Biblical mile
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Biblical mile(Hebrew:מיל,romanized:mīl) is a unit ofdistanceon land, or linear measure, principally used by Jews during theHerodian dynastyto ascertain distances between cities and to mark the Sabbath limit, equivalent to about⅔of an Englishstatute mile,or what was about four furlongs (fourstadia).[1]The basic Jewish traditional unit of distance was thecubit(Hebrew:אמה), each cubit being roughly between 46–60 centimetres (18–24 in)[2]The standard measurement of the biblical mile, or what is sometimes calledtǝḥūm šabbat[3](Sabbath limit; Sabbath boundary), was 2,000cubits.[4][5]
Etymology[edit]
The wordmīl,as used in Hebrew texts between the 2nd and 5th centuries CE, is aRomanloanword, believed to be a shortened adaptation of theLatinmīliarium,literally meaning, "milestone,"[6]and which word signifies "a thousand" [passuum<paces> of two steps each]; hence:Roman mile.The word appears in theMishnah,a compendium of Jewishoral lawcompiled by RabbiJudah the Princein 189 CE, and is used to this very day by religious Jews in the application of certainhalachiclaws.
Halachic applications[edit]
- OnShabbat,one is not allowed to travel further than 1 biblical mile outside one's city; this law is known astechum shabbat.A procedure known aseruv techuminallows one to travel up to one more biblical mile.
- The rabbinic ordinance ofwashing handsprior to eating bread requires of people travelling the roads to go as far as 4 biblical miles if there is a known water source that can be used for washing. This applies only to when the water source lies in one's general direction of travel. However, had he already passed the water source, he is not obligated to backtrack unless the distance is within 1 biblical mile.[7]
- Sliced pieces of meat that are to be cooked in a pot require salting before they are cooked. The first process is rinsing in water followed by salting with any coarsesalt,while laid over a grating orcolanderto allow for drainage. The salt is allowed to remain on the meat for the time that it takes to walk one biblical mile[8](appx.18–24minutes). Afterwards, the residue of salt is rinsed away with water, and the meat cooked. Salting in this way helps to draw out the blood.
Divergent methods[edit]
Nearly two thousand years ofJewish exilefrom theLand of Israelhave given rise to disputes over the precise length of the biblical mile observed by the ancients. Some hold the biblical mile to be 1,152m,while others hold it to be 960m,depending on the length they prescribe to each cubit. Originally, the 2,000 cubit Sabbath limit was measured with a standard 50-cubit rope.
Another dispute is the actual time it takes for an average man to walk a biblical mile. Most authorities hold that a biblical mile can be traversed in 18 minutes; four biblical miles in 72 minutes.[9][10]Elsewhere, however,Maimonidesheld the view that an average man walks a biblical mile in about 20 to 24 minutes.[11][12]
| Scholar | Cubit | Biblical mile |
|---|---|---|
| Avraham Chaim Naeh | 48 centimetres (19 in)[13] | 960 metres (3,150 ft) |
| Chazon-Ish | 57.6 centimetres (22.7 in)[14] | 1,152 metres (3,780 ft) |
| Ḏerāʿ(Egyptian cubit) | 52.9 or 52.3 cm[15] | 1,058 metres (3,471 ft)[16] |
Distances between cities[edit]
- HamathtoTiberias= 1mil(before the two cities converged as one)[17]
- Beit Maonto Tiberias = 1mil(before the two cities converged as one)[18]
- Migdal Nunia('the Fish Tower') to Tiberias = 1mil[19]
- Migdal toHamath= 1mil[20]
- Sepphoristo Tiberias = 18mil[21]
- Lod(Lydda) toOno= 3mil[22]
- Beth-jeshimothto Abel-shittim = 12mil[23]
- ZoartoSodom= 5mil.[24]
- Modiin (Modiith) toJerusalem= 15mil.[25]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^Although a furlong (stadion) is an obsolete measure of length, according to the historianJosephusthere were about four furlongs to a biblical mile. TheSouthern Wallof Jerusalem'sTemple Mountis 922 feet (281 m) in length, and which Josephus equates as being equal to the length of one furlong (Greek:stadion). See: Josephus,Antiquities(15.11.3; XV.415–416), who described the dimensions of the Temple Mount in the following terms (apparently not including the extension made to the Temple Mount): “This hill was walled all round, and in compass four furlongs; [the distance of] each angle containing in length a furlong (Gr.stadion).” CompareMishnahMiddot2:1which states that the Temple Mount measured five-hundred cubits (Heb.amah) by five-hundred cubits. If it can be ascertained that Josephus'stadionis equivalent to the 500 cubits mentioned in the Mishnah, and being that the Southern Wall measured 281 meters, this would place each cubit (Heb.amah) at 56.205 cm. RabbiSaadia Gaon,on the other hand, holds that astadionwas equivalent to only 470 cubits (v. Uziel Fuchs,"Millot HaMishnah" by R. Saadia Gaon — the First Commentary to the Mishnah,Sidra: A Journal for the Study of Rabbinic Literature, pub.Bar-Ilan UniversityPress (2014), p. 66), in which case, each cubit was 59.792 cm, close to the 60 cm. cubit espoused by theChazon-Ish.
- ^Depending on the standards given by Rabbi Avraham Chaim Naeh and theChazon-Ish.
- ^Shulhan Arukh (Orach Chaim§297:2)
- ^Mishnah - with a Commentary of Rabbi Moses ben Maimon(ed.Yosef Qafih), vol. 1,Mossad Harav Kook:Jerusalem 1963, s.v.Kippurim6:4
- ^Babylonian Talmud,Eruvin51a
- ^Moshe Fischer, Benjamin Isaac and Israel Roll,Roman Roads in Judaea II - The Jaffa-Jerusalem roads,B.A.R., Oxford 1996, p. 26ISBN0-86054-809-0doi:10.30861/9780860548096
- ^Maimonides,Mishne Torah(Hil. Bikkurim8:11); Jerusalem Talmud,Hallah2:2; Babylonian Talmud,Pesahim34a;ibid.46a
- ^Shulhan Arukh,Yoreh De'ah§ 69:6; § 69:16; § 69:19
- ^Maimonides(1963).Mishnah,with Maimonides' Commentary(in Hebrew). Vol. 1. Translated byYosef Qafih.Jerusalem:Mossad Harav Kook.p. 32 (Ber. 1:1).OCLC233308346.,s.v.ועמוד השחר. "An hour and one-fifth [of an hour]," or what are 72 minutes, is the time from the "break of dawn" (עלות השחר) to sunrise (הנץ החמה), or the time that it takes for an average man to walk four biblical miles. One biblical mile can, therefore, be traversed in 18 minutes.
- ^Shulhan Arukh(Orach Chaim261:1), R.Moses Isserles' glosses there, who wrote: "The distance of a [biblical] mile is [what it takes for one to walk] one-third of an hour, minus1⁄30part [of an hour] "(i.e. 18 minutes).
- ^Kessar, Ḥayim (1988). Shelomo Siʼani; Siman-Tov Maghori (eds.).Maimonides' Mishne Torah, According to Ba'al Shem Tov(in Hebrew). Vol. 2 (Zera'im,Hil. Terumot7:2). Jerusalem: S. Maghori. p. 407.OCLC232938817.(OCLC122740743), and where it cites Maimonides inMishneh Torah(Hil. Terumot7:2), using both the printed Venice edition along with the handwritten manuscripts of Maimonides, who wrote:אין הטמאים אוכלין בתרומה עד שיעריבו שמשן ויצאו ג' כוכבים בינוניים וזה העת כמו שליש שעה אחר שקיעת החמה, = "Those who are defiled are not permitted to eat theTerumahuntil their sun has set and there have come out three middle-size stars, while this time being estimated at about a third of an hour (i.e. 20 minutes) after sunset "(End Quote).
- ^In Maimonides' Commentary on theMishnah(Pesahim3:2), he wrote that the time that it takes for a man to walk a biblical mile is2⁄5of an hour (i.e. 24 minutes). SeeMaimonides(1963).Mishnah,with Maimonides' Commentary(in Hebrew). Vol. 1. Translated byYosef Qafih.Jerusalem:Mossad Harav Kook.p. 108 (Pesahim3:2).OCLC233308346.
...and the time needed for it [to leaven] is what it takes for a person to walk by foot in an average pace one [biblical] mile, and that being what it takes for two-fifths of an hour (i.e. 24 minutes) of those standard hours [to pass by]
.According to this view, a man traverses 4 biblical miles in one hour and 36 minutes. - ^Abraham Haim Noe,Sefer Ḳuntres ha-Shiʻurim(Abridged edition fromShiʻurei Torah), Jerusalem 1943, p. 17 (section 20)
- ^Chazon Ish,Orach Chaim39:14
- ^Dieter, Arnold (1991), Building in Egypt: Pharaonic Stone Masonry, Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press
- ^Figure represents the cubit of 52.9 cm.
- ^Babylonian Talmud(Megillah2b); cf.Tosefta(Eruvin7:2)
- ^Ishtori Haparchi,Sefer Kaftor Ve'ferah(vol. 2), ed. Avraham Yosef Havatzelet, Jerusalem 2007, (chapter 11) p. 56
- ^Babylonian Talmud(Pesahim46a)
- ^Jerusalem Talmud(ʿErūvin5:7 [36b]); implied
- ^Jerusalem Talmud(Ta'anit24b)
- ^Babylonian Talmud(Ketubbot111b). Historical geographer, Yoel Elitzur, inAncient Place Names in the Holy Land - Preservation and History(Jerusalem 2004, pp. 383–384) has noted the following: "The distance from Lod to Kafr ʻĀna, commonly identified as Ono (today betweenOr YehudahandNeve Monosson) is greater than specified in the Talmud (Ket.111b). In Midrash Shir ha-Shirim, edited by Grünhut from a manuscript, the talmudic saying is cited with a significant difference: 'The distance from Lod to Ono was five miles,' but this particular source may reflect a later period, after the destruction of Ono itself. "
- ^Jerusalem Talmud(Shevi'it6:1); cf.Numbers 33:49
- ^Babylonian Talmud(Pesahim93b). Cf.Jerusalem Talmud(Berakhot1:1)
- ^Babylonian Talmud(Pesahim93b)