Where Was the Biblical Red Sea? (Studies in Biblical Archaeology, Geography, and History)

Examining the Ancient Evidence

Barry J. Beitzel

• Publisher: Lexham Press
• Year: 2020
• Print ISBN: 9781683594383
• eBook ISBN: 9781683594390
• Subtopic: Critique et interprétation bibliques

"In Where Was the Biblical Red Sea? Beitzel challenges popular alternatives and defends the traditional location: that the biblical Red Sea refers to the body of water lying between the eastern Nile Delta and Sinai. Beitzel rigorously reexamines the data-both typical and overlooked-ranging from biblical, classical, and rabbinic sources to ancient and medieval maps. His comprehensive analysis answers objections to the traditional view and exposes the inadequacies of popular alternatives. Where Was the Biblical Red Sea? is a foundational reference work for any discussion of the Exodus event"--

Chapter 1

EVIDENCE FROM BIBLICAL SOURCES

In this chapter, I survey biblical sources relating to the phrase yam sûf. These sources variously locate yam sûf at the Gulf of Aqaba/Elat as well as in close proximity to Egypt. The biblical expression is not applied only to one specific location.

I begin with an assessment of Fritz’s hypothesis one: “The biblical Yam Suph is the Gulf of Aqaba.”1 In an effort to undergird this central hypothesis, Fritz argues that of the twenty-four canonical citations of Hebrew yam sûf, seven of these texts mandate the Gulf of Aqaba/Elat as the referent (Exod 23:31; Num 14:25; 21:4; Deut 1:40; 2:1; 1 Kgs 9:26; Jer 49:21; see table 1 below). At this point Fritz is adhering to a fairly standard scholarly assessment (see below). So far, so good, though I hasten to add that none of these seven texts relates directly or indirectly to the location where Israel experienced its deliverance from Egypt. Instead, these narratives point (1) to a setting of boundaries for Israel’s eventual possession of its land (Exod 23); (2) to a location encountered by Israel during its sojourn, after rejecting the report of the twelve spies, spending considerable time in and around Kadesh-barnea, and then attempting to bypass the land of Edom en route to the promised land (Num 14; 21; Deut 1; 2); (3) to Solomon’s naval venture to the land of Ophir (1 Kgs 9); or (4) to a place where cries of disaster could be heard, resulting from destruction inflicted upon the land of Edom (Jer 49). None of these seven texts manifests a context of Israel’s deliverance from Egypt and in particular at the water of yam sûf.

But a critical issue arises with this hypothesis when it is subsequently converted from these seven texts into an absolute and inviolable dogma and is required to be interpreted in this way in all canonical citations. In this regard, Fritz asserts: “biblical Yam Suph corresponds solely with the Gulf of Aqaba,”2 or he states, “This hypothesis, based strictly on the biblical record, must harmonize with the entire biblical account of Yam Suph or it will be falsified.”3

It is curiously revealing that, at this point in his discussion, Fritz makes almost no reference to authoritative biblical scholarship—neither in commentary form nor in reference literature—because, in point of fact, his unsupported assertion stands in diametric opposition to a vast array of established, conventional scholarship across a very wide theological spectrum. It is as if Fritz has turned a blind eye to these rich biblical and exegetical scholarly traditions. Credible research almost always involves a process of engagement with scholars and knowledge past and present, especially when one is attempting to stake out new ground and is arguing at variance with established scholarship. But here this element is largely absent. Fritz’s argumentation at this point strikes me as a case of what the widely ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Illustrations
• Abbreviations
• Introduction
• Chapter 1: Evidence from Biblical Sources
• Chapter 2: Evidence for the Yam Sûf in Close Proximity to Egypt
• Chapter 3: Evidence from Classical Sources
• Chapter 4: Evidence from Early Cartographically Related Sources
• Conclusion
• Bibliography
• General Index
• Scripture Index
• Ancient Sources Index