•Passage of the Red Sea .—The passage of the Red Sea was the crisis of the exodus. It is usual to
suppose that the most northern place at which the Red Sea could have been crossed is the present
head of the Gulf of Suez. This supposition depends upon the erroneous idea that in the time of
Moses the gulf did not extend farther to the northward then at present. An examination of the
country north of Suez has shown, however, that the sea has receded many miles. The old bed is
indicated by the Birket-et Timsah, or “lake of the crocodile,” and the more southern Bitter Lakes,
the northernmost part of the former probably corresponding to the head of it the at the time of the
exodus. It is necessary to endeavor to ascertain the route of the Israelites before we can attempt
to discover where they crossed the sea. The point from which they started was Rameses, a place
certain in the land of Goshen, which we identified with the Wadi-t-Tumeylat. They encamped at
Succoth. At the end of the second day’s journey the camping place was at Etham, “in the edge of
the wilderness.” (Exodus 13:20; Numbers 33:6) Here the Wadi-t-Tumeylat was probably left, as
it is cultivable and terminates in the desert. At the end of the third day’s march for each camping
place seems to mark the close of a day’s journey the Israelites encamped by the sea, place of this
last encampment and that of the passage would be not very far from the Persepolitan monument
at Pihahiroth. It appears that Migdol was behind Pi-hahiroth and on the other hand Baalzephon
and the sea. From Pi-hahiroth the Israelites crossed the sea. This was not far from halfway between
the Bitter Lakes and the Gulf of Suez, where now it is dry land. The Muslims suppose Memphis
to have been the city at which the Pharaoh of the exodus resided before that event occurred. From
opposite Memphis a broad valley leads to the Red Sea. It is in part called the Wadi-t-Teeh, or
“Valley of the Wandering.” From it the traveller reaches the sea beneath the lofty Gebel-et-Takah,
which rises in the north and shuts off all escape in that direction excepting by a narrow way along
the seashore, which Pharaoh might have occupied. The sea here is broad and deep, as the narrative
is generally held to imply. All the local features seem suited for a great event. The only points
bearing on geography in the account of this event are that the sea was divided by an east wind.
Whence we may reasonably infer that it was crossed from west to east, and that the whole Egyptian
army perished, which shows that it must have been some miles broad. On the whole we may
reasonably suppose about twelve miles as the smallest breadth of the sea. The narrative distinctly
states that a path was made through the sea, and that the waters were a wall on either hand. The
term “wall” does not appear to oblige us to suppose, as many have done, that the sea stood up like
a cliff on either side, but should rather be considered to mean a barrier, as the former idea implies
a seemingly needless addition to the miracle, while the latter seems to be not discordant with the
language of the narrative. It was during the night that the Israelites crossed, and the Egyptians
followed. In the morning watch, the last third or fourth of the night, or the period before sunrise
Pharaoh’s army was in full pursuit in the divided sea, and was there miraculously troubled, so that
the Egyptians sought to flee. (Exodus 14:23-25) Then was Moses commanded again to stretch out
his hand and the sea returned to its strength, and overwhelmed the Egyptians, of whom not one
remained alive, Ibid. 26-28. (But on the whole it is becoming more probable that the place where
the Israelites crossed “was near the town of Suez, on extensive shoals which run toward the
southeast, in the direction of Ayim Musa (the Wells of Moses). The distance is about three miles
at high tide. This is the most probable thee Near here Napoleon, deceived by the tidal wave,
attempted to cross in 1799, and nearly met the fate of Pharaoh. But an army of 600,000 could of
course never have crossed it without a miracle.”—Schaff’s Through Bible Lands. Several routes
and places of crossing advocated by learned Egyptologists can be clearly seen by the accompanying
frankie
(Frankie)
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