Although the root meaning of the verb rendered arrived means “to pass by,” it may also have the meaning of “to cross over to,” and therefore “to arrive.” In any case, most translators understand the meaning of the verb in its present context to be “arrived.”

Chios is one of the larger Aegean islands off the coast of Asia; it was a free state under the Roman administration.

The route taken by the ship was the most natural to follow; to have gone by Ephesus would have required extra sailing time and distance. Samos was also one of the larger Aegean islands, and, like Chios, it was a free state. It lay slightly south of Ephesus. Evidently it was felt that to sail directly from Chios to Miletus was too long a journey, and therefore the trip was broken by a stop at Samos. Miletus was a town located about 30 miles south of Ephesus.

In place of the reading and the following day some manuscripts read “and after stopping at Trogyllium, the following day” (see Jerusalem Bible; Revised Standard Version note, New English Bible alternative reading). The committee preparing the UBS text did not include this in its apparatus. The apparent reason for its inclusion in some ancient manuscripts is that the trip from Samos to Miletus would have been regarded as being too long for a single day.

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on The Acts of the Apostles. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1972. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .