Until the twentieth century, traveling farther than a week’s
distance from home was dangerous and expensive. We should not
overstate the difficulty or risks of travel then, but certainly it
was unlike today. Since virtually every region had its own currency,
travelers carried cash and were at risk from thieves, money changers,
innkeepers, slavers, and others who preyed upon travelers, as well as
from the natural dangers of storms, floods, early snows, and so
forth. Outside of cities, there was little law enforcement for the
typical traveler (Ezra 8:22). Family was often one’s only
defender against injustice (Gen. 14:12–16; Ps. 127:3–5).
For
travelers in the biblical world, improvement was slow and gradual.
During the time of the patriarchs, travelers faced poor roads,
bandits, and no security other than what they could provide
themselves (Gen. 14:14). Later Assyrian documents complain of
difficult roads. Sargon II (r. 722–705 BC) boasted, “I
advanced over inaccessible paths (in) steep and terrifying places”
(ARAB 2:25–26). Sennacherib (r. 705–681 BC) tells of
having to travel on foot because the road was too steep for his
litter (ARAB 2:122–23). Persian roads improved modestly, but
Herodotus probably is exaggerating the improvements (Hist. 8.98), as
Xenophon seems to indicate (Anab. 1.2.25). Many sources speak of
bandits (Ezra 8:31; Hos. 6:9). Thus, safe travel or good roads became
a metaphor for peace. When ancient kings bragged, it often was about
roads they had built or how the roads were now safe. The arrival of
the kingdom of God was symbolized by repairing the road (Isa. 40:3–5;
Luke 3:4–6).
Major
improvements came with the Roman Empire. For the first (and last)
time, a traveler could go from the Euphrates to Egypt to Britain on
well-policed roads and sea lanes under one’s own government.
Enforced law and standardized, trustworthy coinage had distinct
advantages (Isa. 33:8; Matt. 22:15–22).
Running
empires required traveling. Envoys (Jer. 27:3), tax collectors (Dan.
11:20), and overseers (1 Kings 5:13–17), as well as
armies, moved about on imperial business. While farmers and local
merchants traveled limited distances to sell their wares (usually to
the closest large city), fortunes could be made by the more
adventuresome merchant willing to take the greater risks of traveling
farther distances (Gen. 37:28; 1 Kings 10; Job 6:19; Prov.
31:14; Isa. 23:8; Matt. 13:45). The ancient world also saw
individuals doing a great deal of local travel (less than sixty
miles), usually connected to business (Prov. 31:14), religious
festivals (1 Sam. 1; John 10), and family (Gen. 50:1–14;
2 Kings 8:29; Luke 1:39; John 2:1); often the three were woven
together.
Travel
in the ancient world was by sea or land. Except for the wealthy, this
meant booking passage or walking. Sentimental images of a pregnant
Mary riding a donkey to Bethlehem or of the apostle Paul doing
missionary travels on horseback are likely fiction. Although there is
some evidence of women traveling on donkeys (Josh. 15:18; 1 Sam.
25:20, 23; 2 Sam. 16:1–2), the stories are of prominent
women or unusual occasions; it should not be assumed to be normative.
Obviously, the infirm rode when required to travel, but they
preferred not to travel (2 Sam. 19:26–37). The wealthiest
used private transport (Acts 8:27–28). We have references to
travel by donkey, mule, camel, horse, cart, litter, and chariot, but
ordinary people walked. Typically, a good day’s walk was twenty
miles; sea travel was by daylight and averaged roughly the same.
Calculating how long it took someone to travel, though, is not merely
a matter of math. Both sea and land travelers were fair-weather
travelers, usually between June and September. On a long journey, one
had to plan where to “winter.” Ancient travelers had to
make their travel plans around the seasons.
Travel
by Land
Roads.
Until the Romans, a “road” was merely a cleared path.
They were ungraded and often impassable in wet weather. Nonetheless,
they followed a distinct route, marked by “guideposts”
(Jer. 31:21). In the ancient world, major roads ran east-west from
Syria into Mesopotamia. North-south roads connected Syria to Egypt,
through Palestine. The Assyrian army invaded Israel by traveling west
on the road as far as Syria and then turning south. The battles
fought in Gen. 14 were to control the north-south road (and thus
trade). Solomon built wealth by controlling this trade (2 Chron.
9:14). Three major roads ran north-south through Israel. (1) The
King’s Highway (Num. 20:17) ran through the eastern region,
from Damascus through the eastern highlands of the Transjordan and
down to the Gulf of Aqaba, where Solomon maintained a port (2 Chron.
8:17). (2) The central (or Sinai) road ran from Sidon south to
Tyre, Akko, Shechem, Jerusalem, Hebron, Beersheba, Kadesh Barnea,
into the Negev, and on to Egypt. (3) The Sea Road (Via Maris)
ran from Damascus to Hazor through the Valley of Jezreel (the Plain
of Esdraelon through the Megiddo Pass), down the coast of Israel
through Gaza and into Egypt. Taking Megiddo meant controlling this
road and the trade. The Egyptians (Thutmose III) defeated the
Canaanites and took this road around 1468 BC. David captured it about
1000 BC. Josiah died defending this road against the Egyptians
(Necho II) in 609 BC.
The
Greeks extended a major road connecting through Asia Minor to the
ancient road running into Mesopotamia. The Romans built roads of flat
stone placed upon foundations. Parts of these roads are still in use
today. From Rome they built to the sea (Via Ostiensis, Via
Portuensis), to the south (Via Appia), to the west (Via Aurelia), to
the north (Via Flaminia), to the Adriatic (Via Salaria, Via Valeria),
and to the east (Via Ignatia) connecting Rome to Greece and thus to
the rest of the biblical world.
Lodgings.
Land travel necessitated lodgings. The wealthy near Rome often had
homes along the common routes that they plied. Slaves ran ahead to
announce that the master was coming. Friends and those on the
master’s business likely used these homes as well when
traveling. When off the normal route, an aristocrat traveled with a
retinue of servants, wagons, and tents to enable a well-equipped (and
secure) camp each evening. The ordinary traveler had no extra homes
or entourages. Groups large enough for safety could camp near town.
Individuals relied upon hospitality in town. Those individual
travelers unfortunate to lack any kinship with townsfolk often had no
recourse but inns. Petronius (Sat. 94–97) tells a seamy story
of misadventures in the roadside inns of his day. Archaeology and
literature describe ill-kept dumps involving disreputable
proprietors, questionable guests, and plenty of loose morals. Ancient
Hebrews and early Christians emphasized hospitality (Gen. 19:1–2;
Judg. 19:11–20; Rom. 12:13; 1 Pet. 4:9; 3 John 8).
Distance
and duration.
Using the distances between ancient stopping places, travel records,
and comments in literary sources, scholars generally agree that a
normal walking traveler could expect to cover twenty miles in a day.
Peter’s trip from Joppa to Caesarea (about forty miles) took
two days (Acts 10:23–30). Travelers using beasts of burden
generally covered the same distance. Chariots averaged a bit better,
perhaps twenty-five to thirty miles per day. Whether they actually
traveled farther or just stopped earlier for the night is debatable.
Horseback was intended for speed and could easily average fifty miles
per day. Yet we must avoid the mistake of calculating travel time
between places by simple math. While such calculations generally hold
true for one- or two-day journeys (Acts 10), longer journeys
encountered delays. Towns along main roads were commonly spaced a
day’s walk apart. Yet it is unwise to assume that a traveler
always left the next morning after an overnight stay. Jesus warned
his traveling preachers against such rudeness (Luke 10:5–7).
Moreover, the host likely provided the food supplies and extra funds
for the traveler’s next walk (3 John 5–8; Did.
11.5–6). Certainly, Jewish travelers were affected by Sabbaths
and feasts. Not only would they not travel on those days, but also
they likely would delay or rush to reach a particular location (Acts
20:2–5, 16; 1 Cor. 16:8). Ancients traveled according to a
different tempo than modern Westerners.
Seasons
caused more serious delays. When traveling season ended, travelers
were forced to spend the winter wherever they were at that time. If
possible, they did not leave this to chance but rather planned where
to “winter” (Jer. 36:22; Acts 27:12; 1 Cor. 16:6;
Titus 3:12). Terrain was a serious consideration. Mountain passes and
river fords were obvious factors, and ancients often took the easier
(or safer) though longer path. Hence, there were three roads leading
from Perga to Pisidian Antioch, the longest (western) being the
safest and easiest. Uphill journeys, snow-blocked passes, and flash
floods slowed ancient travelers, sometimes stranding them longer than
their planned supplies would last (2 Cor. 6:5).
Traveling
in groups. Since
travelers carried money, they avoided traveling alone or in very
small groups. (The so-called wise men of Matt. 2:1–12 almost
certainly would have been waylaid had there been only three of them.)
Commonly, travelers gathered in the agora (marketplace) early in the
morning looking for fellow travelers heading their way, thus making
traveling companions of those with whom they might not normally
associate (Luke 9:57; 14:25). It was also common for travelers to
join others along the road (Luke 24:13–16; Acts 8:27–30).
Travel
by Sea
Ships.
Almost all ancient ships were wooden. A “fast ship” was
not necessarily a sleeker mode, but a dry one. Ideally, ships were
stored out of the water during winter. Waterlogged ships were
naturally slower.
No
biblical empire was worth its salt unless it had naval supremacy in
the Mediterranean Sea. Sailing vessels were at the mercy of the wind,
so military ships meant galley ships. Rowing allowed captains to move
without the wind. Today, we tend to imagine rowers like the “galley
slaves” of the Middle Ages. Ancient rowers, however, were
honored soldiers. Ships rammed each other in battle, and skill at the
oar often meant the difference between victory and death. Once the
enemy was rammed, rowers sprang up from their oars and fought hand to
hand.
Piracy
and commerce.
No one could claim dominance of the sea without controlling piracy.
The Roman navy, for the first time in history, managed to virtually
eliminate piracy. Roman archers and slingers rained destruction as
they drew near pirate vessels. Catapults later were added for heavy
artillery. Finally, firepots slung out on long poles set fire to the
enemy’s ship, which the Romans then rammed and boarded.
With
the taming of the Mediterranean, commercial shipping exploded in
growth. Transporting cargo, passengers, and dispatches became
profitable business. Smaller ships (like a Galilean fishing boat)
depended upon oars, with a small sail as an auxiliary. Larger
merchant ships depended more on sails. Sailing ships, with favorable
winds, probably averaged between two and four miles per hour, but
only half that with unfavorable winds. Ancient ships hugged
coastlines and avoided bad weather.
Common
cargo ships carried an average of about 250 tons of cargo and/or
passengers and ranged from 70 to 150 feet in length. Those carrying
350 to 500 tons were considered large but not rare. It is thought
that the grain ships in Paul’s day (as in Acts 27) routinely
were three-decked, 180 feet long, carried 1,300 tons, and took over a
week to unload.
Traveling
by ship.
Although cargo ships also carried passengers, some ships were
primarily for passengers. Josephus, on an unsuccessful attempt to
sail to Rome, was on a ship with six hundred passengers (Josephus,
Life 15). Sallust, a Roman historian, mentions a cohort (about 600
men) traveling on one transport ship (Hist. 3.8). Paul’s ship
to Rome had 276 aboard (Acts 27:37). Acts gives the impression that
this ship left too late in the season. Aside from those compelled by
Rome, likely only the brave or the desperate would book such passage.
Thus, we should not assume that the ship was fully booked.
Like
land travel, however, sea travel also was restricted by season. In
the eastern half of the Mediterranean, the wind blows from the
northwest toward the southeast persistently from June to September,
marking the favorable sailing season. Vegetius (Mil. 4.39) writes,
“From the 6th day before the kalends of June [May 27] until the
rising of Arcturus, that is until the 18th before the kalends of
October [Sept. 14], is believed to be the safe period of
navigation. . . . From then up to the 3rd before the
ides of November, navigation is uncertain. . . . From
the 3rd before the ides of November to the 6th before the ides of
March, the seas are closed.” Many ancient writers indicated
that sea travel in the winter was trecherous.
A
person traveling by sea went first to the docks to inquire about
ships headed to the desired destination. Harbor managers, dockhands,
sailors, or others pointed inquirers toward appropriate ships. After
negotiating with a particular ship’s purser, whose job was to
book passengers (and guard against stowaways), a passenger was told
what day and time to be aboard. The lowest level of ships held the
ballast (usually sand or stone) and the bilgewater. Decking over it
held cargo. Some ships berthed the cheapest passengers in this area,
what we now refer to as steerage (Lucian observes that such
passengers were “not even able to stretch their legs on the
bare boards alongside the bilgewater” [Jupp. trag. 48]). Larger
freighters had another deck above this that may have housed some
passengers. In general, however, travelers in Paul’s day (like
all travelers up until modern times) camped above deck (some with
tents). Only the very wealthy rented cabins (P.Zen. 10). Shipwrecks
and pirates were not the only dangers. A man cautioned his wife,
“When you come, bring your gold ornaments, but do not wear them
on the boat” (P.Mich. 3.214 [see also 8.468]). Then as now,
tossing someone overboard left a clean crime scene (Jon. 1:15; cf.
Acts 20:3).
Summary
Most
biblical characters, like their peers, rarely traveled far from home.
It is commonly estimated that Jesus’ ministry encompassed a
distance no greater than one hundred miles from his home. His
apostles, though, took advantage of the travel benefits of the Roman
Empire. Paul was a far more experienced traveler than most, both by
land and sea (Acts 27:9–10, 30–32), although he appears
to have pushed the limits of safety on occasion. He mentions
“sleepless nights and hunger” (2 Cor. 6:5) as well
as being “in danger from rivers” and bandits (2 Cor.
11:26). In addition to what is reported in Acts 27, Paul was
shipwrecked at least three other times (2 Cor. 11:25). Whether
by land or sea, travel in ancient times was not for the fainthearted.
