Acts 20:13
in Acts 20We went on ahead to the ship and sailed to Assos, where we were to take Paul aboard. He had arranged this because he was going there on foot.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
But we, going before to the ship, set sail for Assos, there intending to take in Paul: for so had he appointed, intending himself to go by land.
KJV
And we went before to ship, and sailed unto Assos, there intending to take in Paul: for so had he appointed, minding himself to go afoot.
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This verse in Acts 20
Commentary
9 notes on this verseAnd we went before to ship,.... That is, Luke, the writer of this history, and the rest of the apostle's company, went before him to a ship, which lay at Troas, and went aboard it: and sailed unto Assos; a city of Aeolia, or Mysia; and is said by Pliny to be the same with Apollonia; and which he places on the sea shore, where it is evident this Assos was.
This site's exposition
sailed unto Assos
on Acts 20:13-14
The company went ahead by ship to Assos while Paul went by land alone, on foot across the neck of land between Troas and Assos, a route that saved little time and cost him solitude, which Ramsay reads as deliberate, a last quiet stretch before the harder legs of the voyage still ahead. At Assos he came aboard and they sailed on to Mitylene, Luke’s itinerary precise enough that its stops can still be traced on a map of the Aegean coast. The plain, day by day and port by port style of these verses is itself part of the evidence historians of the ancient world have weighed for the book’s eyewitness character.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
But that this Luke was inseparable from Paul, and his fellow-labourer in the Gospel, he himself clearly evinces, not as a matter of boasting, but as bound to do so by the truth itself.
"And we went before to ship, and sailed unto Thasos, there intending to take in Paul: for so had he appointed, minding himself to go afoot." We often find Paul parting from the disciples. For behold again, he himself goes afoot: giving them the easier way, and himself choosing the more painful. He went afoot, both that he might arrange many matters, and by way of training them to bear a parting from him.
The Medieval Church1 voice
He himself went on foot, giving them what was easier, while choosing for himself what was harder, and at the same time teaching them much and accustoming them to being separated from him.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
There they took him in; for by this time he had enough of his walk, and was willing to betake himself to the other way of travelling; or perhaps he could not go any further by land, but was obliged to go by water. When Christ sent his disciples away by ship, and tarried behind himself, yet he came to them, and they took him in, Mark vi.
Being himself to go on foot - That he might enjoy the company of his Christian brethren a little longer, although he had passed the night without sleep, and though Assos was of difficult and dangerous access by land.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Sailed unto Assos - There were several cities of this name. One was in Lycia; one in the territory of Eolis; one in Mysia; one in Lydia; and another in Epirus. The latter is the one intended here. It was between Troas and Mitylene. The distance to it from Troas by land was about 20 miles, while the voyage round Cape Lecture was nearly twice as far, and accordingly Paul chose to go to it on foot. Minding himself - Choosing or preferring to go on foot. Most of his journeys were probably performed in this way.
Sailed unto Assos - Assos, according to Pausanias, Eliac. ii. 4, and Pliny, Hist. Nat. xxxvi. 27, was a maritime town of Asia, in the Troad. Strabo and Stephanus place it in Mysia. It was also called Apollonia, according to Pliny, Ib. lib. Act 20:30. The passage by sea to this place was much longer than by land; and therefore St. Paul chose to go by land, while the others went by sea. Intending to take in Paul - Αναλαμβανειν, To take him in Again; for it appears he had already been aboard that same vessel: probably the same that had carried them from Philippi to Troas, Act 20:6.
The words behind it
22 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ἡμεῖς | hemeis | We ourselves | G3165 → | 1936 times |
| δὲ | de | however | G1161 → | 2765 times |
| προελθόντες | proelthontes | having gone ahead | G4281 → | 9 times |
| ἐπὶ | epi | to | G1909 → | 883 times |
| τὸ | to | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| πλοῖον | ploion | ship | G4143 → | 67 times |
| ἀνήχθημεν | anechthemen | sailed | G321 → | 23 times |
| ἐπὶ | epi | to | G1909 → | 883 times |
| τὴν | ten | <the> | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| Ἆσσον, | asson | Assos, | G789 → | |
| ἐκεῖθεν | ekeithen | there | G1564 → | 37 times |
| μέλλοντες | mellontes | being about | G3195 → | 109 times |
| ἀναλαμβάνειν | analambanein | to take in | G353 → | 12 times |
| τὸν | ton | <the> | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| Παῦλον· | paulon | Paul; | G3972 → | 158 times |
| οὕτως | houtos | Thus | G3779 → | 208 times |
| γὰρ | gar | for | G1063 → | 1039 times |
| διατεταγμένος | diatetagmenos | having arranged himself | G1299 → | 16 times |
| ἦν, | en | he was | G1510 → | 2333 times |
| μέλλων | mellon | readying | G3195 → | 109 times |
| αὐτὸς | autos | himself | G846 → | 5565 times |
| πεζεύειν. | pezeuein | to go on foot. | G3978 → |
ἡμεῖςWe ourselves
hemeisG3165 →1936 times
δὲhowever
deG1161 →2765 times
προελθόντεςhaving gone ahead
proelthontesG4281 →9 times
ἐπὶto
epiG1909 →883 times
τὸthe
toG3588 →19766 times
πλοῖονship
ploionG4143 →67 times
ἀνήχθημενsailed
anechthemenG321 →23 times
ἐπὶto
epiG1909 →883 times
τὴν<the>
tenG3588 →19766 times
Ἆσσον,Assos,
assonG789 →
ἐκεῖθενthere
ekeithenG1564 →37 times
μέλλοντεςbeing about
mellontesG3195 →109 times
ἀναλαμβάνεινto take in
analambaneinG353 →12 times
τὸν<the>
tonG3588 →19766 times
Παῦλον·Paul;
paulonG3972 →158 times
οὕτωςThus
houtosG3779 →208 times
γὰρfor
garG1063 →1039 times
διατεταγμένοςhaving arranged himself
diatetagmenosG1299 →16 times
ἦν,he was
enG1510 →2333 times
μέλλωνreadying
mellonG3195 →109 times
αὐτὸςhimself
autosG846 →5565 times
πεζεύειν.to go on foot.
pezeueinG3978 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Mark 1:35Early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up and slipped out to a solitary place to pray.
it leads to
- Luke 6:12
In those days Jesus went out to the mountain to pray, and He spent the night in prayer to God.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Luke 5:16
Yet He frequently withdrew to the wilderness to pray.
- Luke 22:39–46
Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed Him.
- Ephesians 6:18
Pray in the Spirit at all times, with every kind of prayer and petition. To this end, stay alert with all perseverance in your prayers for all the saints.
- Psalms 5:3
In the morning, O LORD, You hear my voice; at daybreak I lay my plea before You and wait in expectation.
- Luke 6:12
Through
Mark 6:46After bidding them farewell, He went up on the mountain to pray.
it leads to
- Mark 1:35
Early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up and slipped out to a solitary place to pray.
- Matthew 6:6
But when you pray, go into your inner room, shut your door, and pray to your Father, who is unseen. And your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
- Matthew 14:23
After He had sent them away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. When evening came, He was there alone,
- Mark 1:35
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Acts
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Irenaeus, Against Heresies Book III, Chapter 14, Section 1; John Chrysostom, Homily on Acts 43; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Acts and William Ramsay, St. Paul the Traveller and the Roman Citizen.