Acts 27:16

16 Passing to the lee of a small island called Cauda, ^[a] we barely managed to secure the lifeboat.

Acts 27:16 Meaning and Commentary

Acts 27:16

And running under a certain island
Or below a certain island and hard by, it or under the sea shore of it, where the sea might be smoother, the wind not being there so strong:

which is called Clauda:
by Ptolomy ^F24 it is called Claudus, and was near the island of Crete, and now called Gozo. The Vulgate Latin and Ethiopic versions, and some copies, read "Cauda"; and there was an island near to Crete, which was called Gaudos ^F25, and is thought to be the place here meant:

we had much work to come by the boat;
which they had with them to go ashore in, or to betake themselves to in case of shipwreck; and which in this storm was in danger of being dashed to pieces against the ship, or lost; and it was with some difficulty that they came at it, and took it up into the ship.

---

FOOTNOTES:

F24 Geograph. l. 3. c. 17.
F25 Mela, l. 2. c. 7. Plin. l. 4. c. 12.

Acts 27:16 In-Context

14 But it was not long before a cyclone called the Northeaster swept down across the island.

15 Unable to head into the wind, the ship was caught up. So we gave way and let ourselves be driven along.

16 Passing to the lee of a small island called Cauda, we barely managed to secure the lifeboat.

17 After hoisting it up, the crew used ropes to undergird the ship. And fearing that they would run aground on the sandbars of Syrtis, they lowered the sea anchor and were driven along.

18 We were tossed so violently that the next day the men began to jettison the cargo.

Footnotes

• [a]. NE, BYZ, and TR Clauda