could imagine the darkness of the heavens, the fury of the storm, the boisterousness of the sea, lashed by fierce winds into unbridled rage, and the sail-rent, dismasted vessel, with its stern already “broken by the violence of the waves,” so graphically depicted by St. Luke. I could imagine the dispersed and sinking crew, “some on boards, and some on broken pieces of the ship,” making their way to the land. Perhaps, on the very spot where I stood, chilled and dripping from the waters, they assembled, while the rude, barbarous people, inhabitants of the island, gathered around, touched with feelings of kindness, kindled for them a fire, and received everyone of them, “because of the present rain, and because of the cold.” As I tried to picture to myself the Apostle of the Gentiles, standing before that fire kindled on the shore, his apparel dripping with the briny waters of the sea, I thought of the perils of his eventful life, and of all he endured for the love of Christ, and the salvation of a dying world.
– J. A. Clark.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
−
41. They thrust in the ship. And then it might seem that both God had mocked Paul, and that he, with trifling, had brought his partners in a vain hope; − (651) but God did forthwith put away that error by giving them prosperous success. It was meet that when the ship was broken, they should be so discouraged, and that their souls should so melt, that despair might increase the glory of the miracle. For God useth to moderate and govern his works so, that he maketh some show of difficulty by reason of many lets [hindrances] which fall out. By this means he sharpeneth our senses unto greater attentiveness, that we may at length learn that, though all the world strive against him, yet will he have the victory. This is the reason why he had lieffer [rather] draw Paul and his companions to the shore after that the ship was lost, − (652) than bring the ship whole to land. −
(651) −
“
Socios naufragii vana spe lactasse,” had deluded his companions in shipwreck with a vain hope.
(652) −
“
Fracta,” wrecked,
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(41) And falling into a place where two seas met.Better, But falling, as in contrast with the attempt described in the previous verse. At the west end of St. Pauls Bay lies the island of Salmonetta. From their place of anchorage the crew could not have seen that it was an island, and in trying to run the ship on the beach they grounded on a mud-bank between the small island and the coast. The waves swept round the island and met on the bank, and the position of the ship was accordingly one of extreme danger, the prow imbedded in the mud, the stern exposed to the billows.
The hinder part was broken.Better, was being broken up, the tense expressing continuous action.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
41. Place where two seas met ; literally, if we may coin a parallel term, a two-seaed place. The strait which divides Salmonetta from the mainland unites the outer sea with the inner St. Paul’s Bay. As the seamen sailed in from the east they mistook the just visible part of the mouth of the strait for a bay, and, thrusting their prow into the clayey shore, their stern took the force of the double-sea, still agitated by the storm.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘But lighting upon a place where two seas met, they ran the vessel aground, and the foreship struck and remained unmoveable, but the stern began to break up by the violence of the waves.’
For coming across a sand bar where two seas met, they ran aground, and the bow embedded itself and became immovable. And the result was that the stern began to break up under the pounding of the waves.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Act 27:41 . But when they had struck upon a promontory . As to ., comp. on Luk 10:30 .
It is altogether arbitrary to abandon the literal import of , forming two seas, or having the sea on both sides, bimaris (see the passages in Wetstein), and to understand by . a sandbank or a reef (situated after the manner of an island before the entrance of the bay). This view is supposed to be necessary on account of Act 27:43 f., and it is asked: “quorsum enim isti in mare se projicerent, si in ipsum litus navis impegerat prora?” Calovius; compare Kuinoel. But the promontory, as is very frequently the case, jutted out with its point under the surface of the water, and was covered to so great an extent by the sea, that the ship stranding on the point was yet separated from the projecting dry part of the isthmus by a considerable surface of water; hence those stranded could only reach the dry land by swimming. Even in Dio Chrys. v. p. 83, by which the signification of reef is sought to be made good, because there . . ( sandbanks ) are placed together, . is not to be taken otherwise than . here.
] may be either transitive : to thrust the ship on, to cause it to strand (Herod. vi. 16, viii. 182; Thuc. iv. 26. 5), or intransitive : to strand , to be wrecked . So Thuc. viii. 102. 3; Polyb. i. 20. 15, iv. 41. 2, and see Loesner, p. 240. As is here added (which in the intransitive view would be the accusative of more precise definition, but quite superfluous), the transitive view is that suggested by the text: they thrust the ship upon, they made it strand . Lachmann and Tischendorf, following A B* C, have , from , to push to the land, navem appellere . But neither does this meaning suit, as here it is the ship going to wreck that is spoken of; nor can proof be adduced from the aorist form (Hom. Od . ix. 138, 148, xiii. 114: ), see Bornemann. In Polyb. iv. 31. 2, has been introduced by copyists’ mistake for .
] having fixed itself . On , used also by the Greeks in an intransitive sense, comp. Pro 4:4 .
. . .] for the promontory had naturally the deeper water above it the farther it ran seawards, so that the stern was shattered by the power of the waves. This shipwreck was at least the fourth (2Co 11:25 ) which Paul suffered.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
41 And falling into a place where two seas met, they ran the ship aground; and the forepart stuck fast, and remained unmoveable, but the hinder part was broken with the violence of the waves.
Ver. 41. Where two seas met ] The men of Malta show a certain place at this day which they call lascala di San Paulo, Saint Paul’s arrival.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
41. ] At the west end of St. Paul’s Bay is an island , Selmoon or Salmonetta, which they could not have known to be such from their place of an chorage. This island is separated from the mainland by a channel of about 100 yards wide, communicating with the outer sea. Just within this island, in all probability, was the place where the ship struck, in a place where two seas met.
] is used by Homer (ref.) in the sense of ‘adpellere navem.’ Its commoner use is intransitive: see Hom. ib. v. 138, and Apollon. Rhod. ii. 352, 382; iii. 575. In Od. . 114, it is said of the ship itself, . The of the rec. is used several times by Thucydides, and has the same twofold usage: cf. Thucyd. iii. 12; iv. 28; viii. 102: they ran the ship a-ground .
“The circumstance which follows, would, but for the peculiar nature of the bottom of St. Paul’s Bay, be difficult to account for. The rocks of Malta disintegrate into very minute particles of sand and clay, which when acted on by the currents, or by surface agitation, form a deposit of tenacious clay: but in still water, where these causes do not act, mud is found; but it is only in the creeks where there are no currents, and at such a depth as to be undisturbed by the waves, that mud occurs. A ship therefore, impelled by the force of the gale into a creek with a bottom such as that laid down in the chart, would strike a bottom of mud, graduating into tenacious clay, into which the fore part would fix itself and be held fast, while the stern was exposed to the force of the waves.” Smith, p. 103.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Act 27:41 . . . .: Luk 10:30 , Jas 1:2 , with the dative, as generally, but Arrian, (Wetstein), 2Ma 6:13 ; 2Ma 10:4 , Polyb., i., 37, i. .: a bank or a ridge between two seas, which has sea on both sides; cf. Dio Chrys., 5, p. 83, where reference is made to the dangers of the sea: (Wetstein and Blass). Breusing, Vars and Goerne (so Blass) take the words . . to refer to a hidden ridge beneath the water, and the aorist . in contrast to the imperfect seems to favour this, as expressing that they came upon a . . unexpectedly, cf. Page’s note and Ramsay’s translation, “chancing on a bank between two seas”. But the latter writer adds that the . does not imply want of purpose, as shows, and the meaning is that while at anchor they could not see the exact character of the spot (see also C. and H.), but as they approached they found that they had lighted on the channel not more than a hundred yards in breadth between the island of Salmonetta and the mainland; this might very properly be called “a place where two seas meet,” A. and R.V., as it formed a communication between the sea within the bay and the sea outside. The adjective . is as applicable to water uniting two seas, e.g. , the Bosphorus, cf. Strabo, ii., 5, 12 (quoted by Smith), as to land like the Isthmus of Corinth; see J. Smith, pp. 142, 178, 4th edit., Hackett, C. and H., Lumby, Rendall, and note in Speaker’s Commentary . Breusing, p. 204, Goerne, Wendt (1899) take it of St. Paul’s Bank which lies just in front of St. Paul’s Bay, so too Vars, p; 258, for the same view and its support. : “they ran the vessel aground” ( cf. J. Smith, p. 143, 4th edit.), see critical note. and are both used in classical Greek, but the latter is “altogether poetical” (Blass), and more usually intransitive. In Homer, Odys. , ix., 148, however, we have , and 546, ( cf. adpcllere navem ). Blass, Philology of the Gospels , p. 186, sees in this sudden introduction of the phrase an indication that St. Luke had read his Homer, since in no other passage in the N.T. do we find the obsolete word , the commoner expression occurring in this chapter no less than thirteen times. R.V. renders “the vessel.” all other E.V [423] “the ship,” and it has been thought that the word is so changed here because that which had hitherto been a capable of sailing was now reduced to a mere hulk (Wordsworth, Humphry). : “and the prow struck,” R.V., Ramsay, this is accounted for by the peculiar nature of the bottom in St. Paul’s Bay, see J. Smith, Ramsay, Hackett, Alford, “a bottom of mud graduating into tenacious clay, into which the fore part would fix itself, and be held fast while the stern was exposed to the force of the waves”. For the verb in intransitive sense as here cf. Pro 4:4 , cf. neid , v., 206 (Wetstein). .: only in Heb 12:8 in N.T., but several times in Luke, in Gospel and Acts; in classical Greek and LXX; adverb – , Polyb., ix., 9, 8, cf. also Sir 29:18 . : “but the stern began to break up,” R.V., marking the imperfect as distinguished from aorist , Blass, Gram. , p. 186; n. , x., 303, Cic., Att. , xv., 11 (Wetstein). ., see critical note, : four times in Acts, see on Act 5:26 , nowhere else in N.T., but frequent in LXX, Vulgate, “a vi maris,” which Breusing, p. 203, strongly endorses.
[423] English Version.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
And = But.
falling. Greek. peripipto. Only here, Luk 10:30. Jam 1:2.
where two seas met. Greek. dilhalassos. Only here. A sand bank formed by opposing currents.
ran . . . aground. Greek. epokello, but the texts read epikello, meaning the same. Only here.
ship. Greek. naus. Only here. Elsewhere the word for “ship” is ploion. It was no longer a ship, but a mere floating hulk.
forepart. Same as “foreship”, Act 27:30. Add “indeed”.
stuck fast, and = having stuck fast. Greek. ereido. Only here.
remained. Greek. meno, as in Act 27:31.
unmoveable. Greek. asaleutos. Only here and Heb 12:28.
hinder part = stern, Act 27:29.
was broken = began to break up. Greek. luo. See Act 13:43.
with = by, as in Act 27:11.
violence. Greek. bia. See Act 5:26.
waves. Greek. kuma. Only here, Mat 8:24; Mat 14:24. Mar 4:37. Jud 1:13.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
41. ] At the west end of St. Pauls Bay is an island, Selmoon or Salmonetta, which they could not have known to be such from their place of an chorage. This island is separated from the mainland by a channel of about 100 yards wide, communicating with the outer sea. Just within this island, in all probability, was the place where the ship struck, in a place where two seas met.
] is used by Homer (ref.) in the sense of adpellere navem. Its commoner use is intransitive: see Hom. ib. v. 138, and Apollon. Rhod. ii. 352, 382; iii. 575. In Od. . 114, it is said of the ship itself, . The of the rec. is used several times by Thucydides, and has the same twofold usage: cf. Thucyd. iii. 12; iv. 28; viii. 102: they ran the ship a-ground.
The circumstance which follows, would, but for the peculiar nature of the bottom of St. Pauls Bay, be difficult to account for. The rocks of Malta disintegrate into very minute particles of sand and clay, which when acted on by the currents, or by surface agitation, form a deposit of tenacious clay: but in still water, where these causes do not act, mud is found; but it is only in the creeks where there are no currents, and at such a depth as to be undisturbed by the waves, that mud occurs. A ship therefore, impelled by the force of the gale into a creek with a bottom such as that laid down in the chart, would strike a bottom of mud, graduating into tenacious clay, into which the fore part would fix itself and be held fast, while the stern was exposed to the force of the waves. Smith, p. 103.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Act 27:41. , to a place where two seas met) Such a place, for instance, is an oblong mound composed of sand formed into a dense mass. It is called , a ridge, pulvinus, a sandbank.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
they ran: Act 27:17, Act 27:26-29, 2Co 11:25
broken: 1Ki 22:48, 2Ch 20:37, Eze 27:26, Eze 27:34, 2Co 11:25, 2Co 11:26
Reciprocal: Isa 33:23 – Thy tacklings are loosed Mar 4:37 – great storm Act 27:10 – damage Act 27:29 – fallen Act 27:30 – foreship Rom 15:32 – I may
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
1
Act 27:41. Where two seas met all comes from DITHALASSOS, which Thayer defines, “an isthmus or tongue of land,” and he explains it, “the extremity of which is covered by the waves.” Both sides of this projection of land were washed by the sea which formed a sort of whirlpool, into which the forepart of the ship was thrust and stranded. The rear part of the boat was then lashed with the violence of this “whirlpool” and crushed.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Act 27:41. Falling into a place where two seas met. Assuming that the place of anchoring in the night was that which has been determined above, we have here one of the most remarkable helps for the identification of the exact place of St. Pauls shipwreck. The word denotes that which is intermediate between two broad surfaces of sea. This connecting link may be either land or water. The Greek word is equivalent to the Latin bimaris applied by Horace to Corinth, which is situated on an isthmus between two seas. But Strabo applies the term to the Bosphorus, which is a strait between two seas. And such is its meaning here. As the ship parted from her anchors, when steered towards the shore, and impelled by the north-east wind rapidly moved towards the beach, those on board would observe on their right the small island of Salmonetta disengaging itself from the general coast, and showing a channel between itself and that coast. This was unexpected; and it impressed itself vividly on St. Lukes mind, and he here records a fact vividly remembered.
They ran the ship aground. The Greek word here is one of those many technical naval terms which are used in this narrative with strict accuracy. In the Appendix to the article Ship in the American edition of the Dictionary of the Bible, is a very important catalogue of catalogue of this kind.
The fore part stuck fast . . . but the hinder part was broken. Mr. Smith of Jordanhill, who was distinguished among scientific men for his successful study of the geology of coasts, enters very fully and carefully into the conditions of this part of the narrative, and shows that they are accurately met by the facts of the case. For this inquiry it must suffice to refer to his work on the Voyage and Shipwreck of St. Paul. Attention must be given also to what he says concerning the soundings of St. Pauls Bay, which exactly correspond with what we read above (Act 27:28). As to the holding ground (Act 27:30), our Sailing Directions say of St. Pauls Bay, that while the cables hold there is no danger, as the anchors will never start.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
See notes on verse 39
Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)
41. And falling into a place where two seas met, they ran the ship aground; and the prow indeed being broken, remained motionless, and the stern was torn off by the violence of the waves.
Fuente: William Godbey’s Commentary on the New Testament
27:41 And falling into a place where {i} two seas met, they ran the ship aground; and the forepart stuck fast, and remained unmoveable, but the hinder part was broken with the violence of the waves.
(i) So is an isthmus called, because the Sea touches it on both sides.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Evidently currents from two parts of the sea converged near the entrance to this bay resulting in an accumulation of sand or mud. The sailors did not see this bar and inadvertently ran the ship aground, and it stuck firmly. "Reef" implies coral reef in English, but the Greek word (topon) and investigations at the site of St. Paul’s Bay suggest that Luke probably described a sand or mud bar.