Evidence that the Hebrews Built Roads. There are indications, however, that road construction was not entirely unknown to the ancient Hebrews. M[)e]sill[=a]h, another common Hebrew term for road, means literally that which is heaped up, that is, a raised way. The common translation, highway, is exact. In Judges 20:31, 32 there are references to highways which ran to Bethel and to Gibeah. In I Samuel 6:12 is an incidental reference to the road which ran from the Philistine city of Ekron up through the Valley of Sorek toward Jerusalem. Along this road the ark was sent, drawn on a cart by two cows. The ancient narrative alludes, however, to the roughness of the road. From I Kings 12:18 it is clear that in the days of the united kingdom a highway for chariots ran from Shechem to Jerusalem. The allusions in II Kings 7 also indicate that in the later days of the northern kingdom there was a road from Damascus to Samaria, over which the chariots of the Arameans passed. As early as the reign of David royal chariots became common in Israel (e. g., I Kings 1:5). This fact does not prove the existence of great highways like those built by the Romans, for the ancient charioteers were able to drive over roads which would seem to a westerner utterly impassable; but it does imply the rude beginnings of road construction, probably under royal supervision. Apparently the Israelites inherited from the more highly civilized Canaanites a few well-worn highways and a certain knowledge of the art of road-making.
The Four Roads from Egypt. Four great roads led eastward from the land of Egypt. The northernmost, which was called "the way of the land of the Philistines" (Ex. 13:17), issued from the northern end of the Nile delta and passed north of the marshy Lake Menzaleh. Thence it ran along within a few miles of the coast of the Mediterranean, through Raphia to Gaza. There it met the great coast road to the north and the local roads running through the heart of Palestine. The second road was called "the way to Shur" (Gen. 16:17, I Sam. 15:7). It seems to have first passed through the present Wady Tumilat, thence turning northward to the southern end of Lake Menzaleh, to have run past the Egyptian fortress of Taru, now Tell Abu Sefeh. Taru may be identical with the word Shur, which appears in the Hebrew name of this highway.
From this point the road struck almost directly across the undulating desert to Beersheba and thence along the Wady es-Seba and the Wady el-Kulil to Hebron. The third highway led from the eastern end of the Wady Tumilat almost due east until it crossed the Brook of Egypt. Then one branch turned northeast past the ancient Rehoboth, to join the second road at Beersheba. The other branch went on eastward across the Arabah to Petra and thence across the Arabian Desert to Babylonia. The fourth road from Egypt also started from the Wady Tumilat, thence past the Bitter Lakes directly across the northern end of the Sinaitic peninsula to the ancient Elath, at the end of the northeastern arm of the Red Sea.
Trails into Palestine from the South. Five roads led up into Palestine from the south. One, "the way of the Red Sea" (Yam Suph, Nu. 14:25, 21:4, Dt. 1:40), starting from Elath, ran northwest, until at Aboda it joined the third highway from Egypt, which ran northeast to Beersheba and Hebron. A second more arduous and less used trail ran directly north from Elath through the Arabah to the southwestern end of the Dead Sea. Thence the traveller might proceed to Jerusalem by a western détour through El-Fôkâ and Hebron, or else keep along the shore of the Dead Sea and then turn inland at Engedi. A third trail led from Elath along the desert to the old Edomite and later Nabatean capital of Petra. With camels and a sufficient supply of water it was possible thence to cross the Arabah and the heart of the South Country in a northwesterly direction to Beersheba.
Highway Through Moab. The fourth road ran directly north from Petra across deep gorges and over rocky roads through Shôbek, et-Tufileh, Kerak and northward, following a straight course about eighteen miles to the east of the Dead Sea. This was the main highway through the heart of Moab. Farther north it ran past the famous Moabite towns of Dibon and Medeba. At Heshban, opposite the northern end of the Dead Sea, a branch turned westward to the lower ford of the Jordan, while the main road ran north along the eastern side of the Jordan until it joined the Damascus road south of the Sea of Galilee. At Heshban another important branch turned to the northeast and, passing through Rabbath-Ammon, joined the desert road to Damascus. In later times the Romans, to protect their east-Jordan border cities, built a magnificent road from Rabbath-Ammon to Petra, following the ancient highway through the heart of Moab. Mile-stones, great rock-cuttings, ruins of stone bridges, and miles of stone pavement still remain to bear testimony to Rome's strength in the distant provinces even during the period of the empire's decline.
The Great Desert Highway. The chief highway from the south to the north was the present pilgrim road from Damascus to Mecca, along which now runs the modern Turkish railway. This road was the main connecting link between Arabia and the lands of the eastern Mediterranean. Making a wide détour westward to touch the port of Elath, it then turned to the northeast of Petra and ran along the desert highland between thirty and forty miles to the east of the Jordan and Dead Sea valley. It crossed the dry, open desert, strewn at many points with débris of black basaltic rocks. Like most desert roads it sprawled out over the hot plains, unconfined by fields or mountain passes. The stations were simply stopping-places for travellers and traders, for it everywhere avoided the cultivated land, except where its western branch passed through the heart of the Hauran on its way to Damascus. Here it ran close to the important cities of Edrei, the famous fortress on the upper Yarmuk, and Ashteroth-Karnaim. A little northeast of Rabbath-Ammon one branch, deflected to the northeast, and passing through the desert town of Bozrah, and thence skirting the eastern side of the lava tract of El-Lejah, reached Damascus. From Edrei and Bozrah a caravan route ran southeast to the ancient Duma, the present Dumat el-Jandal, and on to the oasis of Tema.
Character of the Southern Approaches to Palestine. It is significant that the chief entrances to the west-Jordan land from the south are not through the South Country but by the way of Moab. The roads which lead directly into Judah are deflected by the grim, barren ranges of the South Country either to Beersheba on the southwest or to the Arabah on the southeast. The roads themselves lie through a rough, wild, dry, Bedouin-invested country, over which it is impossible for large tribes or armies to advance. Of the two east-Jordan highways, that through the heart of Moab passes over steep mountains and down into deep wadies, and in ancient times led through a thickly populated and well-guarded region. The great and easy highway is along the borders of the desert, and it was probably by this way that most of the invaders from the south found their way to the west-Jordan land.
The Coast Road. In western Palestine four main highways, connected by cross-roads, led from the south to northern Syria and eastward to Assyria and Babylonia. The first was the direct coast road which connected Egypt with Phœnicia and Asia Minor. Throughout its course it kept close to the sea. Only in Philistia was it driven inland by the drifting sands. Along an artificially constructed causeway it rounded the end of Mount Carmel and proceeded northward along the Plain of Acre over the difficult cliffs of the Ladder of Tyre to the plains of Phœnicia. Thence it ran along the open way past Beirut, until it reached the difficult pass of the Dog River. There the bas-reliefs and inscriptions on the rocks indicate not only that from the days of Ramses II the great conquerors of antiquity had passed along this highway of the nations, but also that many of them shared in the task of cutting the road across these difficult cliffs.
The "Way of the Sea." The second great northern highway, the famous Via Maris of the Romans, branching from the coast road either at Ashdod or Joppa, ran on the eastern side of the Plain of Sharon, close to the foothills of Samaria. Near where it was joined by the important road which came down through the Barley Vale from Shechem and Samaria, this great highway divided into three branches. One ran to the north along the eastern and northern side of Mount Carmel and joined the coast road. Another, apparently the main branch, turned to the northeast, passed through the Wady Arah, and emerged upon the Plain of Esdraelon beside the famous old fortress of Megiddo. From here it ran directly across the plain, past Mount Tabor through Lubieh and down the steep decline from the plateau to the northwestern end of the Sea of Galilee. Owing to the soft, loamy character of the Plain of Esdraelon, this was often impassable in the winter and spring. Caravans and armies would then take the third branch from the Plain of Sharon, which at first ran almost due east over the Plain of Dothan and past the old Canaanite city of Ibleam. Thence it crossed the Plain of Esdraelon at Jezreel and joined the direct road that ran past Mount Tabor to the Sea of Galilee. From the northwestern end of the Sea of Galilee this much traveled Way of the Sea ascended the heights to the north and crossed the Jordan a little below Lake Huleh at the ford now spanned by the old stone bridge known as the "Bridge of the Daughters of Jacob." From the Jordan the road followed an almost straight line northwest, past El-Kuneitra in eastern Jaulan, across the desert to Damascus.
Its Commercial and Strategic Importance. From the point where it crossed the Jordan a branch of this main highway went westward through the valley between upper and lower Galilee, to ancient Accho, the chief seaport of Damascus. Thus across Galilee, with its open roads, poured the commerce of Damascus and the desert world of which it was the outlet. From Damascus to Egypt this second great highway of Syria ran almost entirely over broad deserts or open plains. It was the main road through the heart of northern Israel, along which passed not only the merchants, but also the conquering armies of Babylonia and Assyria.