Acts 27:37

two hundred threescore and sixteen As we do not know the number of prisoners and soldiers, it is impossible to form any conclusion about the manning of such a ship as this. The number here mentioned is very large, and we cannot suppose that a merchantman from Alexandria to Rome would carry a very large crew. But to accept the reading (supported by very little authority) which makes the whole company "about threescore and sixteen" has equal difficulty on the other side, and the way in which it arose can be easily explained from the use of letters for numerals among the Greeks. A vessel which could have four anchors cast from the stern, and still have more to spare for the foreship, must have been of large size and have needed many hands. The occasion of the numbering was probably the near expectation of coming ashore, and so it was needful to have all told, for the captain, in respect of the crew, and for the centurion, that of his prisoners and soldiers none might be allowed to escape or be missing. The mention of the number at this point of the history is one of the many very natural features of the narrative.