Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

ROADS

Roadway (possibly the King’s Highway) running north-south through Moabite territory (J. R. Kautz)

Roads and streets during the OT period were generally two or more lanes in width (at least 3-4 m. [10-13 ft.]), wide enough to accommodate the traffic of chariots, carts, and wagons. During the Roman period roads ranged from two to five lanes in width. Until Roman times roads were generally unpaved, although city streets were occasionally paved. Although the technology of paving did exist, no paved road from the pre-Roman period has been found in Palestine, and unpaved thoroughfares are assumed in the biblical literature (cf. Hos. 2:6[MT 8]; Prov. 15:19; 22:5). Streets in ancient Mesopotamia were sometimes paved with techniques almost matching that of the Romans, comprising a foundation layer of bricks set in asphalt, over which was laid a surface of heavy limestone slabs, with the joints between them sealed with asphalt. In Israel the paving of city streets is attested as early as the Early Bronze Age. The Iron Age streets at Tell Deir ʿAlla were paved, and the paving was regularly refurbished. The main street of Israelite Dan was paved with stone. Cobbled streets from the Iron Age include the 3.5 m. (11.5 ft.)-wide street discovered at Ashdod and the 10th-century street at Gezer. The process of road building during the OT period is alluded to in Isa. 40:3; 57:14; 62:10; Mal. 3:1. The procedure simply involved “clearing” (Heb. pnh) the roadway and “smoothing” (yšr) and “leveling” (sll) the surface. The Romans introduced the practice of paving open highways. Their technology featured superb foundations, adequate drainage, and one or more layers of cement or stone paving designed to last for centuries. The remains of many of these paved Roman highways still exist today.

Roads were generally named according to their destinations. For example, the “Beth-shemesh road” mentioned in 1 Sam. 6:12 was the road which led to the town of Beth-shemesh, the “Bashan road” (Num. 14:25; Deut. 3:1) led to Bashan, and the Beth-haggan road (2 Kgs. 9:27) led to Beth-haggan.

Since few physical traces of pre-Roman roads have been discovered, determining the locations of these earlier thoroughfares is inferential. First, there may be evidence of a particular road in the historical sources. Judg. 21:19 mentions a highway from Bethel to Shechem, passing W of Shiloh. Second, lines of ancient settlements, as revealed by archaeological excavations or surveys, often testify to the existence of ancient thoroughfares, since roads determined settlement patterns. Cities, towns, villages, way stations, and forts generally sprung up along roads; even after a road fell into disuse and disappeared, the ruins of settlements which once flourished along the road continued to attest the former road’s existence. Third, the courses of later routes, including Roman, medieval, and 19th-century roads, frequently preserve the courses of OT period roads, since these later roads usually simply followed the courses of earlier roads. Finally, the geographical and topographical conditions of an area determined to a large degree the courses taken by roads. Mountain passes, river fords, harbors, easily traversed valleys, ascents, and springs attracted roads, while deep canyons, high mountains, swamps, deserts, and unfordable rivers were natural barriers avoided by roads.

The courses of many roads of Israel from both OT and NT periods have been traced. Some 245 OT period roads have been identified, including 62 roads running north-south through Israel’s coastal plain, 42 roads connecting the northern Sharon Plain with Transjordan and the Beqaʿ Valley, 34 north-south roads through the highlands of Judea and Samaria, five north-south roads through the western Jordan Valley, 14 local roads in Galilee, 29 in Samaria, and 59 in Judea. Of these, six were particularly important in biblical times, including two north-south highways and four east-west roads. The most important was undoubtedly the main international coastal highway and its northern branches. This highway connected Egypt in the south with Phoenicia, Syria, and Mesopotamia in the north. Coming from Egypt, the road entered Canaan near Gaza and proceeded northward through the coastal plain, passing Ashkelon, Ashdod, Aphek, and then skirting along the eastern edge of the Sharon Plain (which was swampy in biblical times). From the northern end of the Sharon Plain several passes led through the lower Mt. Carmel range and into the Jezreel Valley, the most important of which came out at Megiddo. From the Jezreel Valley one branch turned westward, passing north of Mt. Carmel and thence to Phoenicia. A second branch turned east and passed through Beth-shean to Transjordan. A third branch continued northward, passing Mt. Tabor, the Sea of Galilee, Hazor, and eventually reaching Mesopotamia.

The second important north-south highway was the Beer-sheba–Jerusalem–Jezreel road which ran along the crest of the Israelite highlands. This road led from Beer-sheba to Hebron, Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Gibeah, Ramah, Mizpeh, Bethel, Shiloh, Shechem, Samaria, Dothan, Ibleam, and Jezreel. The highway has been called the “Way of the Patriarchs,” since Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and his sons frequently traveled it; it is the road most often mentioned in biblical narratives.

The four important east-west roads provided passage across the Israelite highlands, linking the coastal plain and the Jordan Valley. The northernmost was the Jezreel Valley pass, which led through the Jezreel and Beth-shean valleys, passing the towns of Jokneam, Megiddo, Taanach, Jezreel, and Beth-shean. The second east-west route led past Samaria, the pass between Mts. Gerizim and Ebal, Shechem, and the Fariʿa Valley. The third pass linked the coast with the Jordan Valley by way of Gezer, the Beth-horon ascent, Gibeon, Jerusalem (or, alternately, by Bethel and Ai), and Jericho. The fourth pass connected Gaza with southern Transjordan by way of Gaza and Beer-sheba.

Bibliography. M. Avi-Yonah, “Map of Roman Palestine,” Quarterly of the Department of Antiquities of Palestine 5 (1936): 139-93; L. Casson, Travel in the Ancient World (1974, repr. Baltimore, 1994), 163-75; D. A. Dorsey, The Roads and Highways of Ancient Israel (Baltimore, 1991); R. J. Forbes, “Land Transport and Road-Building,” in Studies in Ancient Technology, 3rd ed. (Leiden, 1993) 2:131-92; Notes on the History of Ancient Roads and Their Construction (Amsterdam, 1934).

David A. Dorsey

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

ROADS

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)