Feets don’t fail me now

By Elizabeth Prata

I wrote recently that for a Bible times person to travel, there were only 3 ways. By ship, like Jonah did when fleeing God, on an animal like Balaam on his donkey, and by foot, like the two walking on the road to Emmaus. In fact, walking was the most frequent way people went from here to there.

A day’s journey for people walking in those times was 20-25 miles (according to historian Herodotus).

Mary and Joseph had to travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem for the Census. It’s about 90 miles from Point A to point B. It’s a journey that normally took around 4 days, but since Mary was in her third trimester, the going would likely have been slower, whether they were on foot or if Mary was in fact riding an animal. Did you know that there is no verse that states Mary was riding a donkey on their journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem? She might have, but we just don’t know.

It has been estimated that Jesus walked over 3,100 miles in His ministry time, others have estimated during his entire lifetime (including all those thrice yearly trips to Jerusalem) it was between 15,000 and 20,000 miles.

The Bible speaks of feet fairly frequently. I read of people washing feet, Jesus’ sandals that John the Baptist was too unholy to untie, the sandals of the wandering People that did not wear out… it got me thinking about footwear and feet. These are the things I think about. I think everything about the Bible, in the Bible, and Bible times is interesting.

A shoe or sandal in Bible times was a simple piece of leather tied on the foot with the serōkh, so easy of construction that its low cost was proverbial (Am 2:6; 8:6; Sir 46:19; cf Gen 14:23), and to be without it was a sign of extreme poverty (2 Ch 28:15; Isa 20:2), says The International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia.

Please note this, bearing in mind the above fact that a sandal-less person is in extreme poverty:

But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet; Luke 15:22,

No sandals on the Prodigal’s feet. Interesting fact that we now know indicated his extremely impoverished state.

The International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia has a long entry on “FOOT”. Here it is-

“The dusty roads of Pal and other eastern lands make a much greater care of the feet necessary than we are accustomed to bestow upon them. The absence of socks or stockings, the use of sandals and low shoes rather than boots and, to an even greater degree, the frequent habit of walking barefoot make it necessary to wash the feet repeatedly every day. This is always done when entering the house, esp. the better upper rooms which are usually carpeted. It is a common dictate of good manners to perform this duty to a visitor, either personally or through a servant; at least water for washing has to be presented (Gen 18:4; Lk 7:44). This has therefore become almost synonymous with the bestowal of hospitality (1 Tim 5:10).”

“At an early date this service was considered one of the lowest tasks of servants (1 S 25:41), probably because the youngest and least trained servants were charged with the task, or because of the idea of defilement connected with the foot. It was, for the same reason, if rendered voluntarily, a service which betokened complete devotion.”

“Jesus taught the greatest lesson of humility by performing this humble service to His disciples (Jn 13:4–15). The undoing of the latchets or leather thongs of the sandals (Mk 1:7; Lk 3:16; Jn 1:27) seems to refer to the same menial duty.”

“The roads of the desert were not only dusty but rough, and the wanderer was almost sure to ruin his ill-made shoes and wound his weary feet. A special providence of God protected the children of Israel from this experience during the long journey through the wilderness.”

“Your clothing did not wear out on you, nor did your foot swell these forty years…. And I have led you in the wilderness for forty years; your clothes have not worn out on you, and your sandal has not worn out on your foot.” (Dt 8:4; 29:5).”

“In the house shoes and sandals were never worn; even the most-delicate would put on shoes only when going out (Dt 28:56). The shoes were left outside of the house or in a vestibule.”

“Numerous are the phrases in which the word “foot” or “feet” is used in Bib. language. “To cover the feet” (1 S 24:3) is synonymous with obeying a call of Nature. “To speak with the feet” is expressive of the eloquence of abusive and obscene gesticulation among oriental people, where hands, eyes and feet are able to express much without the use of words (Prov 6:13). “To sit at the feet,” means to occupy the place of a learner (Dt 33:3; Lk 10:39; Acts 22:3). Vanquished enemies had to submit to being trodden upon by the conqueror (a ceremony often represented on Egyp monuments; Josh 10:24; Ps 8:6; 110:1; cf Isa 49:23).”

“Frequently we find references to the foot in expressions connected with journeyings and pilgrimages, which formed so large a part in the experiences of Israel, e.g. Ps 91:12, “lest thou dash thy foot against a stone”; 94:18, “My foot slippeth”; 121:3, “He will not suffer thy foot to be moved,” and many more. Often the reference is to the “walk,” i.e. the moral conduct of life (73:2; Job 23:11; 31:5).” –end dictionary entry

Source: Luering, H. L. E. (1915). Foot. In J. Orr, J. L. Nuelsen, E. Y. Mullins, & M. O. Evans (Eds.), The International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia (Vols. 1–5, pp. 1125–1126). The Howard-Severance Company.