Mile

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

The word mile, in Matthew 5:41 , is spoken of the Roman milliare, or mile, which contained eight stadia, 1,000 paces, that is, about 1,614 yards, while the English mile contains 1,760 yards.

Easton's Bible Dictionary

Matthew 5:41

Fausset's Bible Dictionary

A Roman measure, 1,618 yards, only in Matthew 5:41. Roman milestones are still seen here and there in Palestine. Our mile is 1,760 yards.

Holman Bible Dictionary

Matthew 5:41

Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary

The Hebrews did not measure by the mile, but by the cubit. Our translators of the Bible have, however, very properly, rendered the measurement by the English standard; so that a mile, in our language, corresponds to two thousand cubits, and a furlong is the eighth part of a mile.

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

MILE. See Weights and Measures.

Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament

MILE. —See Weights and Measures.

King James Dictionary

MILE, n. L. mille passus, a thousand paces passus being dropped in common usage. A measure of length or distance, containing eight furlongs, 320 rods, poles or perches, 1760 yards, 5280 feet, or 80 chains. The Roman mile was a thousand paces, equal to 1600 yards English measure.

Morrish Bible Dictionary

See WEIGHTS AND MEASURES.

People's Dictionary of the Bible

Mile, the Roman, equal to 1618 English yards—4854 feet, or about nine-tenths of an English mile. It is only once noticed in the Bible. Matthew 5:41.

Smith's Bible Dictionary

Mile. A Roman measure of length, equal to 1618 English yards - 4854 feet, or about nine-tenths of an English mile. It is only once noticed in the Bible, Matthew 5:41, the usual method of reckoning, both in the New Testament, and in Josephus being by the stadium. The mile of the Jews is said to have been of two kinds, long or short, dependent on the length of the pace, which varied in different parts, the long pace being double the length of the short one.

Vine's Expository Dictionary of NT Words

1: Μίλιον (Strong'S #3400 — Noun Neuter — milion — mil'-ee-on )

"a Roman mile," a word of Latin origin (1680 yards), is used in Matthew 5:41 .

Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary

a measure of length, containing a thousand paces. Eight stadia or furlongs make a mile. The Romans commonly measured by miles, and the Greeks by furlongs. The furlong was a hundred and twenty-five paces; the pace was five feet. The ancient Hebrews had neither miles, furlongs, nor feet, but only the cubit, the reed, and the line. The rabbins make a mile to consist of two thousand cubits, and four miles make a parasang.

Webster's Dictionary

(n.) A certain measure of distance, being equivalent in England and the United States to 320 poles or rods, or 5,280 feet.

Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types

Matthew 5:41 (a) The term is used to describe those actions wherein we do more than is expected of us. We give more than is requested of us. We show an interest beyond that which is required.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

mı̄l ( μίλιον , mı́lion , Latin mille passus , milia passuum ): A thousand paces, equal to 1,618 English yards. ( Matthew 5:41 ). See Weights And Measures .

Kitto's Popular Cyclopedia of Biblial Literature

This word is only mentioned in , where Christ says, 'If anyone compel thee to go with him one mile, go with him two.' The mile was originally (as its derivation from mille, 'a thousand,' implies) a Roman measure of 1000 geometrical paces (passus) of 5 feet each, and was therefore equal to 5000 Roman feet. Taking the Roman foot at 11.6496 English inches, the Roman mile would be 1618 English yards, or 142 yards less than the English statute mile. By another calculation, in which the foot is taken at 11.62 inches, the mile would be little more than 1614 yards. The number of Roman miles in a degree of a large circle of the earth is very little more than 75. The Roman mile contained 8 Greek stadia. The Greek stade hence bore the same relation to the Roman mile which the English furlong does to the English mile.

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

(μίλιον , the Greek form of the Latin milliarium, from mille, a thousand, Matthew 5:41), a Roman measure of 1000 geometrical paces (passus) of five feet each, and therefore equal to 5000 Roman feet (see Smith's Dict. of Greek and Roman Antiq. s.v. Milliare). Taking the Roman foot at 11.6496 English inches, the Roman mile would be 1618 English yards, or 142 yards less than the English statute mile (see Penny Cyclopaedia, s.v.). By another calculation, in which the foot is taken at 11.62 inches, the mile would be little more than 1614 yards. The number of Roman miles in a degree of a large circle of the earth is little more than 75 (see Ukert, Geogr. d. Griech. I, 2:75). The most common Latin term for the mile is mille passuum, or only the initials M.P.; sometimes the word passuum is omitted. The Roman mile contained eight Greek stadia (Pliny, 2:21). Hence it is usual with the earlier writers on Biblical geography to translate the Greek "stade" into the English "furlong" in stating the measurements of Eusebius and Jerome, who, like the early itineraries, always reckon by Roman miles. (See Furlong).

The Talmudists also employed this measure (which they call מַיל, Otho, Lex. Rabb. page 421), but estimate it at 7½ stadia (Baba Mezia, 33:1), as also the Roman historians frequently reckon it, without geographical or mathematical accuracy (Forbiger, Handbuch d. alt. Geogr. 1:555). Mile-stones were set up along the roads constructed by the Romans in Palestine (Reland, Pulaest. page 401 sq.), and to this day they may be seen, here and there, in that country (Robinson, Bib. Res. 2:161, note; 2:306). The mile of the Jews is said to have been of two kinds, long or short, dependent on the length of the pace, which varied in different parts, the long pace being double the length of the short one (Carpzov, Apparat. page 679). (See Metrology).