Acts 21:2
in Acts 21Finding a ship crossing over to Phoenicia, we boarded it and set sail.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and having found a ship crossing over unto Phoenicia, we went aboard, and set sail.
KJV
And finding a ship sailing over unto Phenicia, we went aboard, and set forth.
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This verse in Acts 21
Commentary
9 notes on this verse"Having found a ship crossing over to Phoenicia." Perhaps this ship had its anchorage here, in Patara; and they, not finding a ship departing for Caesarea, but finding a ship sailing to Phoenicia, set out on it and left Cyprus and Syria to the side, …
This site's exposition
straight course unto Coos
on Acts 21:1-3
After we were gotten from them, the company launched and made a straight course unto Coos, then Rhodes, then Patara, favorable winds this time in contrast to the beating against contrary weather three chapters later. Luke’s itinerary again reads as a sailor’s log, exact enough that historians of the ancient Aegean have traced the route port by port. The pace itself carries meaning, since Paul is hurrying toward Jerusalem in time for Pentecost, the goal named at the end of chapter twenty.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
This is what happened: Not finding a ship bound for Caesarea but for Phoenicia, I boarded that one. [CHRYSOSTOM]
"And finding a ship sailing over unto Phenicia, we went aboard, and set forth. Now when we had discovered Cyprus, we left it on the left hand, and sailed into Syria, and landed at Tyre." He came to Lycia, and having left Cyprus, he sailed down to Tyre. Possibly that ship in which they had come was making a stay there: wherefore they shifted to another, and not having found one going to Caesarea, but finding this for Phenice, they embarked in it and pursued their voyage, having left Cyprus also and Syria: but the expression, "having left it on the left hand," is not said simply in that meaning, but that they made speed not to get to Syria either.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And finding a ship sailing over unto Phoenicia,.... For it seems that the ship they went aboard at Assos, Act 20:13 went no further, at least in the way the apostle was going, than Patara; but lighting on another ship, which was bound for Phoenicia, for the city of Tyre, which bordered on the land of Israel, and indeed originally belonged to Canaan; see Act 11:19. we went aboard; the said ship: and set forth; on the voyage.
Providence must be acknowledged when things happen thus opportunely, and we are favoured by some little circumstances that contribute to the expediting of our affairs; and we must say, It is God that maketh our way perfect. This ship that was bound for Phenicia (that is, Tyre) they took the convenience of, went on board, and set sail for Tyre.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
And finding a ship--their former one going no farther, probably. to Phœnica--(See on Ac 11:19). went abroad--One would almost think this extracted from a journal of the voyage, so graphic are its details.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-curly-quotes
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Phoenicia - A part of Syria. See the note on Act 11:19.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Unto Phenicia - See the notes on Act 11:19. Phoenicia was on their way to Jerusalem. Set forth - Sailed.
The words behind it
8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| καὶ | kai | And | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| εὑρόντες | heurontes | having found | G2147 → | 175 times |
| πλοῖον | ploion | a boat | G4143 → | 67 times |
| διαπερῶν | diaperon | passing over | G1276 → | |
| εἰς | eis | into | G1519 → | 1755 times |
| Φοινίκην | phoiniken | Phoenicia | G5403 → | 3 times |
| ἐπιβάντες | epibantes | having gone on board | G1910 → | 6 times |
| ἀνήχθημεν. | anechthemen | we set sail. | G321 → | 23 times |
καὶAnd
kaiG2532 →9120 times
εὑρόντεςhaving found
heurontesG2147 →175 times
πλοῖονa boat
ploionG4143 →67 times
διαπερῶνpassing over
diaperonG1276 →
εἰςinto
eisG1519 →1755 times
ΦοινίκηνPhoenicia
phoinikenG5403 →3 times
ἐπιβάντεςhaving gone on board
epibantesG1910 →6 times
ἀνήχθημεν.we set sail.
anechthemenG321 →23 times
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
Jonah 1:3Jonah, however, got up to flee to Tarshish, away from the presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa and found a ship bound for Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went…
it leads to
- Psalms 139:7–12
Where can I go to escape Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence?
- Joshua 19:46
Me-jarkon, and Rakkon, including the territory across from Joppa.
- Genesis 4:16
So Cain went out from the presence of the LORD and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.
- Acts 9:36
In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which is translated as Dorcas), who was always occupied with works of kindness and charity.
- Acts 9:43
And Peter stayed for several days in Joppa with a tanner named Simon.
- Psalms 139:7–12
Through
Acts 15:3Sent on their way by the church, they passed through Phoenicia and Samaria, recounting the conversion of the Gentiles and bringing great joy to all the brothers.
it leads to
- Acts 14:27
When they arrived, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them, and how He had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.
- Acts 21:5
But when our time there had ended, we set out on our journey. All the disciples, with their wives and children, accompanied us out of the city and knelt down on the beach to…
- Acts 14:27
Through
Acts 27:6There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship sailing for Italy and put us on board.
it leads to
- Acts 28:11
After three months we set sail in an Alexandrian ship that had wintered in the island. It had the Twin Brothers as a figurehead.
- Acts 28:11
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Acts
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on Acts; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, Homily on Acts 45; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Oecumenius, Commentary on Acts; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Acts and William Ramsay, St. Paul the Traveller and the Roman Citizen.