Acts 27:8

Acts 27:8. Hardly passing it. The word here again is μόλις. which expresses difficulty. It seems that they were hardly able to accomplish their purpose: but they did accomplish it; and from this circumstance, added to the fact that they could not fetch the southernmost point of the Morea, Mr. Smith of Jordanhill has drawn an ingenious indirect proof confirming the evidence that the wind was blowing from the north-west. The argument shall be given in his own words: ‘The direct course of a ship on her voyage from Myra to Italy, after she had reached Cnidus, is by the north side of Crete, through the Archipelago, west by south. Hence a ship which can make good a course of about seven points from the wind, would not have been prevented from proceeding on her course unless the wind had been to the west of north-north-west. We are next told that she ran “under Crete, over against Salmone,” which implies that she was able to fetch that cape, which bears about south-west by south from Cnidus; but unless the wind had been to the north of north-north-west, she could not have done so. The wind was, therefore, between north-north-west and west-north-west. The middle point between the points is north-west, which cannot be more than two points, and is probably not more than one, from the true direction. The wind, therefore, would in common language have been termed northwest.'

A place which is called the Fair Havens. This place, on the south coast of Crete, is well known, and has always, up to the present day, retained the same name. It lies a few miles to the east of Cape Matala, beyond which (westwards) the coast suddenly trends to the north.

Nigh whereunto is the city of Lasea. The proximity of this town to the roadstead of Fair Havens, evidently attracted the attention of St. Luke and of the others who were on board. The natives of the place would bring supplies to their ship when she was anchored in the roadstead. But the very name and existence of Lasea have remained unknown until recently, except through very obscure and precarious intimations. Now, however, both the name and the ruins of Lasea have been found precisely in the right place. This curious discovery of a Scotch yachting party may be classed among the really valuable geographical evidences of the truth of the Bible which have been accumulating of late years. See Appendix to recent edition of Hora Paulina issued by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge.