The King's Highway

דֶּרֶךְ הַמֶּלֶךְ

Where was the King's Highway? Jordan's plateau road, Aqaba to Damascus. I mark it very likely.

Moses sent messengers to the king of Edom with a polite request. Let us walk the king's road, he said, and we won't touch a field or drink from a well without paying. Edom came out armed, and Israel went the long way around. When Sihon refused too, the battle at Jahaz gave Israel the land from the Arnon to the Jabbok.

By Aaron Shaffier, licensed Israel tour guide and mapmaker · About the mapmaker

Site today: Jordan's plateau road, Aqaba to Damascus
How sure: Very likely Strong evidence, with no serious rival.
Other names: Derech HaMelech, Royal Road, Via Nova Traiana, Darb al-Hajj
Location: 31.4402° N, 35.8034° E (Google Maps)

The King's Highway on the hand-drawn Map of Biblical Israel — King's Highway on our hand-drawn Map of Biblical Israel. Get the full map as a print →

How we know where it was

Geography leaves little choice. East of the Jordan the only practical north-south line follows the edge of the plateau. The cities of Edom, Moab and Ammon sit along it like beads: Bozrah, Dibon, Medeba, Heshbon, Rabbah. The Romans paved the same line, and Muslim pilgrims later followed it to Mecca.

One question remains. Some read "the king's road" as a general term for a main public road, not a name. So the exact stretch Moses meant is uncertain. The corridor itself is not in doubt.