How Did They Travel in Bible Times

     Travel in Bible times was very difficult. It was never a pleasure. When people travelled information technology was either for authorities affairs, business concern, or necessity. Traveller on government business were protected (Acts 23:31), and the wealthy businessmen who could afford it sent others in a caravan on their behalf. They had to take calculated

risk every bit to whether or not their goods would arrive and render safely. Paul summarizes (two Corinthians 11:26-27) the problems he had when travelling, "I accept been constantly on the move. I accept been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my countrymen, in danger from Gentiles, in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at body of water."

Things were so difficult that people settled their affairs earlier setting out on a journey. Information technology was safer to stay at domicile, or if travel was absolutely necessary, to travel in a group. Jesus' own group of twelve disciples was not simply a matter of a fellowship for teaching; it was a necessity. the same could be said for the pilgrim group that travelled to and from Jerusalem when  Jesus was twelve years former, a group large enough to forestall Mary and Joseph from spotting him during the day (Luke two:44).

State of israel had no natural harbours on the Mediterranean coast except n of Mountain Carmel, where Haifa stands today, and the Crimson Body of water outlet was not always in Israelite easily. The Jews therefore fabricated poor sailors, and need Phoenician help (1 Kings 9:27-28). When the Jews went it alone, their fleet was wrecked in port in a storm (1 Kings 22:48).

Even when amend ships were built were built in Greek and Roman times and the lighthouse was established at Alexandria, voyages were very difficult. Passengers were extras to the goods that were being carried. They had to accept their own food and seek lodgings ashore each dark, since in that location was no accommodation on board (run across Acts 21:iii,7,eight.) At sure times of the twelvemonth no ships sailed at all. Roman law forbade sailings between November 10 and March ten. The merely "safe" period was from May 26 until September 14. The periods between were regarded as dangerous. A sailing might be fabricated in an emergence or if a trader was willing to take a chance. Acts 27:9 refers to "the fast" twenty-four hours  when travel was dangerous-November x; Acts 28:11 refers to a boat that had been at sea when information technology was overtaken past the danger period. Information technology had wintered at Republic of malta.

How risky bounding main travel could be tin exist seen from the case of what happened to Paul. He was travelling on an Alexandrian grain send, loaded and on its manner to Rome (Acts 27:6). The boat was defenseless in a northeasterly tempest current of air, and in gild to endeavour to relieve the boat the coiffure lowered the mainsail and used a small sail at the bow, there the grain overboard, ran a cable from the prow to the stern to assistance to prevent the ship from breaking its back, and finally passed another cable over and nether the ship for its length to keep the timbers together.

Grain ships were of no small size. They were two hundred feet (seventy metres) long and had a displacement of twelve hundred tons. The faster boats, men-of-war, that were propelled by rowers, were much lighter and could not survive a storm.

Even after the Romans had dispersed the feared pirates, body of water travel was nonetheless far from safe. Paul had to be very careful when he took the dearth collection money to Jerusalem. He started off on a Jewish pilgrim boat making for Jerusalem for the festival Passover. Information technology was and so that he discovered that a plot to kill him and accept the money had been hatched (Acts xx:3), and therefore he spent the festival of Passover at Philippi (Acts 20:6). It was like shooting fish in a barrel of anyone to disappear over the side (Jonah 1). In all, body of water travel was so unpleasant that it must have been a relief for early Christians to read of a new heaven and a new earth where there would exist no more sea (Revelation 21:1).

Sea TRAVEL

Sea travel was dangerous. Even in New Testament times, boats would scarcely have been chosen "ocean-going," and there were neither charts nor fifty-fifty primitive compasses until about this period. The Egyptians had adult arts and crafts for utilise on the river Nile. The current bore the boats northwards to the delta, and a single large sail took advantage of the prevailing north wind to take them due south again. It is truthful that boats made of papyrus entered the Mediterranean and at least one actually crossed the Atlantic, just the developement of boats was primarily as river craft and for utilise in a inundation manifestly, not for trading

LAND TRAVEL

  If travel by ocean was dangerous, travel by state was a little meliorate. There were many reasons that it was skilful not to travel. In the outset place, the roads themselves were poor for the ordinary traveller. The roadway was either so faint it was difficult to make out (Psalm 107:iv-seven tells of a group that lost its way, prayed to God for assist, and were led past him to a city,) or the surface was uncomfortably bumpy. The bicycle had been invented in Mesopotamia. Information technology was a small-scale, heavy disc of wood, and it replaced the runner on a sledge. The development of the wheel led to the demand for roads so that the wheels would not disintegrated on big stones or in deep hollows, for wheels could not selection their fashion effectually obstacles in the mode that animals anxiety could. But even with the need for practiced roads, in that location was little development in road edifice. Initially a road was merely a track where the stones had been removed, the bumps flattened, and the holes filled in. When an important person was to arrive, it was the practice to "prepare the way for the Lord." All the mountains (bumps) were fabricated low, and the valleys (ruts and holes in the route) were exalted (Isaiah 40:3-4; Matthew 11:10).

Information technology was the Persians who first developed a good road system, considering without it they could not maintain communications and government throughout their empire. But even though the roads they made were broad, fairly level tracks and even though there were staging posts with fresh horses so that of import letters could be got through, it still took three months to cover the 1,600 miles (2,576 kilometers) from Sardis to Susa.

 Wealthy people were carried in a litter on slaves' shoulders.

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