Inn

A handful of UPDV verses describe the way-stop where a traveler halts for the night. In the Old Testament these stops are called the "lodging-place" — an unwalled rest on the road where pack animals are fed and bags are unpacked. In the New Testament a Greek word for a more developed roadside house surfaces once, when the Samaritan brings the wounded man "to an inn" and pays for his care.

The Lodging-Place on the Road

The OT setting is a halt mid-journey, not a building of any standing. On the brothers' return from Egypt, "as one of them opened his sack to give his donkey fodder in the lodging-place, he noticed his silver; and, look, it was in the mouth of his sack" (Gen 42:27). Reporting the discovery back to Joseph's steward, they retell it: "and it came to pass, when we came to the lodging-place, that we opened our sacks, and, look, every man's silver was in the mouth of his sack, our silver in full weight: and we have brought it again in our hand" (Gen 43:21). In both places the lodging-place is simply where the donkeys are fed and the sacks are opened.

The same word marks Moses' route to Egypt. "And it came to pass on the way at the lodging-place, that Yahweh met him, and sought to kill him" (Ex 4:24). The lodging-place here is named only as the location of the encounter — a stop on the road, not a hostel.

The Inn of the Samaritan

The Lukan inn is a different setting. After the Samaritan finds the wounded man on the Jericho road, he "came to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring on [them] oil and wine; and he set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him" (Lk 10:34). The inn here is a place to be brought to — a house of reception where care can continue.