Red Sea or Sea of Reeds?
If we look at a map tracing Israel’s exodus journey (such as we might find in the back of our Bibles), we may be surprised that the Red Sea does not feature as a stopping point on most of these maps. Instead the route seems to go across some lakes north of the Gulf of Suez or not even touching any water at all. Below is the reason why.
The Hebrew calls the place where Israel crossed the waters yam suf (Sea or Lake of Reeds; Exod 15:4). The word suf is an Egyptian loanword that means ‘reed’ (Exod 2:3, 5; Isa 19:6). Since reeds grow in freshwater, the place referred to must be a lake (the Hebrew yam can mean lake or sea; think of ‘the Sea of Galilee’, which is a lake). In addition, Egyptian documents of the period refer to an area as ‘The Reeds’, which Hoffmeier identifies as the Ballah Lakes (north of Lake Timsah), that have since dried up. However, satellite images give us an idea of their earlier size and archaeological evidence suggests that even as late as two thousand years ago, the lakes were large enough to have trading vessels operate on them.[1] Although the exact location of which lake is meant may be argued, the majority of scholars accept the view that the body of water crossed was not the Red Sea.
Our tradition that the location is the Red Sea is derived from the ancient Greek translation called the Septuagint (around the third century BC). We do not know the reasoning for the Septuagint’s choice of word: was this a mis-translation, the result of interpretation or did they have some manuscript evidence that identified the place as the Red Sea? Since the lingua franca in the Roman Empire was Greek (much like English is in today’s world), early Christians heard/read portions of the Bible in Greek. The later Latin translation (the Vulgate) follows the Septuagint and also has ‘Red Sea’ so this tradition as the place of the Israelite crossing became entrenched in Christian thinking.
I remember when I first heard of the possibility that Israel did not cross the Red Sea, I felt rather disappointed as if someone had just downgraded God’s power. The truth is though that we are much too influenced by art and movies in our ideas and what is clear is that Israel’s situation was impossible without God’s help. If one looks at reconstructions of this territory (there is a helpful map here), it becomes clear that the Mediterranean coastline was further south than it is today and apart from a bottleneck where the coastal route runs, a chain of substantial lakes stretch down without too much of a gap between them towards the Gulf of Suez. Looking at that terrain, we can understand why Israel could not simply get around the lake. They were blocked in by the Egyptian army behind them and the waters ahead. The death of the Egyptians also indicates that a lake can be as lethal as the sea. At the end of the day, God makes a way where there is no way and that is all that matters.
[1] James K. Hoffmeier, Ancient Israel in Sinai: The Evidence for the Authenticity of the Wilderness Tradition (New York: OUP, 2005), 75-109 (88).
