Acts 20:13 - Arthur Peake's Commentary on the Bible

Bible Comments

Troas to Miletus. In the Armenian Catena we read: But Luke and those with me came on the vessel; words which, if we were sure of their really being in the journal, would show that Luke was not its author. Preuschen thinks the original text was, But I, Luke, and those with me, the present text being grammatically impossible, and the emendation in the Armenian easy.

Acts 20:13. Assos, about twelve miles from Troas by land, on a hilly road. A ship has to round Cape Lekton. The Gr. does not compel us to think that Paul walked the distance; he may have ridden.

Acts 20:14. Mitylene, the capital of Lesbos, is not far from Assos. For Chios and Samos, see EBi, HDB.

Acts 20:15. The call at Trogyllium is omitted in the corrected text. The voyage of four days was made with the N. wind, which blows at that season early in the day and dies away later. The ship seems to have been at the command of the party. Acts 20:16 speaks of haste at the beginning of the journey; it appears to have been unnecessary later (cf. Acts 21:4), and the reason for avoiding Ephesus may have lain in the circumstances of Paul's leaving that place.

Acts 20:16. From the days of unleavened bread (Acts 20:6) to Pentecost is a period of six weeks, and Paul seems to have reached Jerusalem at the time of a festival (Acts 21:26).

Acts 20:13-16

13 And we went before to ship, and sailed unto Assos, there intending to take in Paul: for so had he appointed, minding himself to go afoot.

14 And when he met with us at Assos, we took him in, and came to Mitylene.

15 And we sailed thence, and came the next day over against Chios; and the next day we arrived at Samos, and tarried at Trogyllium; and the next day we came to Miletus.

16 For Paul had determined to sail by Ephesus, because he would not spend the time in Asia: for he hasted, if it were possible for him, to be at Jerusalem the day of Pentecost.