Width of the Red Sea During Exodus

The width of the Red Sea during the Exodus is a topic of ongoing debate among biblical scholars and historians. The biblical account of the Israelites' crossing is given in Exodus 14:22-31, where it is described as a miraculous event ^[1].

The Red Sea, also known as the "sea of Suph," is a body of water that separates Asia from Africa, extending approximately 1,400 miles along the west coast of Arabia ^[3]. At the time of the Exodus, the Gulf of Suez, which is the western arm of the Red Sea, is believed to have extended about 50 miles farther north than it does today ^[1].

The exact location of the Israelites' crossing is uncertain, with various theories proposed by scholars. Some have suggested that the crossing took place opposite the Wady Tawarik, while others place it in the immediate neighborhood of Suez ^{[1, 14]}. The biblical account describes the Israelites encamping by the Red Sea after departing from Elim (Numbers 33:10), with some estimates suggesting that this part of the Red Sea was about six miles from Elim ^[13].

The width of the Red Sea at the point of crossing is not explicitly stated in the biblical account. However, according to Easton's Bible Dictionary, the Gulf of Suez, where the crossing is believed to have occurred, is approximately 20 miles broad ^[3]. Some scholars have suggested that the Israelites may have crossed at a narrower point, possibly a bay or creek, which would have been more feasible for the miraculous event described in Exodus ^[12].

The biblical account of the crossing emphasizes the miraculous nature of the event, with the Israelites passing through on dry land while the pursuing Egyptian army was destroyed ^[1]. The width of the Red Sea at the time of the Exodus is not as significant as the theological significance of the event, which is seen as a demonstration of God's power and deliverance.

In the view of some scholars, the Israelites' journey from Elim to the Red Sea and then to the wilderness of Sin was a significant part of their Exodus experience ^{[12, 13]}. The encampment by the Red Sea is seen as a brief stop, with the Israelites continuing on their journey to Sinai ^[15].

The historical and geographical context of the Exodus provides valuable insights into the event. The Red Sea's dimensions and the Israelites' journey have been the subject of much scholarly discussion, with various interpretations and theories proposed ^{[1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16]}.

The description of the Red Sea in ancient sources, such as Flavius Josephus' Antiquities of the Jews, provides additional context for understanding the geography and significance of the region ^[4]. The Red Sea's connection to the Indian Ocean and its role as a boundary between Asia and Africa are also relevant to understanding the biblical account ^[3].

Ultimately, the width of the Red Sea during the Exodus remains a topic of scholarly debate, with different interpretations and theories proposed. However, the theological significance of the event as a demonstration of God's power and deliverance remains a central aspect of the biblical account. The historical and geographical context of the Exodus continues to be an important area of study for scholars seeking to understand the event ^{[1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16]}.

The Israelites' experience at the Red Sea was a pivotal moment in their journey, marking a significant turning point in their liberation from Egyptian slavery. The event's impact on the Israelites' understanding of God's power and their own identity is a lasting legacy of the Exodus narrative.

Sources

Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Red Sea, Passage of — The account of the march of the Israelites through the Red Sea is given in Ex. 14:22-31. There has been great diversity of opinion as to the precise place where this occurred. The difficulty of arriving at any definite conclusion on the matter is much increased by the consideration that the head of the Gulf of Suez, which was the branch of the sea that was crossed, must have extended at the time of the Exodus probably 50 miles farther north than it does at present. Some have argued that the crossing took place opposite the Wady Tawarik, where th”
Smith's Bible Dictionary “Smith's Bible Dictionary: Red Sea — + Name.--The sea known to us as the Red Sea was by the Israelites called "the sea," (Exodus 14:2,9,16,21,28; 15:1,4,8,10,19; Joshua 24:6,7) and many other passages, and specially "the sea of Suph ." (Exodus 10:19; 13:18; 15:4,22; 23:31; Numbers 14:25) etc. This word signifies a sea-weed resembling wool, and such sea-weed is thrown up abundantly on the shores of the Red Sea; hence Brugsch calls it the sea of reeds or weeds . The color of the water is not red. Ebers says that it is of a lovely blue-green color, and named Red either from its red banks or from t”
Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Red Sea — The sea so called extends along the west coast of Arabia for about 1,400 miles, and separates Asia from Africa. It is connected with the Indian Ocean, of which it is an arm, by the Strait of Bab-el-Mandeb. At a point (Ras Mohammed) about 200 miles from its nothern extremity it is divided into two arms, that on the east called the AElanitic Gulf, now the Bahr el-Akabah, about 100 miles long by 15 broad, and that on the west the Gulf of Suez, about 150 miles long by about 20 broad. This branch is now connected with the Mediterranean by the Suez Canal. Between”
Project Gutenberg “Flavius Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, CHAPTER 16, section 9: over a river in a boat near the city Suez, which he says must needs be the Heroopolia of the ancients, since that city could not be situate any where else in that neighborhood." As to the famous passage produced here by Dr. Bernard, out of Herodotus, as the most ancient heathen testimony of the Israelites coming from the Red Sea into Palestine, Bishop Cumberland has shown that it belongs to the old Canaanite or Phoenician shepherds, and their retiring out of Egypt into Canaan or Phoenicia, long before the days of Moses. Sanchoni”
Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Exodus — The great deliverance wrought for the children of Isreal when they were brought out of the land of Egypt with "a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm" (Ex 12:51; Deut. 26:8; Ps 114; 136), about B.C. 1490, and four hundred and eighty years (1 Kings 6:1) before the building of Solomon's temple. The time of their sojourning in Egypt was, according to Ex. 12:40, the space of four hundred and thirty years. In the LXX., the words are, "The sojourning of the children of Israel which they sojourned in Egypt and in the land of Canaan was four hundred and thirty y”
Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Reuben, Tribe of — At the Exodus numbered 46,500 male adults, from twenty years old and upwards (Num. 1:20, 21), and at the close of the wilderness wanderings they numbered only 43,730 (26:7). This tribe united with that of Gad in asking permission to settle in the "land of Gilead," "on the other side of Jordan" (32:1-5). The lot assigned to Reuben was the smallest of the lots given to the trans-Jordanic tribes. It extended from the Arnon, in the south along the coast of the Dead Sea to its northern end, where the Jordan flows into it (Josh. 13:15-21, 23). It thus em”
Numbers “Numbers 33:10 (Geneva1599) — And they remoued from Elim, and camped by the red Sea.”
Exodus “Exodus 23:31 (BBE) — I will let the limits of your land be from the Red Sea to the sea of the Philistines, and from the waste land to the river Euphrates: for I will give the people of those lands into your power; and you will send them out before you.”
Exodus “Exodus 13:18 (YLT) — and God turneth round the people the way of the wilderness of the Red Sea, and by fifties have the sons of Israel gone up from the land of Egypt.”
Project Gutenberg “Flavius Josephus, The Wars of the Jews, CHAPTER 10, section 4: that cannot be sailed over; and on the east the Red Sea extended as far as Coptus; and it is fortified on the north by the land that reaches to Syria, together with that called the Egyptian Sea, having no havens in it for ships. And thus is Egypt walled about on every side. Its length between Pelusium and Siene is two thousand furlongs, and the passage by sea from Plinthine to Pelusium is three thousand six hundred furlongs. Its river Nile is navigable as far as the city called Elephantine, the forenamed cataracts hindering ships f”
Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Sinai — Of Sin (the moon god), called also Horeb, the name of the mountain district which was reached by the Hebrews in the third month after the Exodus. Here they remained encamped for about a whole year. Their journey from the Red Sea to this encampment, including all the windings of the route, was about 150 miles. The last twenty-two chapters of Exodus, together with the whole of Leviticus and Num. ch. 1-11, contain a record of all the transactions which occurred while they were here. From Rephidim (Ex. 17:8-13) the Israelites journeyed forward through the Wady So”
Exodus (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Exodus 16:1: And they took their journey from Elim,.... And came again to the Red sea, as appears from Num 33:10 perhaps to some bay or creek of it, which ran up from it, and lay in their way, and where for a short time they encamped to look at it, and recollect what had been done for them in bringing them through it; but as their stay here was short, and nothing of any importance or consequence happened, it is here omitted, and their next station is only observed: and all the congregation of the children of Israel came unto the wilderness of Sin, which still bears the same name”
Numbers (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Numbers 33:10: And they removed from Elim, and encamped by the Red sea. This encampment, is omitted in the book of Exodus, see Exo 16:1 this part or arm of the Red sea, whither they came, was six miles from Elim. this part or arm of the Red sea, whither they came, was six miles from Elim. Numbers 33:11 num 33:11 num 33:11 num 33:11And they removed from the Red sea, and encamped in the wilderness of Sin. Sixteen miles from the Red sea, where they were last; see Exo 16:1.”
Exodus (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Exodus 14:30: Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea-shore, &c.--The tide threw them up and left multitudes of corpses on the beach; a result that brought greater infamy on the Egyptians, but that tended, on the other hand, to enhance the triumph of the Israelites, and doubtless enriched them with arms, which they had not before. The locality of this famous passage has not yet been, and probably never will be, satisfactorily fixed. Some place it in the immediate neighborhood of Suez; where, they say, the part of the sea is most likely to be affected by "a stron”
Exodus (Lutheran) “Keil & Delitzsch on Exodus 16:1: Quails and Manna in the Desert of Sin. - Exo 16:1. From Elim the congregation of Israel proceeded into the desert of Sin. According to Num 33:10, they encamped at the Red Sea between Elim and the desert of Sin; but this is passed over here, as nothing of importance happened there. Judging from the nature of the ground, the place of encampment at the Red Sea is to be found at the mouth of the Wady Taiyibeh. For the direct road from the W. Gharandel to Sinai, and the only practicable one for caravans, goes over the tableland between this wady and the Wady Useit t”
Exodus (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Exodus 13:18: God led the people about, through the way of the wilderness of the Red Sea, &c.--This wondrous expanse of water is a gulf of the Indian ocean. It was called in Hebrew "the weedy sea," from the forest of marine plants with which it abounds. But the name of the Red Sea is not so easily traced. Some think it was given from its contiguity to the countries of Edom ("red"); others derive it from its coral rocks; while a third class ascribe the origin of the name to an extremely red appearance of the water in some parts, caused by a numberless multitude of v”

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