Acts 27:15. When the ship was caught. Here, again, a very strong expression is used in the original, implying that the wind seized hold of the ship, as it were, and whirled her out of her course.

Gould not bear up into the wind. The literal meaning is, ‘could not look at, or against, the wind;' and the phrase is made all the more expressive by the fact that in ancient ships, eyes were painted on each side of the prow. This is part of that personification of a ship which has been common in all ages and nations, and which leads to some of the singular language used by our own boatmen and sailors. See e.g. below, Acts 27:27.

We let her drive. Rather it should be translated thus: ‘Yielding to the wind, we were driven.' St. Paul would hardly speak as though at this moment he had any responsibility in the management of the ship. In the first instance they scudded before the wind; they had no choice in the matter. It is worth while to observe that two verses below, where reference is made to certain practical steps taken by the sailors, the word is not ε ̓ φερο ́ μεθα but ε ̓ φεροντο.

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Old Testament