Acts 21:3

Act 21:3. Τύρον, Tyre) Where it was foretold in Psa 87:4. Comp. with that psalm, concerning the people of Philistia and the Ethiopians, Act 8:40, Act 21:27.—[τὸν γόμον, her burden) So frequently does the kingdom of GOD accommodate itself to the external opportunities of (i.e. afforded by) the world: but GOD directs worldly things by a secret influence to further the progress of His kingdom.—V. g.]

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Act_21:3. Ἀναφανέντες δὲ τὴν Κύπρ.] but when we had sighted Cyprus. The expression is formed analogously to the well-known construction πεπίστευμαι τὸ εὐαγγέλιον and the like. Winer, p. 244[E. T. 326]; Buttmann, neut. Gr. p. 164 [E. T. 189].

εὐώνυμον] an adjective to αὐτήν. See Kühner, § 685, and examples in Wetstein.

εἰς Συρίαν] towards Syria. See on Gal_1:21.

κατάγεσθαι, to run in, to land, the opposite of ἀνάγεσθαι (Act_21:1-2), Act_27:2, Act_28:12; Luk_5:11; often with Greek writers since the time of Homer.

ἐκεῖσε γὰρ … γόμον] for thither the ship unladed its freight; ἐκεῖσε denotes the direction (toward the city) which they had in view in the unlading (in the harbour).

ἀποφορτιζ.] does not stand pro futuro (in opposition to Grotius, Valckenaer, Kuinoel, and others), but ἦν ἀποφ. means: it was in the act of its unlading. Comp. Winer, p. 328 [E. T. 439].

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Act 21:3 . ἀναφ .: “when we had come in sight of,” R.V., Doric form of 1st aorist active, Winer-Schmiedel, p. 112, here a technical word (only in Luke, cf. Luk 19:11 , but in a different sense), i.e. , after we had rendered Cyprus visible (to us) = facere ut appareat (Blass); Virgil, Æneid , iii., 275, 291, see also Rendall’s note in loco (for the opposite idiom, ἀποκρύπτειν , cf. Thuc., v., 65). καταλιπόντες αὐτὴν εὐώ .: sailing southeast they would have passed close to Paphos in Cyprus. ἐπλέομεν : “imperf. cursum, aorist. κατήλθομεν finem denotat” (Blass). εἰς Τύρον : now a free town of the R. province of Syria, Strabo, xvi., 2, in honour of its ancient greatness; it is still a place of considerable commerce and consequence, still famous for its fabrics and its architecture. At present it numbers amongst its five thousand inhabitants a few Jews, the rest being Mohammedans and Christians. Besides O.T. references, see 1Ma 11:59 , 2Ma 4:18 ; 2Ma 4:44 , and further for its history, C. H., small edit., p. 563, Hamburger, Real-Encyclopädie des Judentums , i., 7, 998, Schaff-Herzog, Encyclopædia , iv., “Tyre”. ἐκεῖσε : the adverb may be used here with something of its proper force, but in Act 22:5 , the only other place in which it occurs in N.T., simply = ἐκεῖ , Simcox, Language of the New Testament , p. 179. Page ( in loco ) renders “for there the ship was unlading her cargo,” ἐκεῖσε being used because of the idea of movement and carrying into the town contained in the “unloading”. ἦν ἀποφ .: taken sometimes as the present for the future, Burton, p. 59, but see also Winer-Moulton, xlv., 5, and Wendt (1888) in loco (Philo, De Præm, et Pæn. , 5; and Athenæus, ii., 5, of lightening a ship in a storm). γόμον ( γέμω ): so in classical Greek, Herod., Dem., etc., in LXX of the load of a beast of burden, Exo 23:5 , 2Ki 5:17 ; in N.T. only elsewhere in Rev 18:11 , of any merchandise.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

when we . . . discovered--"sighted," as the phrase is.

Cyprus, we left it on the left hand--that is, steered southeast of it, leaving it on the northwest.

sailed into--"unto"

Syria, and landed at Tyre--the celebrated seat of maritime commerce for East and West. It might be reached from Patara in about two days.

there the ship was to unlade her burden--which gave the apostle time for what follows.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 3. Cyprus] See Clarke on Ac 4:36, and see the track of this journey on the map.

Tyre] A city of Phoenicia, one of the most celebrated maritime towns in the world. See Clarke on Ac 12:20; and See Clarke on Mt 11:21.

There the ship was to unlade her burden.] The freight that she had taken in at Ephesus she was to unlade at Tyre; to which place she was bound.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(3) When we had discovered Cyprus . . .—The use of a technical term here is specially characteristic of St. Luke. Here the meaning is that, as soon as they sighted Cyprus, they stood to the southeast, and so had it on their left as they continued their voyage to Syria. At Tyre they had again to change their ship. On the position and history of Tyre, see Note on Mat_11:21.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

3. Now when we had discovered Cyprus] Rev. Ver. “And when we had come in sight of.” “Discover” has now acquired the special sense of “finding for the first time.” On Cyprus, see notes on Act_13:4 seqq.

we … Syria] This was the general name for the whole district lying along the Mediterranean from Cilicia down to Egypt.

Tyre] One of the chief ports of Phœnicia, and a city of very great antiquity. It was built partly on the mainland and partly on an island, and is often mentioned both in Scripture and in profane literature. It is noticed as a strongly fortified city as early as Jos_19:29. We read of its fame in the time of Solomon in connexion with the building of the temple, and Jezebel, the wife of Ahab, was the daughter of Ethbaal, called King of the Sidonians in Scripture, but in Josephus (Ant. viii. 13, 2) King of Tyre. The city was besieged by Shalmaneser and afterwards by Nebuchadnezzar, and was captured by Alexander the Great.

Christ went on one of his journeys from Galilee into the neighbourhood of Tyre, if not to the city itself, which was about 30 miles from Nazareth, and it must have been then in much the same condition as at this visit of St Paul.

there the ship, &c.] And so most probably the further voyage to Ptolemais was made in a different vessel, this one going no farther.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Now when we had discovered Cyprus,.... An island, as the Syriac version here calls it, which lay between Syria and Cilicia; See Gill on Act 4:36; and was, according to R. Benjamin (l), four days sail from Rhodes, before mentioned:

we left it on the left hand, and sailed into Syria; that part of it called Phoenicia:

and landed at Tyre; the chief city of Phoenicia, famous for navigation and commerce: it stood about four furlongs distant from the shore, and was joined to the continent by Alexander the great (m). The account Jerom (n) gives of it is this,

"Tyre, the metropolis of Phoenicia, in the tribe of Nephthalim, is near twenty miles from Caesarea Philippi; this was formerly an island, but made continent land by Alexander:--its chief excellency lies in shell fish and purple.''

It was a very ancient city, though it seems not so ancient as Sidon, from whence it was distant about two hundred furlongs. Herodotus (o) says, that in his time it had been inhabited two thousand three hundred years; Hiram was king of it in Solomon's time; yea, mention is made of it in Joshua's time, if the text in Jos 19:29 is rightly translated: some say it was built seventy six years before the destruction of Troy. It is to be distinguished into old Tyre, which was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar, and the island of Tyre, which was conquered by Alexander, and new Tyre annexed, by him to the continent. In the Hebrew language it is called "Tzur", or "Tzor", which signifies a "rock", being built on one; though some think it has its name from "Tzehor", which signifies "brightness"; it is now called Sur or Suri, and is quite desolate, being only a receptacle of thieves and robbers: though R. Benjamin says, in his time, new Tyre was a very good city, and had a port within it, into which ships go between two towers; and that there were in it four hundred Jews, and some of them skilful in the Talmud; --who further observes, that if anyone ascended the walls of new Tyre, he might see Tyre the crowning city, Isa 23:8 which was a stone's cast from the new; but if a man would go in a boat on the sea, he might see towers, streets, and palaces in the bottom (p):

for there the ship was to unlade her burden; which she had taken in, in the ports where she had been, but where is not certain; for that she had been at Ephesus, and took in her lading there, as Grotius thinks, does not appear; since this was not the ship the apostle and his company sailed in from Miletus, but which they went aboard at Patara, Act 21:1.

(l) Itinerar. p. 30. (m) Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 5. c. 19. Mela, l. 1. c. 12. (n) De locis Hebraicis, fol. 96. K. (o) Euterpe, l. 2. c. 44. (p) ltinerar. p. 35, 36.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

3 Now when we had discovered Cyprus, we left it on the left hand, and sailed into Syria, and landed at Tyre: for there the ship was to unlade her burden.

Ver. 3. Now when he had discovered Cyprus] Vox nautica, a mariner’s term; so is συνεσταλμενος, 1Co 7:29. St Paul was a great trader of Christ both by land and sea; and had terms ready for both. {See Trapp on "1Co 7:29"}

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Had discovered Cyprus - See the notes on Act 4:36.

Into Syria - See the notes on Mat 4:24.

And landed at Tyre - See the notes on Mat 11:21.

To unlade her burden - Her cargo. Tyre was formerly one of the most commercial cities of the world; and it is probable that in the time of Paul its commercial importance had not entirely ceased.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Cyprus, an island in the Mediterranean, to the east of Patara and Rhodes.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Cyprus; another island in the Mediterranean.

Unlade her burden; of goods and merchandise which she had taken in at Ephesus.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

3. Cyprus—Through whose length Paul with Barnabas had preached Christianity.

Left hand—From Patara they emerged from all the insular straits and launched “O’er the glad waters of the dark blue sea.” In these fresh days of spring, the snows still lingered on the rounded summits of Cyprus, but the shores were clad in rich verdure. The breeze was evidently fair and strong, and their sail now by night as well as by day, through a voyage of three hundred and forty miles, at a rate a little more than seven knots an hour, would land them on Monday, the thirtieth day of April, at Tyre.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And for when, A.V.; come in sight of for discovered, A.V.; leaving it... we sailed for we left it... and sailed, A.V.; unto for into, A.V.. Had come in sight of; literally, had been shown Cyprus; had had Cyprus made visible to us; i.e. had sighted Cyprus. It is a nautical expression. Meyer compares the phrase pepisteumai tolion for the grammatical construction. The verb ajnafainw is peculiar to St. Luke, occur-tug elsewhere in the New Testament only incqhmen, Luk_19:11. It is, however, used repeatedly in the LXX of Job. Landed; kath T.R., just the opposite to the ajnhqhmen of ver. 2; but the R.T. has kathlqomen, with the same meaning, "we came to shore." At Tyre, which they may have reached in about forty-eight hours from Patara with a fair wind (Howson). Tyre at this time was still a city of some commercial importance, with two harbors, one north and one south of the causeway which connected the island with the mainland. (see Act_12:20) Howson thinks the ship in which St. Paul sailed may have brought wheat from the Black Sea, and taken up Phoenician wares in exchange. The sight of Cyprus as he sailed by must have brought many and very various memories to the apostle"s mind, of Barnabas, of Sergius Paulus, of Elymas, and many others.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

We landed at Tyre - That there should be Christians there was foretold, Psalm lxxxvii, 4. What we read in that Psalm of the Philistines and Ethiopians also may be compared with chap. viii, 40; xxvii, 4.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

The divine providence is not more signally discovered in governing the motions of the clouds, than it is in ordering the spirits and motions of his ministers. The motion of the clouds is not spontaneous and from themselves, but they move as they are moved by the wind; neither can the ministers of Christ choose their own stations, and govern their own motions, but must go when and whither the Spirit and providence of God directs and guides them; as evidently appears by St. Paul’s present voyage to Jerusalem; though the journey was full of danger, yet his spirit was fully bent and set upon it: I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem.

It was happy for the apostle, and his great advantage, that the will of God was so plainly revealed to him, touching this his journey to Jerusalem; for no sooner did he prepare himself to obey the call of God, and to undertake the journey, but he is presently assaulted by many strong temptations to decline it. The first rub he met with in his way, was from the disciples at Tyre, who spake by the Spirit, that he should not go up to Jerusalem.

But did not the Spirit of God then contradict itself, in bidding the apostle go, and then speaking to him by those disciples not to go?

Not at all; St. Paul by extraordinary revelation was commanded to go to Jerusalem; these disciples by a spirit of prophecy, only foretold the difficulties and dangers that would attend him in his journey, and so, through kindness and human affection, they dissuaded him from undertaking it.

We must distinguish between the prediction of trouble, and the counsel of safety.

The prediction of trouble; so they said through the Spirit, that it would be dangerous for Paul to go to Jerusalem.

The counsel of safety proceeded from their private love and affection to him; whereby they dissuaded him from going to Jerusalem.

Learn from hence, 1. That divine precept, and not providence, is to rule our way to duty.

Learn, 2. That no discouragements or hindrances whatsoever will justify our neglect of a commanded duty. Whatever difficulties or discouragements lay in the way of the apostle’s duty, he overcame them all with an heroic and truly Christian resolution, saying, ver. 13. I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem, for the name of Jesus.

William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

See notes on verse 1

J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

General Information:

Here the word "we" refers to Luke, Paul, and those traveling with them, but not to the reader. (See: Exclusive and Inclusive "We")

leaving it on the left side of the boat

"passed the island on the left" the left is the "port" side of a boat.

where the ship was to unload its cargo

Here "ship" stands for the crew that was sailing the ship. AT: "the crew would unload the cargo from the ship" (See: Metonymy)

Through the Spirit they kept urging Paul

"These believers told Paul what the Holy Spirit had revealed to them." They "urged him over and over."

translationWords

Cyprus

Syria

Tyre

disciple

day

Paul

Holy Spirit

Jerusalem

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

3. κατήλθομεν for κατήχθημεν with אABE. Vulg. ‘venimus.’

3. ἀναφάναντες δὲ τὴν Κύπρον, and when we had come in sight of Cyprus. On Cyprus, see notes on Act 13:4. The more usual construction would be ἀναφανείσης τῆς Κύπρου, but cf. with this alteration of construction Gal 2:7, πεπίστευμαι τὸ εὐαγγέλιον, meaning πεπιστευμένον ἔχω τὸ εὐαγγέλιον.

εἰς Συρίαν, into Syria. This was the general name for the whole district lying along the Mediterranean from Cilicia down to Egypt.

κατήλθομεν εἰς Τύρον, we landed at Tyre. Tyre was one of the chief ports of Phœnicia, and a city of very great antiquity. It was built partly on the mainland and partly on an island, and is often mentioned both in Scripture and in profane literature. It is noticed as a strongly fortified city as early as Jos 19:29. We read of its fame in the time of Solomon in connexion with the building of the Temple; and Jezebel, the wife of Ahab, was the daughter of Ethbaal, called King of the Sidonians in Scripture, but in Josephus (Ant. VIII. 13. 2) King of Tyre. The city was besieged by Shalmaneser and afterwards by Nebuchadnezzar, and was captured by Alexander the Great.

Christ went on one of His journeys from Galilee into the neighbourhood of Tyre, if not to the city itself, which was about 30 miles from Nazareth, and it must have been then in much the same condition as at this visit of St Paul.

ἐκεῖσε γὰρ … ἀποφορτιζόμενον τὸν γόμον, for there the ship was to unlade her burden. And so in all probability the further voyage to Ptolemais was made in a different vessel, this one going no further. With regard to the exact meaning of this clause, there is no need to suppose ἐκεῖσε is the same as ἐκεῖ, though the English idiom may ask for ‘there’ in our rendering. The full idea of the words is, ‘thither the ship was going and would there unlade &c.’ The reason for the use of ἦν ἀποφορτιζόμενον is probably to be found by understanding that the ship was in the habit of sailing to Tyre with cargoes. Cf. Jas 1:17, πᾶν δώρημα τέλειον ἄνωθέν ἐστι καταβαῖνον.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

3. ἀναφανέντες] for the construction, see reff. and Winer, edn. 6, § 39. 1: having been shewn Cyprus, literally. Wetst. cites from Theophanes, p. 392, περιεφέροντο ἐν τῷ πελάγει, ἀναφανέντων δὲ αὐτῶν τὴν γῆν, εἶδον αὐτοὺς οἱ στρατηγοί. ‘The graphic language of an eyewitness, and of one familiar with the phraseology of seamen, who, in their own language, appear to raise the land in approaching it.’ Smith, Voyage and Shipwreck of St. Paul. But would not this remark rather apply to the active participle? Compare ‘aerias Phæacum abscondimus arces,’ Æn. iii. 291.

εὐώνυμον] sc. αὐτήν, i.e. to the E. This would be the straight course from Patara to Tyre.

ἐπλ. εἰς Σ.,—we held our course, steered, for Syria.

κατήλθ.] we came down to, the result of having borne down upon.

Τύρον] This city, so well known for its commercial importance and pride, and so often mentioned in the O. T. prophets, was now a free town (Jos. Ant. xv. 41. Strabo, xvi. 2, οὐχ ὑπὸ τῶν βασιλέων δʼ ἐκρίθησαν αὐτόνομοι μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὑπὸ τῶν Ῥωμαίων) of the province of Syria.

ἐκεῖσε] If this is an adv. of motion as generally, the reference may be to the carrying and depositing the cargo in the town (De Wette), or to the thitherward direction of the voyage (Meyer): but in the only other place where ἐκεῖσε occurs (ref. [see also ref. Job]) it simply = ἐκεῖ, so that perhaps no motion is included.

ἀποφορτ.] The pres. part. indicates the intention, as διαπερῶν before.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Discovered [αναφαναντες] . Better, sighted. A nautical phrase. The verb literally means to bring to light : and its use here is analogous to the English marine phrase, to raise the land.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.