The influx of Greeks into Palestine, the constant presence of a large Koman element, civil and military, the mixed retinue attached to the Her- odian court, the increase of trade, the importation of foreign workmen, the presence in several towns of companies of gladiators, actors, and the like, — would necessitate not only inns, but various kinds and grades of inns.
There were inns built on a large scale, comfortable and elegant, suited for high officials (see CIL iii. 6123, where Mommsen ex- plains prattoria as 'diversoria nobiliora magistratibus iter faci- entihus reliquisque honestioribus destinata'). Epictetus draws a picture of a traveller Hngering at a tine hotel because he finds e\'erything agreeable there (Diss. ii. xxiii. oO). Josephus (Ajtt. XV. v. 1) relates that when Herod the tireat was celebrating games at Caesarea, he entertained a number of ambassadors and other visitors at the public inns (;ia7uyMyat;). On the other hand, there were inns of the lowest description. .\t llie same port of Cffisarea there would doubtless be a number of taverns for sailors (cf. Jos. BJ i. xxi. 7). The numerous Tahnudic references to inns (which, of course, must -be used with some degree of caution) indicate that they were a distinct feature of social life, e.g. * a public inn in which Israelites come and po ' (Aboda Zara, v. 3) ; 'An Israelite and a heathen were once at an inn drinking wine* (ib.); ' R. Papa used to stand outside the store of the heathen and drink his beer ' (ii. 4). R. Ishmael bar Jose declared that his father used to pray in an inn (Ber. iv. 7) ; 'Cattle must not be placed in the inns of heathen' (Aboclu Zara, ii. 1).
There can be little doubt that there were numer- ous taverns where food as well as drink could be obtained (cf. Franz Delitzsch, Jewish Artizan Lift- in tlie Time of Christ, p. 47). Not only heathen were innkeepers, but Jews ; not only men, but women. ' A Jewish woman dealing in wine once left her keys in charge of a heathen, and the question came up whether her wine she has in the tavern is allowed' (Aboda Zara, v. 3).
Jiilicher {Gleichnisreden, ii. p. 590 ; cf. Bertholet,
*,SeeTalm. Bab. Kelhub. 105a ; Jerus. Megilla, 73d (although, of course, the 4(ifl is a characteristic exaggeration).
INN
INNOCENTS
Die Stellung der Isracliten unci dcr Jiidcn zu den Fremden, \). 24) rightly maintains that the inn of Lk lO**, to which the good Samaritan took his patient, was a liostelry ('nicht bios Caravanserai sondeni Gasthaus '). The word used in this passage (iravSoxelov) is significant. It was taken over into Rabbinic Hebrew, and is the usual word (npnis) for ' inn' in the Talmud. The Greek name shows that inns were largely a product of the Hellenistic period (see Schiirer, HJP II. i. 33). Other Rabbinic terms, ki-sb'n and n-JDax, are equivalents of hos- pitiiim and ^evla ; and as these replace the OT terms pSn and nna, they seem to indicate that something is intended quite different fi'om the /.■/icni of tlie lonely road or the 'lodging-place of wayfaring men in the wilderness ' (Jer 9^).
It is difficult to fix the exact significance of koto- \vfm, the other word used in the Gospels for ' inn.' Etymologically, it means ' the place wliere bur- dens were loosed for the night.' In Lk 2" it is generally taken to mean an inn of the Z7w)( type. Poly bins uses it in the plural form (H. xxxvi. 1). Dio'durus (xiv. 93) relates that the Romans, in gratitude for the services of one Timasitlieus, gi'anted him 5riij.6ai.oy KardXyfia.* The KaTaXu/xa of j\Ik 14" and Lk 22", where the Last Supper was eaten, is generally supposed to have been a private house (Hastings' DB, art. 'Inn') ; and the use of the verb raTaXi'-u, as in Lk 19', is quite in keeping with this. Nothing very definite, however, can be (le(hi(eil from these names as to the precise cliaracter of the place of lodging.
Did Jesus Himself ever enter or stay at inns? It is usually assumed that His disciples always provided hospitality for Him. Yet tlie only re- corded cases in which He accepted it are those of Peter's house at Capernaum and the house at Bethany. The words, ' the Son of Man hath not where to lay his head ' (Mt 8™, Lk O'^*), suggest that hospitality was not always forthcoming. vYe know that it was not in Samaria (Lk '.)■'-) .■iiid among the Gerasenes (8"). During :i i;,u>ii\rr:\.]Av part of the year it would be no hardsliip Id s|irii.l the night in the open air, and amiariMitly .Tcsus often preferred this, that He might have oppor- tunity for quiet prayer, and more jirivacy tlian would be possible m a house or an inn. (Cf. J. L. Porter, Giant Cities of Baslmn, 1866, jjp. 157-159 ; also, for the habits of St. Francis and his followers, P. Sabatier, Vie, 1894, p. 88 f.). There is, however, no reason against His having resorted upon occasion to jjlaces of public entertainment. These were sometimes kept by Jews ; but, if kept by a Gentile, this would not necessarily deter Him from going in. Strict Jews objected to entering the house of a Gentile, lest they should incur defile- ment (Jn IS'®, cf. Hausrath, Hist. NT Times, ii. 85) ; hut Jesus, while recognizing that His mission ^^■as to Jews primarily, never allowed His action to be limited by ceremonial considerations. For instance. He did not hesitate, in spite of protest, to' visit the house of Zacchteus, and the freedom of His iiitcTcdurse with .all kinds of iK-n\,\c brought on