Hashem el-Tarif
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hashem el-Tarif is a mountain located in northeast Sinai, close to the border of modern Israel. Biblical historians have proposed the theory that this mountain is the site of the biblical Mount Sinai. According to Google Earth, the name of the mountain is "Gebel Khashm el Tarif," its coordinates being near 29°40'9.18"N and 34°38'0.28"E.[1]
The James Cameron-produced History Channel special, The Exodus Decoded, suggests that this location, now in an Egyptian military zone, is the best candidate for the Biblical Mount Sinai. The program claims that it not only features "Biblical geographical" clues, but that it also possesses three important traits described in Exodus:
- A cleft that overlooks a natural amphitheatre, from which a speaker could have been observed and heard from a great distance.
- A plateau below the clef large enough to have held several hundred thousand people and to have contained enough vegetation to sustain large flocks. The plateau also contains one of the largest concentrations of ancient open-air fire pits in the region (many still visible as ruins), as well as many graves.
- Calcium deposits that provide evidence of an ancient spring (now dry) which was located on the top of the mountain - a fairly rare geological feature.[2]
Another argument used in the documentary to strengthen the claim that Hashem el-Tarif is the Biblical Mount Sinai is that in the Bible Mount Sinai is described as a "holy mountain", and Hashem el-Tarif contais several ancient stone shrines all around it, as well as graves of apparently prominent persons near its summit The final argument in favor of Hashem el-Tarif is the fact that the traditional Jebel Musa is devoid of any of the above and surrounded by a granite plateau unsuitable for herding sheep. According to the documentary, though, despite all this evidence, permission for archeological excavation was not granted to them by the Egyptian military, which the documentary claims closely guards and restricts access to the mountain.[3] Simcha Jacobovici in an episode of the The Naked Archaeologist further reiterates the claim that Hashem el-Tarif is the most likely candidate for the biblical Mount Sinai.
Criticism:
While many believe Hashem el-Tarif is the biblical Mount Sinai, there are also those who reject this claim. The hypothesis that this mountain is the original Mount Sinai faces some criticism from skeptics and academics. [4] Many believe that other regional mountains are valid candidates for Mount Sinai as well. [5] Some of the arguments against the proposal that Hashem el-Tarif is Mount Sinai are as follows:
- No fully-convincing scientific evidence has been presented to the public.
- There is no mention in history of Hashem el-Tarif, nor any well-known local tradition pointing to it as Mount Sinai.
- Neither Rabbinic-era Jewish tradition, nor 3rd Century Christian traditions, nor Josephus recognize the mountain as Mount Sinai.
- Exodus Explained does not follow through on its claims, leaving many of their statements concerning Hashem el-Tarif open to debate.
Further investigation will be needed before the Exodus Explained hypothesis can be proved or discredited.
