• Acts 1

  • Video Introduction to the Book of Acts

  • Acts of Apostles—Some Major Events

  • Bethphage, the Mount of Olives, and Jerusalem

  • Upper Room

  • Acts 2

  • Theodotus Inscription to Greek-Speaking Jews

  • Pentecost 33 C.E. and the Spreading of the Good News

  • Acts 3

  • Solomon’s Colonnade

  • Acts 4

  • The Sanhedrin

  • Acts 5

  • Early Parchment Manuscript of the Christian Greek Scriptures

  • Solomon’s Colonnade

  • Preaching From House to House

  • Acts 6

  • Theodotus Inscription to Greek-Speaking Jews

  • Antioch of Syria

  • Acts 8

  • Activities of Philip the Evangelizer

  • Caesarea

  • Acts 9

  • Saul and Damascus

  • Saul on the Road to Damascus

  • Roman Road in Tarsus

  • Construction of a Roman Road

  • Theodotus Inscription to Greek-Speaking Jews

  • Joppa

  • Upper Room

  • Garments and Robes

  • Acts 11

  • Joppa

  • Antioch of Syria

  • Antioch of Syria—An Early Center of Christian Activity

  • Emperor Claudius

  • Acts 12

  • Herod Agrippa I

  • Acts 13

  • Acts of Apostles—Paul’s First Missionary Tour (Ac 13:1–14:28) c. 47-48 C.E.

  • Antioch of Syria

  • Antioch of Syria—An Early Center of Christian Activity

  • Coin From Cyprus, With the Title “Proconsul”

  • Acts 15

  • Acts of Apostles—Paul’s Second Missionary Tour (Ac 15:36–18:22) c. 49-52 C.E.

  • Acts 16

  • Neapolis

  • A Place of Prayer Near Philippi

  • Acts 17

  • Beroea

  • Altars to Unknown Gods

  • Acts 18

  • Synagogue in the City of Ostia

  • Corinth—A Thriving Metropolis

  • Emperor Claudius

  • Judgment Seat in Corinth

  • Gallio Inscription

  • Harbor of Ancient Cenchreae

  • Caesarea

  • Acts of Apostles—Paul’s Third Missionary Tour (Ac 18:23–21:17) c. 52-56 C.E.

  • Acts 19

  • Inscription Mentioning Ephesian Silversmiths

  • The Theater and Surroundings in Ephesus

  • Acts 20

  • Paul’s Visits to Miletus

  • Preaching From House to House

  • Wolf

  • Acts 21

  • Activities of Philip the Evangelizer

  • “The Wall in Between”

  • Roman Road in Tarsus

  • Acts 22

  • Saul and Damascus

  • Roman Citizenship

  • The Sanhedrin

  • Acts 23

  • Roman Spears

  • Acts 24

  • The Sanhedrin

  • Acts 25

  • Caesar Nero

  • Acts 27

  • Acts of Apostles—Paul’s Trip to Rome and His First Imprisonment There (Ac 27:1–28:31)

  • First-Century Merchant Ship

  • An Anchor of Wood and Metal

  • Sounding Weights

  • Acts 28

  • Construction of a Roman Road

  • The City of Rome

  • The Appian Way

  • Paul’s Prison Bonds While He Was Under House Arrest

  • Caesar Nero

The items shown in the illustrations and 3-D video footage in the Media Gallery are based on extensive research. However, they are artists’ renditions and, at times, depict only one of several possibilities.

Sounding Weights

Sounding Weights

These weights (1), which varied in shape and size, are among the oldest known nautical instruments. They were tied to a rope and thrown over the side of a ship. When the weight hit the seafloor, sailors used the rope to measure the depth beneath the ship’s hull (2). The bottom of some weights had a layer of tallow, a soft substance that would pick up fragments, such as pebbles and sand, from the seafloor. When the weight was retrieved, these fragments would be brought to the surface for the sailors to inspect. Though various materials were used, sounding weights were typically made of lead. Appropriately, the Greek verb for “to sound the depth; to make a sounding” used at Ac 27:28 literally means “to heave the lead.”

1. Sounding weight

2. Rope

Courtesy of Israel Antiquities Authority

Related Scripture(s)

Ac 27:28
Acts 1
Acts 2
Acts 3
Acts 4
Acts 5
Acts 6
Acts 8
Acts 9
Acts 11
Acts 12
Acts 13
Acts 15
Acts 16
Acts 17
Acts 18
Acts 19
Acts 20
Acts 21
Acts 22
Acts 23
Acts 24
Acts 25
Acts 27
Acts 28