Page 96 - Bible Geography and Near East Studies

people on this road were easy targets for bandits, who would have found ample hiding places and
escape routes into the desert where no one would pursue them. When Jesus said that “a man was going
down from Jerusalem to Jericho,” his listeners surely would have recognized the dangers that this
journey posed.

The Road from Jericho to Jerusalem

A person who was robbed and beaten on this road would have been in a very vulnerable position—
there would have been no food or water to find along the path to recover with, and no shelter from the
elements. The victim would be utterly exposed and isolated—desperate for help.

Moreover, anyone coming upon such a victim would not have been able to easily avoid them. At points,
the road is so narrow that a passerby would have had to literally step over their body. The callousness of
the priest and Levite who ignored the victim stands out even more, given the geography.

P 906#y

The Road from Jericho to Jerusalem
https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=zVmagXx-n34

In a further surprise, Jesus subverted his hearers’ expectations by explaining that it was a Samaritan who
helped the man. Samaritans were known as the ones who would rob Jews on this road as they went
“up” to Jerusalem from Jericho for their holy days. The listeners would not only have expected a
Samaritan to be unsympathetic to the plight of the victim, but they would also have expected the
Samaritan to be the perpetrator!

Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River near Jericho and immediately headed into “the wilderness.”
Jericho is surrounded by rugged land called “the wilderness.” The Benjamin Desert stretches to the
west. The Judean Wilderness and the Dead Sea are to the South. The deserts of Jordan are visible to the
east and southeast. Little wonder tradition says Jesus was tempted by Satan near the cliffs of Jericho!

Balsam trees grew in Jericho. The oil of these trees was used at the Temple. Shortly before the
destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, priests destroyed the trees to keep them from being “defiled”
by the Romans.

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