Approbation from Professor Eli Mertzbach, BaDaD Editor, Dept. of Mathematics, Bar Ilan University

I have read Alexander Hool’s book on the path taken by the in the first year from towards Sinai and the onward travel towards the Land of Canaan. The thesis presented by the author is interesting, novel and firmly self-supporting, in-line with the straightforward meaning of the verses and the interpretations of our Rabbinic Sages. The content is rational and worthy of serious and in- depth study. I am not an expert in archaeology or ancient history, however, nonetheless, I enjoyed reading the book and found within very good reasoning. With blessing,

Professor Eli Mertzbach Table of Contents

Preface...... IX Acknowledgments ...... XI Section One: Popular Identifications Chapter One: Crossing the Red Sea...... 3 Chapter Two: Contradictions...... 5 Chapter Three: Seeking Sinai ...... 9 Chapter Four: Erroneous Assumptions...... 12 Chapter Five: Is Sinai in Sinai?...... 15 Chapter Six: The Saudi Arabian Sites...... 26 Section Two: In the Footsteps of the Israelites Chapter Seven: Ramesses...... 33 Chapter Eight: Sukkot...... 35 Chapter Nine: Etham...... 38 Chapter Ten: The Red Sea...... 41 Chapter Eleven: The Red Sea Crossing ...... 45 Chapter Twelve: Marah...... 47 Chapter Thirteen: Eilim...... 50 Chapter Fourteen: The Red Sea (Second Time) ...... 53 Chapter Fifteen: The Wilderness of Sin...... 55 Chapter Sixteen: Dofka...... 57 Chapter Seventeen: Olush...... 59 Chapter Eighteen: Refidim...... 61 Chapter Nineteen: Horeb (Method One) ...... 64 Chapter Twenty: Horeb (Method Two)...... 68 Chapter Twenty-one: Horeb (Method Three)...... 71

Table of Contents • VII Chapter Twenty-two: ...... 73 Chapter Twenty-three: Biblical Characteristics...... 75 Chapter Twenty-four: Matching Dimensions ...... 79 Chapter Twenty-five: Mathematical Synchronization . . . . 82 Chapter Twenty-six: Summary and Conclusion...... 86 Appendices Appendix A: The Pharaoh of Joseph ...... 91 Appendix B: The Instigator of the Oppression...... 97 Appendix C: The Mysterious Ninety-Four-Year Reign . . . . 99 Appendix D: The Revised Chronology of the Sixth Dynasty. . 102 Appendix E: Midian...... 106 Appendix F: The Formation of the Dead Sea ...... 108 Appendix G: The Diamond Mine ...... 112

VIII • Searching for Sinai CHAPTER ONE Crossing the Red Sea

n 1924, Professor Bo Hellstrom, a Swedish oceanogra- pher, published a paper concerning his research of the Ibiblical crossing of the Red Sea.1 Hellstrom claims that prior to the building of the Suez Canal, the Red Sea extended much further north, fifty or so miles, to the present‑day Lake Timsah. He brings support for this from a study of the region’s geology by Theodor Fuchs, who writes that Lake Timsah contains recent marine fossil deposits from the Gulf of Suez.2 He also identifies the biblical Pi-HaChirot with the ruin called Pa-qaheret near the modern town Sarabium and claims that the crossing took place there.3

1 The paper was entitled Israel Tag Genom Roda Havet, and was translated into English in 1950 (Riddle of the Exodus, pg. 121). 2 Ibid., pg. 13. 3 Ibid.

Crossing the Red Sea • 3 In more recent times, Ron Wyatt (an American explorer and Seventh Day Adventist) propounded that the crossing did not take place at the western arm of the Red Sea, but at the eastern arm at the present day Nuweiba. To consolidate his claim, in 1978, Wyatt commissioned divers to search the coast of Nuweiba for archaeological evidence, and indeed found an ancient chariot wheel dated to the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egyptian Pharaohs. Later, a granite pillar was found on both sides of the coast,4 with the words “Egypt,” “Pharaoh,” and “Moses,” inscribed in ancient Hebrew.5 In 1998, Howard Blum published his book, The Gold of Exodus, which follows the exploits of Larry Williams and Bob Cornuke in Saudi Arabia. They also claim that the crossing took place at the eastern arm — only much further south, at the Straits of Tiran.6

4 See Alan Smith, The Red Sea Crossing (Elibooks, 2015). 5 See Nimtza Mekomo Ha-Amiti Shel Har Sinai, Ayalla Avital, www. ayalla.net. 6 See James D. Long, At the very least, research like this helps us realize that Riddle of the Exodus (Arkansas: Lightcatcher the commonly held identification of Mount Sinai as lying in Books, 2006), pg. 172 the present-day Sinai Peninsula is much less certain than is (henceforth referred often believed. to by the abbreviation R.O.E.).

4 • Searching for Sinai CHAPTER TWO Contradictions

he construction of the Suez Canal began in 1859 and took ten years to build. Its purpose was to con- Tnect the Red Sea with the Mediterranean Sea. It is the longest canal in the world, stretching 162 kilometers from Port Said until the Gulf of Suez. The canal is sixty meters wide. However, the history before then is fascinating:

• Already in 1859, in Berlin, Richard Lepsius, in his Denkmaeler aus Aegypten und Aethiopien,7 produced a map of Egypt showing the Red Sea ending just as far north as the Gulf of Suez! • Over a hundred years before that, Rabbi Yisrael HaLevi (an expert on geography and astronomy) in his commentary Otzar Nechmad on the Sefer HaKuzari,8 gave exact coordinates of the region, and wrote that the western arm of the Red Sea finishes just off the 30-degree mark of latitude, about fifty miles south of Lake Timsah, which is exactly as it stands today! See figure 1. • Similarly, in 1829, Rabbi Yosef Schwartz reprinted a map of the region showing the Red Sea just above 30 degrees, and in the English map printed 9 See Eileh by Rabbi Dan Schwartz, first in 1819 the sea can be seen ending at Suez. In the edition, maps 4, 34, Latin map printed before 1840, the end of the sea and 47. also appears to be roughly at the same place as it 7 Reproduced in Egypt the World of the Pharaohs, 9 stands today. Konemann, 1998. 8 Maamar 2.

Contradictions • 5 Figure 1

• According to the Encyclopedia Britannica,10 the town of Suez (which stands north of the Gulf) was the site of the ancient Greek town of Clysma, which became the Muslim Kolsum in the seventh century. • According to the Britannica Macropedia,11 the Ptolemies extended a canal via the Bitter Lakes (just north of Suez) as far as the Red Sea.

It would seem clear from all of the above that there has been very little change, if any at all, to the parameters of the western arm of the Red Sea in hundreds and even thousands of years. There is therefore no reason to believe that at the time of the Exodus the parameters of the sea were any different. This being so, the crossing could not possibly have taken place at the re- gion of Lake Timsah, fifty miles north of the tip of the Red Sea, 10 Under the heading of Suez. for the simple reason that there was no sea there! 12 11 Under the same Regarding the eastern arm of the Red Sea, Seder Olam heading. tells us that following the Exodus, the Israelites traveled for 12 Chapter 5.

6 • Searching for Sinai just two days and then headed back toward Egypt and en- camped at the sea. From the Suez Canal, there are about 250 kilometers until the eastern arm of the Red Sea. Although it is recorded that the Israelites initially traveled fast, however, that was only on the first day. Furthermore, it was also not at such a break- neck speed that they could have gone beyond the eastern arm of the Red Sea by the end of the second day!13 Furthermore, the Israelites encamped at the sea opposite Ba’al Tzefon.14 Mechilta15 and Yalkut Shimoni16 state that in Ba’al Tzefon lay the hordes of gold and silver amassed by Joseph. The other side of the Sinai Peninsula, far away from the protection of central Egypt and open to invaders, is not exactly an ideal place to guard the treasures of Egypt! The evidence is also far from compelling. The chariot wheel found off the coast of Nuweiba may well have come from the Eighteenth Dynasty. However, it is quite impossible that the Pharaoh of Egypt came from the Eighteenth Dynasty. Mitzraim (Egypt) was only born after the Flood,17 but there were just fifteen generations18 from the Flood until Moses. That would give an average of less than one generation for each Dynasty! This is even without bearing in mind that the birth of the State of Egypt could only have emerged several generations after Mitzraim (Egypt) was born. Indeed, Ezra Rothstein, in his Review of Ancient History, comparing the biblical account and Rabbinic tradition to- gether with the ancient historical sources, identifies the Exodus as occurring at the end of the Sixth Dynasty.19 James Long, in his book The Riddle of the Exodus, reinforces this conclusion by highlighting the very striking parallels 13 See Rashi, Exodus 12:37 between the story of the Exodus and the Egyptian archaeo- and 13:20. logical record for this period. For example, it is known that 14 Exodus 14:9. the Sixth Dynasty was the heyday of ancient Egypt, but 15 Exodus 14:2. came to a mysterious, abrupt end following the reign of 16 Ibid. 17 Genesis 10:6. Neferkare the Younger (the last ruler being a woman), hurl- 18 See Genesis 11:21, 25, ing Egypt into a period of darkness and confusion for 29, and Exodus 6. hundreds of years.20 The famous Ipuwer papyrus (believed 19 See R.O.E. pp. 25–31, 76. 20 See R.O.E. pp. xx, to be referring to the period following the collapse of the 106–110.

Contradictions • 7 Sixth Dynasty) has reports synonymous with the catastro- phes of the Ten Plagues.21 The granite pillar mentioned above has the words “Moses” and “Pharaoh,” but it also has the word “Solomon.”22 We have no records of a significant personality called Solomon at the time of the Exodus that would warrant a mention. It is much more likely to be referring to King Solomon, who we know interacted with the Egyptians in that area,23 and perhaps mentioned Moses and Pharaoh as earlier historical personal- ities, if the reference is to them at all. Let us summarize. We have investigated the main suggestions for the location of the crossing of the Red Sea, Lake Timsah, and the eastern arm of the Red Sea, and have found them to be incompatible with the facts. Lake Timsah has been separated from the Red Sea by fifty miles for thousands of years, and there is no reason to believe that the situation was any different at the time of the Exodus. The eastern arm of the Red Sea is 250 kilometers from Egypt and much too far from the expected distance traveled by the Israelites in the few days that they traveled before ar- riving at the sea. Furthermore, it makes no sense at all that the treasure houses of Egypt, which were situated by the site of the crossing, would be set up at the vulnerable setting on the other side of the wilderness, by the eastern arm. The evidence in support has also been shown to be unfounded. That brings us back to the drawing board as far as the crossing is concerned. Let us take a look at the Sinai suggestions.

21 See Review of Ancient History pp. 7–10, and R.O.E. chapter 9. 22 See Nimtza Mekomo Ha-Amiti Shel Har Sinai, Ayala Avital, www. ayalla.net. 23 Kings I 9:26–27.

8 • Searching for Sinai CHAPTER THREE Seeking Sinai

n his excellent book The Riddle of the Exodus, James D. Long gives a survey of the most popular proposals for Ithe location of Mount Sinai presented throughout the years.

Jebel Musa The oldest identification of Mount Sinai is present-day Jebel Musa. It was identified in the fourth century by Helena, the mother of Constantine II and wife of the Roman emperor Constantine I. She was fueled by a dream to dot

Seeking Sinai • 9 the landscape of the Near East with churches at sites she believed to have biblical significance. Later, in 542 CE, a monastery was set up at the foot of the mountain, commissioned by Justinian of Constantinople. Since then, the location has been widely accepted as the authentic Mount Sinai, and tourists visit it to this very day. Jebel Musa is situated in the southern part of the Sinai Peninsula with an elevation of 2,285 meters above sea level. The mountain has a red granite summit and on the ascent one encounters a fresh water spring. Still, about three hundred years ago, the site was called into question by a tourist who noticed that the craggy out- croppings and narrow canyons of the area make it difficult to accommodate an encampment as sprawling as the Israelites.24 Simply put, where would the millions of people described by the Bible fit? In recent times, several new proposals have been forthcoming. Serabit el-Khadem This spot is located close to the center of the Sinai Peninsula, and houses an ancient temple at the top of a steep ascent. There are numerous inscriptions and a num- ber of standing stones. The site is supposed to be within a three-day journey of the Delta, in line with Moses’ initial request for a journey of three days into the wilderness to offer sacrifices.25 In the beginning of the twentieth century, Sir Flinders Petrie found three inscriptions at this site, written in what is now termed Proto-Sinaitic, and discovered further evidence of a Semitic work force. Jebel Sinn Bishr In 1956, Professor Menashe Har-El began researching the 24 Alan Smith, The Red site for Sinai, and later, after climbing ten mountains in the Sea Crossing (Elibooks), pg. 10. region, concluded that Jebel Sinn Bishr (situated sixty miles 25 Exodus 3:18, 5:3, and east of the Bitter Lakes) is Mount Sinai. He believed that the 8:23. Arabic name containing the root “Sin” and meaning “the

10 • Searching for Sinai mountain of the giving of the message” supports this identi- fication. He also noted the historical migration of quail near the mountain, synonymous with the incident of the quail in the Bible.26 Dr. David Faiman upholds this identification, noting that it takes three days to travel from the Delta region to the mountain. Har Karkom In 1986, after several expeditions to the region, Professor Immanuel Anati declared Har Karkom (north of the Gulf of Aqaba) as his candidate for the location of the historical Mount Sinai. He found what he described as twelve pillars erected near the mountain and a small cave at the top — a rarity for mountaintops in this region. He also found a well and what appears to be man-made channels for water holes at the base of the mountain. While these researchers deserve great credit and respect for their work, we will see that a close look at the biblical text reveals that the fundamental assumptions which have guid- ed — and indeed limited — them (and other researchers) are unwarranted. On the contrary, these very assumptions serve as reasons to disqualify the proposals as true candidates.

26 Numbers 11.

Seeking Sinai • 11 CHAPTER FOUR Erroneous Assumptions

n a sense, it would have been miraculous for researchers to correctly identify the location of Mount Sinai, simply Ibecause they were basing themselves on a number of erroneous assumptions. Let us consider a few. Water Supplies Researchers have limited their search to regions that maintain large, natural water supplies — enough to sustain millions of Israelites during their year-long stay at Sinai. However, in Exodus 17:6, during the encampment before Sinai in Refidim, Moses is instructed to hit the rock, and water gushes forth. According to Rabbinic tradition,27 this rock became known as the Well of Miriam, and accompanied the Israelites throughout their forty years of sojourn in the wilderness. Accordingly, we would not need to find large natural water supplies at Sinai. Furthermore, the verse itself rules out the possibility that there were large natural water supplies at Mount Sinai. This is because the verse actually states that Moses was instruct- ed to hit the rock in Horeb, the location of Mount Sinai.28 Evidently, Horeb was very close to Refidim. Now, if there were abundant water supplies at Horeb, this miracle would not have been necessary, as the Israelites could take water 27 Seder Olam, chapters 5 and 10. from the local supplies! Obviously then, there was not an 28 Deuteronomy 4:10. abundance of drinking water at Sinai, and hence Jebel Musa (See Exodus 3:1 and and Har Karkom must be disqualified. Deuteronomy 5:2 for further confirmation.)

12 • Searching for Sinai