Bible Dictionary
By-ways
By-ways are winding, crooked, or lesser roads. Scripture uses the expression for routes avoided or made unsafe during times of oppression and disorder.
Definition
By-ways are lesser, winding, twisted, or crooked roads. The term may describe routes away from the main road or roads made difficult and unsafe by disorder.
Biblical Usage
The expression occurs in Judges and Psalms, where the margin explains it as “crooked ways.”
Scripture References
Historical Bible Dictionaries
Easton's Bible Dictionary
Only in Judg. 5:6 and Ps. 125:5; literally “winding or twisted roads.” The margin has “crooked ways.”