User:Rktect/Passage of the Red Sea

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The Passage of the Red Sea refers to the Story of Exodus.

In Exodus there is a lot of discussion about who crossed, when they crossed and what places they visited en route. The references to places are known collectively as the Stations list which lists all the places the people went. The phrase Red Sea refers to the Greek name Erythrian of Red Sea, likewise the toponym Baal Zephon. As a toponym PiHiharoth is probably Egyptian and a textual artifact preserved in the story.

Contents

[edit] Narrative, Hypothesis, and Analysis,

In the discussion of the crossing we have a large body of people crossing the Erythrian Sea, going across it from Elim the port of Thebes to end up at Elat at the head of the Gulf of Aqaba. Thebes ws the Capiol of Egypt during the 18th Dynasty, the period the story references itself as having taken place in.

[edit] Narrative

The narrative of the crossing of the Red SEa according to the Book of Exodus, chapters 13:17-15:12[1] skips over the reasons why mentioned earlier in that Book.

There is a theory that the narrative is wrong and the Passage of the Red Sea did not occur on the Red or Erythrian Sea but on the Reed Sea.

Pharaoh, the ruler of Egypt, has agreed to allow the Sons of Israel to leave Egypt peacefully, after a series of "plagues" is visited upon the Egyptians.

Pharaoh, the ruler of Egypt, has agreed to allow the Sons of Israel to leave Egypt peacefully, after a series of "plagues" is visited upon the Egyptians.

Moses and Aaron lead them out, not "by way of the land of the Philistines", but by the Passage of the Red Sea. Guided by a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, they travel from Succoth to Etham, "on the edge of the wilderness," where they make their encampment.

The religiously inclined see the story as having to do with God's intentions for Israel and put the focus on the point that the Israelites should leave Egypt without hindrance: "I will become glorified through Pharaoh and his entire army ... and Egypt shall know that I am the LORD."

The historians and archaeologists are more interested in why a large body of people leaving Egypt wouldn't go by way of the land of the Phillistines and would instead make passage across the Red Sea. They point out that with the Red Sea a regular trade route from c 3000 BC and the people at Thebes inclined to use its port, the story could easily be quite literally true.

Moses leads the Israelites to camp "facing Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the Red Sea, in front of Baal-zephon." The location of these places has a lot to do with how we interpret the story.

There they see the Egyptians and become frightened.

Depending on perspective Moses raises either his staff or his mast, and has a hand in the Red Seas passage. The Sons of Israel come into the Sea as if on dry ground. A strong east wind blows all night as the people disembark across the ocean. The pillar of cloud or storm moves between the Israelites and the Egyptians, separating them, and "neither one approached the other all night long."

The narrative in Exodus is brief and not necissarily miraculous, although God is present.

Moses leads the Israelites out of Egypt, not by "the way of the land of the Philistines," i.e. the Mediterannean coast, "which was near," but "through the way of the wilderness of the Red Sea." The Egyptians pursue the Israelites, who complain to Moses that he has led them to their deaths; but "the angel of God which would go before the camp of Israel moved, and went behind them," and removes the Egyptian chariot wheels (or clogs them), "and drove them on heavily."

The actual mentions of the crossing of the Red Sea, are most plausibly descriptions of a passage of the Red Sea made by ship which ends ends with Miriam, sister of Aaron, leading the women of Israel in the Song of the Sea.

The author J begins with the Israelites being led out of Egypt by Moses following a pillar of smoke by day and a pillar of fire by night.

Pharaoh changes his mind about his decision to allow them to depart, and chases after them with his chariots.

At PiHiharoth Moses tells the people not to be afraid, for God will aid them.

The pillar of smoke then stands between the Israelites and the Egyptians all night, separating them, while God sends a wind to blow back the sea from the west wind of Baal Zephon hindering the passage to a strong east wind helping it.

In the morning "the LORD looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud," the waters returned, "and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore." The J narrative ends with Moses leading the Israelites in singing the Song of the Sea.

The author P has the most elaborate account, and the most active role for God. It is P that introduces the toponyms of Pi-hahiroth, Migdol and Baal-zephon.

P informs the reader that it is part of the plan to send Pharaoh after the Israelites in order to demonstrate His power, and who shows Moses stretching out his rod (staff, yardsail)to divide the waters, "a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left".

The Egyptians can't continue the pursuit when the Israelites steal their fleet to cross over in ships and the Egyptians have no way of making the crossing in the chariots they brought with them.

The Song of the Sea, is a song of triumph over the defeated enemy: "With the blast of thy nostrils the waters were gathered together, The floods stood upright as an heap, and the depths were congealed in the heart of the sea."

The Song concludes with rejoicing at the effect that the defeat of the Egyptians will have on the Israelites' future enemies: "Sorrow shall take hold on the inhabitants of Philistia, the dukes of Edom shall be amazed; the mighty men of Moab, trembling shall take hold upon them; all the inhabitants of Canaan shall melt away. Fear and dread shall fall upon them."


[edit] Hypothesis

One theory about the Passage of the Red Sea is that its just a story and all there is to it is the account of the march of Moses, leading the Hebrews (Israelites) on their path out of Egypt.

In the Biblical theory the crossing of the Red Sea is not quite as described in Exodus, chapters 13:17 to 15:12, but the people do follow the stations of the Exodus from Elim to Elat so that the Sons of Israel and the people who go with them will be enabled to enter the Promised Land (Canaan).

In the historical theory the idea is that the passage of the Red Sea is a true account of the secession and movement of a group of people from Egypt across the Red Sea to Elat. The passgae across the Red Sea then is viwed as providing clues which might correlate well with historical facts such as the circumstances in which the Hyksos found themselves deciding they had to leave Egypt.

Depending on perspective, in the actual Passage of the Red Sea, Moses raises either his staff or his mast and his yardsail, and has a hand in the Red Seas passage. The Sons of Israel come into the Sea as if on dry ground. A strong east wind blows all night as the people disembark across the ocean. The pillar of cloud or storm moves between the Israelites and the Egyptians, separating them, and "neither one approached the other all night long."

There is still another theory that the narrative is wrong and the Passage of the Red Sea did not occur on the Red or Erythrian Sea but on the Reed Sea.

In this theory the Israelites went along the enclosing spit of the Sabħat al Bardawīl (a large lagoon on the north coast of the Sinai Peninsula), trying to evade pursuers.

There is also a theory that the place named Baal-zephonwould be associated with the god of the west wind its named for and this god overcome by Moses in summoning a strong east wind. As the people sail across the Red Sea in their ships their passage would be resisted by a west wind blowing them back to land and encouraged by an east wind. In following the Sons of Israel, the Pharoah of Egypt would be hampered by not being able to take his chariots across the Red Sea in pursuit.

[edit] Religious perspective

from a more religious perspective a logical analysis isn't good enough, a miracle is needed.

The Egyptians follow, but God clogs the wheels of their chariots (or removes their chariot-wheels), and "Egypt said, 'I will flee from before Israel, for the LORD is fighting with Egypt on their behalf.'"

Moses stretchs out his rod again, and "The waters returned, and covered the chariots and the horsemen of Pharaoh's entire army, who were coming after them in the Sea; not one of them remained."

Chapter 14 concludes: "On that day, the LORD saved Israel from the hand of Egypt, and Israel saw Egypt dead upon the seashore. Israel saw the great power that the LORD had used against Egypt, and the people feared the LORD; they had faith in the LORD and in His servant Moses."

Verses 1-18 of chapter 15 constitute the "Song of the Sea", described as the song of rejoicing sung by Moses and the people of Israel. Being poetic rather than descriptive it lacks a plot, but some key elements can be picked out:

"The LORD... has become my salvation; ... The LORD is a man of war; ... Pharaoh's chariots and his army He cast into the sea; and his select officers are drowned in the Red Sea ... At the blast of Your nostrils the waters piled up, ... The peoples have heard, they tremble; ...

The consensus of modern biblical scholarship on the authorship of the Torah, is that the first five books of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament including the story of the passage of the Red Sea were compiled from different sources, and the various narratives these sources contain were composed many centuries after the events they describe.

Priestly sources refer to Exodus 14:2, where God says to Moses: "Speak to the Children of Israel, and have them turn back and encamp before Pi-Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, before Baal-zephon; you shall encamp opposite it, by the sea."

The claim is made that all three names appear to be Hebrew rather than Egyptian although in so claiming it is alleged that the meaning of "Pi-hahiroth" is unknown. It is then speculated that pi means "mouth" and ha is the definite article; "Migdol" and "Baal-zephon" mean "watchtower" and "Lord of the North" respectively.

Not suprisingly since all of this is based on speculation, none of the three have been located, despite considerable effort.

In the absence of any identification of Pi-hahiroth, religious speculation has centred on the general rather than exact place where the crossing was made. One relisious speculation is that the crossing took place on the Reed Sea near the present day-city of Suez, just north of the historical headwaters of the Gulf of Aqaba.

The Bible puts forward four differing views on the mechanics of the Israelites' escape from Pharoah and his chariots, each giving a steadily more supernatural explanation.

The Elohist source does not mention water at all, merely stating that the Israelites went via the Red Sea Wilderness, leaving open the possiblity that it was sand, rather than mud, that clogged the wheels of the Egyptian chariots.

The Song of the Sea is unequivocal in describing how the Egyptians met their doom in the sea, in conjunction with a strong wind described as "the breath of Thy nostrils".

The Yahwist gives a narrative structure to the image contained in the Song of the Sea, with a "a strong East wind" sent by God to blow back the waters, (although it's not clear from the narrative what body of water is involved, nor how large it is), which later return to drown the enemy. The author P has the most dramatic image of all, and the one which has captured the public imagination, with Moses, on God's instructions, stretching out his rod to divide the waters in two great walls which God holds open to allow the Israelites to pass, and then causes to collapse upon the Egyptians.

[edit] Logical Analysis

Although Pi-hahiroth looks a little different in Egyptian we would expect Pi-hahiroth is transliterated like this: pr r h3 hrwth

Pr means to go forth in Egyptian. pr r h3 means to go forth abroad Gardiner p 580
Gardiner p 582 Hr means face
Gardine p 562 wth means flight
"hiroth" in Egyptian hr wth means face flight
ph3hrwth or pr r h3 hrwth meaning "to go forth abroad, to face flight". For Moses its not the first time he's running from the Law. In the Ten Commandments there is nothing about flight to evade prosecution although its a big part of Sharia law and Egyptian law at the time.

In a strictly literal non miraculous version the passage of the Red Sea is by ship.

The next morning the Israelites entered the sea as if on dry ground, standing on the decks of ships and the water was like a wall to them on their right and on their left shut out by the hulls of their ships.

[edit] Locating the crossing

Notwithstanding this, there have been considerable and varied modern attempts to find the non-supernatural origin for the story. Some of the more popular include a tsunami produced by the explosion of a volcano on the island of Thera around 1550-1500BC or 1650-1600BC (the date is contentious), with the retreating waters before the large tsunami allowing the Israelites to pass and then returning to drown the Egyptians, or a wind drying out a shallow lake somewhere near the head of the Red Sea, around the Reed Sea so that the Israelites could cross on foot but the Egyptian chariots could not follow.

[edit] Mistranslation

See also: Reed Sea

Despite the wording used in English texts of Exodus, the 'Red Sea' is not actually referred to in the Hebrew text. The Hebrew refers to 'Yam suph', Yam means "sea," and suph is thought to mean "reeds," "rushes" or possibly "seaweed."(with possible etymogical links between suph and soup, due to the sloshiness of the afformentioned "Sea of Reeds" and the food preparation. The Sea of Reeds or Reed Sea, which was a significantly smaller, marshy body of swampwater to the north of the Red Sea, is now believed by most to be the actual crossing location, which in doing so realistically suggests a less dramatic and non-supernatural event than is traditionally envisioned, giving the events pertaining to the Exodus a strong boost in historical value. If the Hebrew people were chased through the Sea of Reeds, the Egyptians would have either lost track of them through the swamp or, as the second link below suggests, their chariots or horses could have been bogged down in the mud, as the only secondary route to catch the people would be going north and around the marshlands which would have been a completly stupid descision and would have wasted about 3 hours worth of the chase.

The Problem with using Hebrew to claim a mistranslation is that Hebrew did not exist as a language when the story was composed, and the people telling it had been living in Egypt for 430 years. The term Red Sea is clearly a reference to the Greek Erythrian Sea so claiming it means Yam Suph or Reed Sea is misguided despite that having become a common myth.

Going to the Egyptian we have language preserved as a textual artifact as the Exodus reaches Bael Zephron the people encamp at :Pi-hahiroth and Migdol at the Gulf of Aqaba

[edit] Looking Egyptian phrases up in Gardiner instead of Hebrew

Discussing a people whose ancestors have lived in Egypt for half a millennium in a time frame thats centuries before Hebrew exists as a language, best practice is to look Pi-hahiroth up in Gardiners Egyptian grammar rather than going to a Hebrew source. Although Pi-hahiroth looks a little different in Egyptian we would expect Pi-hahiroth is transliterated like this: pr r h3 hrwth

Pr means to go forth in Egyptian. pr r h3 means to go forth abroad Gardiner p 580
Gardiner p 582 Hr means face
Gardine p 562 wth means flight
"hiroth" in Egyptian hr wth means face flight
ph3hrwth or pr r h3 hrwth meaning "to go forth abroad, to face flight". For Moses its not the first time he's running from the Law. In the Ten Commandments there is nothing about flight to evade prosecution although its a big part of Sharia law and Egyptian law at the time.

[edit] Stations of the Exodus

{{ExodusStation}}

Mentions of other peoples along the route

Now are the chiefs of Edom confounded; the leaders of Moab, ...

all the inhabitants of Canaan have melted away ... they are as still as stone, till Your people, LORD, pass by, ... You will bring them in, and plant them on the mountain of Your heritage, ... The LORD will reign for ever and ever." Verses 20 and 21 begin a repetition of the song, this time from the mouth of Miriam, sister of Aaron, but it is cut short at the second line.

[edit] Comments on The Stations List

There is a lot of speculation on what the stations are as the Sons of Israel leave Egypt. Most of it is simply wrong. A 19th century archaeologost excavaiting Pithom and Pi Rameses found bricks, thought aha, these were made by the Sons of Israel in their slavery under cruel overseers and this is where they left from on their Exodus.

To get this idea to work he had to surmise that the very specific biblical account of the date was a rough estimate, and downgrade it about a century. Then he had to change the route from a crossing of the Red Sea to a crossing of the Sinai. Then he had to ignore that after leaving Egypt it took 2 1/2 months to reach the Sinai which abuts Egypt. He also ignored that while a route across the Sinai to Canaan was possible via the kings highway with its fortified wells, there was no route across the Sinai to Rephidim.

Going by the Biblical account, at the time of the Exodus Thebes was the capitol of Egypt. Across the Nile were the tombs of the ancestors and a temple of Ramesses that promised resurection like the birth of the sun. The commandment to "take my bones with you" would mean removing them from the tomb or place of the days of darkness, and heading toward the sunrise, down the wadi Ham ma3t toward Thebes Red Sea port of Elim and crossing the red Sea headed for Elat at the head of the gulf of Aqaba on the ships of hatshepsets fleet

Station Biblical Reference Description Modern Location
Rameses Egyptian: Lit. guard the birth of the sun Ex. 12:37, 13:20; Nu. 33:5-6 The Temple at Karnak ThebesKarnak the tombs of the ancestors
Sukkot Egyptian: the place of the days of darkness Ex. 12:37, 13:20; Nu. 33:5-6 sww the day Gardiner p 588 kkw darkness Gardiner p 597 ThebesKarnak "take my bones from here with you"
Etham Ex. 13:20; Nu. 33:6-8 "on the edge of the wilderness" the wadi Ham ma3t
Pi-Hahiroth Ex. 14:2-3; Nu. 33:7-8 lit the place of going abroad facing flight, "between Migdol and the sea, opposite Ba'al Zephon"
Marah Ex. 15:23; Nu. 33:8-9 lit. 'bitterness' (a desert station a days walk west overlooking the Port of Elim)?
Eilim Ex. 15:27, 16:1; Nu. 33:9-10 Had 12 wells and 70 palm trees The Port where Hatshepset parked her Red Sea Fleet
By the Red Sea Nu. 33:10-11 Modern Quasir Thebes Red Sea Port No stations between Elim and Sin across the Red Sea
Sin Wilderness Ex. 16:1, 17:1; Nu. 33:11-12 They eat quail and manna, "Between Elim and Sinai" arrival 2 1/2 months after leaving Elim and Egypt
Dophkah Nu. 33:12-13 Not mentioned as a station in Exodus - -
Alush Nu. 33:13-14 Not mentioned as a station in Exodus - -
Rephidim Ex. 17:1, 19:2; Nu. 33:14-15 Mt Horab where Moses does battle with the Amelek and meets his Father in Law Jethro


What follows is a list of the various stops of the Israelites on the Stations Lists, which are also links to the respective underlying articles. The biblical reference is given in the next column. The modern equivalents of these locations, such as are known, are given in the column at right. You can also just click on Rameses to begin with the first location of the tour:


Station Biblical Reference Description Modern Location
Ra'amses Ex. 12:37; Nu. 33:3,5 the Rameses district was of the highest quality land in Egypt (Ge. 47:11) pi-Rameses: i.e. Qantir
Sukkoth Ex. 12:37, 13:20; Nu. 33:5-6 An Egyptian city near the border Tel Dar'ala
Etham Ex. 13:20; Nu. 33:6-8 "on the edge of the wilderness" Ismailia?
Pi-Hahiroth Ex. 14:2-3; Nu. 33:7-8 lit. Mouth of the Gorges, "between Migdol and the sea, opposite Ba'al-Zephon" (possibly "the Bay of Hiroth") Prob. a channel opening into one of the Bitter Lakes or the Mediterranean
Marah Ex. 15:23; Nu. 33:8-9 lit. 'bitterness' 30 kilometres north of As Suways (the Port of Suez)?
Eilim Ex. 15:27, 16:1; Nu. 33:9-10 Had 12 wells and 70 palm trees  ?
By the Red Sea Nu. 33:10-11 - - near Gulf of Suez or Gulf of Aqaba
Sin Wilderness Ex. 16:1, 17:1; Nu. 33:11-12 God supplies quail and manna, "Between Elim and Sinai"  ?
Dophkah Nu. 33:12-13 - - - -
Alush Nu. 33:13-14 - - - -
Rephidim Ex. 17:1, 19:2; Nu. 33:14-15 - -  ?
Sinai Wilderness Ex. 19:1-2; Nu. 10:12, 33:15-16 - -  ?
Kibroth-Hattaavah Nu. 11:35, 33:16-17 lit. Graves of Longing or Graves of Lust - -
Hazeroth Nu. 11:35, 12:16, 33:17-18 - - - -
Rithmah Nu. 33:18-19 - - - -
Rimmon-Perez Nu. 33:19-20 - - - -
Libnah Nu. 33:20-21 - - - -
Rissah Nu. 33:21-22 - - - -
Kehelathah Nu. 33:22-23 - - - -
Mount Shapher Nu. 33:23-24 - - - -
Haradah Nu. 33:24-25 - - - -
Makheloth Nu. 33:25-26 - - - -
Tahath Nu. 33:26-27 - - - -
Tarah Nu. 33:27-28 - - - -
Mithcah Nu. 33:28-29 - - - -
Hashmonah Nu. 33:29-30 - - - -
Moseroth Nu. 33:30-31 - - - -
Bene-Jaakan Nu. 33:31-32 - - - -
Hor Haggidgad Nu. 33:32-33 - - - -
Jotbathah Nu. 33:33-34 - - - -
Abronah Nu. 33:34-35 - - - -
Ezion-Geber Nu. 33:35-36 - - Near northern tip of Gulf of Aqaba
Kadesh Nu. 20:1,22, 33:36-37 Located in the Wilderness of Zin; Miriam's burial place probably Ain el Qadeis
Mount Hor Nu. 20:22, 21:4, 33:37-41 On the Edomite border; Aaron's burial place - -
Zalmonah Nu. 33:41-42 - - - -
Punon Nu. 33:42-43 - - - -
Oboth Nu. 21:10-11, 33:43-44 - - - -
Abarim Ruins Nu. 21:11, 33:44-45 - - - -
Dibon Gad Nu. 33:45-46 - - - -
Almon Diblathaim Nu. 33:46-47 - - - -
Abarim Mountains Nu. 33:13-14 Israelites encamped beneath Mount Nebo - -
Moab Plains Nu. 22:1, 33:48-50 Israelites encamped on the Jordan River from Beith Hayishimoth to Aveil Hashittim Occupied most of the Trans-Jordan region

[edit] Pop culture references

In his 1956 film, The Ten Commandments, director Cecil B. DeMille depicted a literal and dramatic parting of the sea, splicing film of trip-tanks into footage shot at the shore of the Red Sea.

  • The stereotypical pose of Moses spreading his arms as the sea opens up (as with Charlton Heston's interpretation of the role) has been parodied. Gary Larson, in a Far Side entry captioned "Moses as a kid", depicted the boy Moses parting the milk in his cereal bowl. In a similar vein, in the film Bruce Almighty, the title character parts a bowl of (red) tomato soup to test his powers.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Exodus 13-15, Revised Standard Version
  2. ^ Meanings of place-names from Exodus 14:2

[edit] External links

[edit] Archaeological

  • Renfrew, Colin and Bahn, Paul (2004). Archaeology. Thames & Hudson. ISBN 0500 284415.

[edit] Near Eastern

  • Nelson Glueck(1959). Rivers in the Desert. HUC. ISBN.
  • William H McNeil and Jean W Sedlar, (1962). The Ancient Near East. OUP. ISBN.
  • Andrew George, (2000). The Epic of Gillgamesh. Penguin. ISBN No14-044721-0.
  • James B. Pritchard, (1968). The Ancient Near East. OUP. ISBN.
  • Shaika Haya Ali Al Khalifa and Michael Rice, (1986). Bahrain through the Ages. KPI. ISBN 071030112-x.
  • Dr. Muhammed Abdul Nayeem, (1990). Prehistory and Protohistory of the Arabian Peninsula. Hyderabad. ISBN.
  • Michael Roaf(1990). Cultural Atlas of Mesopotamia and the Ancient Near East. Equinox. ISBN 0-8160-2218-6.
  • Nicholas Awde and Putros Samano(1986). The Arabic Alphabet. Billing & Sons Ltd.. ISBN 0863560350.

[edit] Marine

  • Lionel Casson(1991). The Ancient Mariners. PUP. ISBN 06910147879.
  • George Bass(2004). A History of Seafaring. Walker and Company. ISBN 08027-0-3909.

[edit] Egyptological References

[edit] Linguistic References

  • Marie-Loise Thomsen, (1984). Mesopotamia 10 The Sumerian Language. Academic Press. ISBN 87-500-3654-8.
  • Silvia Luraghi(1990). Old Hittite Sentence Structure. Routledge. ISBN 0415047358.
  • J. P. Mallory(1989). In Search of the Indo Europeans. Thames and Hudson. ISBN 050027616-1.
  • Anne H. Groton(1995). From Alpha to Omega. Focus Information group. ISBN 0941051382.
  • Hines(1981). Our Latin Heritage. Harcourt Brace. ISBN 0153894687.

[edit] Classical References

  • Vitruvius(1960). The Ten Books on Architecture. Dover. .
  • Claudias Ptolemy(1991). The Geography. Dover. ISBN 048626896.
  • Herodotus(1952). The History. William Brown. .

[edit] Historical References

  • Michael Grant(1987). The Rise of the Greeks. Charles Scribners Sons. .

[edit] Mathematical References

  • Lucas N. H. Bunt, Phillip S.Jones, Jack D. Bedient (1976). The Historical Roots of Elementary Mathematics. Dover. ISBN 0486255638.

[edit] Mensurational References

  • H Arthur Klein(1976). The World of Measurements. Simon and Schuster. .
  • Francis H. Moffitt(1987). Surveying. Harper & Row. ISBN 0060445548.

[edit] Architectural References

  • R. A. Cordingley(1951). Norman's Parallel of the Orders of Architecture. Alex Trianti Ltd. .

[edit] Medieval References

  • H Johnathan Riley Smith(1990). The Atlas of the Crusades. Swanston. ISBN 0723003610.
  • H.W. Koch(1978). Medieval Warfare. Prentice Hall. ISBN 0135736005.


Category:Jews and Judaism in Egypt Category:Torah events