TWENTY-ONE
The Red Sea Crossing (Pictures)
This picture, found at ArkDiscovery.com, shows the true route of the Exodus and the Red Sea Crossing. Most current maps found in books on the Exodus show Israel going around the Red Sea near Elath at the northern portion of the Gulf of Aqaba. Elath is mentioned in 1 Kings 9:26 as the place where Solomon “built a fleet of ships at Ezion Geber, which is near Elath on the shore of the Red Sea, in the land of Edom“. This map shows a route consistent with the Biblical text and real archeological evidence of this historic event. The colored pictures below and more can be found at the listed websites.
The pictures taken below can be found at www.arkdiscovery.com on the part of the webpage designated, “Red Sea Crossing”. This granite pillar is located in Egypt on the Sinai Peninsula side of the Gulf of Aqabah (also spelled Aquba) at what is called Nuweiba Beach today. Scripture refers to this location with the name Pi-Hahiroth (Exodus 14:2), which translates “mouth of the Hole”. The name of this location describes the opening from the canyon and rock cliffs which would have trapped the Israelites on the beach making them an easy target for the approaching Egyptian army. This location and the fortress at Migdol are mentioned in Scripture and the amazing video documentary titled, The Exodus Revealed DVD. The author of this book considers this one of two “must see” videos for any serious student of the events related to the Exodus. Much of the video from www.Ark Discovery.com, Revealing God’s Treasure, can be seen and ordered at the website. This second video deals with Noah’s Ark, the Red Sea Crossing, and other events recorded in the Book of Exodus. Both videos are currently available at Amazon.com.
Divers and snorkelers at Nuweiba Beach will find coral encrusted chariot wheels with 4, 6, and 8 spoke wheels. These chariots were only made during the eighteenth dynasty in Egypt which ended about 1334 BC with the death of Nefertiti. It is estimated that about 20,000 chariots were destroyed at the crossing of the Red Sea. These chariots were not made during the time of Rameses (c.1292-1290 BC). The Pharaoh Rameses is often portrayed in history incorrectly as the Pharaoh of the Exodus. This first picture shows an artist cutaway version showing what the wood would look like if it could be seen under the coral. The wood in the spokes would be gone now but served as a base for the coral to attach to giving it the “spoke” shape.
The chariot wheel below left is not encrusted with coral because it is gold plated. Coral does not attach to gold. Exodus 14:7 mentions that Pharaoh took his chariots (estimated about 20,000) and “six hundred choice chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt with captains over every one of them“. This or a similar gold plated “choice chariot“ wheel can be clearly seen in The Exodus Revealed DVD. Below right is a drawing found in an Egyptian tomb from this same time period (1445 BC) showing a 4-spoke chariot wheel.
The drawing above right of a four spoke wheel was found in an Egyptian tomb dated from the eighteenth Egyptian dynasty. Some historians date the eighteenth dynasty of Egypt from about 1540 BC until 1334 BC. The author suspects that pictures of chariots, like the one pictured above, would be difficult to find on murals after the events at the start of the Exodus in 1445 BC. Notice how this tomb drawing appears to be a perfect match for the gold-veneered chariot wheel found underwater in the Gulf of Aqaba and seen above left. In Scripture, the Gulf of Aqaba is called the Red Sea.