SEV Biblia, Chapter 20:13
¶ Y nosotros subiendo en el navío, navegamos a Asn, para recibir de allí a Pablo; pues así había determinado que debía l ir por tierra.
Clarke's Bible Commentary - Acts 20:13
Verse 13. Sailed unto Assos] Assos, according to Pausanias, Eliac. ii. 4, and Pliny, Hist. Nat. xxxvi. 27, was a maritime town of Asia, in the Troad. Strabo and Stephanus place it in Mysia. It was also called Apollonia, according to Pliny, Ib. lib. v. 30. The passage by sea to this place was much longer than by land; and therefore St. Paul chose to go by land, while the others went by sea.
Intending to take in Paul] analambanein, To take him in AGAIN; for it appears he had already been aboard that same vessel: probably the same that had carried them from Philippi to Troas, ver. 6.
John Gill's Bible Commentary
Ver. 13. And we went before to ship , etc.] That is, Luke, the writer of this history, and the rest of the apostles company, went before him to a ship, which lay at Troas, and went aboard it: and sailed unto Assos ; a city of Aeolia, or Mysia; and is said by Pliny to be the same with Apollonia; and which he places on the sea shore, where it is evident this Assos was. His words are f997 , on the shore Antandros, formerly called Edonis, then Cimmeris and Assos, the same with Apollonia.
And in another place he calls it Assos of Troas; and says of it, that about Assos of Troas a stone grows, by which all bodies are consumed, and is called sarcophagus, (a flesh devourer,) of which he also makes mention elsewhere f999 , and observes, that in Assos of Troas the stone sarcophagus is cut in the pits, in which the bodies of the dead being put, are consumed within forty days, excepting their teeth: and with him Jerom agrees, as to the name and situation of this place, who says that Assos is a maritime city of Asia, the same that is called Apollonia. It is represented by Strabo as a place very much fortified by art, and very difficult of ascent on that part which lies to the sea; unless another Assos in Lycia is designed by him: if this was the situation of the Assos in the text, it seems to furnish us with a reason, from the nature of the place, why the apostle chose to go on foot thither. Pausanias speaks of it as in Troas, and near Mount Ida. Sodamos of Assos in Troas, which lies near Ida, was the first of the Aeolians, who conquered in the Olympic race of the boys. In this place was born the famous philosopher Cleanthes, a disciple and successor of Zeno; hence he is called Cleanthes the Assian f1003 . No mention is made of the Gospel being preached here, or of any church until the eighth century, when John, bishop of Assos, is said to be in the Nicene council f1004 . Some exemplars read Thassos, as the Syriac and Arabic versions seem to have done: there intending to take in Paul ; who stayed behind, willing to have a little more Christian conversation with the saints at Troas. For so had he appointed ; that these should go before hand to Assos, and meet him there, and take him in: minding himself to go afoot ; from Troas to Assos, which were not very far off from one another; hence Assos is, by Pliny, called Assos of Troas; and by Pausanias, Assos, which is in Troas; that is, in the country of Troas, as before observed: what was his reason for going by foot thither, is not very evident; whether that he might have the opportunity of conversing with the disciples of Troas, who might accompany him thither; or whether that he might be alone, and have leisure for private meditation, and free converse with God.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 13-16 - Paul hastened to Jerusalem, but tried to do good by the way, when goin from place to place, as every good man should do. In doing God's work our own wills and those of our friends must often be crossed; we mus not spend time with them when duty calls us another way.
Greek Textus Receptus
ημεις 2249 P-1NP δε 1161 CONJ προελθοντες 4281 5631 V-2AAP-NPM επι 1909 PREP το 3588 T-ASN πλοιον 4143 N-ASN ανηχθημεν 321 5681 V-API-1P εις 1519 PREP την 3588 T-ASF ασσον 789 N-ASF εκειθεν 1564 ADV μελλοντες 3195 5723 V-PAP-NPM αναλαμβανειν 353 5721 V-PAN τον 3588 T-ASM παυλον 3972 N-ASM ουτως 3779 ADV γαρ 1063 CONJ ην 2258 5713 V-IXI-3S διατεταγμενος 1299 5772 V-RPP-NSM μελλων 3195 5723 V-PAP-NSM αυτος 846 P-NSM πεζευειν 3978 5721 V-PAN
Vincent's NT Word Studies
13. To go afoot (pezeuein). Only here in New Testament. There is no good reason for changing this to by land, as Rev. The A.V. preserves the etymology of the Greek verb. The distance was twenty miles; less than half the distance by sea.
Robertson's NT Word Studies
20:13 {To the ship} (epi to ploion). Note article. It is possible that Paul's party had chartered a coasting vessel from Philippi or Troas to take them to Patara in Lycia. Hence the boat stopped when and where Paul wished. That is possible, but not certain, for Paul could simply have accommodated himself to the plans of the ship's managers. {To take in Paul} (analambanein ton paulon). So in verse #14. Same use in #2Ti 4:11: "Picking up Mark" (markon analabwn). Assos was a seaport south of Troas in Mysia in the province of Asia. {He had appointed} (diatetagmenos en). Past perfect periphrastic middle of diatassw, old verb to give orders (military in particular). {To go by land} (pezeuein). Present active infinitive of pezeuw, old verb to go on foot, not on horse back or in a carriage or by ship. Here only in the N.T. It was about twenty miles over a paved Roman road, much shorter (less than half) than the sea voyage around Cape Lectum. It was a beautiful walk in the spring-time and no doubt Paul enjoyed it whatever his reason was for going thus to Assos while the rest went by sea. Certainly he was entitled to a little time alone, this one day, as Jesus sought the Father in the night watches (#Mt 14:23).
