Biblical mile
Biblical mile is a unit of distance on land, or linear measure, principally used by Jews during the Herodian dynasty to ascertain distances between cities and to mark the Sabbath limit, equivalent to about two-thirds of an English statute mile, or what was about four furlongs. The basic Jewish traditional unit of distance was the cubit, each cubit being roughly between The standard measurement of the biblical mile, or what is sometimes called Techum shabbat, was 2,000 cubits.
Etymology
The word mīl, as used in Hebrew texts between the 2nd and 5th centuries CE, is a Roman loanword, believed to be a shortened adaptation of the Latin mīliarium, literally meaning, "milestone," and which word signifies "a thousand" ; hence: Roman mile. The word appears in the Mishnah, a compendium of Jewish oral law compiled by Rabbi Judah the Prince in 189 CE, and is used to this very day by religious Jews in the application of certain halachic laws.Halachic applications
- On Shabbat, one is not allowed to travel further than 1 biblical mile outside one's city; this law is known as techum shabbat. A procedure known as eruv techumin allows one to travel up to one more biblical mile.
- The rabbinic ordinance of washing hands prior 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.
- 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 coarse salt, while laid over a grating or colander to allow for drainage. The salt is allowed to remain on the meat for the time that it takes to walk one biblical mile. 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
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. Elsewhere, however, Maimonides held the view that an average man walks a biblical mile in about 20 to 24 minutes.
| Scholar | Cubit | Biblical mile |
| Avraham Chaim Naeh | ||
| Chazon-Ish | ||
| Ḏerāʿ | 52.9 or 52.3 cm |