Acts 27:41

41 And when we were fallen into a place where two seas met, they run the ship aground. And the forepart indeed, sticking fast, remained unmoveable: but the hinder part was broken with the violence of the sea.

Acts 27:41 Meaning and Commentary

Acts 27:41

And falling into a place where two seas met
An "isthmus", on each side of which the sea ran; and which the inhabitants of Malta, as Beza says, show to this day, and call it, "la Cala de San Paulo", or the Descent of Saint Paul. The meeting of these two seas might occasion a great rippling in the sea like to a large eddy, or counter tide; and here might be a sand on which

they ran the ship aground;
for this place where the two seas met, as the same annotator observes, could not be the shore itself; for otherwise, to what purpose should they cast themselves into the sea, as they afterwards did, if the head of the ship struck upon the shore, and stuck fast there? but must rather mean a shelf of sand, opposite, or near the entrance into the bay, and where the shipwreck was.

And the fore part stuck fast, and remained unmovable;
so that there was no getting her off:

but the hinder part was broken by the violence of the waves;
that is, the stern; by which means there were boards and broken pieces for the company to get ashore upon.

Acts 27:41 In-Context

39 And when it was day, they knew not the land. But they discovered a certain creek that had a shore, into which they minded, if they could, to thrust in the ship.

40 And when they had taken up the anchors, they committed themselves to the sea, loosing withal the rudder bands. And hoisting up the mainsail to the wind, they made towards shore.

41 And when we were fallen into a place where two seas met, they run the ship aground. And the forepart indeed, sticking fast, remained unmoveable: but the hinder part was broken with the violence of the sea.

42 And the soldiers’ counsel was that they should kill the prisoners, lest any of them, swimming out should escape.

43 But the centurion, willing to save Paul, forbade it to be done. And he commanded that they who could swim should cast themselves first into the sea and save themselves and get to land.