Acts 27:17

Taken up. Or, “hoisted up.” Helps. Strong ropes drawn completely around the hull of the ship, to keep the timbers from being forced apart by the force of the wind and the waves. This procedure for undergirding a wooden vessel is known today as trapping. Obviously the ship was hardly seaworthy, and must have been leaking so badly that the seams in the planking threatened to split wide open. The ship was in danger of foundering at sea. Compare Thucydides (History i. 29. 3) and Horace (Odes i. 14). Fall. Gr. ekpipto, here meaning “to be cast [ashore],” or “to be driven [onto].” Quicksands. Gr. surds, the name of the eastern arm of the large gulf that indents the northern shore of the African continent and is known today as Syrtis Major to distinguish it from Syrtis Minor, the western arm of the same gulf. The waters of both Syrtis Major and Syrtis Minor are shallow and hide sandy shoals, or quicksands, which have made them the graveyard of countless ships since the dawn of navigation. Paul’s ship was being driven by the wind in the direction of Syrtis Major. See Lucan The Civil War ix. 303-310; cf. Milton Paradise Lost ii. 939. Strake. Gr. chalao, “to loosen,” “to let down,” “to lower.” Sail. Gr. skeuos, “equipment,” “tackle,” “gear,” here the “rigging” of the ship. The crew brought down everything from aloft that they could spare, particularly the heavy mainsail and its gear. They evidently left enough sail and gear to keep the ship under control, and so avoid the Syrtis, with its much-feared shoals. The various precautions taken (vs. 16, 17) were completed while the ship enjoyed the momentary comparative calm to the lee of Clauda. For a description of this part of the voyage see Additional Note at end of chapter. So. Or, “thus,” that is, with the dinghy aboard, with cables secured around the hull of the ship, and nonessential gear removed. Were driven. In a day or two the northeaster would drive the ship west-southwest into the Syrtis. To avoid this, the sailors rigged the ship for stormy weather, hove it to, and took a starboard tack. Thus, with the bow of the ship pointed nearly north and the northeaster striking the ship on its starboard beam, it would be driven, largely sideways, in a west-northwest direction. The distance from Clauda to Malta is about 475 mi.