Vincent's NT Word Studies
12. Not commodious (aneuqetou). Lit., not well situated.Lieth toward the southwest and northwest (bleponta kata Liba kai kata Cwron). Instead of lieth, Rev., literally and correctly, renders looking. The difference between the Rev. and A.V., as to the points of the compass, turns on the rendering of the preposition kata The words southwest and northwest mean, literally, the southwest and northwest winds. According to the A.V., kata means toward, and has reference to the quarter from which these winds blow. According to the Rev., kata means down: "looking down the southwest and northwest winds," i.e., in the direction toward which they blow, viz., northeast and southeast. This latter view assumes that Phenice and Lutro are the same, which is uncertain. For full discussion of the point, see Smith, "Voyage and Shipwreck of St. Paul;" Hackett, "Commentary on Acts;" Conybeare and Howson, "Life and Epistles of St. Paul."
Robertson's NT Word Studies
27:12 {Because the haven was not commodious to winter in} (aneuqetou tou limenos huparcontos pros paraceimasian). Genitive absolute again present tense of huparcw: "The harbor being unfit (aneuqetou, this compound not yet found elsewhere, simplex in #Lu 9:62; 14:35; Heb 6:7) for wintering" (paraceimasia, only here in N.T., but in Polybius and Diodorus, in an inscription A.D. 48, from paraceimazw). {The more part advised} (hoi pleiones eqento boulen). Second aorist middle indicative of tiqemi, ancient idiom with boulen, to take counsel, give counsel. Lysias held a council of the officers of the ship on the issue raised by Paul. {If by any means they could reach Phoenix and winter there} (ei pws dunainto katantesantes eis foinika paraceimasai). The optative dunainto (present middle of dunamai) here with ei is a condition of the fourth class with the notion of purpose implied and indirect discourse (Robertson, _Grammar_, p. 1021). "We vote for going on the chance that we may be able" (Page). Phoenix is the town of palms (#Joh 12:13), the modern Lutro, the only town in Crete on the southern coast with a harbor fit for wintering, though Wordsworth and Page argue for Phineka which suits Luke's description better. The verb paraceimazw, to winter, is from para and ceimwn (see also #28:11). Used in several _Koin_ writers. {Looking northeast and southeast} (bleponta kata liba kai kata cwron). There are two ways of interpreting this language. liy means the southwest wind and cwros the northwest wind. But what is the effect of kata with these words? Does it mean "facing" the wind? If so, we must read "looking southwest and northwest." But kata can mean down the line of the wind (the way the wind is blowing). If so, qen it is proper to translate "looking northeast and southeast." this translation suits Lutro, the other suits Phoenike. Ramsay takes it to be Lutro, and suggests that sailors describe the harbor by the way it looks as they go into it (the subjectivity of the sailors) and that Luke so speaks and means Lutro which faces northeast and southeast. On the whole Lutro has the best of the argument.
