Fair Havens
1:
FAIR HAVENS (PLACE) [Gk Kaloi Limenes (Καλοι Λιμενες)]. Harbor located along the S coast of Crete near the town of Lasea (Acts 27:8). The harbor (Leekley and Noyes 1975: 91–92) is now identified with a bay E of Cape Littinos. The biblical name means “fair harbor.” The ship carrying Paul, during his voyage to Italy, anchored at Fair Havens and supplies were probably obtained from the nearby Lasea, located about five miles to the E (Acts 27:8). The captain of the ship decided not to winter here, despite Paul’s warnings, and sailed on to the W into a storm which wrecked the ship (see Smith 1880: 251, 259).
Captain T. A. B. Spratt (1865: 1–6) in 1853 led a Mediterranean survey team to this area and located a church dedicated to Paul on a hill overlooking the bay. This naval officer determined that the harbor would have been unsafe in the winter because of strong winds from the E and SE. Perhaps this is what prompted the captain of Paul’s ship to leave the harbor. See Foakes Jackson and Lake 1932: 338.
Bibliography
Foakes Jackson, F. J., and Lake, K. eds. 1932. The Beginnings of Christianity, Part I, The Acts of the Apostles. Vol. 4. London. Repr. Grand Rapids, MI, 1965.
Leekley, D., and Noyes, R. 1975. Archaeological Excavations in the Greek Islands. Park Ridge, NJ.
Spratt, T. A. B. 1865. Travels and Researches in Crete. Vol. 2. London.
Smith, J. 1880. The Voyage and Shipwreck of St. Paul. London. Repr. Grand Rapids, MI. 1979.
John D. Wineland
Freedman, D. N. (1996, c1992). The Anchor Bible Dictionary (2:744). New York: Doubleday.
2:
Fair Havens — a harbour in the south of Crete, some 5 miles to the east of which was the town of Lasea (Acts 27:8). Here the ship of Alexandria in which Paul and his companions sailed was detained a considerable time waiting for a favourable wind. Contrary to Paul’s advice, the master of the ship determined to prosecute the voyage, as the harbour was deemed incommodious for wintering in (9–12). The result was that, after a stormy voyage, the vessel was finally wrecked on the coast of Malta (27:40–44).
Easton, M. (1996, c1897). Easton's Bible dictionary. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
3:
FAIR HAVENS Small harbor, identifiable with modern Limenes Kali, positioned along Crete’s southern coast about five miles (8.1 kilometers) east of Cape Matala near the city of Lasea. Here Paul’s ship sought shelter from contrary winds on his voyage to Rome (Acts 27:8).
Elwell, W. A., & Comfort, P. W. (2001). Tyndale Bible dictionary. Tyndale reference library (471). Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers.
4:
FAIR HA´VENS (Gk. kaloi limenes, “good harbors”). A harbor in the island of Crete (Acts 27:8) near the city of Lasea, two leagues E of Cape Matala and due S of the ancient Minoan center of Phaestos. It still bears the same name in the modern Gk. dialect, Kali Limenes.
Unger, M. F., Harrison, R. K., Vos, H. F., Barber, C. J., & Unger, M. F. (1988). The new Unger's Bible dictionary. Revision of: Unger's Bible dictionary. 3rd ed. c1966. (Rev. and updated ed.). Chicago: Moody Press.
5:
FAIR HAVENS, modern Kaloi Limenes, a small bay on the S coast of Crete, a few km E of Cape Matala. Although protected by small islands, it is too open to be an ideal winter harbour (Acts 27:8), but it would be the last place where Paul’s ship could stay to avoid the NW wind, as the coast swings N beyond Cape Matala. k.l.mck.
Wood, D. R. W., Wood, D. R. W., & Marshall, I. H. (1996, c1982, c1962). New Bible Dictionary. Includes index. (electronic ed. of 3rd ed.) (357). Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press.
6:
Fair Havens, a bay on the south-central coast of Crete, where Paul’s ship put in on his journey to Rome (Acts 27:8); it is still known by the same name in Greek. The nearby town of Lasea flourished in Roman times. The bay itself is protected by some small islands, the second largest of which is today known as St. Paul’s Island. Weighing anchor here in the fall, Paul’s ship, against his advice, made a run for the safer harbor of Phoenix to the west but was driven off course by a sudden northeast wind, the Euraquilo (kjv: ‘Euroclydon’; rsv: ‘northeaster’; Acts 27:9-15). See also Crete; Euroclydon; Paul; Phoenix. C.H.M.
Achtemeier, P. J., Harper & Row, P., & Society of Biblical Literature. (1985). Harper's Bible dictionary. Includes index. (1st ed.) (298). San Francisco: Harper & Row.
7:
Fair Havens
A small bay on the southern coast of Crete, E of Cape Littinos and near the city of Lasea (Acts 27:8). The name (Gk. Kaloì Liménes) was probably chosen by the inhabitants in order to attract commerce, but the prevailing southeasterly winds in winter would actually make the harbor unsafe (cf. Acts 27:12).
Freedman, D. N., Myers, A. C., & Beck, A. B. (2000). Eerdmans dictionary of the Bible (452). Grand Rapids, Mich.: W.B. Eerdmans.
