Shipwreck, a term that occurs but twice in the New Test, in the verbal form vavayiw, once literally (2 Cor. xi, 25) and once metaphorically (1 Tim. i, 19). We learn from the former of these passages that Paul had already three times experienced this mishap prior to his more notable instance on the way to Rome. The interest that centres around this latter event, and the light it sheds upon many points of Biblical history, ge- ography, and archffiology, are so great as to justify a special treatment of the topic in addition to the re- marks given under previous heads. It is a singular coincidence that another Jew, a contemporary of Paul, should have suffered a similar mishap on the same route, viz. Josephus {Life, § 3) ; but the account left is so brief as to afford but little illustration of the case. Luke's narrative of the shipwreck of the apostle, on the contrary, is so full and graphic that we are enabled to trace the causes, progress, and cidmination of the catas- trophe in great detail; and his nice but artless discrim- inations show not only his truthfulness, but his careful habits of observation. His language, although of course not professional, is yet highly appreciative of the tech- nical particulars to which he was an eye-witness. We here present a brief outline of the results of the accurate and most interesting investigations of Mr. Smith, of Jordanhill, in his work On the Voyage and Shipwreck of St. Paul (3d ed. Lond. 1866). A winter's residence in Malta afforded this learned writer ample opportuni- ties for personal examination of the localities of the shipwreck. Having been a yacht sailor of more than thirty years' standing, and with much practical expe- rience "in planning, building, and altering vessels, he was able to bring a kind of knowledge to the inter- pretation of the passage which no commentator had possessed.
SHIPWRECK
700
SHIPWRECK
Paul's company embarked in a ship of Adramyttium, a seaport of ^I ysia. on the eastern shore of the /Egean, opposite Lesbos. On the second day they touched at Sidon, sixty-seven geojjraphical miles from Cwsarea. Loosing from thence, they were forced, by contrary winds, to run under the lee of Cyprus. A ship's course from Sidon to Myra is W.X.\V., leaving Cyprus on the right. The contrary wind must have been from the west, which prevails in this part of the Mediterranean in the summer. Under these circumstances, they left Cyprus on the left hand, doing as tlie most accom- plished seamen of the present day would do under sim- ilar circumstances. Favored, as they probably were, by the land-breeze and currents, they arrived, without any unusual incident, at IMyra in Lycia, then a flourish- ing city, now a desolate waste and about three miles from the sea. The company were there transferred to a corn-shi]) from Alexandria bound for Italy. From the dimensions of one of these ships given by Lucian, they appear to have been quite as large as the largest class of merchant- ships of modern times. Myra lies due north from Alexamiria, and its bay is well fitted to shelter a wind-bound ship. Their progress after leaving Myra was extremely slow, for it was many days before they "came over against Cnidus,"at the entrance to the iEgean Sea. As the distance between Myra and Cnidus Is not more than 130 geographical miles, the de- lay was probably caused by unfavorable winds, which maj' be inferred from the words "'with difficulty." The course of a ship on her voyage from Cnidus to Italy is by the north side of Crete, through the archipelago, W. by S. But this would be impossible with a north-west wind, ^^■ith tliat wind the ship wotdd work up to Cni- dus, because she had the advantage of a weather sliore and a westerly current; but there the advantage would cease. The only alternative would be to wait at Cnidus for a fair wind, or else to run under the lee of Crete in the direction of Salmone, which is the eastern end of Crete. As the south siile of this island is a weather shore, they would be able, with north-west winds, to work up as far as Cape iMatala. Here, however, the land bends suddenly to the north, and their onl}' resource would be to make for a harbor. Fair Havens is the harbor nearest to Cape Matala. This was probably no more than an open roadstead, or, rather, two roadsteads contiguous to each other. The site of the city Lasaea is but recently known. It was now after the autumnal equinox, and sailing was dangerous. It was a question whether they should winter here or sail to port Phce- nice, on the same side of Crete, about forty miles west. Paul strongly urged the officers to remain, but his ad- vice was overruled, Phcenice, the harbor which they expected to reach, looks (Luke says) "towards the south-west and north-west," or, as Mr. Smith translates the preposition, in the same direction as, i. e. the point towards which, the wind Libs blows; so that the harbor would open, not to the south-west, but to the north-east. It seems to have been the one now called Lutro, which looks towards the east. The south wind, wliich now blew, is a fair wind for a ship going from Fair Ha- vens to Lutro. The island of Clauda is exactly oppo- site to Lutro, the Claudos of Ptolemy, and the Gozzo of the modern charts.