Tuesday, January 31, 2006
How long did it take to walk from Nazareth to Sepphoris?
James D. G. Dunn, Jesus Remembered (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2003): 298, ". . . the youthful Jesus would have (regularly?) visited Sepphoris, only two hours distant (5 km) from Nazareth by foot, perhaps even as a young carpenter assisting in the construction of its theatre." 5 km is apparently just over 3 miles, which you can walk in an hour at a stroll. Two hours would be a mile and a half an hour. Is Jimmy a slow walker?
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7 comments:
Doesn't the average person walk a mile in about 15 minutes? :-)
15 minutes seems right. 10 minutes at a slow jog. A kid could make it in 30-45 from N. to S.
No the average person does not walk a mile in about 15 minutes. Four miles an hour is hoofing it. The terrain is an issue. When I was young and healthy I could do Mt Si* in an hour and 15 minutes. Four miles and 3600ft elevation gain. The really serious guys could do it in under an hour.
Mt Si was made famous by Twin Peaks:
http://www.tametheweb.com/iblog/B1635193672/C492645267/
Not sure about Jesus' walking speed, but Jimmy Dunn is 67 and presumably not as fast as he was when he was a wee 'un :)
To get to Sepphoris from Nazareth you have to climb a good sized hill. Also, you have to figure the extra speed reduction by carrying a load or dragging along a mule.
If contemporary evidence in non-industrialised societies is anything to go by, I would suggest that people for whom walking is the primary 'mode of transport' do NOT walk very fast at all... just very far, if need be.
Well, I'm off for my constitutional...
Admittedly you or I could walk a mile in 15 minutes. But it can take a heck of a lot longer if you are constantly having to stop and perform miracles along the way.
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