When they had taken it on board, they used cables to undergird the ship; and fearing lest they should run aground on the Syrtis Sands, they struck sail and so were driven. Acts 27:17

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A literal rendering would be, “Which, having lifted, they used helps, undergirding the ship. And fearing lest they fall into the Syrtis, having lowered the tackle – thus they were borne” (CG).

The last verse revealed that the ship ran under Clauda and, at that time, they were able to secure the skiff, but with much difficulty. Now, concerning the skiff, it next says, “Which, having lifted.”

Once the skiff was brought near, they next lifted it onto the ship. The reason this was necessary was after lifting the skiff, “they used helps.”

The NKJV translates this verse using the word “cables.” Others say ropes, supports, under-girding, and so forth. Cables, or ropes, are exactly what was used, but the term is boétheia which literally means “assistance” or “help.”

HELPS Word Studies says, “It is a brand of help, especially critical assistance that meets an urgent situation.” This word is used just twice, here and in Hebrews 4:16, where we are told –

“Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help [boétheia] in time of need.”

The process of undergirding the ships in this manner is known as “frapping.” According to Albert Barnes, Falconer’s Marine Dictionary describes the process, saying, “To frap a ship is to pass four or five turns of a large cable-laid rope round the hull or frame of a ship to support her in a great storm, or otherwise, when it is apprehended that she is not strong enough to resist the violent efforts of the sea.”

Barnes also cites an instance of frapping which was recorded in Lord Anson’s voyage round the world, “They were obliged to throw overboard all their upper-deck guns, and take six turns of the cable round the ship to prevent her opening.” The reason for the frapping of the ship is that, without it, the ship would literally come apart at the seams in such a tempestuous storm.

Therefore, they used these helps in the process of “undergirding the ship.” This is another unique word in Scripture, hupozónnumi. It is a compound word coming from hupo, under, and zonnumi, to gird. Just as one might gird himself up to run, the ship is undergirded to keep from splitting apart and sinking. After this process was complete, Luke next notes, “And fearing lest they fall into the Syrtis.”

This was another anticipated problem that they feared. The Syrtis is described by Thayer’s Greek Lexicon –

“…the name of two places in the African or Libyan Sea between Carthage and Cyrenaica, full of shallows and sandbanks, and therefore destructive to ships; the western Syrtis, between the islands Cercina and Meninx (or the promontories of Zeitha and Brachodes), was called Syrtis minor, the eastern (extending from the promontory of Cephalae on the Winers Grammar, to that of Boreum on the E.) was called Syrtis major (sinus Psyllicus); this latter must be the one referred to in Acts 27:17, for upon this the ship in which Paul was sailing might easily be cast after leaving Crete.”

The sands shift over time. Therefore, their exact location remained unknown from voyage to voyage. Should they hit the sands, the ship would stick fast and be torn apart in the waves and sand. Because of the danger, it says, “having lowered the tackle – thus they were borne.”

The NKJV says, “they struck sail and so were driven.” Ellicott notes that “The English fails to give the sense of the original. Had they struck sail altogether the ship would simply have drifted in the very direction which they were anxious to avoid. Some sail was absolutely necessary to keep the ship steady. What is meant is that they ‘lowered the ship’s gear,’ the spars and rigging, and especially, perhaps, the heavy yard and ropes which the ancient ships carried, and which would, in such a gale, make the ship top-heavy.”

Because of this, it would be their aim to sail as close to the wind as possible and head northwest. In doing so, they would be able to avoid the sands.

Life application: There is the normal routine of life, and then there are times when things seem to be bursting at the seams and that pressures and forces around us are beyond our ability to withstand.

It is at such times that sailors take drastic emergency methods to hold things together, even employing those passengers on the ship to assist. We should be no different. When it comes to trying times, we should be prepared to go into emergency mode. We can seek assistance from others that we would not normally dare ask help from, lest we inconvenience them.

We can gird ourselves up and prepare ourselves mentally for what lies ahead. And we should not fail to stop and pray for the Lord’s kind hand to be on us during our trials. No life is without trial, and none of us will safely navigate every journey we take. We should remember this and have our emergency kits of life ready to keep things together at all times.

Let the Lord be your Helps as you pass through the deep and stormy waters of affliction. No matter what the earthly outcome, He will be with you at the end. So, trust Him at all times.

Lord God, may we be willing to place our lives in Your hands at all times. And when things get beyond our control, may we remember that You are there with us. You will safely carry us to fair shores of eternal peace. Even if this life gets tossed about, we are forever safely in Your hands. Thank You for this comforting reassurance. Amen.