Acts 27:7

7 We sailed slowly for several days and with great difficulty finally arrived off the town of Cnidus. The wind would not let us go any farther in that direction, so we sailed down the sheltered side of the island of Crete, passing by Cape Salmone.

Acts 27:7 Meaning and Commentary

Acts 27:7

And when we had sailed slowly many days
Because of contrary winds, as in ( Acts 27:4 ) or else for want of wind, as some think; the Syriac version renders it, "and because it sailed heavily"; that is, the ship being loaden with goods:

and scarce were come over against Cnidus;
or "Gnidus", as it is sometimes called; it was a city and promontory in Doris, in the Chersonese or peninsula of Caria, famous for the marble statue of Venus made by Praxiteles ^F18; it was over against the island of Crete, and is now called Capo Chio; it was the birthplace of Eudoxus, a famous philosopher, astrologer, geometrician, physician and lawgiver ^F19; it is made mention of in:

``And to all the countries and to Sampsames, and the Lacedemonians, and to Delus, and Myndus, and Sicyon, and Caria, and Samos, and Pamphylia, and Lycia, and Halicarnassus, and Rhodus, and Aradus, and Cos, and Side, and Aradus, and Gortyna, and Cnidus, and Cyprus, and Cyrene.'' (1 Maccabees 15:23)

Jerom ^F20 says, it was a famous island over against Asia, joining to the province of Caria; some think it has its name from the fish "Gnidus", which is taken about this place, and which is of such an extraordinary nature, that when taken in the hand, it stings like a nettle; others ^F21 derive it from (dge) "hanad", or "gnad", which, in the Phoenician language signifies "to join"; because, as both Pausanias ^F23 and Strabo ^F24 say, it was joined by a bridge or causeway to the continent: it had two ports in it, as the last mentioned writer says, but into neither of them did the ship put, in which the apostle was; nor do we read of the Gospel being preached here, or of a church in it until the "sixth" century, when mention is made of a bishop of Gnidus in the acts of the synod at Rome and Constantinople ^F25:

the wind not suffering us;
to go right forward, as the Syriac version adds:

we sailed under Crete;
or below it, as in ( Acts 27:4 ) This is now called Candy; (See Gill on Acts 2:11), over against Salmone; now called Capo Salamone: this, by Pliny ^F26, Ptolomy ^F1, and Mela ^F2, is called Samonium or Sammonium, and by them said to be a promontory in the island of Crete, on the east side of it, over against the island of Rhodes; Strabo calls it Salmonion, an eastern promontory of Crete; and Jerom a maritime city of the island of Crete.

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FOOTNOTES:

F18 Plin. l. 5. c. 28. Ptolom. l. 5. c. 2. Mela, l. 1. c. 16. Pausanias, l. 1. p. 2.
F19 Laert. de Vit. Philosoph. l. 8. p. 622.
F20 De locis Hebraicis, fol. 96. A.
F21 Hiller. Onomasticum, p. 790.
F23 Eliac. 1. sive, l. 5. p. 335.
F24 Geograph. l. 14.
F25 Magdeburg. Hist. cent. 6. c. 2. p. 4.
F26 Hist. l. 4. c. 12.
F1 Geograph. l. 3. c. 17.
F2 De orbis Situ, l. 2. c. 7.

Acts 27:7 In-Context

5 We crossed over the sea off Cilicia and Pamphylia and came to Myra in Lycia.

6 There the officer found a ship from Alexandria that was going to sail for Italy, so he put us aboard.

7 We sailed slowly for several days and with great difficulty finally arrived off the town of Cnidus. The wind would not let us go any farther in that direction, so we sailed down the sheltered side of the island of Crete, passing by Cape Salmone.

8 We kept close to the coast and with great difficulty came to a place called Safe Harbors, not far from the town of Lasea.

9 We spent a long time there, until it became dangerous to continue the voyage, for by now the Day of Atonement was already past. So Paul gave them this advice: