Bible Dictionary
Tackling
Tackling means the ropes, equipment, and other gear of a ship. In Paul’s voyage to Rome, the sailors threw much of the ship’s tackling overboard during the storm.
Definition
Tackling means the ropes, equipment, furniture, and general gear of a ship. In one passage it refers specifically to ropes attached to the mast; in another it denotes the ship’s removable equipment.
Biblical Usage
During Paul’s voyage to Rome, the sailors threw the ship’s tackling overboard during the storm. The word therefore includes the gear that could be removed to lighten the vessel.
Historical Background
The term reflects older nautical usage in which a ship’s tackling included its working equipment and rigging, not merely one particular rope or fitting.
Scripture References
Related Figures
Historical Bible Dictionaries
Easton's Bible Dictionary
(Isa. 33:23), the ropes attached to the mast of a ship. In Acts 27:19 this word means generally the furniture of the ship or the “gear” (27:17), all that could be removed from the ship.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>tak'-ling.</p><p>See SHIPS AND BOATS, II, 2, (2).</p>