Topical Bible: Roads

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Topical Encyclopedia

Definition and Importance
In biblical times, roads were essential for travel, trade, and communication. They facilitated the movement of people, goods, and ideas across regions, playing a crucial role in the historical and cultural context of the Bible. Roads connected cities, towns, and villages, enabling the spread of the Gospel and the fulfillment of divine missions.

Biblical References
The Bible contains numerous references to roads, often highlighting their significance in God's plan. In the Old Testament, roads are mentioned in the context of journeys, trade routes, and military campaigns. For example, the "King's Highway" was a major trade route mentioned in Numbers 20:17, where the Israelites requested passage through Edom: "Please let us pass through your land. We will not pass through any field or vineyard or drink water from any well. We will stay on the King's Highway; we will not turn to the right or to the left until we have passed through your territory."

In the New Testament, roads are frequently associated with the ministry of Jesus and the apostles. The Roman road system, known for its engineering and efficiency, facilitated the rapid spread of Christianity. Acts 9:2 describes Saul's journey on the road to Damascus, where he encountered the risen Christ: "and requested letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any men or women belonging to the Way, he could bring them as prisoners to Jerusalem."

Symbolism and Metaphor
Roads in the Bible often carry symbolic meaning, representing the journey of faith and the path of righteousness. Proverbs 3:6 advises, "In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight." This verse underscores the importance of seeking God's guidance in one's life journey.

The concept of the "narrow road" is a powerful metaphor used by Jesus in Matthew 7:13-14: "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." This passage emphasizes the challenges and rewards of following Christ.

Historical Context
In ancient Israel, roads were often simple paths or trails, with major routes connecting key cities and regions. The Roman Empire's extensive road network, built for military and administrative purposes, became instrumental in the early church's missionary activities. Roman roads were constructed with layers of stone and gravel, designed for durability and ease of travel.

Cultural and Religious Significance
Roads facilitated pilgrimage to Jerusalem, especially during major feasts such as Passover, Pentecost, and the Feast of Tabernacles. Psalm 84:5 speaks to the blessedness of those who journey to worship: "Blessed are those whose strength is in You, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage."

In the prophetic literature, roads are sometimes depicted as being prepared for the coming of the Lord. Isaiah 40:3-4 proclaims, "A voice of one calling: 'Prepare the way for the LORD in the wilderness; make a straight highway for our God in the desert. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill made low; the uneven ground will become smooth, and the rugged land a plain.'" This imagery is echoed in the New Testament with John the Baptist's ministry, preparing the way for Jesus.

Conclusion
While roads in the Bible serve practical purposes, they also carry deep spiritual and symbolic meanings. They remind believers of the journey of faith, the call to righteousness, and the mission to spread the Gospel to all nations.

Greek

1327. diexodos -- to consider, reflect
... Feminine Transliteration: diexodos Phonetic Spelling: (dee-ex'-od-os) Short Definition:
a public spot in a city Definition: a meeting-place of roads, a public ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/1327.htm - 6k

3598. hodos -- a way, road
... word Definition a way, road NASB Word Usage highways (2), journey (7), path (1),
paths (1), road (24), roads (1), streets (1), way (54), ways (9). ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/3598.htm - 6k

Strong's Hebrew

6563. pereq -- parting of ways, plunder
... crossway, robbery. From paraq; rapine; also a fork (in roads) -- crossway, robbery.
see HEBREW paraq. 6562, 6563. pereq. 6564 . Strong's Numbers.
/hebrew/6563.htm - 6k

1870. derek -- way, road, distance, journey, manner
... impulses (1), journey (37), line (1), manner (4), mission (2), path (4), pathless*
(2), pathway (1), pathway* (1), practice (1), road (30), roads (5), roadway ...
/hebrew/1870.htm - 6k

Library

Travelling in Palestine --Roads, Inns, Hospitality, Custom-House ...
... Chapter 4 Travelling in Palestine"Roads, Inns, Hospitality, Custom-House
Officers, Taxation, Publicans. It was the very busiest ...
/.../sketches of jewish social life/chapter 4 travelling in palestineroads.htm

March the Eleventh Good and Bad Roads
... MARCH The Eleventh GOOD AND BAD ROADS. PSALM i. There is nothing breaks
up more speedily than a badly-made road. Every season is ...
/.../my daily meditation for the circling year/march the eleventh good and.htm

Was it for this He Sent Souls, that Some Should Infest the ...
... Book II. 42 Was it for this He sent souls, that some should infest the
highways and roads? Was it for this He sent souls, that ...
/.../arnobius/the seven books of arnobius against the heathen/42 was it for this.htm

The Gospel Refuge.
... The cities themselves were generally on a height, so as to be seen at a far
distance. The roads leading to them were carefully kept. ...
/.../macduff/the cities of refuge or the name of jesus/iii the gospel refuge.htm

Shod for the Road
... of the foot is carried on into the next words, 'Thy shoes shall be iron and brass,'
the tribe being located upon rocky sea-coast, having rough roads to travel ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture f/shod for the road.htm

Wary Walking.
... It used to be said of old that all roads led to Rome, because she was the
capital of the world. ... But all roads do not lead to Heaven. ...
/.../the life of duty a years plain sermons v 2/sermon lv wary walking.htm

Returning Our Call.
... on. Then diplomacy entered and broadened the roads. ... And in turn the
missionaries have freely used the broader, better roads. And ...
/.../gordon/quiet talks with world winners/returning our call.htm

Our God of the Impossible
... The summer holidays at Peitaiho were drawing to a close. Heavy rains had fallen,
making the roads to the station, six miles distant, almost impassable. ...
/.../goforth/how i know god answers prayer/viii our god of the.htm

First Evangelistic Efforts
... Walking was out of the question, from the state of the roads, so we availed ourselves
of wheel-barrows, the only conveyance to be had in these parts. ...
/.../taylor/a retrospect/chapter x first evangelistic efforts.htm

The Pathway of the Holy
... One would think that Isaiah was speaking of two separate roads, for his prophetic
eye sees 'a highway and a way' along which the course of God's people runs. ...
/.../howard/standards of life and service/vii the pathway of the.htm

Thesaurus

Roads (34 Occurrences)
...Roads (34 Occurrences). ... (WEY). Mark 1:3 The voice of one crying in the waste land,
Make ready the way of the Lord, make his roads straight; (BBE). ...
/r/roads.htm - 16k

Cross-roads (2 Occurrences)
Cross-roads. Crossroads, Cross-roads. Crossway . Multi-Version
Concordance Cross-roads (2 Occurrences). Matthew 22:9 ...
/c/cross-roads.htm - 7k

Side-roads (1 Occurrence)
Side-roads. Side-posts, Side-roads. Side-rooms . Multi-Version
Concordance Side-roads (1 Occurrence). Jeremiah 18:15 ...
/s/side-roads.htm - 6k

Settle (63 Occurrences)
... 8. (n.) To restore or bring to a smooth, dry, or passable condition; -- said of
the ground, of roads, and the like; as, clear weather settles the roads. ...
/s/settle.htm - 30k

Waste (668 Occurrences)
... Matthew 3:3 For this is he of whom Isaiah the prophet said, The voice of one crying
in the waste land, Make ready the way of the Lord, make his roads straight. ...
/w/waste.htm - 37k

Pisidia (2 Occurrences)
... Friends" in Studies in the History and Art of the Eastern Roman Provinces, 1906.)
The plateau on which Antioch stood commands one of the roads leading from the ...
/p/pisidia.htm - 21k

Foot (193 Occurrences)
... foot (reghel, qarcol (only twice in parallel passages: 2 Samuel 22:37 = Psalm
18:36, where it probably means ankle); pous): The dusty roads of Palestine and ...
/f/foot.htm - 48k

Cart (12 Occurrences)
... With the Arabian conquests and subsequent ruin of the roads wheeled vehicles
disappeared from Syria and Palestine. History is again repeating itself. ...
/c/cart.htm - 15k

Concourse (4 Occurrences)
... 4. (n.) An open space where several roads or paths meet; esp. an open space in a
park where several roads meet. 5. (n.) Concurrence; cooperation. Int. ...
/c/concourse.htm - 8k

Crossroads (3 Occurrences)
... Jeremiah 6:16 This is what the Lord has said: Take your place looking out on the
ways; make search for the old roads, saying, Where is the good way? ...
/c/crossroads.htm - 7k

Resources

What is the right religion for me? | GotQuestions.org

What is the significance of the Roman Empire in biblical history? | GotQuestions.org

What are the essentials of the Christian faith? | GotQuestions.org

Roads: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.com

Bible Concordance • Bible Dictionary • Bible Encyclopedia • Topical Bible • Bible Thesuarus

Concordance

Roads (34 Occurrences)

Matthew 3:3
For this is he of whom Isaiah the prophet said, The voice of one crying in the waste land, Make ready the way of the Lord, make his roads straight.
(BBE)

Matthew 22:10
"So they went out into the roads and gathered together all they could find, both bad and good, and the banqueting hall was filled with guests.
(WEY)

Mark 1:3
The voice of one crying in the waste land, Make ready the way of the Lord, make his roads straight;
(BBE)

Luke 3:4
As it says in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, The voice of one crying in the waste land, Make ready the way of the Lord, make his roads straight.
(BBE)

Luke 3:5
Every ravine shall be filled up, and every mountain and hill levelled down, the crooked places shall be turned into straight roads, and the rugged ways into smooth;
(WEY NAS NIV)

Luke 14:23
"'Go out,' replied the master, 'to the high roads and hedge-rows, and compel the people to come in, so that my house may be filled.
(WEY BBE NIV)

Acts 9:24
But Saul got knowledge of their design. And they kept watch day and night on the roads out of the town, so that they might put him to death:
(BBE)

Hebrews 12:13
And make straight roads for your feet, so that the feeble may not be turned out of the way, but may be made strong.
(BBE)

Leviticus 26:22
I will send the wild animals among you, which will rob you of your children, destroy your livestock, and make you few in number; and your roads will become desolate.
(WEB BBE NAS NIV)

Deuteronomy 19:3
You shall prepare you the way, and divide the borders of your land, which Yahweh your God causes you to inherit, into three parts, that every manslayer may flee there.
(See NAS RSV NIV)

Judges 5:6
In the days of Shamgar, the son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the highways were not used, and travellers went by side roads.
(BBE NIV)

Judges 20:31
The children of Benjamin went out against the people, and were drawn away from the city; and they began to strike and kill of the people, as at other times, in the highways, of which one goes up to Bethel, and the other to Gibeah, in the field, about thirty men of Israel.
(See NIV)

Judges 20:32
The children of Benjamin said, "They are struck down before us, as at the first." But the children of Israel said, "Let us flee, and draw them away from the city to the highways."
(See NIV)

Judges 20:45
They turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon: and they gleaned of them in the highways five thousand men, and followed hard after them to Gidom, and struck of them two thousand men.
(See NIV)

1 Samuel 14:4
Now between the narrow roads over the mountains by which Jonathan was making his way to the Philistines' forces, there was a sharp overhanging rock on one side, and a sharp rock on the other side: one was named Bozez and the other Seneh.
(BBE)

Job 19:8
My way is walled up by him so that I may not go by: he has made my roads dark.
(BBE)

Job 21:29
Haven't you asked wayfaring men? Don't you know their evidences,
(See RSV)

Job 30:13
They have made waste my roads, with a view to my destruction; his bowmen come round about me;
(BBE)

Proverbs 2:13
Who give up the way of righteousness, to go by dark roads;
(BBE)

Proverbs 8:2
At the top of the highways, at the meeting of the roads, she takes her place;
(BBE)

Proverbs 8:3
Where the roads go into the town her cry goes out, at the doorways her voice is loud:
(BBE)

Isaiah 33:8
The highways are waste, no man is journeying there: the agreement is broken, he has made sport of the towns, he has no thought for man.
(See NIV)

Isaiah 42:16
And I will take the blind by a way of which they had no knowledge, guiding them by roads strange to them: I will make the dark places light before them, and the rough places level. These things will I do and will not give them up.
(BBE)

Isaiah 49:9
Saying to those who are in chains, Go free; to those who are in the dark, Come out into the light. They will get food by the way wherever they go, and have grass-lands on all the dry mountain-tops.
(See NAS NIV)

Isaiah 49:11
And I will make all my mountains a way, and my highways will be lifted up.
(See NIV)

Isaiah 59:8
They have no knowledge of the way of peace, and there is no sense of what is right in their behaviour: they have made for themselves ways which are not straight; whoever goes in them has no knowledge of peace.
(See RSV NIV)

Jeremiah 3:2
Let your eyes be lifted up to the open hilltops, and see; where have you not been taken by your lovers? You have been seated waiting for them by the wayside like an Arabian in the waste land; you have made the land unclean with your loose ways and your evil-doing.
(See NAS NIV)

Jeremiah 6:16
This is what the Lord has said: Take your place looking out on the ways; make search for the old roads, saying, Where is the good way? and go in it that you may have rest for your souls. But they said, We will not go in it.
(BBE RSV NIV)

Jeremiah 6:25
Go not out into the field or by the way; for there is the sword of the attacker, and fear on every side.
(See NIV)

Jeremiah 18:15
For my people have put me out of their memory, burning perfumes to that which is nothing; and because of this, I will put a cause of falling in their ways, even in the old roads, and will make them go on side-roads, in a way not lifted up;
(BBE RSV NIV)

Lamentations 1:4
The ways of Zion do mourn, because none come to the solemn assembly; all her gates are desolate, her priests do sigh: her virgins are afflicted, and she herself is in bitterness.
(See NAS RSV NIV)

Lamentations 3:9
He has put up a wall of cut stones about my ways, he has made my roads twisted.
(BBE)

Ezekiel 21:19
And you, son of man, have two ways marked out, so that the sword of the king of Babylon may come; let the two of them come out of one land: and let there be a pillar at the top of the road:
(See NIV)

Ezekiel 21:21
For the king of Babylon took his place at the parting of the ways, at the top of the two roads, to make use of secret arts: shaking the arrows this way and that, he put questions to the images of his gods, he took note of the inner parts of dead beasts.
(BBE NIV)

Subtopics

Roads

Roads: Built by Rulers

Roads: from Beth-El to Shechem

Roads: from Gibeon to Beth-Horon

Roads: from Judaea to Galilee, by Way of Samaria

Roads: Public Highways

Roads: To Cities of Refuge

Roads: To the House of God

Related Terms

Cross-roads (2 Occurrences)

Side-roads (1 Occurrence)