Where God Parted the Red Sea, Part 6

Where God Parted the Red Sea, Part 6

The Exodus Route

God, not Moses, led the Israelites out of Egypt.

to lead the way

God was not leading the people to the land of Israel. He was leading them to Mount Sinai.

When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain

Mount Sinai is near Midian. The Bible passage below identifies two routes between Egypt and Mount Sinai.

So God led the people around by way of the wilderness of the Red Sea

One of the two routes between lower Egypt and Mount Sinai crossed the northern part of the Sinai Peninsula, passing dangerously near the Philistines' territory (see the map below). God, however, wanted the Israelites to avoid the land of the Philistines, who lived on the coastal plains of the Mediterranean Sea. Had the crowd of perhaps over two million Israelites marched anywhere near the Philistines' land, the Philistines would probably have felt threatened and marched out to meet the Israelites in battle. The size of the Israelite crowd is estimated at more than two million based on the passage below, which counts only Israelite men.

Let's look at the clues that describe the route God led the Israelites. One clue is that this route avoided the land of the Philistines. Another clue is that this route was the longer one. More clues are found in the phrase, "So God led the people around by way of the wilderness of the Red Sea." In Hebrew, the phrase reads, "vayasev elohim et haam derekh hamidbar yam suph." The first word of the phrase is "vayasev." It means "and he turned," "then he turned," or "so he turned." This word is found in the following passage in the Bible (its translation is in bold print).

Then he turned

The remaining Hebrew words translate into English as follows: "elohim" means "God;" "et" marks a direct object; "haam" means "the people;" "derekh" means "way;" "hamidbar" means "the desert;" and "yam suph" is the Red Sea. Putting it all together, the phrase is more accurately translated, "So God turned the people the way of the Red Sea desert."

The Red Sea desert is the desert defined by the Red Sea. Therefore, the Red Sea desert is the Sinai Peninsula, which is bounded by the Red Sea. The passage is saying that God changed the Israelites' direction of travel, turning them toward the Sinai Peninsula. If they traveled through the Sinai Peninsula, they probably traveled southward along the wide coastal plain next to the Gulf of Suez. Cutting across the interior of the Sinai Peninsula was not a viable option for such a large crowd because of the Sinai's rugged, mountainous terrain and narrow ravines.

Above is a satellite photograph of the Sinai Peninsula, a desert bounded by the Red Sea. The Gulf of Suez is to the left and the Gulf of Aqaba is to the right.1

"And the children of Israel went up in orderly ranks out of the land of Egypt." (Exodus 13:18 NKJ) The above passage should be studied to see whether it indicates that the Israelites maintained orderly ranks for the duration of their march through the Sinai desert. If over two million Israelites kept orderly ranks while passing through the Sinai Peninsula, they could only have traveled along the coastal plain of the Gulf of Suez.

Above are the two possible routes between lower Egypt and Mount Sinai. To avoid the land of the Philistines, God did not take the Israelites along the northern route. Cutting through the Sinai Peninsula, depicted above as the "Red Sea Wilderness," was not a viable option because of its mountainous, rugged terrain. The Israelites followed the coastal plain along the east side of the Gulf of Suez and then crossed the Red Sea at the Strait of Tiran.

Now let's look at a passage that gives an interesting twist to the exodus route.

and let them turn back and encamp before Pi-hahiroth

Pharaoh will say of the Children of Israel, 'They are imprisoned in the land, the Wilderness has locked them in

The above passage indicates that at a point along the exodus route, the Israelites had earlier passed Migdol, yet God had the crowd turn back and camp before Migdol. The Israelites had first approached Migdol from the southwest, along the coast.

Above is a view from the summit of Migdol looking along the Sinai coast to the southwest. This is the direction from which the ancient Israelites came in their exodus, and the direction from which the Egyptian army came in pursuit.

After passing Migdol, the Israelites probably continued north along the coast, or possibly turned inland, and then returned and camped before Migdol.

Above is part of the Exodus Route. Note the two possible routes, near the Red Sea crossing site, that show turnarounds. In their exodus, the ancient Israelites passed Migdol, marched along one of these routes, and then returned to camp between Migdol and the sea, as God instructed them (Exodus 14:1-3, ST: "[The LORD] spoke to Moses, saying, 'Speak to the Children of Israel and let them turn back and encamp ...between Migdol and the sea... Pharaoh will say of the Children of Israel, "They are imprisoned in the land, the Wilderness has locked them in"' ").

Above is a view from the summit of Migdol looking along the Sinai coast to the north. The ancient Israelites continued past Migdol, probably continued north along the coastline in the direction shown in this photograph, and then later returned and camped between Migdol and the sea (Exodus 14:1-3, quoted above). A sentinel standing on Migdol probably initiated a signal, ultimately relayed to Pharaoh, that the Israelites had returned and encamped near his post.

Above is a view from the summit of Migdol looking inland to the northwest along a wadi called the Wadi Khanasir. Although the previous photograph shows the more likely avenue the Israelites followed past Migdol before turning back, it is also possible that they followed the above route.

Within a few kilometers of Migdol, both the coastal route and the inland route near Migdol end in rugged, mountainous terrain, winding wadis and ravines. Thus, when the Israelite crowd passed Migdol, and then turned back and camped before Migdol, Pharaoh thought the Israelites had turned back because the wilderness had locked them in. When the Egyptian army pursued the Israelites, the Israelites had no escape route until God parted the sea.

The satellite photograph above shows that the coastal plain north of Migdol dead-ends into rugged, mountainous terrain.2

The above topographical map of the southern Sinai peninsula shows that both the coastal plain north of Migdol and the Wadi Khanasir (south and west of Migdol) dead-end into rugged mountainous terrain.3

Pharaoh knew the Israelites had passed Migdol and then returned to it, because an Egyptian soldier standing on Migdol, a military watchtower, had been observing the Israelites' movement. Ancient nations, like modern nations, maintained communications between military watchtowers and headquarters, in order to keep command and control of territory and armies. The soldier on Migdol probably initiated a signal that was relayed to another lookout post, and then relayed to another. The signal was perhaps relayed line-of-site via smoke signals, signal flags, a series of light signals from a fire, or possibly even a chain of human messengers. Ultimately, the signal was relayed to Pharaoh.

Continue to part 7, "Time Enroute"

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Endnotes, Part 6
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1 This satellite photograph was provided courtesy of Mrs. Ihssan Wali, the Cultural Attache of the Egyptian Embassy, Washington, D.C.

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.

3 Tor and Al Ghurdaqah. NH 36-15 & NG 36-3, Series P502, Library of Congress catalogue numbers G8220S&A 250.U5. Washington, D.C.: Army Map Service, Corps of Engineers, compiled in 1952.