The Patriarchs' Path
דֶּרֶךְ הָאָבוֹת
Where was the Patriarchs' Path? The watershed ridge road, today largely Route 60. I mark it very likely.
Joseph set out from Hebron along this ridge to check on his brothers. He found Shechem empty and went on to Dothan, where his brothers saw him coming. A generation earlier his mother Rachel had died on the same road near Bethlehem and was buried beside it.
By Aaron Shaffier, licensed Israel tour guide and mapmaker · About the mapmaker
- Site today
- The watershed ridge road, today largely Route 60
- How sure
- Very likely Strong evidence, with no serious rival.
- Other names
- Patriarchs' Route, Ridge Road, Derech HaAvot, Way of the Patriarchs, Ridge Route, Derech HaHar, Mountain Road, Watershed Road
- Location
- 32.0548° N, 35.2885° E (Google Maps)
How we know where it was
The name is modern. The Bible never names the road, but the Patriarchs' stories trace it town by town. Abraham walked from Shechem to Beit El and on toward the Negev. Jacob went from Beit El past Bethlehem to Hebron. Judges gives the one description of the road itself. Shilo lies "east of the highway that goes up from Beit El to Shechem."
Geography fixed the line. The watershed ridge is the only route through the hill country that avoids the deep valleys. A Roman milestone near Gush Etzion and Second Temple ritual baths along the way show it stayed in use.
Visiting today
Route 60 follows the old line. Along it you can stop at Rachel's Tomb, Hebron, Shilo, and the Roman road and milestone at Gush Etzion.
Read it in the Bible
Verse numbers follow the Hebrew Bible. In a handful of chapters English Bibles count one verse off.
See Patriarchs' Path on the interactive map →
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