Christian History Home > Issue 59 > On the Road
On the Road
The inns and outs of travel in first-century Palestine.
Merilyn Hargis | posted 7/01/1998 12:00AM
The first description of the Promised Land given to Moses captures the essence of Palestine's geography: "The land you are crossing the Jordan to take possession of is a land of mountains and valleys that drinks rain from heaven." Palestine itself was only the size of modern New Jersey, but its dramatic changes in elevation were only one of the countless perils for travelers.
Nevertheless, travel was a major part of first-century Palestinian life, as the Gospels record: Mary left Nazareth to visit Elizabeth in the hills of Judea; foreign dignitaries came to pay homage to the new king of the Jews; Jesus attended the wedding feast at Cana and visited with Mary, Martha, and Lazarus in Bethany. In fact, the travel narratives form a large proportion of the Gospels.
Getting around
The least expensive mode of transportation was, of course, walking. Walking speed depended on the climate, season, and terrain, but one could generally walk about 20 miles in a day. Itineraries and travelogues of ancient ...
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