The Greek verb ekkolumbao is a compound of ek (out) and kolumbao (to swim), meaning to swim out or swim away from something. It appears only once in the New Testament, in the account of Paul's shipwreck near Malta (Acts 27:42), where soldiers wanted to kill the prisoners lest they swim away and escape.
This single vivid occurrence anchors a remarkable providential narrative. God had promised through an angel that all on board Paul's ship would be saved (Acts 27:24). The soldiers' plan to kill the prisoners would have frustrated this divine promise. The centurion Julius, wanting to save Paul, stopped them (Acts 27:43). Through various means — some swimming (ekkolumbao), some floating on planks — "everyone reached land safely" (v.44), fulfilling God's word. The narrative illustrates that divine promises are kept through ordinary, even desperate human actions. God's sovereignty works through shipwrecks, swimming, and soldiers' whims.