Bible Strands
Acts 27:37
In all, there were 276 of us on board.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The narrator reports the total number of survivors aboard the vessel after the storm and the crew's meal. This statement is made to the passengers and crew as they prepare to lighten the ship.
The words — The text supplies ψυχαὶ (psuchai), literally "souls" or "lives," functioning as a census term for the people. The phrase πᾶσαι ψυχαὶ (pasai psuchai) translates directly to "all souls" or "altogether in number."
The thread — This numerical tally parallels the population counts in Acts 2:41 and Acts 7:14, where specific groups are recorded. It maintains the biblical pattern of tracking exact numbers of those preserved or gathered.
Why it lands — The verse first states the concrete fact of 276 individuals remaining on board before implying divine preservation. It asks the reader to acknowledge that salvation and survival are historically grounded in specific, counted people rather than abstract concepts.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
And we were in all in the ship two hundred threescore and sixteen souls.
Cross-references
- Acts 2:41 Those who embraced his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to the believers that day.
- Acts 7:14 Then Joseph sent for his father Jacob and all his relatives, seventy-five in all.
- Romans 13:1 Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which is from God. The authorities that exist have been appointed by God.
- 1 Peter 3:20 who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In the ark a few people, only eight souls, were saved through water.