Roads, robbers and the dangers of travel

Travel was among the more dangerous activities of antiquity (Keener). A later Jewish tradition had priests pray and fast twice each week for the safety of those on the road. Robbers were one of the worst fears on the road, and a reason many parties stayed off it after dark. Under the empire land robbers had decreased but remained a frequent danger. Pirates were much less common at sea than before. To avoid robbers in open country, people went in groups and spent the night in towns. Rivers could be dangerous to cross, especially during and after the rainy season. In Asia Minor robbers sometimes attacked boats coming upriver from the coast. Travelers often sought divine protection before setting out. In the hill country of Asia Minor they faced cold, and people avoided winter journeys whenever they could. Going overland was normally slower than sailing, and riskier too (Wright). News moved no faster than travelers. A writer could not know how his letter had been received until the carrier returned. A companion who failed to arrive at an agreed meeting place left his friends fearing for him. Carried money drew thieves. Wright notes that a well-known annual shipment of money would be an obvious target for highway robbery or embezzlement. That is why pilgrims to Jerusalem traveled in sizable groups and civic officials took some care for the money's safe delivery. Travel, especially at sea in late fall and early spring, lowered resistance to disease. Typhoid and malaria were common.

Because robbers worked the empty roads and news moved only with travelers, the man left half dead on the road down to Jericho in Luke 10:30 meets a familiar danger. Paul's dangers from rivers, robbers and the wilderness in 2 Corinthians 11:26 are the ordinary risks of travel, piled up to show how often he faced them.