One case of this class is of great importance as affecting the NT. Thousands of Jews of the Diaspora were able to go up to the Passover at Jerusalem only by ship: the land journey from distant cities would have been too tedious and slow. It may, ¢.g., be regarded as certain that all Jews who went up to the Passover from the western, the northern, and even the eastern coasts of the Aigean, travelled on board ship; and that ships were run for their special benefit in order to make money from the passengers. Such pilgrim- ships would run for the special purpose of the festival, and would lose no time by the way from stopping for other purposes. Thus it would be safe to start from such a port as Corinth or Ephesus much later than would be prudent on an ordinary trading vessel, liable to stop for days in harbours on the way to load or unload. The time of absence from home and business required for the journey was thus much shortened.
The position of Jews in the Diaspora was affected in various ways by the pilgrim-ships. On the one hand, those ships immensely facilitated communication, and made it possible for far larger numbers of Jews to go up to the Feast : thus they strengthened the national feeling and sense of unity, which so marvellously resisted the dissoci- ating influence of distance and of difference be- tween the Diaspora and the Palestinian Jews in language, customs, and education. On the other hand, they offered opportunities for oppressing and annoying the Jews in every harbour that the ship had’ to enter: mere strictness in enforcing harbour regulations might cause delay, and this could be best avoided by bribery : greed or positive ill-will might prolong the detention so as to endanger the purpose of the voyage or compel the payment of large sums: the mere fact of a great number of Jews being collected in one ship gave opportunity for many acts of injustice and mal- evolence. Hence it is easy to see why numerous edicts of kings and Roman officials and Emperors in favour of the Jews reiterate the provision for unimpeded liberty to journey to Jerusalem.
400 ROADS AND TRAVEL (IN NT)
ROADS: AND TRAVEL (IN NT)
The right understanding of Ac 20" is influenced by this fact. St. Paul was on the point of sailing from Corinth to Palestine: he was going to be for ten days or more in the company and the power of a body of Jews, including the most zealous and, in some cases, fanatical among them. ‘The situa- tion was at the best a dangerous one. It became known that some of the Jews were openly stating their intention of using this favourable opportunity to get rid of their enemy: murder on shore was too dangerous, but murder at sea on a ship where all except a few sailors were Jews* might be easily carried out in such a way as to defy investi- gation and probably even to escape notice: the loss of one pilgrim in a crowd might probably never even be observed. It was therefore resolved that St. Paul must avoid this obvious and serious danger. He was quite ready and resolute to ad- venture himself in Jerusalem, where the danger was equally great. But there in the great city at the Feast his death, if it came, would be a public protest in favour of truth and freedom: on ship- board it would be unknown and useless, so far as these high ends were concerned. Moreover, he was in charge of a considerable sum of money con- tributed at Corinth (see next paragraph), and was responsible for its safe delivery at Jerusalem. It was, however, impossible by that time to reach Jerusalem for the Feast by any ordinary vessel ; and therefore St. Paul sailed for Philippi and spent the Passover there.
Presumably, the delegates who were to accom- pany him to Jerusalem carrying the voluntary contributions of the Pauline Churches (just as among the Jews then ‘men of noble birth are entrusted with the conveyance to Jerusalem’ of the accumulated annual dues paid by the Jews in the Diaspora)t+ had arranged to meet him at Ephesus. On the new arrangement the Asian delegates came on to Troas to meet him and the Macedonian delegates (Ac 20'). The party was dependent now on the chances of trading vessels, and therefore the start was made from Philippi as soon as the Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread were ended. There was no detention at Neapolis, which is not even mentioned. Owing to the great importance of the passage between Neapolis and Troas, as we have seen, vessels of one kind or another must have been constantly, probably daily, available there. At Troas, how- ever, there was a detention of seven days; and then there seems to have been a choice of vessels— one going round the west and south coast of Asia Minor, making a short stay of three or four days at Miletus, but otherwise only the ordinary nightly halts of coasting vessels ; the other intending to put in at Ephesus and make a considerable stay there for some purpose connected with her freight. In these circumstances Paul, though desirous of seeing the Church of Ephesus, chose the ship that sailed past that city, because he was desirous of reaching Jerusalem in time for the Feast of Pentecost, and did not wish to run any risk of being too late (Ac 20!%). Some commentators suggest that he was also unwilling to go to Ephesus, from fear lest trouble might arise there, as on his previous residence ; but when a perfectly sufficient reason is stated in our authority, it seems unjustifiable to add another reason.{ This case is a very in- structive example of what might happen in voy- ages made by common travellers.