Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges - Acts 27:21 - 27:21

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Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges - Acts 27:21 - 27:21


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This Chapter Verse Commentaries:

21. πολλῆς τε ἀσιτίας ὑπαρχούσης, and when they had been long without food. This was in consequence of the excitement which made it impossible to eat, as well as the condition of the vessel which made the preparation of food very difficult. They had been living on anything that happened to be attainable, and that had been very little.

ἀσιτία is used Joseph. Ant. XII. 7. 1 of the want of food which made soldiers unwilling to fight.

μὴ ἀνάγεσθαι ἀπὸ τῆς Κρήτης, not to have set sail from Crete. His exhortation had been that they should stay at Fair Havens, even though it was not so very commodious as a harbour.

κερδῆσαί τε τὴν ὕβριν ταύτην καὶ τὴν ζημίαν, and to have gotten (lit. gained) this harm and loss, i.e. and by so doing to have incurred this harm and loss. But κερδαίνειν is also used in the sense of ‘avoiding’ or ‘saving oneself from’ anything. Thus Joseph. Ant. II. 3. 2 says of Reuben’s desire to save Joseph’s life, καὶ τό γε μὴ μιανθῆναι τὰς χεῖρας αὐτοὺς κερδαίνειν = and that they would save themselves from having their hands defiled. So in this we may take κερδῆσαι, without a repetition of the μή from the previous clause, as meaning ‘to have saved ourselves this harm &c.’ The sense is the same in either case.