Only One Place
There is only one place on the entire Red Sea that geographically fits
the Biblical description of the place where God parted the Red Sea: The
Strait of Tiran.1
Above is a photocopy of a satellite photograph of the Strait of Tiran (Pi-hahiroth) overlaid with a map.2 |
Above is a satellite photograph of the northern Red Sea, courtesy of Ms. Ihssan Wali, the Cultural Attache to the Egyptian Embassy, Washington, D.C. |
Above is a topographical map of the Strait of Tiran.
Pi-hahiroth
At the Strait of Tiran, the Gulf of Aqaba narrows, and then forms a
narrow mouth between the Sinai Peninsula and Tiran Island, opening up into
the main body of the Red Sea. Since that mouth is the only narrow
mouth of water on the entire Red Sea, the Strait of Tiran is Pi-hahiroth.
Above are the Strait of Tiran and Tiran Island as seen from the
Sinai Peninsula. The buildings near shore are part of Sharm al Sheikh
airport, which was built on the site where the ancient Israelites camped
before crossing the Red Sea.
Baal-zephon
We learned in Part 1 of this document that the waters of Pi-hahiroth
are "upon the face of" Baal-zephon, probably a mountain in the water.
The waters of the Strait of Tiran are "upon the face of" the Tiran Island
mountain, a mountain in the water.
Above, the sun rises behind the Tiran Island mountain.
Since nowhere on the Red Sea except the Strait of Tiran is there a narrow mouth of water, no other geographical feature except Tiran Island or its mountain could have been both "opposite," or across the water from, the Israelite camp, yet at the same time near enough to the Israelite camp that the Israelites camped "before" it, on the opposite side of a mouth of water. The Tiran Island mountain is probably Baal-zephon.
Migdol
The Strait of Tiran is probably the most likely place on the northern
half of the Red Sea for a nation to place a military watchtower.
A watchtower overlooking the strait would allow a nation to monitor and
control the passage of ships. At the time of the Exodus, the nearest
powerful nation to the Strait of Tiran was Egypt, so Egypt probably controlled
the strait.
At the Strait of Tiran, 5,500 meters (3.4 miles) inland on the Sinai
Peninsula sits a lone, prominent hill 225 meters (738 feet) high.
The hill overlooks the Strait of Tiran as well as three land avenues of
approach. It is an obvious place for an ancient military force to
have placed a watchtower overlooking the strait. That hill is probably
Migdol of the Bible.
Above is a lone prominent hill overlooking the Strait of Tiran.
That hill is probably Migdol of the Bible. Behind the hill and to
the right, the Strait of Tiran and Tiran Island's mountain are visible.
Continue to Part 3, "More Photographs"
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Endnotes, Part 2
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1 Verified through the study of Red Sea maps and satellite imagery, as well as direct observation of the Red Sea coastline as seen driving the Sinai Peninsula roads along the Gulfs of Aqaba and Suez. Topographical maps (scale 1:250,000) of the entire Red Sea coastline north of 26 deg rees 30 minutes north latitude were carefully studied.
2 Technical Report USGS-TR-93-7 SA (IR) 677; Preliminary LANDSAT Image Map of the Wadi as Sirham Quadrangle, NASA LANDSAT Imagery Multi Spectral Scanner (MSS); Prepared by the U.S. Geological Survey, 1993.