The Greek ekbolē appears only in Acts 27:18 during Paul's shipwreck voyage: 'We took such a violent battering from the storm that the next day they began to throw the cargo overboard (ekbolēn epoiounto).' The sailors cast off the freight to save the ship — a vivid picture of desperate sacrifice of the valuable to preserve the essential.
Acts 27's ekbolē is not just navigation history but providential theology. The crew jettisoned the cargo; Paul received the word: 'last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me and said, Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you' (Acts 27:23-24). The ekbolē is human response to crisis; the angel's word is divine guarantee beyond human calculation. What the sailors tried to accomplish by throwing cargo, God accomplished by keeping his promise. The ship was lost, but all 276 lives were saved — exactly as spoken.