Acts 27:16

16 By running under the lee of a small island called Cauda we were scarcely able to get the ship's boat under control.

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.

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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 soon a violent wind, called the northeaster, rushed down from Crete.

15 Since the ship was caught and could not be turned head-on into the wind, we gave way to it and were driven.

16 By running under the lee of a small island called Cauda we were scarcely able to get the ship's boat under control.

17 After hoisting it up they took measures to undergird the ship; then, fearing that they would run on the Syrtis, they lowered the sea anchor and so were driven.

18 We were being pounded by the storm so violently that on the next day they began to throw the cargo overboard,

Footnotes

• [a]. Other ancient authorities read [Clauda]