Greek word · G4126

πλέω

pleō

to sail

To sail, to travel by sea. A present participle like pleon describes a voyage already under way, or a ship bound for a destination.

Appears 6 times in 6 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

πλέω

[in LXX, before εἰς, Jonah 1.3 (בּוֹא), I Est.4:23, Isaiah 42:10; before ἐπί, 4Ma.7:3; with accusative (poët.), Sirach 43:24, 1Ma.13:29 (cf. Acts 27:2, Rec.) * ;]

to sail: Luke 8:23, Acts 27:24; before εἰς, Acts 21:3 27:2, 6; ἐπί, Revelation 18:17

(cf. ἀπό-, δια-, ἐκ-, κατα-, παρα-, ὑπο-πλέω).†

(AS)

From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Acts 27:6

Range of meaning

To sail, to travel by sea. A present participle like pleon describes a voyage already under way, or a ship bound for a destination.

Against the English

"Sailing for Italy" (BSB, WEB) is clear. KJV's "sailing into Italy" keeps the Greek eis ("into") word for word, but sounds odd in modern English.

Used elsewhere in the period

This verb appears often in Luke's sea narratives (Acts 21:3; 27:2, 24) and is common in all Greek of the period.

Where it appears

Luke · 1

  1. Luke 8:23 πλεόντων When were sailing

    As they sailed, He fell asleep, and a windstorm came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger.

    Here: Present participle: 'while they were sailing.' It sets the background. They are already out on the water, partway across, when everything else happens.

Acts · 4

  1. Acts 21:3 ἐπλέομεν we were sailing

    After sighting Cyprus and passing south of it, we sailed on to Syria and landed at Tyre, where the ship was to unload its cargo.

    Here: 'We kept sailing'. The past continuous tense pictures the long open-sea leg as one steady run under way.

  2. Acts 27:2 πλεῖν to sail

    We 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.

    Here: The plain verb for travelling by sea. Together with the previous word: 'scheduled to sail'.

  3. Acts 27:6 πλέον sailing

    There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship sailing for Italy and put us on board.

    Here: Present participle, "sailing", meaning on its way and bound for Italy. The ship was already on its voyage and had stopped at Myra; it was not a ship starting from there.

  4. Acts 27:24 πλέοντας sailing

    and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar. And look, God has granted you the lives of all who sail with you.’

    Here: A present participle: the people who are on this voyage right now. It names them by their shared danger, not by rank or by faith.

Revelation · 1

  1. Revelation 18:17 πλέων sailing

    For in a single hour such fabulous wealth has been destroyed!” Every shipmaster, passenger, and sailor, and all who make their living from the sea, will stand at a distance

    Here: Present participle: someone who habitually sails to a destination. Together, "the one who sails to a place" is an unusual expression, which is why scribes changed it.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.