SHIPS
AND
BOATS
Tartessus
in
Spain,
liad
come
to
be
used
in
a
secondary-
sense,
like
our
'East-Indiaman,'
of
large
vessels
suited
for
such
a
trade.
It
is
believed
that
by
this
time
they
had
penetrated
as
far
as
Cornwall,
and
had
even
found
their
way
to
the
Canaries.
Their
numerous
colonies,
at
any
rate
the
most
distant,
of
which
Carthage
is
the
best
known,
probably
began
to
be
founded
soon
after.
The
form
of
their
ships
was,
it
would
appear,
a
gradual
development
from
the
hollowed
trunk
of
a
tree
to
the
vessel
of
three
banks
of
oars,
known
among
the
Greeks
as
a
trireme
Csee
Hastings'
DB,
art.
'
Ships
').
With
the
Assyrians
navigation
seems
to
have
been
confined
to
the
Tigris
and
Euphrates,
where
small
timber
boats,
sup-ported
by
inflated
skins
(keleks),
and
coracles
of
plaited
willow
Qcufas),
were
largely
in
use
(seefiBi,
art.
'Ships').
On
the
other
hand,
the
Babylonians
seem
quite
to
have
justified
the
phrase
'
ships
of
their
rejoicing
'
i.e.
in
which
they
take
pride
(Is
43"),
having
extended
their
voyages
to
the
Persian
Gulf,
and
even
engaged
in
commerce
with
India
since
the
7th
cent.
B.C.
The
Egyptians
used
'
vessels
of
papyrus
'
for
the
navigation
of
the
Nile
(Is
18^
cf.
Job
9"),
but
it
is
not
quite
certain
whether
they
were
boats
constructed
out
of
papyrus,
or
rafts
composed
of
bundles
of
these
reeds
bound
together.
We
learn
from
Egyptian
monuments
that
they
had
also
ships
of
con-siderable
size.
We
have
very
little
to
guide
us
in
determining
the
form
or
size
of
ships
during
these
early
periods,
but
it
is
probable
that
while
at
first
they
appear
to
have
varied
greatly,
they
gradually
approximated
to
the
type
of
vessel
used
in
the
Levant
in
NT
times.
It
is
not
possible
to
say
at
what
time
sails
were
first
intro-duced.
We
find
them,
or
more
correctly
the
sail,
in
the
one
great
sail
mentioned
in
Ezk
27'
in
addition
to
the
oars.
In
Is
33^
the
sail
only
is
mentioned.
In
v.^'
the
'galley
with
oars'
is
mentioned
distinctively,
and
in
contrast
to
the
'
gallant
ship,'
which
probably
means
the
larger
vessel
provided
with
a
sail.
(3)
In
literature.
—
That
the
Israelites,
though,
generally
speaking,
unused
to
navigation,
had
some
acquaintance
with
and
took
an
interest
in
shipping,
is
clear
from
the
constant
reference
to
ships
in
their
literature.
Is
33^,
in
which
Israel
is
compared
to
a
disabled
vessel,
has
been
already
alluded
to.
Ezekiel's
famous
comparison
of
Tyre
to
a
ship
in
27*-"
gives
a
fair
general
idea
of
the
different
parts
of
a
ship
of
that
period,
though
some
of
them
—
the
deck-planks
of
ivory,
the
safl
of
fine
bordered
linen,
the
awnings
of
blue
and
purple
—
are
evidently
idealized.
The
graphic
picture
in
Ps
1072s-"
of
the
terrors
experienced
by
those
'
who
go
down
to
the
sea
in
ships
'
was
almost
certainly
written
by
one
who
had
experienced
a
storm
at
sea.
In
Ps
104^6
the
ships
are,
as
much
as
leviathan,
the
natural
denizens
of
the
deep.
Of
special
beauty
is
the
simile
of
the
ship
that
passes
over
the
waves
and
leaves
no
pathway
of
its
keel
behind
(Wis
6'"),
to
express
the
transitoriness
of
human
life
and
human
hope.
The
danger
of
ship-faring
is
pointed
out
in
Wis
14».
That
people
should
commit
their
lives
to
a
small
piece
of
wood
would
be
absurd
but
for
Divine
Providence.
2
.
In
the
NT
.—We
are
concerned
chiefly
with
our
Lord's
Galilffian
ministry
and
St.
Paul's
voyages.
(1)
On
the
Sea
of
Galilee.
—
The
Galilean
boats
were
used
primarily
tor
fishing,
and
also
for
communication
between
the
villages
on
the
Lake,
and
probably
for
local
trade.
At
least
four
of
our
Lord's
disciples
were
fishermen,
and
were
called
while
engaged
in
their
work.
He
frequently
crossed
the
Lake
with
His
disciples,
and
sometimes
preached
from
a
boat
to
the
people
on
the
shore
(Lk
5^
Mk
41).
Among
the
most
picturesque
incidents
of
His
lite
as
recorded
in
the
Gospels
are
the
miracle
of
stilling
the
tempest
and
the
miraculous
draughts
of
fishes.
The
boats
were
small
enough
to
be
in
danger
of
sinking
from
a
very
large
catch
of
fish,
and
yet
large
enough
to
contain
our
Lord
and
at
least
the
majority
of
His
twelve
Apostles,
and
to
weather
the
storms
which
are
still
frequent
on
the
Lake.
It
appears
from
the
frequent
SHIPS
AND
BOATS
use
of
the
definite
article,
'
the
boat,'
that
one
particular
boat,
probably
St.
Peter's,
was
usually
employed.
(2)
In
the
Levant.
—
Ships
played
an
important
part
in
St.
Paul's
missionary
journeys.
It
was
frequently
necessary
for
him
to
cross
the
jEgsean,
and
sometimes
to
make
longer
voyages
to
and
from
Syria.
That
he
was
frequently
exposed
to
great
danger
we
learn
not
only
from
the
detailed
account
of
his
shipwreck
in
Ac
27,
but
from
an
express
statement
in
2
Co
1
l^s,
in
which,
writing
before
this
event,
he
says
'thrice
I
suffered
shipwreck,
a
night
and
a
day
have
I
been
in
the
deep,'
which
certainly
seems
to
mean
that
he
drifted
for
this
space
of
time
upon
the
spar
or
some
part
of
a
wrecked
ship.
But
our
interest
is
centred
chiefiy
in
the
account
of
his
voyage
from
Csesarea
to
Puteoli
in
Ac
27.
28.
From
this
we
learn
that
the
larger
vessels
were
of
a
considerable
size,
that
of
the
shipwreck
containing,
according
to
what
is
probably
the
correct
text,
276
persons
(27'';
according
to
B,
76).
It
was
impelled
only
by
sail,
the
only
oara
mentioned
being
the
paddles
used
as
ludders,
which
were
braced
up,
probably
in
order
to
allow
the
ship
to
be
more
easily
anchored
at
the
stern
(vv.^'-
'").
This,
a
custom
not
infrequently
resorted
to
when
some
special
purpose
was
served
by
it,
was
to
enable
them
to
thrust
the
vessel
into
a
favourable
place
on
shore
without
the
necessity
of
turning
her
round.
In
addition
to
the
mainsail,
the
vessel
had
a
foresail
(.artemSn),
which
was
used
for
the
same
purpose,
as
more
easily
adapted
for
altering
the
ship's
course
(v.'").
The
vessel
had
one
small
boat,
which
was
usually
towed
behind,
but
was
taken
up
for
greater
security
during
the
storm
(v.").
Another
remarkable
practice
is
that
described
in
v-"
as
'using
helps,
under-girding
the
ship.'
These
helps
or
'under
girders'
were
chains
passed
under
and
across
the
ship,
and
tightened
to
prevent
the
boards
from
springing.
It
was
a
common
practice
of
ancient
times,
and
is
not
unknown
even
in
modern
navigation.
Soundings
were
taken
to
test
the
near
approach
to
land,
much
as
they
would
be
at
the
present
day.
Though
ships
had
to
depend
mainly
on
one
great
square
sail,
by
bracing
this
they
were
enabled
to
sail
within
seven
points
of
the
wind.
In
this
case,
allowing
another
six
points
for
leeway,
the
vessel
under
a
north-easter
(Euraguilo,
v.")
made
way
from
Cauda
to
Malta,
a
direction
considerably
north
of
west.
As,
however,
the
vessel
could
not
safely
carry
the
mainsail,
or
even
the
yard-arm,
these
were
first
lowered
on
deck,
and
then
the
vessel
must
have
been
heaved
to
and
been
carried
along
and
steadied
by
a
small
storm-sail
of
some
kind.
Had
she
drifted
before
the
wind
she
would
inevitably
have
been
driven
on
to
the
Syrtis,
the
very
thmg
they
wished
to
avoid
(v.").
This
has
been
shown
very
clearly
by
Smith
in
his
classical
work.
The
Voyage
of
St.
Paul,
ch.
iii.
The
same
writer
draws
attention
to
the
thoroughly
nautical
character
of
St.
Luke's
language,
and
the
evi-dence
of
its
accuracy
by
a
comparison
with
what
is
known
of
ancient
naval
practice;
and,
what
is
perhaps
even
more
striking,
the
evidence
of
skilful
navigation
to
which
the
narrative
points.
He
justly
observes
that
the
chief
reason
why
sailing
in
the
winter
was
dangerous
(27'
28")
was
not
so
much
the
storms,
as
the
constant
obscuring
of
the
heavens,
by
which,
before
the
discovery
of
the
compass,
mariners
had
chiefly
to
direct
their
course.
The
fact
that
two
of
the
ships
in
which
St.
Paul
sailed
were
ships
of
Alexandria
engaged
in
the
wheat
trade
with
Italy
(27=-
''
28"-
";
Puteoli
was
the
great
emporium
of
wheat),
is
especially
interesting,
as
we
happen
to
know
more
about
them
than
any
other
ancient
class
of
ship.
In
the
time
of
Commodus
a
series
of
coins
with
figures
of
Alexandrian
corn-ships
was
struck
to
commemorate
an
exceptional
importation
of
wheat
from
Alexandria
at
a
time
of
scarcity.
One
of
these
ships,
moreover,
was
driven
into
the
Piraeus
by
stress
of
weather.
Lucian
lays
the
scene
of
one
of
his
dialogues
(.The
Ship
or
Wishes)
on
board
of
her.
From
the
coins
and
the
dialogue
together
we
get
a
very
good
idea
of
the
ships
of
that
time
(2nd
cent,
a.d.)
and
their
