Acts 28:11
in Acts 28After three months we set sail in an Alexandrian ship that had wintered in the island. It had the Twin Brothers as a figurehead.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And after three months we set sail in a ship of Alexandria which had wintered in the island, whose sign was The Twin Brothers.
KJV
And after three months we departed in a ship of Alexandria, which had wintered in the isle, whose sign was Castor and Pollux.
⋯
This verse in Acts 28
Commentary
13 notes on this verseAnd all the remaining [details] of his course with Paul he recounts, indicating with all diligence both places, and cities, and number of days, until they went up to Jerusalem; and what befell Paul there, how he was sent to Rome in bonds; the name of the centurion who took him in charge; and the signs of the ships, and how they made shipwreck; and the island upon which they escaped, and how they received kindness there, Paul healing the chief man of that island; and how they sailed from thence to Puteoli, and from that arrived at Rome; and for what period they sojourned at Rome.
This site's exposition
we departed in a ship of Alexandria
on Acts 28:11-13
After three months we departed in a ship of Alexandria, another grain carrier from the same Egypt-to-Rome fleet as the wrecked vessel, and Luke records without comment that her sign was Castor and Pollux, the twin gods sailors invoked for safe passage, a detail the bench reads simply as the eyewitness naming what he saw painted on the bow rather than as any endorsement. Landing at Syracuse, then Rhegium, then Puteoli on the Bay of Naples, the route is the standard grain run any first-century reader would recognize, and the exposition lets the ordinary itinerary stand as further evidence of a log kept in real time.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
It was always customary in the ships of Alexandria, especially near the bow, to have such inscriptions on both the starboard and the port sides. And since it was natural, in that era of prevailing idolatry, for the Twin Gods to be depicted on the …
"And after three months, we sailed in a ship of Alexandria," etc. After three months, going on board a ship of Alexandria, they came to Syracuse, a city of the Sicilians; from there to Rhegium; from there to Puteoli; from there, now on foot, to …
Observe how in all this voyage they nowhere touched at a city, but were cast on an island, and passed the entire winter there or sailing - those being herein under training for faith, his fellow-voyagers, I mean. "And after three months we departed in a ship of Alexandria, which had wintered in the isle, whose sign was Castor and Pollux." Probably this was painted on it: so addicted were they to their idols.
The Medieval Church2 voices
We sailed in an Alexandrian ship, which had wintered on the island and had the insignia of Castor and Pollux. I believe that at first the insignia of Castor was placed, but due to the mistake of the scribes, letters were added, just as "frustra …
Almost always, especially on Alexandrian ships, it was customary to make such images near the bow of the ship on the right and left sides. And since, given the prevailing idol-worship of that time, the "Dioscuri" were probably depicted on this ship, we may conclude …
6 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Even stormy winds fulfil God's counsel, and an ill wind indeed it is that blows nobody any good; this ill wind blew good to the island of Melita; for it gave them Paul's company for three months, who was a blessing to every place he came to.
Whose sign was - It was the custom of the ancients to have images on the head of their ships, from which they took their names. Castor and Pollux - Two heathen gods who were thought favourable to mariners.
And after three months we departed,....
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Such figureheads were anciently as common as now. was Castor and Pollux--the tutelar gods of mariners, to whom all their good fortune was ascribed. St. Anthony is substituted for them in the modern superstitions of Mediterranean (Romanist) sailors.
After three months - Supposing that they had reached Malta about the end of October, as we have already seen, then it appears that they left it about the end of January, or the beginning of February; and, though in the depth of winter, not the worst time for sailing, even in those seas, the wind being then generally more steady; and, on the whole, the passage more safe. Whose sign was Castor and Pollux - These were two fabulous semi-deities, reported to be the sons of Jupiter and Leda, who were afterwards translated to the heavens, and made the constellation called Gemini, or the Twins. This constellation was deemed propitious to mariners; and, as it was customary to have the images of their gods both on the head and stern of their ships, we may suppose that this Alexandrian ship had these on either her prow or stern, and that these gave name to the ship. We, who profess to be a Christian people, follow the same heathen custom: we have our ships called the Castor, the Jupiter, the Minerva, the Leda, (the mother of Castor and Pollux), with a multitude of other demon gods and goddesses; so that, were ancient Romans or Grecians to visit our navy, they would be led to suppose that, after the lapse of more than 2000 years, their old religion had continued unaltered! Virgil speaks of a vessel called the Tiger. Aeneid, x. ver. 166: - Massicus aerata princeps secat aequora Tigri. “Massicus, chief, cuts the waves in the brazen-beaked Tiger.” Of another called the Chimera. Aen. v. ver. 118, 223: - Ingentemque Gyas ingenti mole Chimaeram. “Gyas the vast Chimera’s bulk commands.” And of another called the Centaur. Aen. v. ver. […]
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
And after three months - Probably they remained there so long because there was no favorable opportunity for them to go to Rome. If they arrived there, as is commonly supposed, in October, they left for Rome in January. In a ship of Alexandria - See the notes on Act 27:6. Whose sign - Which was ornamented with an image of Castor and Pollux. It was common to place on the prow of the ship the image of some person or god, whose name the ship bore. This custom is still observed. Castor and Pollux - These were two semi-deities.
The words behind it
14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Μετὰ | meta | After | G3326 → | 461 times |
| δὲ | de | then | G1161 → | 2765 times |
| τρεῖς | treis | three | G5140 → | 69 times |
| μῆνας | menas | months | G3376 → | 18 times |
| ἀνήχθημεν | anechthemen | we set out | G321 → | 23 times |
| ἐν | en | in | G1722 → | 2738 times |
| πλοίῳ | ploio | a ship | G4143 → | 67 times |
| παρακεχειμακότι | parakecheimakoti | having wintered | G3914 → | |
| ἐν | en | in | G1722 → | 2738 times |
| τῇ | tea | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| νήσῳ, | neso | island, | G3520 → | 9 times |
| Ἀλεξανδρίνῳ, | alexandrino | Alexandrian, | G222 → | |
| παρασήμῳ | parasemo | with a figurehead of | G3902 → | |
| Διοσκούροις· | dioskourois | [the] Dioscuri; | G1359 → |
ΜετὰAfter
metaG3326 →461 times
δὲthen
deG1161 →2765 times
τρεῖςthree
treisG5140 →69 times
μῆναςmonths
menasG3376 →18 times
ἀνήχθημενwe set out
anechthemenG321 →23 times
ἐνin
enG1722 →2738 times
πλοίῳa ship
ploioG4143 →67 times
παρακεχειμακότιhaving wintered
parakecheimakotiG3914 →
ἐνin
enG1722 →2738 times
τῇthe
teaG3588 →19766 times
νήσῳ,island,
nesoG3520 →9 times
Ἀλεξανδρίνῳ,Alexandrian,
alexandrinoG222 →
παρασήμῳwith a figurehead of
parasemoG3902 →
Διοσκούροις·[the] Dioscuri;
dioskouroisG1359 →
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
1 Corinthians 8:4So about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that an idol is nothing at all in the world, and that there is no God but one.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 4:39
Know therefore this day and take to heart that the LORD is God in heaven above and on the earth below; there is no other.
- Ephesians 4:6
one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
- 1 Corinthians 10:19–20
Am I suggesting, then, that food sacrificed to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything?
- Deuteronomy 6:4
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is One.
- 1 Timothy 2:5
For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,
- Deuteronomy 4:39
Through
Jonah 1:16Then the men feared the LORD greatly, and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows to Him.
it leads to
- Psalms 116:14
I will fulfill my vows to the LORD in the presence of all His people.
- Psalms 116:14
Through
Jonah 1:5The sailors were afraid, and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the ship’s cargo into the sea to lighten the load. But Jonah had gone down to the lowest part…
it leads to
- Acts 27:18–19
We were tossed so violently that the next day the men began to jettison the cargo.
- Jeremiah 2:28
But where are the gods you made for yourselves? Let them rise up in your time of trouble and save you if they can; for your gods are as numerous as your cities, O…
- Acts 27:18–19
Where this verse is studied
About Acts
This page draws on 14 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); Bede, Commentary on Acts; Cassiodorus, Complexiones on the Acts of the Apostles; Irenaeus, Against Heresies Book III; James Smith, The Voyage and Shipwreck of St. Paul; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, Homily on Acts 54; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament; 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.