Acts 27:14 - Exposition

After no long time for not long after, A.V.; beat down from for arose against, A.V.; which is called Euraquilo for called Euroclydon, A.V. and T.B. There beat down from it ( ἔβαλε κατ αὐτῆς ). The meaning of this somewhat difficult phrase clearly is that given by Alford and Howson, and, on second thoughts, by Smith, viz. that a violent squall from the north-east beat down the heights and through the valleys of the island, becoming more violent when they had passed Cape Matala, and compelled them to alter their course, and run south-west before the wind towards the island of Clauda; ἔβαλεν in a neuter sense, "struck," or "beat," or "fell," as in Homer (see Liddell and Scott). κατ αὐτῆς . Farrar thinks it "certain" that the right rendering is "against her," viz. the ship, because ἔβαλεν could not be used with nothing to follow it," 1.e. he thinks you must say ἔβαλεν κατὰ something. But as πλοῖον is the word used for the ship, not ναῦς , it seems very difficult to suppose that Luke could say αὐτῆς , and not αὐτοῦ . It is better, therefore, to refer ἀὐτῆς to κρήτη , and either to understand it "down it," like κατ οὐλύμποιο καρήνων , "down the heights of Olympus;" κατὰ πέτρης , "down the rock, " etc., or simply "against it, " as in the A.V., which obviates Dr. Farrar's objection. If taken in the sense of "down" there is the same idea of a squall "rushing down" from the hills into the lake, in Luke 8:23 ; and again in Luke 8:33 of the same chapter St. Luke tells us how the swine rushed κατὰ τοῦ κρημνοῦ , "down the steep," into the lake. A tempestuous wind ; ἄνεμος τυφωνικός , only here, and not found in Greek writers; but the substantive τυφώς τυφῶνος , is common for a "furious storm" or "whirlwind." Euraquilo . Compounded—after the analogy of Euronotus, the south-east wind—of Eurus, the east wind, and Aquilo, the north wind, both Latin words (like Corns, in verse 12), though Eurus is also Greek. This reading of the R.T. is supported by the Vulgate, and by "Lachmann, Bornemann, Ewald, J. Smith, Hackett, Bentley, Olshausen, after Erasmus, Grotius, Mill, Bengel, and others" (Meyer), and by Wordsworth, Alford, Liddell and Scott, Factor. On the other hand, Meyer, Tischendorf, Dean Howson, and others support the reading of the T.R. εὐροκλύδων , and Lewis is doubtful. The derivation of Euroelydon would be from εὗρος , and κλύδων , a wave. Whatever its name was, it must have been a north-easter. Psalms 107:25 naturally arises to one's remembrance, with its fine description of a storm at sea.