Acts 27:28

Sounded. Literally, “heaving [the lead].” They sounded by means of a weight, perhaps lead, suspended at the end of a rope. Anciently this was the only method of determining a ship’s position relative to the shore at night or in fog. Twenty fathoms. The Greek “fathom” was considered to be the length of the outstretched arms, from tip to tip of extended fingers, and closely approximated the English “fathom” of 6 ft. (see Vol. V, p. 50). The sounding was therefore about 120 ft. The depth of the sea 1/4 mi. off Koura Point (see on v. 27) is 120 ft. (see Additional Note at end of chapter). Gone a little further. Literally, “a little space intervening.” Fifteen fathoms. Or, about 90 ft. So marked a decrease in depth after so short an interval of time and distance indicated that the ship was rapidly approaching the shore.