Highway

Concept

A highway in the ancient Near East was a raised or established road prepared for public travel — constructed paths elevated above surrounding terrain to allow passage in all seasons. The Hebrew mesillāh (raised road, causeway) appears primarily in poetry and prophecy. The prophetic image of the highway appears powerfully in Isaiah: the highway for the LORD (Isa. 40:3), the "Way of Holiness" for the redeemed to travel in the age of salvation (Isa. 35:8), and the highway from Assyria for the scattered to return (Isa. 11:16; 19:23). Isaiah 62:10 commands preparation of the highway for the returning exiles. John the Baptist's ministry fulfills the call to "prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God" (Isa. 40:3; Matt. 3:3). Roman roads (viae) were among the great engineering achievements of the empire that facilitated the spread of the gospel.