Charles Ellicott Commentary Acts 27:37

"And we were in all in the ship two hundred threescore and sixteen souls." — Acts 27:37 (ASV)

And we were in all in the ship . . .—The number is given here, either as a fact that had been omitted before, and was not without its interest, or probably because then for the first time, when they were all gathered at their meal, the writer had taken the trouble to count them. A man does not commonly count the number of passengers on board a ship until there is some special occasion, and here it comes naturally as explaining the “all” of the previous verse. It was, we may well imagine, a striking spectacle to see the two hundred and seventy-six all under the influence of one brave and faithful spirit.