Ancient Navigation
S. S. Times
Acts 27:20-26
And when neither sun nor stars in many days appeared, and no small tempest lay on us…


A compass was, of course, not included in the outfit of an ancient Oriental ship; and, in that respect, modern Oriental navigation resembles the ancient. Except in cases, increasingly more frequent, where the principles of Western European navigation have been adopted, the Oriental coasting vessels carry no compass; but the sailors are dependent upon sun and stars, and upon their knowledge of the characteristic features of the coast, to guide them in their voyage. The typical Oriental captain is a man skilled in weather signs, familiar with the limited range of coast along which he plies, and somewhat too ready to run his craft into a safe inlet at the approach of a storm. The captains of the grain ships plying between Egypt and Rome were men of more capability; but even they had hardly any resources when they were out of sight of land, and sun and stars were long hidden.

(S. S. Times.)



Parallel Verses
KJV: And when neither sun nor stars in many days appeared, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope that we should be saved was then taken away.

WEB: When neither sun nor stars shone on us for many days, and no small storm pressed on us, all hope that we would be saved was now taken away.




Waiting and Trusting
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