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More
Research on Mt. Sinai
and Related Subjects
Is Mount SINAI in the
SINAI?
Disclaimer Statement
The research and site
survey being
investigated by the BASE
Institute has strong
potential. Is it the
Biblical Mt. Sinai? The
BASE Institute does not
make the claim that we
have found Mount Sinai.
We'll let you draw your
own conclusions. In our
opinion, it's a
candidate. The research
continues.
For centuries,
Bible scholars and
religious pilgrims have
been seeking the
location of Mt. Sinai.
Today, most people are
unaware that not one
piece of hard evidence
has been produced to
verify that what is
traditionally designated
at “Mount Sinai” in the
south central Sinai
Peninsula is indeed the
famed mountain of Moses
and the Exodus. In fact,
the only verifiable
reason that the
traditional site is
designated “Mount Sinai”
at all is because a
Roman mystic designated
it and Helena, mother of
Constantine I, anointed
it as the true Mount
Sinai early in the 4th
century AD. (Helena also
claimed she discovered
the true “holy sepulcher”
in Jerusalem and the
true cross of Christ.)
Several other
proposed sites for the
true Mount Sinai have
been suggested by
biblical scholars, but,
thus far, they have
produced no
archaeological
evidence in support. If
we are ever to discern a
correct location for the
historical events
recorded in the biblical
Book of Exodus, it’s
important to use the
Scriptures as a guide,
just as we would use any
ancient documents that
have previously been
proven reliable.
In the New
Testament, Paul wrote in
Galatians 4:25, “Now
Hagar stands for Mount
Sinai in Arabia . .
.”Although some argue
that here the Roman
designation of Arabia
includes the Sinai
Peninsula, Arabia in
Paul’s day encompassed a
larger region that
primarily designated the
populated regions of
ancient Midian, or
modern-day Saudi Arabia.
As a “Hebrew of
Hebrews,” Paul’s
understanding of Arabia
would have been one that
was consistent with Old
Testament passages like
1 Kings 10:15, 2
Chronicles 9:14, Isaiah
21:13, Jeremiah 25:24,
and Ezekiel 27:21, in
which Arabia is clearly
identified with the
region east of the Gulf
of Aqaba, where “kings”
ruled and the
“Dedanites” co-dwelt
with other nomadic
peoples.
Even more telling,
Exodus 3:1 plainly
identifies Mount Horeb
(Sinai) as being in
Midian: “Now Moses was
tending the flock of
Jethro his
father-in-law, the
priest of Midian. And he
led the flock to the
back of the desert, and
came to Horeb, the
mountain of God.” Here,
there are two important
issues. First, the
region of “Midian”
referred to here is
undeniably the same as
present-day Saudi
Arabia. Second, at the
traditional site of Mt.
Sinai on the Sinai
Peninsula, there is
nothing that would cause
it to be geographically
identified with the
“back” of a desert, in
distinction from its
surroundings. By
contrast, the site
proposed by BASE
Institute is, indeed, on
the far side or margin
of a vast desert in
ancient Midian.
However, can
ancient Midian be
identified with the
Sinai Peninsula, which
in the time of Moses,
was considered a part of
Egypt (although
designated as the
“wilderness” of Egypt)?
It is apparent from
Exodus 2:15 that the two
were separate entities.
After killing an
Egyptian, Moses fled
Egypt for safer ground:
“When Pharaoh heard of
this, he tried to kill
Moses, but Moses fled
from Pharaoh and went to
live in Midian.” Egypt
and its holdings would
not have been safe for
Moses under any
circumstances. He would
not have fled to the
Sinai Peninsula, where
archaeology shows that
Pharaoh had multiple
mining interests and
military outposts. The
Bible is clear that
Moses went out of Egypt,
to the land of Midian
east of the gulf of
Aqaba.
The Bible makes
several references to
Moses returning to Egypt
from Midian, including
Exodus 4:19 where we
read, “Now the Lord had
said to Moses in Midian,
‘Go back to Egypt, for
all the men who wanted
to kill you are dead.”
All passages associated
with Moses’ stay in
Midian point toward
present-day Saudi Arabia
as the area to which
Moses fled, subsequently
met God at the burning
bush, and then returned
with the children of
Israel.
Many Bible
references pointed away
from the traditional
Mount Sinai and toward
Saudi Arabia as the
location of the
historical mountain of
Moses. And
archaeological evidence
(or lack
thereof) contributed to
our belief that a site
inspection was necessary
to determine if other
evidence could be found
to support this theory.
Saudi Arabia’s closed
borders made it
impossible for a team of
scholars and
archaeologists to enter
the country. As a
result, Larry Williams
and I surreptitiously
slipped into the
country, traced what
appears to be the Exodus
route, and climbed the
mountain which many
scholars now consider to
be the true Mount Sinai.
What follows is an
account of our
adventures and findings,
and how they relate
directly to the Bible.
Mt. Sinai -
the Evidence
RED SEA CROSSING SITE
In 1 Kings 9:26, the
Bible tells us, “King
Solomon also built ships
at Ezion Geber, which is
near Elath in Edom, on
the shore of the Red
Sea.” This verse
provides us with some
compelling clues: First,
Solomon had his port at
Elath (modern Eilat) on
the shores of the
northern tip of the Gulf
of Aqaba (which forms
the eastern “finger” of
the Red Sea proper). The
NIV Study Bible
references this verse as
follows: “Red Sea. The
Hebrew for this term,
normally read as Yam
Suph (‘sea of reeds’),
refers to the body of
water through which the
Israelites passed at the
time of the Exodus. It
can also be read,
however, as Yam Soph
(‘sea of land’s end’), a
more likely reading when
referring to the Red
Sea, and especially . .
. to its eastern arm,
the Gulf of Aqaba.”
This could well
mean that the “sea of
land’s end,” at the tip
of the Sinai Peninsula,
was the site of the
Israelites’ crossing. At
the very least, the use
of the same Hebrew
term--both for the place
where the Israelites
crossed and for the Gulf
of Aqaba at Elath--shows
that the body of water
in question is not an
isolated lake, but
includes the bulk of
what we know as the Red
Sea.
BITTER LAKES
Many scholars suggest
that the actual crossing
of the “sea of reeds”
was in the Bitter Lakes
region, north of the
Gulf of Suez, where some
observers have claimed
that wind can cause the
lake level to fluctuate
several feet. However,
this simply is not
consistent with numerous
other Biblical
references. Such
references include:
1) the account of an
entire, Egypt-engulfing
locust swarm being blown
into Yam Suph (Exodus
10:19), 2) Solomon
sailing a fleet of ships
on Yam Suph (1 Kings
9:26), and 3) the
description of the way
in which Pharaoh’s
soldiers died at Yam
Suph: “But You blew with
your breath, and the sea
covered them. They sank
like lead in the mighty
waters” (Exodus 15:10).
The Bitter Lakes region
is a marsh with no
mighty waters. At the
tip of the Sinai
Peninsula, however, at
the entrance of the Gulf
of Aqaba, the “mighty
waters” of the Red Sea
can reach incredible
fury and awesome depths.
TRADITIONAL MOUNT SINAI
Having visited the
traditional Mount Sinai
in the southern Sinai
Peninsula, I have seen
first-hand that the only
place the Israelites
could possibly have
camped was a small, flat
valley area adjacent to
the mountain. This area
would allow for only
about one-square-yard
per person (assuming
that roughly 2 million
people were involved in
the Exodus). And despite
extensive archeological
investigation throughout
the region, nothing has
ever been found that can
conclusively be tied to
the Exodus of the
Hebrews from Egypt, or
can even argue for a
large population of
people ever having
occupied the area.
UNDERWATER LAND BRIDGE
Following a theory that
the route of the Exodus
actually took the
Hebrews past (not
through) the bitter
Lakes and then southward
along the west coast of
the Sinai Peninsula, we
traveled to the tip of
the Sinai. There,
we explored the
underwater topography
(bathymetry) of the
Strait of Tiran, where
the Gulf of Aqaba is
narrowest, between the
Sinai Peninsula and
Saudi Arabia. And we
discovered an underwater
land bridge existing
there today that is so
problematic for shipping
that two separate routes
or “lanes” are
designated for
northbound and
southbound ships to pass
through. Further
correlation of the
Bible’s account of the
route of the Exodus
causes us to realize
that this unusual
submarine formation may
well have been trod by
the Hebrews themselves.
BITTER SPRINGS OF MARAH
Exploring the further
possibility that the
Israelites passed
through the waters of
the Red Sea at the
Strait of Tiran, we
picked up our search for
landmarks on the Saudi
Arabia side of the Gulf
of Aqaba. There we
started at the coastline
on the eastern side of
the Strait of Tiran and
traveled the most
natural route
approximately 30
kilometers inland to a
group of springs where
the water in some of the
springs was terribly
bitter. Exodus 15:22-23
tells us, “So Moses
brought Israel from the
Red Sea; then they went
out into the wilderness
of Shur. And they went
three days in the
wilderness and found no
water. Now when they
came to Marah, they
could not drink the
waters of Marah, for
they were bitter.”
THE 70 PALMS AND 12
SPRINGS OF ELIM
As we traveled
generally toward Jabal
al-Lawz (the Saudi
Arabian mountain that is
held by generations of
Bedouins to be the
mountain of Moses), we
next encountered a group
of clear water springs,
with a grove of palm
trees adjacent to them.
We marveled at the
description in Exodus
15:27: “Then they came
to Elim, where there
were twelve wells of
water and seventy palm
trees; so they camped
there by the waters.”
CAVES OF MOSES
While at the springs, we
discovered that some
nearby caves were being
excavated by Saudi
archaeologists. A worker
at the site said that
writings found in the
caves indicated that the
prophet Musa (Moses) had
come through this area
with his nation of
Hebrews.
CHARRED PEAK AND MELTED
ROCK
Continuing to Jabal al
Lawz, and after a great
deal of maneuvering to
gain access to the
mountain, we found the
top of the mountain to
be thoroughly blackened,
as if the rocks had been
severely scorched from
without. When we broke
open the rocks, we found
that they were actually
granite rocks with a
blackened “rind” that
contained an untouched
core of pure granite
inside. We had already
read in Exodus 19:18,
“Now Mount Sinai was
completely in smoke,
because the Lord
descended upon it in
fire . . . .”
BOUNDARY MARKERS
As we explored further
around the base of the
mountain, we discovered
large piles of rocks
arranged in a semicircle
around the front of the
mountain, spaced about
every 400 yards.
Measuring about 5 and 20
feet across, these piles
could be the boundary
markers set up by Moses,
as he had been
instructed by God: “. .
. You warned us saying,
‘set bounds around the
mountain and consecrate
it’” (Exodus 19:23).
More Evidence
follows on the next page
including information on
the golden calf, the
split rock at Horeb, the
12 pillars, Moses' altar
and Elijah's cave.
Mt. Sinai -
More Evidence
GOLDEN CALF ALTAR
In a flat area at the
base of the mountain, we
also discovered that
large boulders had been
placed together,
creating an altar-like
formation 30 feet tall
and 30 feet
across--quite possibly
the altar where the
golden calf was set up
and worshiped by God’s
disobedient people. On
the rocks were etched
ancient drawings of a
bull god, as described
in Exodus 32:4, where
Aaron “. . . received
the gold from the hand,
and he fashioned it with
an engraving tool, and
made a molded calf.”
MOSES' ALTAR and the 12
PILLARS
At the foot of the
mountain, we found a
V-shaped altar, with
each arm approximately
60 feet long and 20 feet
wide. Next to it were
several toppled pillars
in sections measuring
about 22 inches in
diameter and 20 inches
in length. Exodus 24:4
records that Moses “. .
. built an altar at the
foot of the mountain,
and twelve pillars
according to the twelve
tribes of Israel.”
SPLIT ROCK AT HOREB
(Full credit for
verification and
documentation of the
split rock at Horeb goes
to Jim and Penny
Caldwell, who conducted
their research while
living in Saudi Arabia.)
One of the most
startling discoveries at
Jabal al-Lawz was a
massive, prominent,
split rock on the west
side of Jabal al-Lawz,
which showed evidence of
gushing water from
within--jagged rocks
that had been smoothed
off by an abundant flow
of water. Exodus 17:6
records God’s
instructions to Moses
when the Israelites were
dying of thirst in the
wilderness: “Behold, I
will stand before you
there on the rock in
Horeb; and you shall
strike the rock, and
water will come out of
it, that the people may
drink.”
CAVE OF ELIJAH
High on the mountain,
was a cave by which
Elijah may have stood to
hear God’s voice, as
described in 1 Kings
19:8-9, 13b: “. . . and
he went . . . as far as
Horeb, the mountain of
God . . . . and he went
out and stood in the
entrance of the cave . .
. .”
This expedition
yielded the first of a
wealth of compelling new
evidence to suggest that
the Strait of Tiran on
the Gulf of Aqaba was
the crossing point for
the route of the Exodus,
and that Jabal al-Lawz
in Saudi Arabia is the
true Mount Sinai.
The real
significance in all this
is that the Bible, once
again, has apparently
been shown to be true,
reliable, and accurate,
down to the smallest
historical detail.
Critics who claim that
the Bible does not
coincide with known
history and geography
are again shown to be
wrong once the physical
evidence has been
examined. The account in
the Bible is true, and
the implications are
incredible.
God descended on
Mount Sinai in flames
like a furnace. He spoke
to Moses and gave him
the Ten Commandments as
the laws for the life of
Israel. He communicated
His love and mercy
through the laws for
sacrifice and atonement.
And though we are
unworthy, He gave us the
opportunity to enter
into a personal, caring
relationship with the
Eternal Father.
The exploits of
the BASE Institute team
may sound like a
treasure hunt to some,
but a more important
adventure awaits those
who would seek out the
treasures of the Word of
God. The Bible reveals
His plan for
reconciliation, and the
most important discovery
any of us can ever make
is to pursue a personal
relationship with Jesus
Christ. This is the best
adventure of them all! |
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