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G99 · Greek · New Testament
Ἀδρίας
Adrias
Proper noun
The Adriatic Sea; the sea between Italy and Greece

Definition

The Greek word Adrias refers to the Adriatic Sea — in ancient usage a broader region than today's Adriatic, encompassing the central Mediterranean between Italy, Sicily, Greece, and North Africa. It appears in Acts 27:27 during the account of Paul's shipwreck voyage.

Usage & Theological Significance

The ancient Adrias was a larger body of water than the modern Adriatic, including what we now call the Ionian Sea and parts of the central Mediterranean. Paul's ship was driven for fourteen nights through this sea in the great storm of Acts 27, one of the most vivid survival narratives in ancient literature. Luke's eyewitness account (note the 'we' passages) records the sailors' terror, Paul's supernatural calm, the angel's assurance, and God's preservation of all 276 souls on board. The Adriatic, feared by ancient sailors for its treacherous conditions, becomes the stage on which God demonstrates his sovereignty over creation and his faithfulness to his appointed messenger.

Key Bible Verses

Acts 27:27 When the fourteenth night had come, as we were being driven across the Adriatic Sea, about midnight the sailors suspected that they were nearing land.
Acts 27:20 When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope of our being saved was at last abandoned.
Acts 27:25 'So take heart, men, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told.'
Psalm 107:29 He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed.
Matthew 8:26 He said to them, 'Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?' Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea.

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