Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

TRAVEL, TRANSPORTATION

Individuals in biblical times traveled for the same reasons people have always traveled: searching for employment (Judg. 17:8), procuring goods (Prov. 31:14), moving (1 Kgs. 2:36), courting (Judg. 14:5-7), attending weddings and funerals (Gen. 50:1-14; Judg. 14:8-10; John 2:1), visiting relatives and friends (Luke 1:39; 2 Kgs. 8:29), and attending banquets (2 Sam. 13:27). Merchants thronged the highways, and messengers traveled everywhere, serving as the postal service of the biblical world. Royal officials moved back and forth on behalf of their governments, visiting foreign dignitaries (2 Sam. 10), serving as ambassadors (Isa. 30, 39; Jer. 27), collecting taxes (2 Kgs. 15:20), procuring provisions for the palace (1 Kgs. 4:27-28), and overseeing the labor gangs (1 Kgs. 5:13-17; 11:28-29). People traveled for various religious occasions (cf. 1 Sam. 1; 1 Kgs. 12; 2 Kgs. 10; Amos 5:4-5; Luke 2:41; John 2:13). Armies constantly moved about for military purposes.

Modes of Travel

Travel by land was confined to only a few modes: foot, donkey, mule, horse, camel, palanquin (rarely attested), and chariot. People in both the OT and NT periods normally traveled by foot (Num. 13:23; Deut. 11:24-25; 29:5; Josh. 1:3; 3:13, 15; Matt. 10:10-14). Travel by donkey-back was also common, by women and children (Josh. 15:18; Judg. 1:14; 1 Sam. 25:20, 23, 42; 2 Sam. 16:1-2) or men who were old or infirm (2 Sam. 19:26).

Occasional travel by mule-back is mentioned from David’s time on (2 Sam. 13:29; 18:9; 1 Kgs. 1:33-44), becoming much more common by the Roman period. Travel by horseback also seems to have been a rarity in ancient Israel, at least as a mode of everyday travel. Nearly all references to riding horseback are in military settings (cf. 1 Kgs. 20:20; 2 Kgs. 7:13-15; Isa. 30:16; Jer. 6:23; 50:42; 51:21). Allusions to traveling by horseback in times of peace include 2 Kgs. 9:18-19; Esth. 6:8-11; 8:10; Job 39:18; and possibly Eccl. 10:7. During the Roman period higher government officials often traveled by horseback (although the stirrup had still not been introduced). Travel by camel is only occasionally mentioned in the biblical period (Gen. 24:10, 64; Judg. 6:5; 7:12; 1 Sam. 30:17; Isa. 66:20).

Palanquins (sedan chairs) may have been used occasionally as a means of travel in Israel, since their use is attested elsewhere in the ancient world (cf. Cant. 3:7-10). During the NT period the sedan chair became more common, particularly among the well-to-do.

The light, horse-drawn chariot first appeared early in the 2nd millennium b.c.e., having developed from the heavier riding carts of the 3rd millennium. With its two spoked wheels and light body, pulled by two horses, the chariot had far greater mobility than its predecessors, making it an important vehicle for armies. At first, chariots were only owned by Canaanites (Josh. 11:4, 6, 9; 17:16, 18; Judg. 1:19; 4:3, 7, 13, 15-16). Eventually David began to develop Israel’s own chariotry (2 Sam. 8:4; 1 Chr. 18:4). Solomon had 1400 chariots, which he garrisoned in chariot cities (1 Kgs. 4:26; 10:26). The Israelite chariot was pulled by two horses (cf. Zech. 6:1-3) and was probably ridden into battle by at least two men, a driver and an archer (1 Kgs. 22:34-35; 2 Kgs. 9:24-25). Individuals also traveled about in chariots during times of peace (cf. 2 Sam. 15:1; cf. 1 Sam. 8:11). Peacetime travel by chariot continued into the NT period, although the NT mentions only that of the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8; ; cf. Rev. 9:9; 18:13). More common was travel by carriage, a riding vehicle used throughout the Roman world, particularly by more well-to-do citizens. The verreda was drawn by four mules and could transport two to three persons, while the two-wheeled birota had three mules and carried one or two passengers.

Rate of Travel

A typical day’s journey by foot was ca. 32 km. (20 mi.), depending on terrain and road conditions. During the Persian period ordinary travelers averaged ca. 29 km. (18 mi.) a day on the Royal Road, and could cross the entire empire from Persepolis to the Aegean Sea in about three months. Josephus states that the journey from the southern edge of Galilee to Jerusalem, a distance of ca. 105 km. (65 mi.), was generally done in three days by foot, in two by horseback. The journey of Mary and Joseph from Nazareth to Bethlehem, therefore, was probably a three-day trip, if they took the shortest and most commonly used route through Samaria.

Travel by horse or mule was somewhat faster (and less tiring), averaging ca. 5 km. (3 mi.) per hour in normal terrain. A person could travel 40-48 km. (25-30 mi.) in a day on horseback without too much difficulty, and the couriers of the ancient world covered far greater distances. Camels could travel 40 km. (25 mi.) a day, even carrying loads of 225-450 kg. (500-1000 lb.), and could continue three days without water. When necessary, distances of up to 96 km. (60 mi.) in a single day were possible. By chariot or carriage 40-48 km. (25-30 mi.) could easily be covered in a day, 64-72 km. (40-45 mi.) if one were in a hurry — although such distances would be tiring.

Messengers and couriers traveled more quickly. Hammurabi of Babylon (18th century) expected an official at Larsa (195 km. [120 mi.] away) to travel day and night and to arrive at Babylon within two days (i.e., 95 km. [60 mi.] a day). Imperial Persian messengers covered the Royal Road from Persepolis to Sardis (a distance of ca. 2510 km. [1560 mi.]) in nine days, averaging ca. 275 km. (170 mi.) a day. This efficient postal service was set up somewhat like the Pony Express in early America, with regular posting stations ca. 24 km. (15 mi.) apart, with fresh horses and riders. Roman government couriers averaged 8 km. (5 mi.) per hour (by horse or carriage), 80 km. (50 mi.) per day.

Armies generally moved at speeds of up to 22-24 km. (14-15 mi.) a day. Thutmose III crossed Sinai from Egypt to Gaza, a distance of ca. 240 km. (150 mi.), in nine or 10 days (ca. 8 km. [5 mi.] per day). Alexander the Great’s army, famous for its speed, could average 29-32 km. (18-20 mi.) a day, but on certain occasions even marched ca. 72 km. (45 mi.) in a single day.

Traveling Conditions

Throughout the biblical period travel was generally not as difficult as some have suggested. The Persian royal road had inns and way stations spaced at intervals of 17-24 km. (10-15 mi.), depending upon the terrain. Evidence suggests that inns and way stations existed in Israel during the OT period (cf. Josh. 4:3, 8; Isa. 10:29; Gen. 42:27; 43:21; Exod. 4:24). During the Roman period a fairly adequate network of inns and hostels existed throughout the empire. These serviced the traveler with food, a place to sleep, and care for his animals. Along the Appian Way inns were available at Bobillae, 19 km. (12 mi.) from Rome, then 6.5 km. (4 mi.) farther at Aricia, and then another 27 km. (17 mi.) along at Tres Tabernae, where some Christians met Paul on his way to Rome (Acts 28:15). Normally, larger inns were established at intervals of 40-48 km. (25-30 mi.) in desert and unpopulated areas, much closer in densely settled areas. Usually there was an inn (mansiones), followed by one or two more simple hostels (mutationes), then another larger inn, and so forth.

Transportation

Goods and materials of considerable size and weight often had to be transported by farmers, taxpayers, merchants, and the like. By far the most common means of transport was the donkey, whose superiority in transportation was due to the fact that it can travel easily along steep and stony mountain paths which could not be used for wheeled vehicles and which would be uncomfortable or dangerous for camels (cf. Gen. 22:3; 42:26, 27; 44:13; 45:23; Josh. 9:4; Neh. 13:15).

Other beasts of burden include the mule, the camel, and the ox (cf. 1 Chr. 12:40). Use of the camel for transportation in Israel during the biblical period was limited. The camel, or more accurately the dromedary (the one-humped Camelus dramedarius, or Arabian camel), began to be more frequently used toward the end of the 2nd millennium. This animal could carry much greater loads than the donkey, having perhaps five times the capacity of the later, and was able to travel for extended periods of time without water, which made it especially valuable in desert transportation. Its disadvantage was that its physical makeup, especially its wide, tender hooves, prevented it from being a useful beast of burden in hilly regions and on rugged or rocky mountain paths.

In addition to pack animals, the Israelites used wagons (four-wheeled) and carts (two-wheeled) to transport goods (Gen. 45:19, 21, 27; 46:5; 2 Sam. 6:3-6; Isa. 5:18; 28:27, 28; Amos 2:13). A two-wheeled cart appears in Sennacherib’s relief of the siege of Lachish, drawn by two oxen, carrying two women and two children who are sitting atop some bundles. During the Roman period the most common means of land transportation was the ox-drawn wagon, normally drawn by eight oxen or horses in the summer, 10 in the winter. Heavy goods, army supplies, products from the imperial estates, lower officials, soldiers traveling great distances, and sick people were all transported by these heavy clabulariae, which could carry as much as 1500 Roman pounds. Express goods, precious metals, etc., were carried by the swifter cursus velox, which employed several types of lighter carriages.

Bibliography. L. Casson, Travel in the Ancient World (1974, repr. Baltimore, 1994), 163-75; V. G. Childe, “Wheeled Vehicles,” in C. Singer et al., eds., A History of Technology (London, 1954) 1:716-29; S. M. Cole, “Land Transport Without Wheels,” in Singer, A History of Technology 1:704-12; D. A. Dorsey, The Roads and Highways of Ancient Israel (Baltimore, 1991); R. G. Goodchild and R. J. Forbes, “Roads and Land Travel,” in Singer, A History of Technology 2:493-536; Forbes, “Land Transport and Road-Building,” in Studies in Ancient Technology, 3rd ed. (Leiden, 1993) 2:131-92; M. A. Littauer and J. H. Crouwel, Wheeled Vehicles and Ridden Animals in the Ancient Near East. HO 7/1, 2/B/1 (Leiden, 1979).

David A. Dorsey

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

TRAVEL, TRANSPORTATION

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)