Travel in biblical times refers to the movement of people within and between regions during the periods described in the Old and New Testaments. Travel was typically done for religious, commercial, or military purposes.
In biblical times, roads were difficult and sometimes impassable for travel. Sea voyages were made in small ships, usually by military and commercial personnel. Ships were rarely used for simple tourist traffic. With little reason to travel, ordinary citizens tended to remain in limited areas. From time to time, there were group migrations. Sometimes people traveled for religious festivals or fled from war or famine.
Travel in Old Testament Times
Several stories show the people of Israel moving over restricted areas to graze their flocks. Joseph’s brothers took flocks from the south of the land up to Shechem and then to Dothan (Genesis 37:12–17). This was a 96.5-kilometer journey (60 miles). David traveled around Palestine and even went to Moab (1 Samuel 22:3). The Danites moved from their home southwest of Jerusalem to the north, just south of the Lebanon Mountains (Judges 18).
Examples of travel for better pasturelands, migration, and protection are common. Travelers would normally walk, though people sometimes rode asses or used them as pack animals. Oxen could haul heavy loads and sometimes people (Genesis 46:5). Later the camel came into general use for travel (1 Kings 10:2; 2 Kings 8:9). Little is known of resting places for travelers in Old Testament times. There are only a few references to a "lodging place" (malon in Hebrew) in Old Testament narratives (Genesis 42:27; 43:21; Exodus 4:24).
Travel in New Testament Times
People in the Roman world traveled often:
to fulfill religious obligations at festival time,
for trade,
for government administration, and
for military purposes.
Early Christian missionaries also traveled extensively.
Roman peace and authority combined with well-made Roman stone roads made travel relatively safe and quick. The modes of travel improved over that known in Old Testament times. People could travel long distances within the Roman Empire over good roads and in comparative safety. Sea travel was still risky, with wind, storms, and pirates (Acts 15:39; 18:18–22; Romans 15:24–25; 2 Corinthians 11:25–26). Paul’s sea journey to Rome, for example, was dangerous (Acts 27:1–28:14).
The New Testament mentions several journeys on foot:
Mary traveled from Galilee to Judea to visit Elizabeth (Luke 1:39–40, 56).
The baby Jesus was born in Bethlehem during the census (Luke 2:1–7).
Jesus was brought to Jerusalem to comply with the Jewish purification law (Luke 2:22).
The annual Passover visit was made by Joseph and Mary (Luke 2:41–51).
Other journeys are mentioned (John 2:13; 5:1; 7:1–10; 12:1).
Jesus himself walked to Jericho from Galilee (Mark 1:1–11) and also to the region of Tyre and Sidon (7:24).
Jesus was in Samaria more than once (Luke 17:11; John 4:4).
Jesus's last journey to Jerusalem was via Jericho and up through the hills to Jerusalem (Mark 10:1, 46; 11:1).
Jesus's last journey after the resurrection was to Emmaus (Luke 24:1335).
Paul traveled by sea on each of his missionary journeys (Acts 13:1–14; 15:41–18:22; 18:23–21:17). He was often accompanied by friends. He also made many journeys on foot in Palestine, Asia Minor, and the Greek peninsula.
But not all travel was on foot in New Testament times. People often traveled by riding on donkeys. Jesus once rode from Bethphage to Jerusalem, a short but highly symbolic journey (Matthew 21:2–7; Mark 11:1–11; John 12:12–15). When Joseph traveled with his pregnant wife, Mary, to Bethlehem for the census at the time of Jesus’ birth, Mary probably rode on an ass. The Ethiopian eunuch was riding in a chariot after worshiping at Jerusalem and was joined by Philip traveling on foot (Acts 8:26–38). Roman soldiers both marched and used horses for traveling. When Paul was brought to Caesarea from Jerusalem, mounts were prepared for him (23:23–24).
Roads and Sea Lanes
Roads were important in the development, land formation, and history of Palestine. Palestine formed a bridge between Egypt and centers of civilization and trade in the Middle East. Many roads were strategically important for commercial and military use. Some roads became important as pilgrim routes to ease travel to religious centers like Jerusalem. Roads in biblical times were of three main types:
long-distance international roads
medium-distance intraregional roads
roads inside each region or state
Great International Roads
Great international roads linked the Mediterranean coast to the northern Tigris Valley and southern Mesopotamia. Some linked Mesopotamia to Asia Minor. Others led south to Egypt, either along the coast or east of the Jordan River and the Dead Sea and across the Sinai Peninsula.
Trade routes ran between Anatolia and Assyria early in the second millennium BC. A major trade route ran from northern Mesopotamia to Egypt, called the King's Highway. Genesis 14 refers to a military campaign launched to make the King’s Highway safer and more secure for travelers.
Military invaders and travelers from Babylonia, Assyria, and Persia traveled across Syria, then turned south into Palestine and Egypt. As Greece and Rome increased in power and influence, the Middle East opened up another network of roads for the peoples of the East.
Until Roman times, roads were not surfaced with stone but were cleared pathways. They were very rough and sometimes steep. In wet weather, roads became impassable in many places. But they were well marked by "waymarks" and "guideposts" (Jeremiah 31:21).
The Romans built important roads with deep foundations and large blocks of flat stone at the surface. Roman roads can still be seen in many places in the Middle East and in Europe. Distance markers or milestones were placed along the roads.
International North-South Roads in Palestine
The roads that linked countries to the north with Egypt passed through Palestine, a natural land bridge. There were three major roads:
The coastal road began in Damascus. It passed through Hazor across the plain of Esdraelon, through the Megiddo Pass. Then the road went down the coast past Gaza and into Egypt. This was probably "the way of the sea" (Isaiah 9:1).
The Sinai road led from Egypt into the southern Negev. It then took travelers to Kadesh-barnea, Beersheba, Hebron, Jerusalem, Shechem, Acco, Tyre, and Sidon.
The Red Sea road entered the Palestine area from the Gulf of Aqaba. The ancient port of Elath and Solomon’s port of Ezion-geber was here (Numbers 33:35; 2 Chronicles 8:17). From there it led through the mountainous areas of Transjordan. It crossed deep valleys and then traveled north through the Hauran region to Damascus. This was the road taken by caravans from southern Arabia to Damascus, the ancient King’s Highway (Numbers 20:17; 21:22).
There were other north-south roads of lesser importance. One coastal road led from Joppa through Caesarea and Dor to Acco, where it linked with the Sinai road. This road was not very significant until Roman times, when the port of Caesarea was built.
The marshes in the plain of Sharon posed many problems. The plain of Esdraelon was also marshy and interrupted the roads north in bad seasons. Building a raised road across the swampy sections made roads more passable in all seasons. Another road led north from Hazor, branching off the main road to Damascus. The Jordan Valley road went around the southwestern part of Galilee and led down the Jordan Valley to Jericho.
East-West Roads
Several important roads ran east-west, intersecting the larger roads leading north.
One such road led from Gaza to Beersheba and then down the Arabah, with an offshoot to Petra.
Another led from Ashkelon, via Gath, to Hebron and on to En-gedi on the Dead Sea.
Another road led from Joppa east up the valley of Aijalon (Joshua 10:6–14) to Bethel and on to Jericho.
One well-used road led from Joppa to Shechem, across the Jordan at Adam (Joshua 3:16) and into Gilead in Transjordan.
Other roads led from Acco eastward to Galilee and also up the coast to Tyre and Sidon. There were many east-west roads that connected various parts of Palestine. In Roman times, when the speedy movement of armies was essential, some of the old roads were improved and new ones built.
Sea Lanes
While other local populations like the Phoenicians relied on sea travel, the people of Israel seldom used the sea lanes. When Solomon planned to send ships down the Red Sea to Ophir (1 Kings 9:26–28), he used Phoenician sailors. Jehoshaphat planned a similar expedition, but his ships were wrecked (22:48–49). Coastal traffic in Old Testament times was in the hands of Philistines and Phoenicians. There were several ports along the Mediterranean Sea coast, such as Gaza, Joppa, Dor, and Acco, but none were considered good harbors. There were also sea lanes linking the Mediterranean coast with Egypt and distant Tarshish (probably Spain). The other coastal water was the Gulf of Aqaba with its two ports:
Ezion-geber for Transjordan
Elath for west of the Jordan.
Solomon’s fleet used Ezion-geber as its home port.
Trade changed in New Testament times. The Middle East made many trade items used by peoples farther west, especially the Romans. Alexandria in Egypt and Antioch in Syria handled both cargo and travelers. Smaller ports like those in Palestine and many others around the coast of Asia Minor provided a haven for ships. A land crossing was engineered across the 8-kilometer- (five-mile-) wide peninsula at Corinth. Smaller boats were hauled overland to avoid a 321.8-kilometer (200-mile) journey around the Greek peninsula.
Even large ships in New Testament times were in danger from wind and storm at sea (Acts 27). Sea travel was limited to when the risk of storms was smaller, roughly from November to March. Trade-based sea traffic in the Mediterranean Sea was high at appropriate seasons. Grain ships crossed regularly from Rome to Egypt and to the east.
Ships were driven by sail power. When needed, oars operated by slaves provided extra power. Ancient wrecks and descriptions in Latin and Greek literature show the size of these ships. An old dry dock 39.6 meters (130 feet) long found near Athens was once used for Greek war vessels, which were smaller than the cargo vessels. The Roman writer Lucian refers to an Alexandrian grain ship 54.9 meters (180 feet) long. A ship that large would have a capacity of about 1,088.6 metric tons (1,200 tons). Paul’s ship carried 276 persons (Acts 27:37). Modern underwater archaeology continues to give more information about ancient ships.
Reasons for Travel
The most important reason for travel in New Testament times was for trade and commerce. This kind of travel involved far more than transferring goods. People worked as agents, supervisors, insurers of cargo, bankers, and more. Many jobs were involved in buying, moving, and delivering cargo.
Many people also traveled for military reasons. Military tasks involving travel included:
observation and investigation
securing supplies
arranging for housing troops,
transporting troops and equipment
Some travelers were tradespeople changing their place of employment, like Aquila and Priscilla (Acts 18:2–3). Aquila had traveled from Pontus on the Black Sea to Rome. Then, in a time of persecution, Aquila and his wife fled to Corinth. Other reasons people might have traveled include:
People on religious pilgrimage traveled by land or sea. Jews from many lands journeyed to Jerusalem for the annual Passover festivities (compare Acts 2:5–11). Non-Jews went to religious centers at Ephesus, Athens, and Eleusis, where there were important temples. Many minor temples also attracted pilgrims.
Craftsmen and builders traveled to meet the demand for new constructions. Building materials had to be moved to building sites.
Some people made trips for health reasons. They went to temples famed for healing miracles or to enjoy the benefits of hot springs like those at Capernaum or Tiberias.
Athletes traveled to major centers for important contests like the Olympic games. Crowds of people traveled to attend contest events.
Some travelers were students or teachers going to great centers of learning.
Official emissaries traveled bearing important government and commercial documents.
Despite all this activity, vast numbers of ordinary citizens hardly ever traveled more than a few miles from their homes.