UHỌNMHỌN-ỌTA 26

“Ọria Soso Bhi Ẹwẹ Mhan Ida Yu”

Khue

Ẹghe nin okọ nin Pọl na i rẹ ruẹ bhi ẹdẹ, ọle da wo re urẹọbhọ man, yẹ re oyẹẹ man ene ẹbho ne ribhi ẹkẹ ọle

Acts 27:1–28:10 Ọ Da Dagbare

1, 2. Idia nela Pọl kuẹlo da? Be ọle ha sabọ ha ria ẹmhọn ọlẹn?

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3. Be Pọl muegbe nin ọle rẹ lu? Be imhan ha zilo nyan bhi ọne uhọnmhọn-ọta nan?

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“Ukpahoho Nọn Ha Fi” (Acts 27:1-7a)

4. Okọ nela Pọl na i ha khian eji ọle khian? Ikpea eva nela rẹkhan ọlẹn?

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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. Ẹbho nela Pọl miẹn bhi Saidọn? Be imhan miẹn luẹ bhi obọ ene Kristiẹn?

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6-8. Ijela Pọl diọ i beji ọle sibhi Saidọn re? Isẹhoa nela Pọl miẹn rẹ tẹmhọn Osẹnobulua?

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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!

“Okpahoho Da . . . Wo Ha Fi Mhan Yo Fi Mhan Re” (Acts 27:7b-26)

9, 10. Ọnọghọ nela zegbere beji ele ki ha sikẹ agbaẹbho ọsi Krit?

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11. Adia nela Pọl re nin ene ribhi ẹkẹ ọne okọ? Be ele ki zẹ rẹ lu?

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12. Beji ele ki sibhi Krit re, be ki sunu ji okọ nin ele na i? Be ene ribhi ọne okọ rẹ dọnmhegbe rẹ dia ọne okọ yẹ?

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13. Be iẹnlẹn ha sabọ diayẹ rẹji ọria nọn nabhi ọne okọ nin Pọl na i, ẹghe nin ọne ukpahoho rẹ ha fi?

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14, 15. (a) Bezẹle nin Pọl da tẹmhọn ebi a rẹ sekha nanlẹn yẹ ẹghe nin ọle rẹ ha ne ẹbho ne ribhi ọne okọ talọ? (b) Be imhan miẹn luẹ bhi ebi Pọl taman ene ẹbho ne ribhi ọne okọ?

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“Ele Rebhe [Da] . . . Miuhọnmhọn Rẹ Sẹbhi Egbẹdẹ” (Acts 27:27-44)

“He . . . gave thanks to God before them all.”—Acts 27:35

16, 17. (a) Ẹghela Pọl rẹ nan erọnmhọn? Be ki nabhọre? (b) Be ọta nin Pọl tale rẹ gene sunu yẹ?

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Ele Da Re “Ifuẹkẹ Man Mhan” (Acts 28:1-10)

18-20. Be ẹbho ne ribhi agbaẹbho ọsi Mọta rẹ re “ifuẹkẹ” man yẹ? Emhin ọhan-ilo nela Osẹnobulua noo Pọl rẹ lu?

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21. (a) Ọta ne gbale nela mhan miẹn bhi ebe nọnsi Luk? (b) Emhin ọhan-ilo nela Pọl lu? Be ọ rẹ rẹso ẹbho ne ribhi Mọta yẹ?

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22. (a) Be ọria ọkpa tale rẹji uwedẹ nin Luk rẹ tẹmhọn ebe sunu ẹghe nin ele rẹ ha khian Romu? (b) Be imhan ha zilo nyan bhi uhọnmhọn-ọta nọn ki sẹ ọle bhi egbe?

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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.

EBE BI BROKIỌ