Roads
Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament [1]
ROADS. —Roads imply a certain amount of civilization. In primitive times it was only near the great centres that regularly built roads were to be found, and even there they were poor and few. In the days of the Empire it was different. The Romans knew the value of good roads, and spared no pains on them. The remains that have come down to us would do credit to modern engineers. They were well bottomed and well laid, and from ten to fourteen feet wide, generally broadest when the cutting was through solid rock. The foundations were of stone, and when allowed to fall into disrepair were rough and slippery, and very trying to the nerves of travellers. In the provinces the roads were under the care of the governors; elsewhere they were under the charge of special officers—frequently of high rank. Along the great military highways were stations, or guard-houses, where the soldiers had not only to see to the preservation of peace and the safety of travellers, but had also to attend to the maintenance of the roads themselves. There the tolls were levied. It was probably at one of these places that Matthew was sitting at the receipt of custom when Jesus called him ( Matthew 9:9). As the highways between the East and the West passed through the land of the Israelites, making its geographical position unique, it may be well to indicate one or two of these. Cf. map of Palestine in vol. i.
1. The most northerly, and in some respects the most important, was that connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Euphrates Valley. Starting at Acco (Ptolemais), it ran, according to Ramsay, till it came to Karn Hattin near to Cana, and then almost due cast to Tiberias. Skirting the shores of the Sea of Galilee, it crossed the Jordan near Bethsaida, and went over a spur of the Anti-Libanus, and then east by north to Damascus. This road is said to have been a rich source of revenue to the Romans. In the time of the Crusades it was known as the Via Maris .
2. From Damascus there came another road, a little to the east of the former, which reached almost to the Sea of Galilee, and then, bending southward on the east side of Jordan, passed beyond the Dead Sea. This was probably the way that the Syrian and Assyrian armies took in their advance on Israel ( 2 Kings 8:28; 2 Kings 9:14; 2 Kings 10:32, 1 Chronicles 5:26).
3. There was also the road along the Mediterranean; and this, both in peace and war, was of the first importance. It ran through Acco, Caesarea, Joppa, Ashdod, and Gaza into Egypt. Along this road St. Paul was sent to Caesarca ( Acts 23:23; Acts 23:33).
4. From Jerusalem roads branched out to north, south, east, and west. ( a ) There was one through Samaria connecting Judaea and Galilee. Although the direct road from Jerusalem to Galilee, it was seldom used by the devout Jews, on account of the hatred that existed between them and the Samaritans. It was by this road that Jesus journeyed when He spoke to the woman of Samaria ( John 4:4). ( b ) In ordinary circumstances the Jews preferred to avoid intercourse with the Samaritans, hence in going northward they took the road leading down by Jericho, over the Jordan, and up through Peraea. ( c ) To the west, another road ran from Jerusalem to Jaffa, passing Gibeah, Bethhoron, and Lydda; while ( d ) to the south the road went through Bethlehem to Hebron, where it split in two: one going through the wilderness by way of Beersheba, and the other going west to the coast and passing through Gaza. The latter is supposed to be the way taken by Philip ( Acts 8:26), because tradition has it that the eunuch was baptized in the vicinity of Hebron.
These roads played an important part in the diffusion of the gospel. The people who live on the main avenues of traffic are usually of a freer spirit and more open mind than those who dwell in the quiet and cultured towns; and for this reason Jesus got a better hearing in Galilee than in the more polished south. By following the main routes of travel and traffic, St. Paul was led to the chief cities of his day, and found there acceptance for his message, which was carried thence by traders and others into the remote corners or the Empire. The roads were not, even in the days of the Romans, free from danger; witness Luke 10:30; but neither brigandage nor violence was common upon them.
Literature.—G. A. Smith, HGHL [Note: GHL Historical Geog. of Holy Land.] , Index, s.v. ‘Roads’; artt. by F. Buhl and W. M. Ramsay in Hasting's Dictionary of the Bible, Extra Vol. pp. 368–402; Thomson, LB [Note: The Land and the Book.] ; Stanley, SP [Note: P Sinai and Palestine.] : Conder, Palestine ; Kinglake, Eothen .
R. Leggat.
