Ships and sailing in the Bible

• Noah's ark: gopher wood, with rooms, coated with pitchGen 6:14–15
  The verses

  Gen 6:14–15Make for yourself an ark of gopher wood; make rooms in the ark and coat it with pitch inside and out. And this is how you are to build it: The ark is to be 300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide, and 30 cubits high.
• Solomon built a fleet at Ezion-geber on the Red Sea1 Kgs 9:26
  The verses

  1 Kgs 9:26King Solomon also assembled a fleet of ships at Ezion-geber, which is near Eloth in Edom, on the shore of the Red Sea.
• Hiram's sailors brought 450 talents of gold from Ophir2 Chr 8:18
  The verses

  2 Chr 8:18So Hiram sent him ships captained by his servants, along with crews of experienced sailors. They went with Solomon’s servants to Ophir and acquired from there 450 talents of gold, which they delivered to King Solomon.
• Every three years: gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks1 Kgs 10:22
  The verses

  1 Kgs 10:22For the king had the ships of Tarshish at sea with Hiram’s fleet, and once every three years the ships of Tarshish would arrive bearing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.
• Jehoshaphat's ships were wrecked before they ever sailed1 Kgs 22:48, 2 Chr 20:36–37
  The verses

  1 Kgs 22:48Jehoshaphat built ships of Tarshish to go to Ophir for gold, but they never set sail, because they were wrecked at Ezion-geber.

  2 Chr 20:36–37They agreed to make ships to go to Tarshish, and these were built in Ezion-geber. Then Eliezer son of Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, “Because you have allied yourself with Ahaziah, the LORD has destroyed your works.” So the ships were wrecked and were unable to sail to Tarshish.
• Ezekiel pictures Tyre as a ship of cypress, cedar, oak, and linenEzek 27:5–7
  The verses

  Ezek 27:5–7They constructed all your planking with cypress from Senir. They took a cedar from Lebanon to make a mast for you. Of oaks from Bashan they made your oars; of wood from the coasts of Cyprus they made your deck, inlaid with ivory. Of embroidered fine linen from Egypt they made your sail, which served as your banner. Of blue and purple from the coasts of Elishah they made your awning.
• Papyrus boats carried messengers on the watersIsa 18:2
  The verses

  Isa 18:2which sends couriers by sea, in papyrus vessels on the waters. Go, swift messengers, to a people tall and smooth-skinned, to a people widely feared, to a powerful nation of strange speech, whose land is divided by rivers.
• A large ship is steered by a very small rudderJas 3:4
  The verses

  Jas 3:4Consider ships as well. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot is inclined.
• The way of a ship at sea: too wonderful for AgurProv 30:18–19
  The verses

  Prov 30:18–19There are three things too wonderful for me, four that I cannot understand: the way of an eagle in the sky, the way of a snake on a rock, the way of a ship at sea, and the way of a man with a maiden.

Voyages

• Jonah paid the fare for a ship to TarshishJonah 1:3
  The verses

  Jonah 1:3Jonah, however, got up to flee to Tarshish, away from the presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa and found a ship bound for Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went aboard to sail for Tarshish, away from the presence of the LORD.
• In the storm the sailors threw the cargo overboardJonah 1:4–5
  The verses

  Jonah 1:4–5Then the LORD hurled a great wind upon the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship was in danger of breaking apart. The sailors were afraid, and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the ship’s cargo into the sea to lighten the load. But Jonah had gone down to the lowest part of the vessel, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep.
• They rowed hard but could not reach landJonah 1:13
  The verses

  Jonah 1:13Nevertheless, the men rowed hard to get back to dry land, but they could not, for the sea was raging against them more and more.
• Jesus taught the crowd from Simon's boatLuke 5:2–3
  The verses

  Luke 5:2–3He saw two boats at the edge of the lake. The fishermen had left them and were washing their nets. Jesus got into the boat belonging to Simon and asked him to put out a little from shore. And sitting down, He taught the people from the boat.
• Jesus slept on a cushion in the stern during a stormMark 4:37–38
  The verses

  Mark 4:37–38Soon a violent windstorm came up, and the waves were breaking over the boat, so that it was being swamped. But Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on the cushion. So they woke Him and said, “Teacher, don’t You care that we are perishing?”
• The disciples strained at the oars against the windMark 6:48
  The verses

  Mark 6:48He could see that the disciples were straining to row, because the wind was against them. About the fourth watch of the night, Jesus went out to them, walking on the sea. He intended to pass by them,
• Paul was shipwrecked three times and spent a day in the open sea2 Cor 11:25
  The verses

  2 Cor 11:25Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked. I spent a night and a day in the open sea.

Paul's voyage to Rome

• An Adramyttian ship along the coast of AsiaActs 27:2
  The verses

  Acts 27:2We boarded an Adramyttian ship about to sail for ports along the coast of Asia, and we put out to sea. Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica, was with us.
• Sailing was dangerous after the FastActs 27:9
  The verses

  Acts 27:9By now much time had passed, and the voyage had already become dangerous because it was after the Fast. So Paul advised them,
• A Northeaster struck; they ran ropes under the shipActs 27:14, Acts 27:17
  The verses

  Acts 27:14But it was not long before a cyclone called the Northeaster swept down across the island.

  Acts 27:17After hoisting it up, the crew used ropes to undergird the ship. And fearing that they would run aground on the sandbars of Syrtis, they lowered the sea anchor and were driven along.
• Cargo, then the ship's tackle, thrown overboardActs 27:18–19
  The verses

  Acts 27:18–19We were tossed so violently that the next day the men began to jettison the cargo. On the third day, they threw the ship’s tackle overboard with their own hands.
• Soundings: the water grows shallowerActs 27:28
  The verses

  Acts 27:28They took soundings and found that the water was twenty fathoms deep. Going a little farther, they took another set of soundings that read fifteen fathoms.
• Four anchors dropped from the sternActs 27:29
  The verses

  Acts 27:29Fearing that we would run aground on the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern and prayed for daybreak.
• The sailors tried to escape in the lifeboat; soldiers cut it looseActs 27:30, Acts 27:32
  The verses

  Acts 27:30Meanwhile, the sailors attempted to escape from the ship. Pretending to lower anchors from the bow, they let the lifeboat down into the sea.

  Acts 27:32So the soldiers cut the ropes to the lifeboat and set it adrift.
• There were 276 people on boardActs 27:37
  The verses

  Acts 27:37In all, there were 276 of us on board.
• They threw the grain into the sea to lighten the shipActs 27:38
  The verses

  Acts 27:38After the men had eaten their fill, they lightened the ship by throwing the grain into the sea.
• The ship ran aground and the stern broke upActs 27:41
  The verses

  Acts 27:41But the vessel struck a sandbar and ran aground. The bow stuck fast and would not move, and the stern was being broken up by the pounding of the waves.
• All reached land, some on planksActs 27:44
  The verses

  Acts 27:44The rest were to follow on planks and various parts of the ship. In this way everyone was brought safely to land.
• On to Rome in an Alexandrian ship, the Twin BrothersActs 28:11
  The verses

  Acts 28:11After three months we set sail in an Alexandrian ship that had wintered in the island. It had the Twin Brothers as a figurehead.