Charles Ellicott Commentary Acts 27:14

"But after no long time there beat down from it a tempestuous wind, which is called Euraquilo:" — Acts 27:14 (ASV)

There arose against it . . .—The Greek pronoun is in the feminine, and as the noun used for "ship" is, throughout the narrative, in the neuter, the difference of gender presents a difficulty. Grammatically, the pronoun seems to refer to Crete, and if referred to it, the sentence admits of three possible constructions: (1) the wind drove us against Crete; or (2), blew against Crete; or (3), drove down on us from Crete.

Of these, (1) and (2) are at variance with the facts of the case, as the gale blew the ship away from Crete to the south, while (3), which is as tenable grammatically, exactly agrees with them. Some translators (e.g., Luther) have, however, referred the pronoun to the noun “purpose” (their rendering being “the wind blew against their purpose”), but this gives a less satisfactory sense. Of the English versions, Wiclif gives “was against it,” leaving the sense ambiguous. Tyndale and Cranmer follow Luther: “there arose against their purpose.” The Geneva adopts the first of the above readings, “there arose against Candie,” and is followed by the Rhemish, “drove against it.”

A tempestuous wind, called Euroclydon.—The Greek adjective typhonic is perpetuated in the modern “typhoon,” as applied to whirlwinds like that now described. The “vortex” of such a wind is indeed its distinguishing feature. The name Euroclydon, which is fairly represented by such a word as “wide-wave” or “broad-billow,” is not found elsewhere. If the reading is genuine, it must be looked on as a term which St. Luke reported as actually used by the sailors on board.

Some of the best manuscripts, however, give the form Euro-aquilo, which, though a somewhat hybrid word unknown to Greek and Latin writers, fits in with all the phenomena described, as it means north-east, or, more strictly, east by north. The earlier English versions—Wiclif, Tyndale, Cranmer, and the Geneva—all give “north-east,” while the Rhemish reproduces the term Euro-aquilo, without attempting to translate. A sudden change from south to north, with a great increase of violence, is a common phenomenon in the autumnal storms of the Mediterranean; in this instance, the blast would seem to have rushed down on the ship from the hills of Crete.