Appendix 2. The Route of the Exodus.
by Dr. Ralph F. Wilson
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The route of the Exodus has been hotly debated. Since there
are no archaeological artifacts from the Exodus itself and place names seldom
match places identifiable today, we are left to sort out the probable route
based on clues from the biblical accounts and the land itself. Three main
routes of the Exodus to Mt. Sinai have been proposed.
The Northern Route sees the "Reed Sea" as Lake Serbonis,
then along the Mediterranean coast of Sinai. It finds Mount Sinai in the
northern part of the Sinai Peninsula. However, this route was heavily
fortified by the Egyptians, since it constituted the route enemies would take
to attack Egypt. This route is explicitly excluded by the text:
"When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not
lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter.
For God said, ‘If they face war, they might change their minds and return to
Egypt.' So God led the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea."
(Exodus 13:17-18)
Moreover, the present Lake Serbonis probably didn't
yet exist at the time of Moses.
A route directly east of the end of Wadi Tumilat across the
center of the Sinai Peninsula doesn't have enough wells to support this body of
people and animals.
I've recently seen a variation on this -- not held by any
reputable scholar -- that claims the "real" Red Sea ("Reed Sea") is the Gulf of
Aqaba, the "real" Mt. Sinai is Jebel el Lawz in Arabia. The theory holds that Pharaoh's
chariots chased the Israelites across the center of the Sinai Peninsula, then
down the steep canyon of Wadi Watir, across Nuweiba beach, and a slightly
submerged land bridge into Arabia.1
The problem with this view is that the Scripture shows the confrontation
between Pharaoh and Moses at the Red Sea before the trek across the Sinai
Peninsula, not after it. It just doesn't fit the facts of Scripture.
Below is a map that shows the traditional route that makes
the most sense to me.
The traditional route crosses the "Reed Sea" at perhaps Lake Timsah or the Bitter Lakes, then down Sinai's west coastlands, then east
through the mountains and wadis to a southern Mount Sinai, perhaps Jebel Musa,
then back up northeastward by Sinai's east coast and desert to Kadesh-barnea.
This route has the advantage that it:
- Steers
clear of nearly all Egyptian presence.
- The Shur desert was also called the desert of Etham (Numbers 33:8), in the latitude
of the east end of Wadi Tumilat. So, moving through that desert for three days
(if the middle way of Seir is excluded) has to be southward along the west
coast of Sinai.2
- The
west coast of Sinai has a number of known watering places.
Of course, no one knows the route for sure. Very few of the
stages of the journey outlined in Numbers 33 have been identified with any
certainty, with the exception of Ezion Geber, Kadesh Barnea, and the plains of
Moab.
Nevertheless, let's discuss some of the locations that we're
more sure about -- plus a couple of others.
The locations of both Ramses and Succoth have been fairly
well established. Scholars identify Rameses ("house of Rameses") as Qantir or
Tell el-Dab`a, the ancient Avaris/Pi-Ramesse.3
It was originally built on the eastern bank of the Pelusiac, the easternmost of
the Nile's five ancient branches. Later, prior to 1069 BC, the course this
branch of the Nile migrated away from the city, and the site was abandoned.
Succoth4
(the modern Tell el-Maskhuta) is found in the Wadi Tumilat of the southeast
delta.5
The name Succoth in Hebrew means "temporary shelters, tents, booths," which
corresponds to the Egyptian name Tjeku.
Kitchen makes a strong case to identify Pithom ("house of
the god Atum") as Tell er-Retabe along the Wadi Tumilat, a few miles due west
of Succoth.6
We just don't know the exact location of the body of water
identified in the text as the "Red Sea." The Hebrew is yām sûp, a
term used in the Old Testament to identify a number of different bodies of
water. Yām is used in the Old Testament over 300 times to refer to "sea"
and about 70 times for "west" or "westward."7
The word sûp means "reed, waterplant," a general term for marsh plants.8 What we
know as the Red Sea today lies to the south, with two northern branches, the
Gulf of Aqabah to the east of the Sinai Peninsula and the Gulf of Suez to the
west of the Sinai Peninsula.
According to 1 Kings 9:26 and other passages,9
the term yām sûp is used to describe Gulf of Aqabah (Elat), the
body of water east of the Sinai Peninsula. Of course, in many many passages, yām
sûp is the sea of the Exodus.10
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Possible location of the Red Sea ("Reed Sea") crossing.
Larger image.
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We conclude, then, that the "Red Sea" (yām sûp)
refers to some body of water east of the Nile delta. Scholars have found
evidence of ancient canals in this area. Here are the primary possibilities of
bodies of water we see today along the line of the present-day 101-mile Suez
Canal, which opened in 1869. North to south, these are:
- Lake Ballah
- Lake Timsah
- Great Bitter Lake
- Little Bitter Lake
Water tables, no doubt, are different now than they were
3,000 years ago, so we can't judge just by what we see today. Some believe that
the Gulf of Suez gradually receded over the centuries, its coastline slowly
moving farther and farther southward away from Lake Timsah and the Greater
Bitter Lake to its present coastline today.11
"It is plausible, even if they were marshy areas, that the Israelites
crossed while the area was flooded, which occurred periodically."12 The exact
spot of the crossing is impossible to determine with certainty, but it probably
occurred either at Lake Timsah or at the Great Bitter Lake.
If, indeed, the Israelites took the traditional southern
route, it would have been a difficult trip. Beno Rothenberg notes:
"Sinai's broad southern littoral [area near the
shoreline] is for the most part a sandy waste. In the wadi-estuaries and in a
few depressions between the sea and the mountains of Sinai the yellow sand is
relieved by white patches of chalk and limestone, sometimes mingled with loess.
In such parts there is water and vegetation: tamarisks, date-palms, and acacias.
But the parched soil shrivels and crumples up in the fierce desert heat."13
Marah has been traditionally identified with Ain Hawara, but
there can be no certainty. Beno Rothenberg observed in 1957 that Ain Hawara is
"a spring now completely buried in sand. Only a cluster of date-palms and a damp
spot nearby are there to tell of its existence."14
It has always been tempting for scholars to try to locate
the oasis of Elim.
"Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve
springs and seventy palm trees, and they camped there near the water." (Exodus
15:27)
Elim (ʾêlim)
is the plural of ʾayil,
"terebinth, great tree," so Elim means "(place of) great trees."15 Some
scholars identify Elim with the modern day Wadi Gharandel, located on the west
coast of the Sinai Peninsula and the site of numerous palm trees,16 but it is
by no means proven.
Possible locations of
Mount Sinai in the southern Sinai Peninsula.18
Larger
image. |
The exact location of Mount Sinai (sometimes referred to as
Mount Horeb) is unknown. There are three theories as to its general location:
- Northern
Sinai. Candidates suggested are Jebel Helal, Jebel Kharif, Jebel Sin Bisher,
Jebel Yeleq, Jebel Magharah, Jebel Karkom, or Kadesh-barnea itself.
- Arabia.
Mountains suggested are present-day Petra, el-Khrob, or Hala el-Bedr. This has
a long tradition, but is unlikely.17
- Southern
Sinai. The traditional southern route of the Exodus suggests four possible
peaks, which I think are most likely, all clustered together: Jebel Musa ("Mountain
of Moses") is 7,498 feet in elevation, Jebel Katarina is 8,551 feet, and Ras
Safsafa is 7,113 feet. Jebel Serbal (6,739 feet) is west a few miles, near the
Monastery of St. Catherine. Which of these peaks is the real Mount Sinai, God
only knows, but each has its proponents.19
The location of Rephidim is unknown. However, many have placed
it near the Oasis of Feiran. Yohanan Aharoni comments:
"Wadi Feiran is one of the largest and most famous
wadis in Sinai. It is 81 miles long and begins in the region of Jebel Musa,
where it is called Wadi el Sheikh. Feiran boasts the chief oasis in Sinai, one
of the wonders of the Peninsula. In the heart of the bleak and forbidding
granite mountains a green parkland suddenly comes into view: over 6 miles of
date-palm groves, tamarisks, reeds, rushes, and other vegetation, with a small
sparkling stream to delight the eye, artesian wells, and even a petrol engine to
draw up the water. The inhabitants are Bedouin."20
Kadesh is almost certainly to be identified with Ain
el-Qudeirat in the Wadi el-Ain of the northern Sinai. "The vegetation near Ain
el-Qudeirat and its ample supply of water suit very well the topographical
requirements of the wilderness narratives."21
Ain el-Qudeirat is the richest spring in the Sinai, having a flow of about 40 cubic
meters per hour.22
The actual location of Mount Hor is unknown, but was
considered in Edomite territory. Josephus identified Mount Edom as Jebel Nebi
Harim near Petra. But a more likely location might be Jebel Madura, about 15
miles northeast of Kadesh at the edge of Edom's territory.23
Ezion-geber is almost surely located at Tell el-Kheleifeh at
the north end of the Gulf of Aqaba.
Dizahab must surely be related to the present town of Dahab,
as both names are phonetic equivalents and both have to do with places of gold.24
Jotbathah is quite likely to be the oasis of Taba, located
about seven miles south of Ezion-geber on the eastern side of the Sinai
Peninsula.25
Of course there are many speculations as to other
identifications, but these are the most likely.
References
Moses Bible Study - Discipleship and Leadership Lessons
Copyright © 1985-2012, Ralph F. Wilson. <pastor
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