Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible (1898)
SHIP. Dean Howson says that more about the ancients' merchant-ships is to be learned from Luke than from all the writers in classic literature. Some of these ships were very large, and probably the majority carried from 500 to 1000 tons. They were steered by two large paddles at the sides. , Castor and Pollux. Acts 28:11. " - Ayre. Nor need they hug the shore. The Hebrews were not sailors. We have no information in regard to the ships of their nautical neighbors.
The reference to rudder-bands, Acts 27:40, is thus explained: the rudder-paddles already mentioned "were lashed up lest they should interfere with the ground-tackle. " Ancient ships were properly galleys.
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