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Paul’s Journey to Rome
During the reign of Roman emperor Claudius (AD 41-54) the survival of the
city of Rome depended on fleets bringing grain from Alexandria. In Acts 27,
Paul was being transported to Rome under the charge of a centurion named
Julius. They transferred to an Alexandrian grain ship that was attempting a
winter run. “We sailed slowly for a number of days and arrived with
difficulty off Cnidus, and as the wind did not allow us to go farther, we
sailed under the lee of Crete off Salmone. 8 Coasting along it with
difficulty, we came to a place called Fair Havens, near which was the city
of Lasea” (Acts 27:7-8, ESV). |
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Partial Protection from Winds
The harbor is formed by a gradually curving shoreline that runs east and
southwest. It did not shelter ships from the wind in every direction. The
harbor’s shape sheltered ships from the northwestern wind, but other than a
few offshore islets, it was unprotected from the sea. There does not seem
to have been any town at the harbor, which is probably why Luke mentions it
being near the town of Lasea. |
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Unsuitable for Wintering
Fair Havens would have been the westernmost harbor Paul’s ship could reach
while staying under the lee of Crete. Beyond the cape west of Fair Havens,
the shore turns north dramatically, exposing the ship to the winds they
were trying to avoid. The fact that the harbor was “unsuitable to winter
in” was confirmed in 1853 by an explorer named Captain T. A. B. Spratt, who
observed that winter winds from the east and southeast blow right into the
harbor. But the decision to make a run for Phoenix was not wise. Vegetius
(4th century AD) records that sailing in the Mediterranean after September
15th was dangerous, and after November 11th was impossible (De re militari
4.39). When they decided to sail after the Day of Atonement (Acts 27:9),
it was the middle of the “dangerous” period. |
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