Place
Syrtis
sandbars near Libya
Treacherous shallow sandbars off the Libyan coast that Paul's storm-driven ship feared running aground on during the voyage to Rome.
Who or what is this?
The Syrtis (referred to in Acts 27:17 as 'quicksands' in the KJV) refers to the Syrtis Major, a large gulf on the coast of Libya (modern Gulf of Sidra) notorious for its shifting sandbars and unpredictable shallows that could trap and wreck ships. When 's ship was caught in a violent northeast wind called Euroclydon while sailing near , the sailors feared being driven southward onto the Syrtis and responded by lowering the sea anchor to reduce their drift. The danger of the Syrtis frames the urgency of the storm narrative that culminates in shipwreck at .
People, places, and events in this story
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Places in this story
Modern location: Sidra. Coordinates from OpenBible.info.
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Where this appears in Scripture
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