Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Acts 27:33

"And while the day was coming on, Paul besought them all to take some food, saying, This day is the fourteenth day that ye wait and continue fasting, having taken nothing." — Acts 27:33 (ASV)

The storm had been so fierce that preparing food had been impossible. Once again, Paul’s great qualities of leadership came to the fore. Urging all on board to eat, he took some bread, gave thanks to God, and ate it. The others on board also ate. Then, strengthened by the food, they threw the cargo of grain overboard to give the ship a shallower draft as they beached her. Only at v.37 does Luke tell us how many were on board. Probably in distributing the food, they had to know the exact number, and Luke himself may have helped supervise the distribution.