EMHUOGHAẠPH PHỌ 26

“R’oniin Onyọ Anyina Ka/pe”

Mem dị aPọl agbanạ ophiịny-abazị, odị aḍeenhaan oboom omheeraam r’eboom ephomhoghiạn we

Okpasị ḍinyạ Iiḍighi phọ 27:1–28:10

1, 2. Iwạ mọ aPọl aḍigh oghuugh aghị eghẹn ekpisi, kụ eeni odị aaḅaghamhiạn ghan loor ilọ eeghe?

¹Bạl onhụ English

² Bạl onhụ English

3. APọl asopha oḍighi eeghe, kụ yira kooḅeghiọn eeghe siẹn emhuoghaạph phọ ephẹn phọ?

³ Bạl onhụ English

“Oghim Udạ Iyoor” (Iiḍighi 27:1-7a)

4. Epẹ aPọl rakị bọ, emhiighom mọ odị aḍigh oghuugh dị arọl ika, kụ abuọ anhiạn kụ urọl bọ r’odị?

⁴ Bạl onhụ English

SEA TRAVEL AND TRADE ROUTES

In the ancient world, ships were principally used to transport cargo, not to accommodate passengers. Travelers who wanted to make a voyage had to look for a merchant vessel that was about to sail in the desired direction, haggle over the price of passage, and then wait until the ship sailed.

Thousands of vessels crisscrossed the Mediterranean to transport foodstuffs and other merchandise. Many who secured passage on such ships would have to sleep on deck, perhaps under a tentlike shelter that they themselves erected at night and dismantled each morning. They would also have to take with them all that they needed for the journey, including food and bedding.

The duration of voyages depended entirely on the winds. Because of inclement weather during the winter, navigation was generally considered closed from mid-November to mid-March.

5. APọl amhiịn buọ anhiạn epẹ Saidon, kụ yira otuughạ eeghe esi iphẹn phọ?

⁵ Bạl onhụ English

6-8. Abuọ aPọl oḍuạ bọ Saidon uḅilhẹ osi ika Knaidọs, kụ ighẹn aroopoogh kụ edị eeni odị amhoọgh oghaạph oghaạph iiḅi iinhaghạn phọ?

⁶ Bạl onhụ English

⁷ Bạl onhụ English

⁸ Bạl onhụ English

THE CONTRARY WINDS OF THE MEDITERRANEAN

The wind and the season greatly affected where and when ancient merchant ships sailed the Mediterranean, or the Great Sea. On the sea’s eastern end, the wind usually blew from west to east during midyear. This made sailing eastward easier, as Paul experienced while returning from his third missionary tour. He and his companions were on a ship that left Miletus, passed Rhodes, and docked at Patara. It was almost a straight run from there to Tyre, on the coast of Phoenicia. Luke writes that they passed Cyprus on their left, meaning that they sailed to the south of Cyprus.—Acts 21:1-3.

What about sailing in the opposite direction, going westward? Ships might move westward along a similar route if the wind permitted. But sometimes that was virtually impossible. “In winter,” states The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, “the atmosphere is much less stable and powerful cyclones move eastward across the Mediterranean bringing with them strong winds, sometimes of gale force, and often torrential rain or even snow.” Under such conditions, the hazards were great.

In almost any season, vessels close to shore could move northward up the coast of Palestine and continue westward by Pamphylia. On the latter stretch, breezes from the mainland and west-flowing currents could help ships. That was the case with the vessel on which prisoner Paul made the first leg of his trip to Rome. Yet, the winds could turn contrary. (Acts 27:4) The grain ship that figured prominently in Luke’s account may have sailed north from Egypt and then around into the protected waters between Cyprus and Asia Minor. From Myra, the captain intended to keep going westward—around the tip of Greece and up the west coast of Italy. (Acts 27:5, 6) However, the wind and the season held something else in store for that voyage!

“Oghim Mọ R’amem O/dugh” (Iiḍighi 27:7b-26)

9, 10. Ighẹn ipaanhaạn kụ edị abuọ aPọl osoman mem mọ bidị motuman bọ Krit?

⁹ Bạl onhụ English

¹⁰ Bạl onhụ English

11. APọl angọ buphẹ r’odị oḍigh bọ pạ oghuugh pho eeghe oromha, kuolọ awe phọ usopha oḍighi eeghe?

¹¹ Bạl onhụ English

12. Mem mọ bidị oḍuạ bọ Krit, oghuugh phọ bidị oḍigh bọ asoman eeghe iiḅaghamhị, kụ buphẹ rokiilhom bọ ukparaghạ oḍighi eeghe okpetenhaan iiḅaghamhị phọ?

¹² Bạl onhụ English

13. Araraạr irọl ika siphẹ oghuugh phọ abuọ aPọl oḍigh bọ mem mọ oghim mọ rakim bọ?

¹³ Bạl onhụ English

14, 15. (a) Uḍighi ika kụ aPọl aatughianhạm bọ buphẹ r’odị oḍigh bọ pạ oghuugh phọ iphụr arurụ phọ odị angọ bọ bidị? (b) Yira otuughạ eeghe esi adom oḍuom olhoghi phọ aPọl angọ bọ we phọ?

¹⁴ Bạl onhụ English

¹⁵ Bạl onhụ English

Kụ “Oomo Phọ Ayoor Okpetenaan . . . Ophunughu Anyụ Ade” (Iiḍighi 27:27-44)

Paul praying in the crowded hold of a cargo ship. Some weary passengers bow their heads while others observe. Flatbread sits on some crates. — “He . . . gave thanks to God before them all.”—Acts 27:35

16, 17. (a) APọl aaḅereghị oghẹn amem, kụ eeghe kụ iḍuạ emite? (b) Ika kụ idị ipẹ aPọl aghaạph bọ etuụgh emite?

¹⁶ Bạl onhụ English

¹⁷ Bạl onhụ English

“Egey Ephamạm” (Iiḍighi 28:1-10)

18-20. Ika kụ idị awe phọ aMaItạ ophạm buọ aPọl “egey ephamạm,” kụ eeghe iiḍaạny kụ imite?

¹⁸ Bạl onhụ English

¹⁹ Bạl onhụ English

²⁰ Bạl onhụ English

21. (a) Ighẹn iniin araraạr dị eru ni inẹ kụ edị yira omhiịn siẹn apakirị igẹ phọ aLuk iphẹn phọ? (b) APọl aḍighi eeghe iiḍaạny, kụ awe phọ aMaltạ umhegheron ika?

²¹ Bạl onhụ English

22. (a) Ika kụ idị oniin otughemhiạ asẹph igẹ phọ aLuk ilọ ipẹ bidị oḍigh bọ oghuugh oghị Rom? (b) Yira kooḅeghiọn eeghe emhuoghaạph phọ etum bọ siẹn?

²² Bạl onhụ English

MALTA—WHERE?

Various islands have at times been suggested as the “Malta” where Paul was shipwrecked. One theory singled out an island near Corfu, off the western coast of Greece. Another suggestion is based on the word for “Malta” used in Acts. That Greek word is Me·liʹte. Therefore, some have pointed to Melite Illyrica, now known as Mljet, located off the coast of Croatia, in the Adriatic Sea.

Granted, Acts 27:27 does mention “the Sea of Adria,” but in Paul’s day “Adria” applied to an area larger than the present Adriatic Sea. It included the Ionian Sea and waters east of Sicily and west of Crete, thus encompassing the sea near modern-day Malta.

The ship on which Paul traveled was forced southward from Cnidus to below Crete. In view of the prevailing winds in that storm, it is hardly likely that the ship then turned and sailed as far northward as Mljet or an island near Corfu. So a more likely location for Malta would be farther to the west. That makes the island of Malta, south of Sicily, the probable location where the shipwreck occurred.