Acts 27:1 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Acts 27:1
And when it was determined that we should sail into Italy, they delivered Paul and certain other prisoners unto one named Julius, a centurion of Augustus’ band.
by implication · verb — aorist passive indicative, 3rd person singular
we
ἡμᾶςhēmâs
G2248
us
sail
ἀποπλεῖνapoplein
G636
to set sail · verb — present active infinitive
into
εἰςeis
G1519
to or into (indicating the point reached or entered) · preposition
Italy
Ἰταλίαν,Italian
G2482
Italia · noun — accusative singular feminine, a place
delivered
παρεδίδουνparedidoun
G3860
to surrender · verb — imperfect active indicative, 3rd person plural
Paul
ΠαῦλονPaulon
G3972
(little · noun — accusative singular masculine, a proper name
and
καίkai
G2532
and · conjunction
certain
τιναςtinas
G5100
some or any person or object · indefinite pronoun — accusative plural masculine
other
ἑτέρουςheterous
G2087
(an- · adjective — accusative plural masculine
prisoners
δεσμώταςdesmōtas
G1202
(passively) a captive · noun — accusative plural masculine
unto
ὀνόματιonomati
G3686
a "name" (literally or figuratively) (authority · noun — dative singular neuter
named
ὄνομαónoma
G3686
a "name" (literally or figuratively) (authority
Julius
ἸουλίῳIouliō
G2457
Julius · noun — dative singular masculine, a proper name
centurion
ἑκατοντάρχῃhekatontarchē
G1543
the captain of one hundred men · noun — dative singular masculine
Augustus’
Σεβαστῆς.Sebastēs
G4575
venerable (august) · adjective — genitive singular feminine, a proper name
band
σπείρηςspeirēs
G4686
a coil (spira · noun — genitive singular feminine
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Acts 25:25 But when I found that he had committed nothing worthy of death, and that he himself hath appealed to Augustus, I have determined to send him…
Acts 10:1 There was a certain man in Cæsarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian band,
Acts 25:12 Then Festus, when he had conferred with the council, answered, Hast thou appealed unto Cæsar? unto Cæsar shalt thou go.
Acts 18:2 And found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, lately come from Italy, with his wife Priscilla; (because that Claudius had commanded…
Acts 27:11 Nevertheless the centurion believed the master and the owner of the ship, more than those things which were spoken by Paul.
Hebrews 13:24 Salute all them that have the rule over you, and all the saints. They of Italy salute you.
Genesis 50:20 But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.
Psalms 33:11 The counsel of the LORD standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Acts 27:1-11
It does not appear how long it was after Paul's conference with Agrippa that he was sent away for Rome, pursuant to his appeal to Caesar; but it is likely they took the first convenience they could hear of to do it; in the mean time Paul is in the midst of his friends at Caesarea - they comforts to him, and he a blessing to them. But here we are told,
I. How Paul was shipped off for Italy: a long voyage, but there is no remedy. He has appealed to Caesar, and to Caesar he must go: It was determined that we should sail into Italy, for to Rome they must go by sea; it would have been a vast way about to go by land. Hence, when the Roman conquest of the Jewish nation is foretold, it is said (Num…
And when it was determined, etc. - That is, when the governor had given orders to carry Paul to Rome, according to his appeal; together with other prisoners who were bound for the same place.
We should sail - By this it is evident that St. Luke was with Paul; and it is on this account that he was enabled to give such a circumstantial account of the voyage.
Julius, a centurion of Augustus' band - Lipsius has found the name of this cohort on an ancient marble; see Lips. in Tacit. Hist. lib. ii. The same cohort is mentioned by Suetonius, in his life of Nero, 20.
John Gill on Acts 27:1
And when it was determined that we should sail into Italy,.... The chief city of which was Rome, the metropolis of the empire, where Caesar had his palace, to whom the apostle had appealed; and his voyage thither was determined by Festus, with the advice of Agrippa and his council, pursuant to the apostle's appeal, and which was founded on the will of God; all which concurred in this affair: it was the decree and will of God that the apostle should go to Rome, which was made known to him; and it was his resolution upon that, to go thither, wherefore he appealed to Caesar; and it was the determination of the Roman governor, not only as to his going there, but as to the time of it, which was n…
See how far Aristarchus also accompanies Paul. To good and useful purpose is Aristarchus present, as he would take back the report of all to Macedonia.
When it was decided that he should sail to Italy, Paul, along with the rest of the prisoners, was handed over to a centurion. More accurately read in Greek: "When it was decided that we should sail to Italy, they handed over Paul and some other prisoners to a centurion."
But after Paul, in consequence of his appeal to Caesar, had been sent to Rome by Festus, the Jews, being frustrated in their hope of entrapping him by the snares that they had laid for him, turned against James, the brother of the Lord, to whom the episcopal seat at Jerusalem had been entrusted by the apostles. The following daring measures were undertaken by them against him. Leading him into their midst they demanded of him that he should renounce faith in Christ in the presence of all the people. But, contrary to the opinion of all, with a clear voice and with greater boldness than they had anticipated, [James] spoke out before the whole multitude and confessed that our Savior and Lord Jesus is the Son of God. But they were unable to bear longer the testimony of the man who, on account of the excellence of ascetic virtue and of piety that he exhibited in his life, was esteemed by all as the most just of people, and consequently they killed him. Opportunity for this deed of violence was furnished by the prevailing anarchy, which was caused by the fact that Festus had died just at this time in Judea and that the province was thus without a governor and head. The manner of James' death has been already indicated by the above-quoted words of Clement, who records that he was thrown from the pinnacle of the temple and was beaten to death with a club.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Augustus band — (Acts 27:1.: literally, of Sebaste, the Greek form of Augusta, the name given to Caesarea in honour of Augustus Caesar). Probably this “band” or cohort consisted of Samaritan soldiers belonging to…
Centurion — A Roman officer in command of a hundred men (Mark 15:39, 44, 45). Cornelius, the first Gentile convert, was a centurion (Acts 10:1, 22). Other centurions are mentioned in Matt. 8:5, 8, 13; Luke 7:2,…
Crete — Now called Candia, one of the largest islands in the Meditterranean, about 140 miles long and 35 broad. It was at one time a very prosperous and populous island, having a “hundred cities.” The…
Haven — A harbour (Ps. 107:30; Acts 27: 12). The most famous on the coast of Palestine was that of Tyre (Ezek. 27:3). That of Crete, called “Fair Havens,” is mentioned Acts 27:8.
Italy — Acts 18:2; 27:1, 6; Heb. 13:24), like most geographical names, was differently used at different periods of history. As the power of Rome advanced, nations were successively conquered and added to it…
Julius — The centurion of the Augustan cohort, or the emperor’s body-guard, in whose charge Paul was sent prisoner to Rome (Acts 27:1, 3, 43). He entreated Paul “courteously,” showing in many ways a friendly…
Melita — (Acts 27:28), an island in the Mediterranean, the modern Malta. Here the ship in which Paul was being conveyed a prisoner to Rome was wrecked. The bay in which it was wrecked now bears the name of…
Ship — No one writer in the whole range of Greek and Roman literature has supplied us with so much information concerning the merchant-ships of the ancients as St. Luke in the narrative of St. Paul’s voyage…
Ships — Early used in foreign commerce by the Phoenicians (Gen. 49:13). Moses (Deut. 28:68) and Job (9:26) make reference to them, and Balaam speaks of the “ships of Chittim” (Num. 24:24). Solomon…
Timothy — Honouring God, a young disciple who was Paul’s companion in many of his journeyings. His mother, Eunice, and his grandmother, Lois, are mentioned as eminent for their piety (2 Tim. 1:5). We know…
John Calvin on Acts 27:1-8
Acts 27:1-8
1. And after that it was decreed that we should sail into Italy, they delivered both Paul and also certain other prisoners to a centurion named Julius, of the band of Augustus. 2. And we entered into a ship of Adramyttium, purposing to sail by the coasts of Asia, and we launched forth, having Aristarchus of Macedonia, a Thessalonian, with us. 3. And the next day we arrived at Sidon, and Julius did courteously intreat Paul, and suffered him to go to his friends, that they might refresh him. 4. And when we were gone thence, we sailed hard by Cyprus, because the winds were contrary. 5. And when we had sailed on the sea which is over against Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra,…
The vivid nautical language used throughout the account of Paul’s journey to Rome yields one of the best available accounts of an ancient sea voyage. • This is the last “we” section in Acts (see also 16:10-17; 20:5-15; 21:1-18). During the two years of Paul’s imprisonment, Luke had probably done much of the research for his Gospel throughout Judea and Galilee. Here, as a member of Paul’s sailing party, he was an eyewitness participant in the danger at sea.
27:1 Julius is otherwise unknown. • The Imperial Regiment (see study note on 10:1-8) served in Syria during this time.
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
