HOW THE PEOPLE TRAVELED IN THE LANDS OF THE BIBLE
Did they have railroads? Oh, no. Railroads were first built less than a hundred years ago, and the Bible times were many hundreds of years ago.
Then they must have traveled in wagons? Not often.
There were few roads, and wagons were not very common.
Then they went on horseback? Sometimes, but not often. In the earliest Bible times horses were only used in war, and only the kings of great countries kept a few, for their most honored soldiers to ride on.
How did they travel, then? Very often they rode on the backs of donkeys and asses. These are smaller than horses, but can go almost as fast. Do you remember how Jesus rode into Jerusalem on an ass, with the children shouting and waving palm branches before him? For short journeys, or in the land of Palestine itself, the ass was the animal most used.
But on many sides of the land of Palestine the roads that go out pass over country that is more and more bare, until finally the green grass is seen no more and only here and there is a small tree, and there are no flocks of white sheep, for there is nothing on which they can feed, and it is a long way, sometimes a whole day's journey, from one spring of water to another. Nothing but yellow sand and bare rocks!
SHEPHERD BOY ON THE HILLS NEAR BETHLEHEM
Copyright by Underwood & Underwood and used by special permission.
This attractive picture of the shepherd lad shows that the work of the shepherd still goes on in Judea as it did in the days of the shepherd boy, David. A writer gives this picture of the shepherd life at the present day: "Sometimes we enjoyed our noonday rest beside one of those Judean wells, to which two or three shepherds come down with their flocks. The flocks mixed with each other, and we wondered how each shepherd would get his own again. But after the watering and the playing were over, the shepherds one by one went up different sides of the valley, and each called out his peculiar call; and the sheep of each drew out of the crowd, to their own shepherd, and the flocks passed away as orderly as they came. 'The Shepherd of the Sheep, . . . when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow,' 'I am the Good Shepherd, and know my sheep and am known of mine.' These words our Lord spake in Judea."
How the hot sun beats down in the summer! How dry all the ground looks! That is a desert. The little donkeys find it hard to travel on the long, stony desert roads. They must carry water to drink, or they would die of thirst. But if they carry water, they cannot carry much else.
Did you ever see a camel? They have long legs and broad feet, that can walk over the sand without sinking in. What long necks and queer humped backs they have! They are not beautiful animals. I am sorry to say that they are not very good tempered either, but are often very cross and stubborn. Sometimes they reach out that long neck and try to bite. Sometimes they refuse to go if they think they are loaded too heavily. But often they are very patient. They carry heavy loads and travel long distances. They can go a long time without drinking, where a horse or an ass would die of thirst. They are made for a desert country. Men call them "the ship of the desert." They were often used for long journeys in Bible times, as they are still in the same countries. Here is a story which tells how a servant of Abraham made a long journey on camels, and how the camels were given drink at the close of the journey.
"And the servant took ten camels of the camels of his master, and departed; for all the goods of his master were in his hand: and he arose, and went to Mesopotamia, to the city of [{212}] Nahor. And he made his camels to kneel down without the city by a well of water at the time of the evening, even the time that women go out to draw water," and Rebekah, a niece of Abraham, "came out with her pitcher upon her shoulder. And the maiden was very fair to look upon: and she went down to the well, and filled her pitcher, and came up. And the servant ran to meet her, and said, 'Let me, I pray thee, drink a little water of thy pitcher.'
"And she said, 'Drink, my lord': and she hasted, and let down her pitcher upon her hand, and gave him to drink.
"And when she had done giving him drink, she said, 'I will draw water for thy camels also, until they have done drinking.'
"And she hasted, and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again unto the well to draw water, and drew for all his camels."
Then she went home and told of him, and her brother ran and came out to the servant and said, "'Come in, thou blessed of the Lord; wherefore standest thou without? for I have prepared the house, and room for the camels.'
"And the man came into the house: and he ungirded his camels, and gave straw and [{213}] provender for the camels, and water to wash his feet and the men's feet that were with him. And there was set food before him to eat."
A few days later Rebekah, with her servant, mounted the camels, too, and went back with Abraham's servant, the long desert journey, to be the wife of Abraham's son Isaac.