Greek word · G5284
ὑποπλέω
hypopleō
to sail the lee
'To sail under', meaning to sail close beside a coast or island on the side sheltered from the wind. The 'under' (hypo) is about shelter, not about direction on a map.
Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·
What it means
From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).
In depth
- Range of meaning
'To sail under', meaning to sail close beside a coast or island on the side sheltered from the wind. The 'under' (hypo) is about shelter, not about direction on a map.
- Against the English
KJV and YLT have 'sailed under Cyprus', a nautical idiom many modern readers misread as 'south of'. BSB and NIV have 'to the lee of', ESV and WEB 'under the lee of', and NASB 'under the shelter of'. These are more accurate, but they depend on knowing what 'lee' means (the side facing away from the wind). The NLT simply names the side: north of Cyprus, between the island and the mainland.
- How it drifted
On modern north-up maps, 'under' means 'south'. Ancient Greek had no such habit. Here 'under' is like 'under cover'.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Rare in Greek literature. In the New Testament it appears only in Acts 27:4 and 27:7 (under Crete, off Salmone). Lexicons such as BDAG s.v. ὑποπλέω give 'sail under the lee of'.
- Range of meaning
'To sail under', a technical sailing term meaning to sail along the lee (sheltered, downwind side) of an island or coast, so that the land blocks the wind.
- Against the English
KJV/YLT 'sailed under Crete' is literal but unclear to modern readers. WEB and BSB 'under the lee of' / 'to the lee of' get the technical sense. NLT 'along the sheltered coast' spells it out.
- How it drifted
'Under' in the KJV can be read as 'south of' (as on a map) or as nonsense. It actually means 'in the shelter of'. Here the sheltered side happened to be the south coast, so the map reading is accidentally right in location but misses the reason.
- Used elsewhere in the period
In Acts it occurs only in 27:4 (under the lee of Cyprus) and 27:7. It is a recognised term of Greek seamanship.
Where it appears
Acts · 2
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Acts 27:4 ὑπεπλεύσαμεν we sailed under
After putting out from there, we sailed to the lee of Cyprus because the winds were against us.
Here: 'We sailed under', meaning the ship kept close to Cyprus on its sheltered side, using the island as a windbreak. A rare word, used in the New Testament only here and in 27:7 (under Crete).
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Acts 27:7 ὑπεπλεύσαμεν we sailed under
After sailing slowly for many days, we arrived off Cnidus. When the wind impeded us, we sailed to the lee of Crete, opposite Salmone.
Here: 'We sailed under' Crete: along its sheltered side, using the island as a windbreak. The aorist tense sums up the manoeuvre as a single decision and movement.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.