Acts 27:41

Act 27:41. Εἰς τόπον διθάλασσον, 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 ταινία, a ridge, “pulvinus,” a sandbank.

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

Act_27:41. But when they had struck upon a promontory. As to περιπ., comp. on Luk_10:30.

It is altogether arbitrary to abandon the literal import of διθάλασσος, forming two seas, or having the sea on both sides, bimaris (see the passages in Wetstein), and to understand by τόπος διθάλ. 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 τραχέα κ. διθάλαττα κ. ταινίαι (sandbanks) are placed together, διθάλ. is not to be taken otherwise than τόπος διθάλ. here.

ἐπώκειλαν] ἐποκέλλειν 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 τὴν ναῦν 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 ἐπέκιελαν, from ἐπικέλλω, 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 ἐπέκειλα (Hom. Od. ix. 138, 148, xiii. 114: ἐπέκελσα), see Bornemann. In Polyb. iv. 31. 2, ἐπικέλλοντες has been introduced by copyists mistake for ἐποκέλλοντες.

ἐρείσασα] having fixed itself. On ἐ̓ρείδειν, used also by the Greeks in an intransitive sense, comp. Pro_4:4.

ἡ δὲ πρύμνα ἐλύετο κ.τ.λ.] 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.

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 27:41 . περιπ . δὲ εἰς τ . διθ .: Luk 10:30 , Jas 1:2 , with the dative, as generally, but Arrian, περιπίπτειν εἰς τόπους πετρώδεις (Wetstein), 2Ma 6:13 ; 2Ma 10:4 , Polyb., i., 37, i. εἰς τόπον διθ .: 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: βραχέα καὶ διθάλαττα καὶ ταινίαι μακραὶ … ἄπορον … παρέχουσι τὸ πέλαγος (Wetstein and Blass). Breusing, Vars and Goerne (so Blass) take the words εἰς τ . δ . to refer to a hidden ridge beneath the water, and the aorist περιπ . in contrast to the imperfect κατεῖχον seems to favour this, as expressing that they came upon a τόπ . διθ . unexpectedly, cf. Page’s note and Ramsay’s translation, “chancing on a bank between two seas”. But the latter writer adds that the περιπ . does not imply want of purpose, as ἐπώκειλαν 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 διθ . 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. ἐπώκειλαν τὴν ναῦν : “they ran the vessel aground” ( cf. J. Smith, p. 143, 4th edit.), see critical note. ἐποκέλλω and ἐπικέλλω 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 νῆας … ἐπικέλσαι , and 546, νῆα ἐκέλσαμεν ( cf. adpcllere navem ). Blass, Philology of the Gospels , p. 186, sees in this sudden introduction of the phrase ἐπώκειλαν τὴν ναῦν an indication that St. Luke had read his Homer, since in no other passage in the N.T. do we find the obsolete word ἡ ναῦς , the commoner expression τὸ πλοῖον occurring in this chapter no less than thirteen times. R.V. renders τὴν ναῦν “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 πλοῖον capable of sailing was now reduced to a mere hulk (Wordsworth, Humphry). καὶ ἡ μὲν πρώρα ἐρείσασα : “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. Æneid , v., 206 (Wetstein). ἀσάλ .: only in Heb 12:8 in N.T., but σαλεύειν several times in Luke, in Gospel and Acts; in classical Greek and LXX; adverb - τως , Polyb., ix., 9, 8, cf. also Sir 29:18 . ἡ δὲ πρύμνα ἐλύετο ὑπὸ τῆς βίας : “but the stern began to break up,” R.V., marking the imperfect as distinguished from aorist ἔμεινεν , Blass, Gram. , p. 186; Æn. , x., 303, Cic., Att. , xv., 11 (Wetstein). βίας τῶν κυμ ., see critical note, βία : 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.

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

So is Isthmus called, because the sea toucheth it on both sides.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

falling into a place where two seas met--SMITH thinks this refers to the channel, not more than one hundred yards broad, which separates the small island of Salmone from Malta, forming a communication between the sea inside the bay and that outside.

the fore part stuck fast, and remained immovable--"The rocks of Malta disintegrate into extremely minute particles of sand and clay, which, when acted upon by the currents or surface agitation, form a deposit of tenacious clay; but, in still waters, where these causes do not act, mud is formed; but it is only in creeks, where there are no currents, and at such 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 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].

hinder part was broken--The continued action denoted by the tense here is to be noted--"was fast breaking," going to pieces.

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 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.

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

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; 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, than bring the ship whole to land.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(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. Paul’s 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.

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

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.

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.

And the soldiers' counsel was to kill the prisoners,.... Paul, and the rest: this they had not only an inclination to, but they declared it, and gave it as their opinion, and what they thought advisable to be done directly:

lest any of them should swim out and escape; and they should be accountable for them: but this was dreadful wickedness in them to seek to take away the lives of others, when they themselves were in so much danger; and monstrous ingratitude to the Apostle Paul, who had been so much concerned for their lives, and careful of them, and had been the means of saving them, and for whose sake they were saved: the devil must have had a great hand in this.

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

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.

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.

And falling - Being carried by the wind and waves.

Into a place where two seas met - Greek: into a place of a double sea - διθάλασσον 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.

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

Into a place where two seas met.[6] It happened that there was a neck or tongue of land, which being covered with the waves, they who were strangers to the coast did not discover: this stranded the ship, the prow sticking fast, and the poop being torn from it, so that the vessel split by the violence of the winds and sea. (Witham)

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[BIBLIOGRAPHY]

In locum dithalassum, Greek: eis topon dithalasson.

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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).

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.

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

41. Place where two seas met—Τοπον διθαλασσον; 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.

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

But lighting upon for and falling taro, A.V; vessel for ship, A.V.; fore-ship for forepart, A.V.; struck for stuck fast, A.V.; stern for hinder part, A.V.; began to break up for was broken with, A.V.. Where two seas met; topon diqalasson, only here, and in Dion Chrysostomus. The explanation of this "place where two seas met" is as follows: As the ship stood at anchor in the bay on the north-east side of the island, it would have the Koura Point (Ras el-Kaura) on its left, and on entering deeper into the bay westward, the little island of Salmonetta, or Selmoon, otherwise called Gzeier, would lie on its right, and would appear to be part of the island of Malta, from which it is separated by a narrow channel about a hundred yards in width. When, however, she was just coming upon the beach for which she was making, she would come opposite to this open channel, and the sea from the north would break upon her and meet the sea on the south side of the island, where the ship was. Here, then, they ran the vessel aground. jEpwkeilan, or, according to the R.T., ejpekeilan, is only found here in the Bible; but it is the regular word for running a ship aground, or ashore, in classical writers. jEpikellw has exactly the same meaning. The simple verbs keJllw and ojkellw are also both in use for running a ship to land. The foreship struck; ejreisasa, here only in the Bible, but very common in classical Greek. Its meaning here is not very different from its frequent medical meaning of a disease "fixing itself" and "settling" in some particular part of the body. Remained unmovable. "A ship impelled by the force of a gale into a creek with a bottom such as that laid down in Admiral Smyth"s chart of St. Paul"s Bay, would strike a bottom of mud graduating into tenacious clay, into which the forepart would fix itself and be held fast, whilst the stern was exposed to the force of the waves" (Smith, p. 144). Unmovable; ajsaleutov, only here and Heb_12:28, in the Bible; but common in Greek writers in the sense of "firm," "unmovable." Began to break up (ejlu) like solvo and dissolvo in Latin. The planks were loosened and disjoined. By the violence. The R.T. omits the words twn kumatwn, and so has bia alone, somewhat like ubriv in ver. 21.

The shipwreck of the soul.

We are familiar with scenes of shipwreck; the stories read in childhood and the stern facts of later years bring them vividly before our minds. We see the gallant vessel, wall rigged and fitted from stem to stem, sailing forth on her mission of transport or merchandise, moving along under favor-able breezes, seeming likely to make the port where she is due; we see her overtaken by the storm, admitting the water which gains hour by hour upon her, sinking lower and lower, finally going down beneath the waves. But sad as this story is, there is a far more profound and pathetic sadness in the history, only too often to be told, of the shipwreck of a human soul. Bravely setting forth on the voyage of life, hopefully speeding on its course with helpful influences, promising to make its port on the other strand, we see it overtaken by the storm of some mastering temptation or falling into the irresistible current of some adverse spiritual force, and it makes melancholy shipwreck; instead of reaching its Fair Haven, it goes down into the waters of destruction. Some are wrecked in

I THEIR RELIGIOUS FAITH. They start on the voyage of life with that one chart in hand which alone can take them safely to their journey"s end the Word of the living God. Then they come into contact withfascinating but unbelieving companions; or they meet with a number of specious but shallow objections; or they look, with foolish and cruel persistency, on the one side of the difficulties, neglecting to pay proportionate attention to the arguments on the other side; and the end is that the vessel of their faith breaks up and at length goes down.

II THEIR MORAL HABITS. Trained in godly homes, our youths and maidens acquire habits of moral excellency; they enter active life, honest, pure, sober, reverent, prudent. But they encounter those hurtful and deadly influences which, after a while, if not at the first attack, lead them down to dishonesty, to impurity, to intemperance, to profanity, to the pestilent habit of gambling. Usually they "make shipwreck of a good conscience," as the vessel is drawn upon the relentless rocks when it is caught in the strong current from which it cannot escape. Slowly, going further and further in the wrong direction, by every movement getting more at the mercy of the foe, the vessel drifts to destruction.

III SPIRITUAL LIFE. One of the sad spectacles which we have often to witness is the decline and disappearance of the spiritual life which was in the soul. By degrees for this loss is commonly gradual reverence becomes weaker, zeal decays, sacred joy grows dim and dull, habits of devotion are relaxed, the regard for the will of Christ becomes feebler and less effective, until life is really gone, and the soul has become a spiritual wreck. The shipwreck of the soul is:

1. Inexpressibly sad. By how much the spiritual is greater than the material and the destinies of a human soul lager and longer than the fortune of a piece of human handiwork, by so much is the wreck of a soul a more pitiful thing than the loss of the noblest bark that ever foundered on the ocean.

2. Not absolutely final. Sometimes, but very seldom, a sunken vessel is raised, and "ploughs the main" once more; sometimes, but seldom, a soul that has lost faith, virtue, piety, is raised up from the deep, and sails again on its voyage, and attains its port. Let none presume; let none despair.

3. An evil that may always be averted. The mind that is open to the truth which is before it, that keeps clear of the dangers of which it is warned, that uses the spiritual resources which the generous Lord has supplied, will not make shipwreck, but reach, unharmed and safe, the heavenly harbor. C.

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

A place where two seas met - Probably by reason of a sand bank running parallel with the shore.

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

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.

William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

See notes on verse 39

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.

41. τῶν κυμάτων omitted with אAB. Vulg. has ‘a vi maris.’

41. περιπεσόντες δὲ εἰς τόπον διθάλασσον, but lighting upon a place where two seas met. 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 mudbank 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.

ἐπέκειλαν τὴν ναῦν, they ran the ship aground. ἐπικέλλω is found in Homer and Apoll. Rhodius, but ἐποκέλλω is a more common word, and so in time came to be substituted for the text of the oldest MSS.

ἡ δὲ πρύμνα ἐλύετο, but the stern began to break up. This is the force of the imperfect tense. 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.

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.

41. τόπον διθάλασσον] 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.

ἐπέκειλαν] ἐπικέλλειν is used by Homer (ref.) in the sense of ‘adpellere navem.’ Its commoner use is intransitive: see Hom. ib. ver. 138, and Apollon. Rhod. ii. 352, 382; iii. 575. In Od. ε. 114, it is said of the ship itself, ἠπείρῳ ἐπέκελσε. The ἐποκέλλειν 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.

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