Acts 21:3

κατήλθομεν for κατήχθημεν with אABE. Vulg. ‘venimus.’

3. ἀναφάναντες δὲ τὴν Κύπρον, and when we had come in sight of Cyprus. On Cyprus, see notes on Acts 13:4. The more usual construction would be ἀναφανείσης τῆς Κύπρου, but cf. with this alteration of construction Galatians 2:7, πεπίστευμαι τὸ εὐαγγέλιον, meaning πεπιστευμένον ἔχω τὸ εὐαγγέλιον.

εἰς Συρίαν, into Syria. This was the general name for the whole district lying along the Mediterranean from Cilicia down to Egypt.

κατήλθομεν εἰς Τύρον, we landed at Tyre. Tyre was one of the chief ports of Phœnicia, and a city of very great antiquity. It was built partly on the mainland and partly on an island, and is often mentioned both in Scripture and in profane literature. It is noticed as a strongly fortified city as early as Joshua 19:29. We read of its fame in the time of Solomon in connexion with the building of the Temple; and Jezebel, the wife of Ahab, was the daughter of Ethbaal, called King of the Sidonians in Scripture, but in Josephus (Ant. VIII. 13. 2) King of Tyre. The city was besieged by Shalmaneser and afterwards by Nebuchadnezzar, and was captured by Alexander the Great.

Christ went on one of His journeys from Galilee into the neighbourhood of Tyre, if not to the city itself, which was about 30 miles from Nazareth, and it must have been then in much the same condition as at this visit of St Paul.

ἐκεῖσε γὰρ … ἀποφορτιζόμενον τὸν γόμον, for there the ship was to unlade her burden. And so in all probability the further voyage to Ptolemais was made in a different vessel, this one going no further. With regard to the exact meaning of this clause, there is no need to suppose ἐκεῖσε is the same as ἐκεῖ, though the English idiom may ask for ‘there’ in our rendering. The full idea of the words is, ‘thither the ship was going and would there unlade &c.’ The reason for the use of ἦν� is probably to be found by understanding that the ship was in the habit of sailing to Tyre with cargoes. Cf. James 1:17, πᾶν δώρημα τέλειον ἄνωθέν ἐστι καταβαῖνον.