Bible Lexicons

ναῦς is freely found in Aelian, Josephus, and other writers of the literary Κοινή, and, though not common, it occurs also in the vernacular, e.g. in one of the Zeno letters, PSI V. 533.13 (iii/B.C.) εἰς τὴν ναῦν, and in a business document P Lond 1164(h).7 (A.D. 212) (= III. p. 164) διὰ ̣ ν ̣εὼς σὺν ἱστῷ. Cf. from the inscrr. Cagnat IV. 33d. .11 (B.C. 47) μήτε αὐτοῖς ] ὅπλοις χρήμα [σι ν ]αυσὶ βοηθ [είτω, Syll 348(= .8 763).7 (B.C. 46) ἐν νηΐ, ib. 499 (= .3716) (end of ii/B.C.) ἐν τ [αῖ ]ς ἱεραῖς ναυσίν. The nom. plur. νῆες is seen on the Rosetta stone, OGIS 90.20 (B.C. 196) : for a later use of ναῦς in this same case, cf. Mayser Gr. p. 269 n..1, and see Lob. Phryn. p. 170 αἱ νῆες ἐρεῖς, οὐχ αἱ ναῦς, σόλοικον γάρ. Ναῦς is cited twenty times in HR from the LXX, but its solitary occurrence in the NT is in Acts 27:41, where Blass ad l. (cf. Philology, p. 186) thinks the word is taken from an Homeric phrase. That Luke should use Homer is natural : cf. also the Epic words and forms appearing in late Hellenistic and vulgar epitaphs, especially the metrical ones. For ναῦλον πλοίου the ";fare on a boat,"; see Wilcken Ostr i. p. 386 f. and cf. P Goodsp Cairo 30ii. 13 (A.D. 191–2) with the editor’s note.