why did moses split the red sea

But that does not fit with the account in the Bible of a gradual parting of the seas overnight under a strong east wind. However a miracle is defined, polls show an overwhelming number of Americans believe in them. And Jim West, a professorat the Quartz Hill School of Theology,blogged that "scientists can no more keep their ignorant hands off the Bible than a dog can rid itself of fleas or New York its bedbug infestation. God split the Red Sea to give safe passage to the Israelites. Perhaps. Moses crossed the sea in approx 1445BC with over 3 million people. Then We drowned the rest. The first thing you need to know about the supposed parting of the Red Sea is that according to Drews' theory, it did not occur in the actual "Red Sea" that we see on a map today -- the long, thin, nearly north-south running body of water between Saudi Arabia on the east and Egypt and Sudan on the west. According to the Quran, God told Prophet Moses to cross during the time of low tide, Then We revealed to Moses, saying, Strike the sea with thy rod. Thereupon it parted, and every part looked like a huge sand-hill (26:64). Other researchers have tried to reconstruct one of the most mysterious events described in the Bible. I AM which is the one and only true God led them out of Egypt with Moses as their leader. It is also remarkable that this declaration was recorded 1,400 years ago amongst the Arabs a people who only knew that Pharaoh had perished and had no knowledge of the process of mummification. Moses crossed the sea in approx 1445BC with over 3 million people. These miracles, says Humphrey, are best simply left alone. Muslims have no right to invoke Moses and Abraham. The Diocese of Rochester In America 1868-1993, Childrens story: Moses parts the Red Sea, with Gods help, Bible Accent: The Israelites sin by complaining. On Exodus, just as onthe battle overevolution, he steers between these twoseas. Zahi Hawass, an Egyptian archaeologist and formerly Egypts Minister of State for Antiquities Affairs, reflected scholarly consensus when he said of the Exodus story, which is the biblical account of the Israelites flight from Egypt and subsequent 40 years of wandering the desert in search of the Promised Land: Really, its a myth Sometimes as archaeologists we have to say that never happened because there is no historical evidence.. According to Drews -- who describes himself as "one of many Christians who accept the scientific theory of evolution" -- the story of the parting of the Red Sea, as described in the book of Exodus, might have originated in real life as a weather event. 14 Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 2 "Speak to the children of Israel, that they turn and camp before Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, opposite Baal Zephon; you shall camp before it by the sea. Due to strong beliefs in religion at that time the weird phenomena would have undoubtedly been credited to God and thus documented as if God had indeed conducted the miraculous acts. God told Moses to lift his hands, and the walls of water came crashing back together over the Egyptians. It is a delegitimization of Christianity. Did Moses enter the Land of Israel? Where were the Israelites living in slavery? "Miracles are a great source of comfort," says Nicholas Humphrey, a psychologist at the New School in New York City and author of Leaps of Faith: Science, Miracles and the Search for Supernatural Consolation. One of them involved dividing the . And then, there's the meteorology and oceanography. For example, he writes that when the name of a person or place in the Tanach is given together with an explicit explanation for the name, there usually exists another, more straightforward explanation. Humphreys has used similar calculations to explain the parting of the Red Sea, although he places the event in a slightly different location along the shore. Not too long ago, a Swedish scientist known as Dr Lennart Moller led a team of researchers and an American TV crew in the footsteps of Moses and the Israelites as they tried to escape from the Egyptian Army. km.. b. route: The first is here at Rephidim before they got to Sinai. Robert John Russell, founder of the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences in Berkeley, Calif., argues miracles are less about an event, itself, than the powerful experience of the person who witnesses it. "What I did was use a wind, sort of the strongest wind that I thought a mixed group of adults and children could walk straight into," Drews says. The model requires a U-shaped formation of the Nile River and a shallow lagoon along the shoreline. Then Gd gave Moses a command that seemed impossible to fulfill: "Speak to the people of Israel; they shall travel."4. Originally Published in The Huffington Post As a Jew, I am offended to my core. Explain the above please. in Economics. Scientists later said the "miracle" could be explained by the simple physics of surface tension, which made it appear as if the milk were disappearing. 14 The LORD will fight for you while you keep still., 15 Then the LORD told Moses, Why are you crying out to me? Fifty years ago Cecil B De Mille deployed his own special effects wizardry to create a cinematic version in the Ten Commandments. One commentator suggests it was across a 13km path in the Gulf of Aqaba the western arm of the Red Sea so they could enter Midian (Arabia). This video animation, based on research by Carl Drews of the National Center for Atmospheric Research, shows where and how the parting of the Red Sea may have happened. A miracle? Egypt at this time extended control all the way to the Gulf of Aqaba with military strongholds. It rid the Israelites, once for all, of Pharaoh's dominion. This declaration is unique to the Quran. Thank You. The key may lie in how a miracle is defined. In fact, the scientific periodical PLoS ONE recently published an article on the plausibility of this event, particularly examining a phenomenon known as wind setdown. In addition, not only is the account scientifically tenable, but the French revolutionary Napoleon survived a similar experience during his life. Islam argues that God does not need to break a law in order to act. The laws of the universe apply to Allahs creation. It was an event of great importance to the nation. Native to a wide swath of Europe and Asia, including Israel, its commonly called fraxinella, dittany, and, more pertinently for our story, gas plant and burning bush.. Computer simulations, part of a larger study on how winds affect water, show wind could push water back at a point where a river bent to merge with a coastal lagoon, found the team at the National Centre for Atmospheric Research and the University of Colorado at Boulder said. What have you done to us, by bringing us out of Egypt? By contrast, the Red Sea is a salty sea that does not have such vegetation. 31 When Israel saw the great force by which the LORD had acted against the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD, and they believed the LORD and Moses his servant. In the Biblical text, the parting of the "Red Sea" occurs when Moses and the Israelites areencamped by the seain front of Pi-hahiroth, betweenMigdol and the sea, in front of Baal-zephon. You might think this place would beeasy to locate, given the high level of specificity in the passage above, butthere is actually much uncertainty and scholarly debate about what these names might actually refer to today. This is, of course, thought by believers to have been a miracle -- an act of divine providence to save a chosen people. "Some people take miracles literally as miracles and that's fine," says Robert John Russell, founder of the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences in Berkeley, Calif. "But I think a lot of people have come to interpret miracles as natural events with extraordinary significance.". Published: MAY 6, 2021 01:37. When Esau cries, Was he, then, named Jacob that he might supplant me (vayeakvani) these two times? Instead, he suggests that the reason indicates the giving of a new interpretation to reflect the events of the time. This is not the case. Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, who embodied the second advent of the Messiah, at the very period in time when the Christian and Muslim world at large were both expecting him to descend, was accompanied by a universe of miracles. Given the conditions of the lake a couple thousand years ago, a coastal phenomenon called a "wind setdown"very strong winds, in other wordscould have blown in from the east, pushing the water to. 30 On that day the LORD delivered Israel from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead along the seashore. Drews says Tullochs observation is modern-day evidence of what happened when Moses reached the Red Sea, and supports his latest research. Testing the science behind Biblical miracles is a difficult proposition, particularly since the Bible isn't always great with providing specific details. Writer probably doesnt believe in the miracle birth of Hazart Isa PBUH and the miracles of god he performed. Ahmadi Muslims believe in the immaculate conception of Jesus (peace be upon him). Scientists and others have tried for decades to recreate the mystery of the Israelites' escape from the advancing cavalry of the Pharaohs. After modeling a body of water that resembled the waters trapping Moses and the Israelites, Drews enforced the laws of physics and applied a wind stress to the water body. The order was given to go forward, sea or no sea. Another point of view suggested that the strong wind created sandstorms that could transport entire dunes into the lakes, such as Lake Bardawil, a shallow lake located within the Mediterranean Sea. Islamic Student your reply is disgustingly ignorant and derogatory. More proof for the parting of the Red Sea stems from Dr Ron Wyatt, an archaeologist who in 1978 claimed to have photo-evidence of golden chariots and fossilised human and horse bones on the bottom of the sea bed. He served as Chairman of the Muslim Writers Guild of America for the 2010-2012 term. Because Moses did not obey God's command to speak to the rock, implying lack of faith, God punished Moses by not letting him enter into the Promised Land ( Numbers 20:12 ). Biblical scholars have claimed that perhaps Moses crossed the narrower, shallower Gulf of Suez, or perhaps a marshy lake on the Suez Isthmus. The polarized response. Please also explain the way Isa AS brought the dead back to life. The Israelites are cornered. Water flowed out for the people to drink. "The bush may have started burning just as Moses walked near," he said. "The people of the time gloried in God and gave God credit.". Drews looked closely at verbiage in the biblical account given in Exodus 14:21, which describes a strong east wind blowing overnight that caused the water levels to drop and part. The so-called "Sea of Reeds," he concluded, could therefore refer to the Red Sea. "But I think the miracle is in the timing.". No, really: There is a scientific explanation for the parting of the hopefully all of us dont fall in his trick. That's because many scholarsdisagree with the very idea of trying to treat the book of Exodus as a matter of history. Just before they arrived at the Red Sea, God spoke to Moses. Nicolle Rager Fuller And does it matter? Unless otherwise noted, all material copyright 2023, Rochester Catholic Press Association, Inc. This amounts to about a 63 mph wind -- a medium-strength tropical storm, as measured by the scale the National Hurricane Center uses. When they had crossed safely over, the water came back drowning the chasing Egyptian armies. 9 Powerful Reminders from the Miracle at the Red Sea In the Old Testament, Exodus 14 19-31, we read how Moses and the Israelites were fleeing the Egyptians when they came to the Red Sea. 2. About 3,000 years ago, according to the Book of Exodus, Moses "stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided." Where they crossed the Red Sea is an interesting point. Last month, we ended a discussion about the philosophy of divine punishment with reference to Prophet Moses (peace be upon him) victory over Pharaoh. He publishes in local, national and international periodicals, currently has a monthly column in The Finger Lakes Times, and runs the AAMS-USA science blog. Having explained Islams view of the splitting of the sea, one may be mislead into thinking that one must always interpret events within the confines of prevailing scientific knowledge. my first question are u a believer. Relation to Aaron's rod The cloud remained there even in the darkness, illuminating the night, so that the one side did not come near the other all night. How people think Moses split the Red sea .. | TikTok John died in 1859, and in 1929, Pope Pius XI made him the patron saint of parish priests. Drews, who spent years studying the story of the crossing, relied on research by earlier scholars on the ancient geography of the area to reconstruct the likely locations and depths of various Nile delta waterways. One of the most common bushes in the region is the acacia bush, says Humphreys, a bramble that is known for making good charcoal. 3 For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, 'They are bewildered by the land; the wilderness has closed . Some miracles, of course, can't be explained by science, such as the resurrection of Christ or how Hindu's Vishnu, in the form of a dwarf, took three steps that encompassed the entire Earth. Efforts to explain the miraculous certainly aren't limited to biblical references. 12 Is this not what we told you in Egypt, when we said, Leave us alone! and Let us serve the Egyptians!? The splitting of the sea was referenced and deserved its own discussion, to which we now turn. If you grant Drews two very largeassumptions -- 1) that he has the geography right, and 2) that such a strong wind event happened to occur right when the Israelites, as described in the Bible, were there to take advantage of it -- then it turns out that Moses just might be able to make it (miraculously or not, of course, depending on your point of view). This was a continuation of miracles that God did as He brought His people the Israelites back to the land that He had promised them many centuries ago. It is offensive and vile. Earlier studies have speculated that a tsunami could have caused the rapid retreat and advance of the Red Sea. Study: Wind May Have Helped Moses Part Red Sea : NPR .css-16c7pto-SnippetSignInLink{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;cursor:pointer;}Sign In, Copyright 2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved, Moses had lived nearby and knew where caravans crossed the Red Sea at low tide. The book includes articles about each weekly Torah reading and selections for Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Passover and Shavuot. a. Rephidim is a large wilderness area of about 1000 sq. New Living Translation He commanded the Red Sea to dry up. The researchers determined that a strong east wind, blowing overnight, could have driven back the waters on a coastal lagoon in northern Egypt long enough for the Israelites to walk across the exposed mud flats before the waters rushed back in, engulfing the Pharaoh's cavalry. Moses holds out his staff and God parts the waters of the Yam Suph (Red Sea). The atheist blogger PZ Myers, An institution guy in the House, Steve Womack is fed up and might retire, The top 10 Republican presidential candidates for 2024, ranked, The incredibly damaging timeline of the alleged Mar-a-Lago coverup, in the Nile Delta itself in the year 1882, an artificial and theologically influenced literary construct. This event finalizes God's redemption of His enslaved people in Egypt. A recent Fox News poll found that 82 percent of those surveyed believe in miracles. He observed a strong east wind blow all night long, and in the morning the water had completely disappeared, says Drews. Linking is encouraged, but content may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed including, but not limited to such means as framing or other digital copying and/or distribution method, in whole or in part without the publisher's written consent. He explains that some scholars suggested a more northerly location for Yam Suf because of geographical and linguistic considerations. By ALAN ROSENBAUM. Recently, scholars have advanced a number of theories to explain the miraclewith science. Readers interested in gaining a deeper understanding of biblical locations will find this book invaluable. 1. 1. days later at Mt. Etymological speculations in scientific reconstructions of miraculous events cannot simply brush away hard data.. When an event such as the splitting of the sea occurs, it can rightly be described as a miracle i.e. Now modern science is claiming a feat that if true is almost as miraculous figuring out how Moses may have done it and where. But is there scientificevidence for Moses crossing the Red Sea? Since the people had sinned against God, and because they did not obey God or wholeheartedly believe in him, God made them travel around the wilderness for many years. Let's go back in time, some 3,400 years ago. Heres a video showing how the process could have played out: To model the effect of winds on these waters, Drews' study used a computerized ocean model that can also be employed by researchers to study storm surges of the sort that, in hurricanes, can threaten places like New York City and the Louisiana coast. "Faith and science can be compatible if you are willing to consider other interpretations of the text, other ideas of how this could have happened," he says. When one of the plagues resulted in the death of his son, the pharaoh, in his grief, set the Israelites free. http://online.wsj.com/articles/how-did-moses-part-the-red-sea-1417790250. Answer (1 of 10): If Moses did indeed part the Red Sea it was likely in order to allow the remaining Israelites he was bringing out of Egypt to reunite with an army of other Israelites that were waiting for them across the Red Sea to battle the Egyptians in case they dared to cross over in pursui. Rather, Drews explains, the original phrase from the Hebrew translates as "Sea of Reeds" -- and much historical and archaeological research has gone into determining exactly where and what that could have been. Can you explain the turning of Musas (AS) stick into a snake? When Drews' study was initially published in 2010, it created a large outcry. Crossing the Red Sea - Wikipedia The Egyptians follow Moses and his people with chariots and horses, hoping to hunt them down. But is it misguided to look for scientific evidence for Biblical miracles? His work, published in the online journal PLoS ONE, is part of a larger research project on the effects of wind on water depths, and the influence of Pacific typhoons on storm surges. "I still say they're miracles," Humphreys said. Their version of events describes how a strong, persistent wind and an underlying reef may have made the feat possible. And while Jesus is not my guy, the same thing goes for him. Linking is encouraged, but republishing or redistributing, including by framing or similar means, without the publisher's prior written permission is prohibited. Moses parts the Red Sea, With God's help - Catholic Courier 19 Then the angel of God, who was going in front of the camp of Israel, moved behind them. He wanted to destroy the Israelites and make a new nation from Moses. And the fact that it later ate or attacked the magicians sticks/snakes which were ropes/illusions. We will never know," says Holland. So what's the upshot? If that's the case, we need to let go of visions of Moses creating a wall of water hundreds of feet tall, as in movies likeThe Ten Commandments. Did Moses really part the Red Sea? - The Archaeology and Metal Pilgrims came from all around so he could hear their confessions. The wind blew all night long. Exodus 14:1-31. As he grew older, God sent him on a quest to set the Israelites free from enslavement. But the National Centre for Atmospheric Research and the University of Colorado have been working together and creating theories on what could actually have caused the parting, if it actually happened. But the pharaohs heart was hardened, and he refused to let them go. The Israelites made it safely across while the Egyptians were stuck in the middle of the dry seabed. So if you want to find a sea of reeds, even today, thats it.. At its deepest, the Red Sea is over 8,000 feet deep, with an average depth of 1,640 feet. By Alastair Hacket, WW1 artifacts discovered in Salonika by Giannis Karageorgiou, SHES SMART, SHES SASSY SHE ROCKS METAL DETECTING ! So from the perspective of many experts, while Drews may indeed describean atmospheric and ocean effect that can really happen, trying to suggest this phenomenon can explain a biblical "event" is another matter entirely. He then set out to explain another well-known miracle the burning bush that the Bible reports "did not burn up" as Moses heard God talking to him through it. Humphreys traveled to the head of the Gulf of Aqaba of the Red Sea to settle the matter and found that reeds still grow there today due to the freshwater flow of mountain springs. While hiking in Israel, Humphreys happened to step on a volcanic vent. All rights reserved. Pharaoh, following at some distance with chariots and heavy armaments, arrived at the Red Sea after Moses had already crossed and fell victim to the rising tide (26:65-67). A number of scholars argue that there is clear proof that itispossible to part a body of water. Such occurrences have been observed in the past in Lake Erie, among other places -- and, note Drews and Han, also in the Nile Delta itself in the year 1882. They believe wind could have parted Red Sea for Moses: Moses might not have parted the Red Sea, but a strong east wind that blew through the night could have pushed the waters back in the way described in biblical writings and the Koran, the U.S. researchers suggest. By Amanda Onion Feb. 12, 2004 -- Was the mythical parting of the Red Sea triggered by Moses' outstretched hand or an unusual chain of perfectly natural causes? The research follows a long line of efforts by science scholars to prove religious miracles from claims of sighting the ruins of Noah's Ark to attributing the biblical "trumpet blast" from Mt. This is a friendly place for those cringe-worthy and (maybe) funny attempts at humour that we call dad jokes. TOURISTS AT the Red Sea resort of Sharm e-Sheikh, in February. Look it up. It is symbolic of God's omnipotence. But this is different from other tropical storms that occur frequently around the world. Through his research, Drews says, he is fairly certain where Moses was at the time the waters parted; it was not at the heart of the Red Sea. According to Exodus 14:21, Moses stretched his hand out over the sea, and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea into dry land, and the waters were divided.. Researchers reconstruct wind and wave combinations that could have produced dry path across sea described in Exodus, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, 2023 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. Fifty-five years ago, Charlton Heston stood in front of a Hollywood mock-up of the Red Sea and commanded the waters to part in Cecil B. DeMille's The Ten Commandments. How does Moses save his people? Some considered the marshy swamps near the northern lakes as an appropriate location for the drowning of the Egyptians, and others believed that there were likely to be greater differences in the water level between high and low tides in those locations. The creationistleader Ken Ham commented that the parting of the Red Sea was a "miracle," "an extraordinary act of God," and "there is no need to come up with a naturalistic explanation of a supernatural event." Also remember that the land was completely dry. The pharaoh readied his chariots and his army, and they took off to capture the Israelites and bring them back to Egypt. The Israelites began to walk across the dry land, and there was a wall of water on each side of them. The Splitting of the Sea - Chabad.org Rather, Elitzur writes, He and those who heard his declaration understood that this was merely a defiant, personal statement formulated as a name interpretation.. Pictured, a scene from Exodus: Gods and Kings, DSW Promo Code - 20% Off your online purchase, Get $10 Finish Line Coupon with text signup, Get a $50 reward card using this AT&T promo code, Up to 70% off the hottest summer deals + free shipping with Walmart coupons, Take 20% off Your Entire Order - Target promo Code. Russian researchers recently took a stab at explaining one of the Bible's most famous miracles. Exodus 14 NKJV - The Red Sea Crossing - Now the Lord - Bible Gateway Not to Allah. 18 Then the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD when I receive honor by means of Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.. Do you understand what you are writing against the book and challenging the word or Allah.