Biblical Logos Blog

The story of the Exodus has had a lot of interest over the last couple of decades. I believe a lot of the discussion heated up with some archaeological findings at Jebel al-Lawz in Saudi Arabia. Many other places have been argued as the location for Mt. Sinai as well as the route the Jewish people took to get there. The story’s climax is at the the crossing at “Yam Suf” (translated Red Sea). God led his people out of Egypt only to get them backed up to Yom Suf with the Egyptian Army ready to kill them all. Suddenly, the sea opened and they all crossed. God saved them and then closed the sea on the Egyptian Army.

As the location of Mt. Sinai has been in debate for centuries, so has the route the Jewish people took leaving Egypt. Central to the route debate is the location of the Yam Suf crossing. Yam Suf means “Sea of Reeds.” This doesn’t necessarily mark the body of water that God opened up. So the debate rages on. Was the crossing something less dramatic like the shallow lake which was just outside Egypt? Was it the Gulf of Suez which is closer to Egypt where they had left? Or, was it the Gulf of Aqaba bordering Saudi Arabia?

There are so many arguments offered that support one location for the crossing over the other. Movies and books have been made defending one location or another. Here is one more argument to add to the mix. If we find Yam Suf, we likely found the body of water where they crossed over. Consider this set of passages:

1Ki 9:26-28  King Solomon built a fleet of ships at Ezion-geber, which is near Eloth on the shore of the Red Sea, in the land of Edom. And Hiram sent with the fleet his servants, seamen who were familiar with the sea, together with the servants of Solomon. And they went to Ophir and brought from there gold, 420 talents, and they brought it to King Solomon.

Ezion-geber and Eloth are on the northern tip of the Gulf of Aqaba. King Solomon, about 500 years after the Exodus crossing, may have answered that question! Red Sea in this passage is Yam Suf. Did the Jewish people cross over the Red Sea at the Gulf of Aqaba? Food for thought….