the exodus
Original Historical Documents

The Illustrated Exodus

They have been looking at the wrong places.

Old Kingdom
Chariot Wheels
Der Auszug
Queen Sheba
Our horizon as to the Old and Middle Kingdom dynasties has widened when Damien published his paper on the `Old Kingdom'. There we learn that the Old and Middle Kingdom were not separate ages but existed parallel to each other. So we read:

"And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigour: And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in morter, and in brick, and in all manner of service, wherein they made them serve, with rigour."Exodus 1:13-14 [10]
And so it is that the Exodus brought on the end of the Pyramid Age when the Israelite work-force left the land of their servitude as already pointed out by Dr. Ewald Metzler. We invite our visitors to keep these connections in mind when reading this short account.
The Amalekites
Remains of the Ark
Cities of Ash

historicity of The Biblical Exodus has long been a subject of discussion among interested people. While we have no space to repeat the various views we can present a number of reasons why the Exodus event, or legend as some would describe it, is so difficult to pinpoint in the pages of Egyptian history. Of course the primary reason for that situation is chronology. Since the majority of people subscribe to the conventional scenario for the sequence of the Egyptian Dynasties, it is no wonder that they cannot locate an event such as the Exodus on the BC time scale.[12]

In the various papers we discuss at some length a revised view of the chronology of the Middle Eastern ancient world and in particular of Egypt. Applying our chronology to the Exodus explains many otherwise unsolvable historical problems. As we show that the Exodus occurred about 30-35 years after the end of the 12th Dynasty, which also has to be moved closer to our time, the background to it falls into the time of the 13th Dynasty. However, not at the time of the first rulers of this the 13th Dynasty, but at a much later period of its `existence'. The early 13th Dynasty rulers represent princes, governors and officials of Egypt whose activities began even before the start of the 12th Dynasty, during the length of the 12th Dynasty and continued on afterwards for the already mentioned 30-35 years.

According to the biblical record Moses led his people [015], including the non-Israelite mixed multitude/people ( Exodus 12: 37, 38) followed along, indicating that, indeed, Egypt at this time was not a favorable land to live in. This "rabble", as some had called it, or mixed multitude/mingled people we find mentioned again in Ezekiel 30:4, 5; Jeremiah 25: 19. [020]


According to the scriptural record, the Exodus also took place at the exact appointed time stated to Abraham, Genesis 15:13. These 400 years stretch from Abraham's 100th birthday, when Issak was born, to 1445 BC when the Exodus took place. But the promise was given when Abraham was 75 years old. We add 25 years to the 400 years stated in Genesis 15:13 which gives us 425 years. Therefore, 425 years after the promise to Abraham at age 75 the giving of the law at Mt. Sinai, very soon after the Exodus, would take place, namely ca. 1445 BC [1870-425=1445]. Genesis 15:13 mentions the 400 years of affliction leaving it unsaid that this would mean only the last portion of these 400 years. Similarly the 430 years stated in Gal. 3:17 is a rounded up number and not necessarily intended to be an accurate number since Paul had apparently no exact reference material handy at the time of writing.
Through the symbols of the great darkness and the smoking furnace, God had revealed to Abraham the bondage of Israel in Egypt, and had declared that the time of their sojourning should be four hundred years. "Afterward", He said, "shall they come out with great substance." Gen. 15:14. As the eventual freedom of Israel from the land of their oppression was foretold, so too the learned apostle Paul observed, against that word, all the power of Pharaoh's proud empire battled in vain and similarily should Christ be serving his people on that exact date predicted in the scriptures. On "the self-same day" appointed in the divine promise, "it came to pass, that all the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt." Ex. 12:41; Galatians 4: 4, 5; Daniel 9.


And Moses said to Pharaoh, "Thou must give us also sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice unto the Lord our God. Our cattle also shall go with us; there shall not an hoof be left behind; for thereof must we take to serve the Lord our God; and we know not with what we must serve the Lord, until we come thither. But the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he would not let them go." Exodus 10:25-27.

But when the 10th plague struck, all Egypt was in an uproar and pharaoh let Israel go.

The Bible tells us that the Israelites under Moses left their domestic quarters in a hurry.

"And it came to pass that at midnight the Lord smote all the firstborn ... And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians ... And he called for Moses and Aaron by night and said, Rise up, and get you forth from among my people ... And the Egyptians were urgent upon the people that they might send them out of the land in haste ... " Exodus 12:29-33

The window of opportunity was short for not long after they had left Pharaoh changed his mind, called up his army and chased after them. Moses urges his people to be ready for the walk out of Egypt.But Israel had an advantage for God led them by a pillar of clouds in day time, acting like an air conditioner so to speak and a pillar of fire at night so they would loose no time but get to a point where their deliverance would occur. (Ex. 13:21)

Israel marched night and day until they reached the other side of Sinai on the seventh day. The Bible states that no one among the people was allowed to eat leavened bread. Only unleavened bread was allowed. This way their physical well being would not be hampered by possible stomach cramps. Their march was to be without a break and its length was measured by the limitation for how long their unleavened, baked bread would be edible. Exodus 12:15-20.

Therefore, Israel traversing the Sinai Peninsula occured within those seven days. They did not have to drive oxen pulling waggons, or find sources of water and food during those few days. Their sustenance they carried with them and the pillar of clouds protected them from the excessive heat during the day.

The Route of the Exodus

Leaving Egypt [025] from the Nile delta region the Israelites headed first south (Ex. 13:17-18), as shown on the map, along the shore of the modern Suez canal and then east into the desert of the Sinai peninsula to Etham at the edge of the desert (on the Arabian side) without ever stopping. [030] At some point in Wadi Watir (which leads toward Nuweiba Beach[032]), God told Moses:

"Speak unto the children of Israel that they turn and encamp before Pihahiroth, between Migdol and the sea..." Exodus 14:2

The `turn' must have been made close to where the thinner yellow line turns north, as if to walk around the Gulf of Aqaba to Mount Sinai, but God stopped Moses and led them down that eastern Wadi toward what is called today `Nuweiba Beach', a place which must have been familiar to Moses. The walk around the Gulf would have taken much longer, but God never had that direction in mind. Already when Moses worked for Jethro, God had planned that Moses would lead his people to Mount Horeb/ Jebel al Lawz /Agar in Arabia and that the sea would part to accomplish that.

Where is Mount Sinai? Here is the biblical record:

"... Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh and dwellt in the land of Midian ..." Exodus 2:15
The route of the Israelites toward the Gulf of Aqaba "Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb." Exodus 3:1

We may understand `... the backside of the desert' as looking from the Nile region toward the east. The desert then would refer to the Sinai Peninsula and not the western Sahara. The backside of the Sinai would then be the eastern most region up against the Gulf of Aqaba (probably on the Arabian side) and perhaps the continued rift valley up toward the Dead Sea..

"... When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain." Exodus 3:12

In the days of the apostle Paul, people still knew where Midian was located [36].

"For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia ..." Galatians 4:25

"God led them not through the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near ... but ... led the people about, through the way of the wilderness of the Red Sea ... turn and encamp before Pi-ha-hi-roth between Migdal and the sea, over against Baalzephon: before it ye shall encamp by the sea. ... For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, They are entangled in the land, the wilderness has shut them in." Ex. 13:18-20; 14:2-3
Pharaoh knew that from Nuweiba Beach there was no escape. He was confident that he could corner the Israelites and return them to Egypt. At first, perhaps Moses thought that he would have to lead his people by way of Ezion Geber to Jebel al Lawz. But God had plans to demonstrate his might and power. He directed for his chosen people to turn toward Nuweiba, just like Pharaoh anticipated. This `turn' occurred near where the two yellow lines fork off.

"... wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt?" Exodus 14:11

The words `out of Egypt' indicate that Israel would leave the very ground of Egypt, the Sinai Peninsula which belonged to Egypt, and be in another country. The approach to Nuweiba Beach

As the satellite map shows, the mountainous terrain of the Sinai in this region allows only a narrow path toward what is known today as `Nuweiba', a sandy beach enclosed on all sides by sheer rocks. Today there is a road hugging the rocky coast going south, in ancient times it did not exist. The Sinai peninsula was Egypt in Old Kingdom times. Numerous army lookout posts doted the mountain tops and we can assume that the Egyptians had developed a system of mirror or smoke signals from mountain top station to mountain top station to pass on information to headquarters back near today's Cairo and along the length of the road, so Pharaoh knew exactly where the Israelites were. Turning back, the Israelites saw the approaching chariots of Pharaoh. Views are on file what the mountain road looks like from the vantage point of the beach.

"... the Egyptians pursued after them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh ... and overtook them encamping by the sea, beside Pi-ha-hi-roth, before Baal-zephon ... And the pillar of clouds came between the camp of Israel: and it was a cloud and darkness to them ..."Ex. 14:9,20

Frederick A. Bridgman painting Josephus presents the Exodus account this way:

"Now when the Egyptians had overtaken the Hebrews, they prepared to fight them, and by their multitude they drove them into a narrow place ... They also seized on the passages by which they imagined the Hebrews might fly, shutting them up between inaccessible precipices and the sea; for there was on each side a ridge of mountains that terminated at the sea, which were impassable by reason of their roughness, and obstructed their flight." [040]

The account of Josephus seems to fit the approaches to Nuweiba Beach and its rocky condition better than any other locality. The only escape route left was through the sea.


Question: What about the chariot wheels, in particular the eight spoked wheels, doesn't that proof that the Exodus took place during 18th dynasty times and the revised chronology must be in error?

Answer: Of course we know that the 18th Dynasty used such chariots. Historians can trace the use of chariots back into the Hyksos period. Does that mean that the 12th Dynasty could build pyramids but not make wheels? Are we to assume, all they could do was drag goods or use camels, which are also not represented in 12th dynasty art? That sounds nonsensical, doesn't it. Red Sea crossing visualization We believe in this case the absence of direct evidence is not proof they didn't exist before the Hyksos/ Amalekite period. The further back in time one goes, the less perishable goods are found. Once well working models have been designed, they could be used for hundreds of years that way. The 4, 6 and 8 spokes in chariot wheels could have been produced during all this time. Why, should they use 3, 5, or 7 spokes in earlier times? No, such odd spoked wheels would be quite a bit harder to produce.

Another possibility is that, the Gulf of Aqaba at the crossing site was apparently explored to some extent down to 200 feet depth. That is quite close to shore. The deeper region, let's say about half way across, what may be found there? What does the Bible say?

"And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left. And the Egyptians pursued, and went in after them to the midst of the sea, even all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. And it came to pass, that in the morning watch the Lord looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and troubled the host of the Egyptians, and took off their chariot wheels, that they drave them heavily ... And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the sea, that the waters may come again ... and the sea returned to his strength when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled against it; and the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. And the waters returned and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and all the host of Pharaoh ... there remained not so much as one of them. ... and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore." Exodus 14:22-30
View of the Arabian Mount Sinai (left peak) range. If the current depth of the top grade of the land bridge between the Sinai and the Arabian side approximates the depth ca. 3450 years ago, the water was in the middle about ½ km deep. A wall of water on the right and left crashing down upon the Egyptian army must have had the devastating force of a tsunami or worse. As the highlighted text shows, the sheer weight of the water would have destroyed anything in its path and caused a swirling cauldron since the sea crashed down on them from both sides and swept any loose parts away. While any heavy parts sank into the swirling sand, a good number of the bodies would float ashore. The scene as described, underscores the obvious, that the force of the water was cataclysmic and no object in its path stood a chance to remain intact. While portions of this land bridge may have looked driveable to the Egyptians, further away from shore must have been rocks and corrals which the Lord used to `take off' the wheels. Finding, what were judged to be 18th dynasty chariot wheels, if that is their true period of manufacture, on this ridge, this writer finds it difficult to see that they are those of the chariots of the pharaoh of the Exodus but must have accumulated there at later times during quieter water conditions.

Nuweiba Beach experienced no doubt quite a bit of erosion and saw in succeeding centuries many Egyptian vessels transporting all kinds of merchandise to where ever there was a market. We know Solomon purchased horses and chariots from Egypt. They could reach Ezion Geber quite easily from there. Can we assume that perhaps over centuries a few vessels loaded with wheels sank just offshore? If so, that could also account for 18th dynasty wheels at the site. In another scenario, worn out wheels could have just been thrown in the water too. What we suggest is, that the sampling and more exact dating may, as yet, not be enough to come to a conclusion.

Thanks for your comments. If anyone among our readers would like to comment on this, please do so very briefly in the guestbook. We will contact serious participants and provide an e-mail address for lengthier comments.


The locations mentioned after the point were the Israelites crossed the parted Gulf of Aqaba are from here on out all located in today's Saudi Arabia. Nuweiba Beach Their next major stop was at Mount Sinai, today's blackened, as if scorched, top of `Jebel el Lawz' [050] which exhibits many rock formations and archaeological features which could allow for its identity as Mt. Sinai.

In our modern days, visitors to Nuweiba Beach noticed this ancient pillar attributed to King Solomon with later writing on it in Hebrew, Greek and Syrian in memory of the great miracle of the crossing of the sea. Once the locals realized that people could read the memorial writing, they removed the pillar and today it is no longer present.

The Geological Features at Nuweiba Beach

As this depth chart shows, the submarine `landbridge' is today about 800 feet, ca. ½ mile deep. That doesn't mean it was that deep in the days of Moses. View of the measured land bridge Since the distance to the Saudi side is ca. 7 miles, that would make the incline just a little less than 9 degrees over a distance of 3.5 miles, assuming that the deepest part was in the middle between Sinai and Arabia and the angle smooth. However it appears that the deepest point is closer to the Arabian side. If the majority of Pharaoh's army drowned closer to the Arabian side, and depending how wide the `landbridge' was, many remains, in time, would probably have been swept into the very deep channels of Aqaba, especially if tectonic action caused any underwater landslides on the `landbridge'. But such factors depend also on the geological features of the `landbridge' none of which are known to us at this time.
Rock assemblages in the Jebel al Lawz Sinai massif Mount Jebel el Lawz/Sinai Valley view





The Hyksos - Amalekites

After the Exodus the Hyksos/Amalekites set themselves up in Egypt as the ruling class after they had overran the country and started a period of destructions and constructions in a land whose army and pharaoh had died in an effort to force the fleeing Israelites back to their slave duties in Egypt. It was a time of much confusion and lack of records of any kind (except scarabs) in Egypt itself. While we shall not present the evidence in this particular paper since that is presented elsewhere on this website, we just wanted to point out that the evidence from secular sources is meager indeed and probably always will remain so, but our revision of the illustrious 18th Dynasty and its contemporaries throughout the region is a forceful testimony to the fact that modern historians have put up a false historical background to the entire regional history. The biblical account of the Exodus is an absolutely trustworthy account whose memory was being repeated over and over again to the people. Jebel El Lawz `The Mountain of the Law' It lacks the fanciful, often ludicrous conventions of real legendary stories and makes a mockery of today's historians who have this myopia of accepting the Hebrew scriptures known to us as the Bible. Once an erroneous chronology has started to assign periods to its artifacts and is being used as a measuring tool for the ancient past, it becomes an institutionalized systematic, erroneous historical account propagating itself despite their best efforts to be accurate. The Pillar of Solomon before its removal

Many theories and/or scenarios have been forged trying to explain `Elohim', `Yahweh' and the God (or as some have it gods) of Israel. We believe one can look at these views perhaps in 2 ways:

a) the Old Testament books portray a biased account of God which has some aspects of Canaanite origin,
b) the real God was a more complex Godhead arrangement and people misconstrued and worshipped their own biased imaginations - not following the blueprint so to speak God had intended for them. According to this view the purer religion is the one God wanted advanced not that religion which followed sinful paths. But people soon misunderstood. It is a mistake to measure Israel's intended purer faith by pagan, corrupted concepts of God and gods.Red line: Israel's route out of Egypt to the Arabian Sinai; Yellow line: Hyksos-Amalekites coming from region of Mecca toward the tip of Aqaba to Egypt; Encounter with Israel at Sinai. Above it all is the Creator God, Yahweh, who is to be worshipped by faith alone not bound to figures of stone, wood or metal. Among all the information: biblical as well as historical, we are to try and discern the pure God and how he worked for men and women throughout the ages. Is it like seeing the roses among all the thorns or is it like, starting with a corrupt mind, only thistles and brambles can be seen? The problem is with our mind, our thinking, our sinfulness.
Red line: Israel's route out of Egypt to the Arabian Sinai. After the demise of the Egyptian army in the Red Sea, Israel could migrate at a slower pace. Leaving the Arabian side of the shore of the Red Sea, Israel arrived at Marah, then came to Elim, the Wilderness of Sin and from there to Rephidim, where they fought against the Amalekites, just before they got to Mt. Sinai. We understand that the valley of the battle between Amalek and Israel was located some 30 miles distance from Jebel el Lawz for Israel moved around this region for a length of time before the event of the proclamation of the Law of God from the mount.. These distances from one location to the other may have been shorter and not in a direct, straight line to Mt. Sinai - after all, this was Moses backyard for 40 years as a shepherd.
Yellow line: Hyksos-Amalekites probably fleeing or migrating out of the region of Mecca from the after effects of the disasters of the Ten Plagues in Egypt (which probably affected a larger region) and having heard of the conditions in Egypt decided to invade and take over the country. To do so, they had to march toward the tip of Aqaba and from there to Egypt [70].At the top of Mt. Jebel el Lawz God led Israel a shorter route through the Red Sea of Aqaba toward the Arabian Mt. Horeb/Sinai, where they had an encounter with the fleeing Amalekite/Hyksos on their way to around the Gulf of Aqaba to Egypt. It was Josephus who had information which led him to think that the Hyksos were from Arabia: "... the first syllable Hyc, according to the sacred dialect denotes a king, as is Sos, a Shepherd ... and of these is compounded Hycsos: but some say that these people were Arabians." [Josephus, Against Apion, Book I, Sec. 14.]

While a cloud by day and a pillar of fire at night watched over Israel on their sojourn, they received their supply of water from a rock near their camp. When they left the camp, the water dried up and the rock which followed them flowed with water in their next camp, this is the message we find: "... I want you to remember this: our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea ... all drank .... from the spiritual rock that was following them. ..." 1.Cor. 10:1-4. But one time, as they pitched their camp, no water flowed anywhere. We read: "As the community had no water, they held a council against Moses and Aaron." Numbers 20:2. After 40 years (Deut. 1:3) in the desert with all those who rebelled after the return of the spies having died, Israel was to go up through Ar and the (Dead Sea?) coast of Moab, to the west of the Ammonites up to the River Arnon (Deut. 2:24) toward Jericho. - Israel had arrived at the border of the Promised Land. At the foot of Mt. Jebel el Lawz There was no need for the miraculous water to which they had so matter of fact gotten used to. But they complained.

Therefore, Israel had no lack of water and food when they faithfully followed the guidance of the Lord. Manna, a divine gift, was their daily food for those 40 years. Like they did not have to carry goat skins filled with water, they did not have to carry bags of food when traveling. Their time was that at the end of the 12th Dynasty in Egypt. The Amalekites just about settling themselves in the acropolises at the Nile after disengaging themselves from fighting Israel at Jebel al Lawz and walking in a sweeping bow toward the Mediterranean region of the River of Egypt and from there West toward the Nile Delta region.

Something to ponder: This account of Israel leaving the land of their servitude represents a logical sequence which explains satisfactorily how the Arabians/ Hyksos/ Amalekites could meet Israel at Mt. Sinai [90]. If Mt. Sinai was the traditional Mt. Sinai of the Egyptian penisula, why would they have gone there and risk a battle with Israel for relatively meager winnings? At the same time this scenario explains how Mecca and Medina became holy places. We conclude then that Velikovsky was correct in considering the territory of Mecca and Medina to have been a `Kadeshbarnea' where some of the Israelites might have spent some time while the rest of Israel settled further north for 40 years. Since the Amalekites had evacuated Mecca, perhaps on hearing about the state of affairs in Egypt and intending to take over the weakened country, it was probably relatively safe to explore the area. It was Donald Redford who pointed out that the Hyksos, our Amalekites, had no prior cultural roots in Egypt since they destroyed those constructions which probably offended them. [100] We conclude that there was more than one location bearing that name of `Kadeshbarnea'.

In conclusion we would like to remind our readers that from ca. the time after the Exodus to the time of Saul and David, references to contemporary Egypt are not found in scripture. A check in a concordance shows that all references to Egypt in the books of Joshua, Judges and 1.Samuel are geographical references or look back on what the Egyptians did to Israel before or during the Exodus itself. This represents the biblical time span between ca. 1445 to 1023 BC, the latter year being the time when King Saul helped the Egyptians to vanquish the Amalekites.

Conversely, while there is no clue to economical contact with Egypt during this long time span, there are multiple references to Amalek or the Amalekites, of course not situating them to have governed Egypt but coming from that direction (Avaris) and repeatedly attacking locations in Palestine. Starting with Deuteronomy 25:17, where Moses reminds Israel to remember what the Amalekites did to them, there are about seven references in the book of Judges to Amalek or the Amalekites and some seventeen references to the same people in the Book of 1.Samuel. These texts talk about current affairs at the time.

The above may show that Egypt, during this time, was not governed by an economically and industrially thriving succession of Egyptian kings as we also point out Here!


What happened at Sinai? - The Significance of Sinai

God led His people, whom He calls "the church in the wilderness . . ." (Acts 7:38) out of Egypt. The beginning essence of what happened at Sinai is well put by this verse,

"And the Lord said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there: and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them." Exodus 24:12.
We read here of `tables', `law' and `commandments' - all three are steps God gave to Moses which teach of Him. Moses was commanded of God to come up into the mount, where the Lord would give him a law and commandments written by God on tables of stone. [See covenant explained] Moses was to take these commandments down from the mountain and teach them to the people. They were to be placed in the holy ark of the tabernacle and to be the center of Israel's worship.

But what happened really? Moses was up on the mountain for a long time. The Lord gave him some other instructions (explanations of these commands), and he was there 40 days and nights. Then we read,

"And Moses turned, and went down from the mount, and the two tables of the testimony were in his hand: the tables were written on both their sides; on the one side and on the other were they written. And the tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tables. And when Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said unto Moses, There is a noise of war in the camp." Exodus 32:15-17.

If you will read the preceding verses and the 9th chapter of Deuteronomy along with this, you will find that while Moses was gone during those 40 days, people had entirely turned around, gone back on their promises, and fallen into idolatry. The Book of Exodus tells us that when God spoke the commandments, the people heard His voice and promised to keep them forever. Then God called Moses up into the mountain to give him a written copy which was to be the standard of all their life, but while he was gone, the people went back on their public promise with a public apostasy. And Aaron made a big collection of jewelry, not for foreign mission - he did not collect it to be used in the service of the true God who stood up on the mount right before them - but the women brought in their earrings and metal looking glasses (mirrors), and they were melted down and made into an image of the Egyptian sacred bull, an Apis like bull, called here a calf. And they began to worship that heathen idol which they had known in Egypt, and they danced around it with the lascivious dances of pagan worship. While Moses was coming down from the mount with the holy law of God in his hands, the people were breaking the very first commandment of the law which they had heard God speak to them just over a month before - "Thou shalt have no other gods before Me." They were breaking the second commandment also - "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image." They broke all these commandments right there. They were bowing down to an idol and breaking them all. It was a nation publicly defying God with those flagrant sins.

What happened? Let us go back to Exodus 32. When Moses and Joshua came down from the mount, Joshua heard what sounded to him like the noise of war in the camp. But to Moses it sounded not like the noise of some who had achieved (mastered) something, or of crying for being overcome. It sounded to him like singing. . . . The people were singing pagan songs while worshipping the golden calf.

From all that gold they had managed to make a small golden calf. And Moses took it, burned it in the fire and ground it to powder, and spread it over some water and made the people of Israel drink the water, Ex. 32:19,20.

What did he do? How can you grind up gold into powder? The old gold miners out here in California could do that too. They made gold dust. Gold always goes to the bottom in water. But there is a way to make an emulsion of gold and water. You burn the gold just right until it is melted. Then you agitate it violently, grind it into fine powder and mix it with water; and many times it will make an emulsion. Someone in the United States did that one time, and the emulsion looked exactly like blood. Possibly that is what they drank.

Moses had the tables of stone with the words of God written on them, the divine law. But what really caused the breaking of the Law of God on this day?

Moses and Joshua saw them dancing around the golden calf. Lets read something,

"And the Lord said unto me, Arise, get thee down quickly from hence; for thy people which thou hast brought forth out of Egypt have corrupted themselves; they are quickly turned aside out of the way which I commanded them; they have made them a molten image." Deuteronomy 9:12.

And the Lord said to Moses, "Let Me smite them, let Me blot out their name." Deuteronomy 9:14. But Moses prayed for them. He pleaded, "Lord, remember Thy name among the nations." And the mount burned with fire (God was still present), displaying of the wrath of God. Moses then, in shameful anger for his people, cast the broken law and break the tablets on the rocks below. He tells Israel then of his fasting for a long time before God for their sins. He was remorseful, thinking may be he didn't pastor them right. But the anger of the Lord was then turned away from Israel because Moses had interceded for God's chosen people, like Jesus does. So Moses was a picture of what Jesus would do when He came.

So what was it then that really broke the law? Was it Moses throwing them publicly onto the rocks?

What really broke the Tables of the Law of God were the sins of the people. Had Israel not sinned, this would not have happened.

But the Law of God was only written on tables of stone. The people had not written God's law into their hearts. They had not yet learned to really love the Lord - even though he led them out from slavery - hard labour. They were still children in comprehension what it means to be redeemed from affliction and sin. They suffered for their mistake because they were not ignorant of the real presence of God, an event none of us has ever seen. It was a gospel to them, or should have been. They could have spent the 40 days memorizing God's law and thus writing it into their hearts. The men to their wives and the wives to their children. The Decalogue was to be the basis of the eternal covenant, Hebr. 8:10. Instead they thought back on Egypt. They could have sought and prayed, `God, show us more of Thy grace and goodness.' They had no wants. Not really. Did they really want to live in those crowded workers villages of Egypt again? Was that better than in a tent? Hey, all campers. You rather live in a dark mud house or in a tent?

Yes, sin was right at the door step of their hearts. - I once read of a lady who was worried about her spiritual condition; she couldn't understand how God could forgive her sins. An old pastor told her to read Isaiah 53. He told her, when she came to the 5th verse to substitute the first person singular pronoun for the plural form, and then, when she got through reading the chapter, to see if she could understand then how God could forgive her sins. "But He was wounded for my transgressions, He was bruised for my iniquities: the chastisement of my peace was upon Him ..." Then she stopped, and a wonderful light came into her eyes as she read, "... and with His stripes I am healed."

That is it! When Jesus died of a broken heart, it was the sins of the world that killed Him. Is that not true? Does the Bible not say that in 1.John 2:2 that Jesus died for the sins of the whole world? Yes, it does.

Our sins, those of each one of us, which broke the heart of God.

And Jesus died that death from which there is no resurrection so that we don't have to die that death.

After Moses broke the tables of the law on which God Himself had written His law, Moses picked up the broken pieces, measured them and made new tables and God's finger wrote on them once more His eternal law, Deuteronomy 10:1-5.

Each one of us needs to come to the Rock, Jesus, to have our hearts broken at His feet and see what great salvation He gives us. Redemption from certain death. The death that hangs over all who choose not to want to be part of God's kingdom. But God says, `Why do you want to die?'

There is no reason for choosing that option. There is nothing this world can give that transcends what God has in store for those who really love Him.



Notes and References

[010] Comment: While work in brick is mentioned in particular that does not rule out that the Israelites also worked in rock and stone as may be indicated by the phrase "... in all manner of service ..." The latest opinions based on electron microscope studies of pyramid material from three sources is interpreted as a type of concrete for at least some of the stone material found in the great pyramids. [M.W. Barsoum, A. Ganguly, G. Hug (2006) "Microstructural Evidence of Reconstituted Limestone Blocks in the Great Pyramids of Egypt", Journal of the American Ceramic Society 89(12), 3788–3796.]
[012] Some see in the Bedouin figures of the tomb of Khnum-Hotep at Beni Hassan a representative group of the Israelites. That may be so only in a very general way in that desert travelers had characteristic appearances probably over many centuries. See J. Hoffmeier, Out of Egypt in BAR, Jan, 2007, p. 30-41.
[015] How the faint echoes of the names of the 12 tribes of Israel left their mark in Egypt can best be seen by names such as Abu Roash/Reuben, Zayet el Aryan/Zebulon, Saqqara/Issachar, Dashur/Dan-Gad-Asher and Lisht/Naphthali, Exodus 1:7.
[020] Samuel Sharpe, `The Early History of Egypt', London, 1836, p. 13.
[025] During their lengthy stay in Egypt, from ca. the 30th birthday of Joseph to the 80th year of Moses, the Israelites left pottery signs of their presence in the land of their sojourn. For more on this click Here!
[030] Israel traveled day and night until to the place of the parting of the sea, "And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night." Ex. 13:21. For more see with appropriate caution `http://www.wyattmuseum.com/red-sea-crossing.htm'.
[032] For a full page satelite color image of the Sinai peninsula showing also quite well Nuweiba Beach see BAR (`Biblical Archaeology Review'), July/August 1984, p. 56.
Other archaeologists take a view which they consider to be more cautious in the eyes of their peers, and look for the `Sea of Reeds' in the eastern Delta region where anciently swamps and canals were located. To us this view seems to ignore the description of wilderness found in the Book of Exodus. The path toward Gaza, the region where the Philistines lived, does not match the description found in the Bible. Moses was told to not travel through that area. In addition let us remember that Mt. Horeb/Sinai was were Moses hid from Pharaoh for 40 years. It fits hardly the northern desert fringe of the Sinai from the Nile Delta's region of Avaris to Gaza. We believe the Exodus was a much bolder undertaking of a people needing to get completely out of reach of Egypt's might and we believe that the land bridge at Nuweiba makes that location almost without question the true spot for the parting of the water.
Furthermore, we believe that Paul knew what he was talking about when he spoke of Mt. Sinai in Arabia. It is the same Arabia for Moses', Paul's and our time. Any Arab occupation or even presence in that land would have been rather sporadic and of inconsequential short duration.
Another beach, the Merkhah Bay south of Abu Zeneimeh' (Zenima), is shown and referenced in W.F. Albright, `Exploring in Sinai with the University of California African Expedition' in BASOR, Feb 1948, p. 5-(10)-20. This beach is located on the Sinai side of the Gulf of Suez a few miles north of where the Wadi Feiran leaves the coast.
We believe the PBS movie, `Walking the Bible', knows only the traditional account of the route of the Exodus.
See also Alberto Siliotti, Guide to the Exploration of the Sinai, White Star Publishers, 2001; This book presents numerous photos of the Sinai's famous and beautiful sites, with too much on Gebel Musa, the traditional Mt. Sinai, and not enough on Nuweiba Beach, the site of the parting of the sea as presented here, no doubt because to consider Nuweiba as the point where the sea parted is quite new due to the apparent circumstance that no one, or not many, knew about the underwater land bridge.
Nuweiba beach far view [036] We believe that Mount Sinia in Arabia was in Saudi Arabia on the basis that during Old and Middle Kingdom (12th dynasty) times the Sinai Peninsula was prospected for its resources by the Egyptians. It was mostly their backyard. It was their source of turquoise, copper and many other minerals. In Sinai, the Israelites would probably not have been able to live in peace from Egyptian raids for 40 years, especially if one espouses the conventional scenario of this time belonging to the 18th Dynasty. These considerations, therefore, are strong reasons to realize that the Hyksos/ Amalekites began to rule over much of Egypt soon after their war with Israel in the region of Mt. Jebel al Lawz/ Sinai in Arabia.
[040] Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, Bk. II, ch. XV, Sec. 3.
[050] We are informed that the Arabic word `lawz' means almonds, the `Mountain of Almonds'. We are not supposing that the `Mountain of the Law' is a translation of `Jebel el Lawz' but rather taken from Moses account. This `Almond' mountain may also help to understand the `rod of Aaron' that budded.
[070] Hence their Semitic origin according to scholarly views. See Nina Jidejian, Tyre through the Ages, Beirut, 1969, p. 14, referencing T. Save-Soderbergh, `The Hyksos Rule in Egypt' in JEA, XXXVII, 1951, p. 53-71.
[090] Obviously the Amalekites must have come from a highly populated area. For them to get to the traditional Mt. Sinai they would have had to wonder through the desolate, dry Sinai, just to do what? Find and fight Israel?
[100] Donald Redford, `Egypt, Canaan and Israel in Ancient Times', Princeton, 1992, p. 102. (Emphasis ours)


Crawl out of this tomb Submenu
The Crossing of the Red Sea Bible Study

By being baptized, that is immersed in water, the believer is saying good-bye to the old life of sin, which by faith is surrendered to the cross of Christ. When the believer is raised out of the waters of baptism, this act signifies the resurrection of the believer to a new life in Christ. That is why baptism in the New Testament is always by immersion. This will be our study.

1. What human response, besides believing, is essential to salvation?

Answer: Baptism is the believer's confession of his faith-obedience to Christ and Him crucified. True Christianity is participating in the truth as it is in Christ. This means we identify ourselves with the life, death, and resurrection of Christ.

"And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned." Mark 15:15,16.
______________
2. In what three names should a believer be baptized?

Answer: All three names of the Godhead are involved in the salvation of mankind. God the Father chairs the plan of salvation, Christ is the Savior of the world, and the Holy Spirit is the active agent in the experience of salvation.

"And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, [even] unto the end of the world. Amen." Matth. 28:18-20.
______________
3. Who is the one who really baptizes us into Christ?

Answer: Believers are baptized into the body of Christ by the Holy Spirit. The expression "made to drink into one Spirit" means we have experienced the new birth and are now born from above. Through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, we receive the life of Christ and have become one with Him (see 1.Cor. 12:12,27).

"For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit." . . . "Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular." 1.Cor. 12:12,13,27.
______________
4. What does Paul say to us if we have not experienced the new birth?

Answer: Only when we have experienced the new birth and have the Spirit of Christ dwelling in us are we truly Christians and stand justified by faith.

"But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." Rom. 8:9.
______________
5. What does it mean to be baptized into Christ?

Answer: To "put on Christ" means identifying yourself with Christ, as if He is you and you are Christ. This is what Christ meant when He told His disciples that they are to abide in Him and He in them (see John 15:4).

"For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ." . . . "Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. " Gal. 3:27; Jh. 15:4.
______________
6. What should every baptized Christian confess?

Answer: True baptism says, "Not I, but Christ." Every Christian must confess with Paul, "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who lives, but Christ lives in me." This is what it means to walk in the Spirit (see Gal. 2:20, 5:16).

"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." . . . "This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh." Gal. 2:20, 5:16.
______________
7. As Christians, who should be controlling our lives?

Answer: Before conversion, we had only one life, the life of the sinful nature. But now that we have surrendered that life to the cross of Christ, we should allow the new life of the Spirit to control us. This process we must repeat daily.

"And if Christ [be] in you, the body [is] dead because of sin; but the Spirit [is] life because of righteousness." Romans 8:10.
______________
8. In what sense are believers baptized into Christ?

Answer: When the phrase "baptized into Christ" is used in the Bible, it is not referring to the act of baptism but to its experience. When we are baptized into Christ, we are also baptized into His death. His death becomes our death (to sin).

"Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?" Rom. 6:3.
______________
9. How should believers who are baptized into Christ walk?

Answer: In this world we begin with life and end with death. Through the gospel we experience the very opposite. We begin with death to our old life of sin and in exchange receive the eternal life of Christ.

"Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life." Rom. 6:4.
______________
10. What will be our experience if we identify with Christ's death?

Answer: Our union with Christ by baptism is as two branches being grafted together so that they become one. His death and resurrection become the heritage of all believers.

"For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection." Rom. 6:5.
______________
11. What is destroyed or done away with when one is baptized into Christ?

Answer: The original text actually says: ". . . that the body of sin might be `deprived of its power' or `rendered inoperative'." Through the new birth experience, we receive a life that is able to subdue the old life of sin. This is what makes holy living possible.

"Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with [him], that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin." Rom. 6:6.
______________
12. What are we freed from when we die with Christ in baptizm?

Answer: The actual word used is "justified" which also means freed or acquitted. The law of God condemns sinners to death (see Rom. 6:23). The moment we identify ourselves with the death of Christ by faith and baptism, the law no longer condemns us. Now we are free from the condemnation of the law (see Rom. 8:1). This is what gives us peace with God (see Rom. 5:1).

"For he that is dead is freed from sin." Rom. 6:7.
______________
13. What is the ultimate hope of those who have been baptized into Christ?

Answer: If we choose to die with Christ by faith and baptism, we have the hope of the resurrection. Christ has conquered the grave and His resurrection now becomes the blessed hope of the believer (see Phil. 3:20,21).

"Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him." Rom. 6:8.
______________
14. Who is the source of our resurrection to the new life in Christ?

Answer: Our part in salvation is faith, from the beginning to end (see Rom. 1:17). God does the operation. The moment we believe in Christ, God sends the Holy Spirit to dwell in us and we live in His power.

"Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with [him] through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead." Col. 2:12.
______________
15. What is one of the blessings we receive when we die with Christ?

Answer: God is just in forgiving all our sins because we died in Christ. That death paid the wages of our sin (see Rom. 3:24-26). To be forgiven of all our sins is one of the great privileges we receive when we are baptized into Christ.

"And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses." Col. 2:13.
______________
16. What experience of the Jews does Paul use as a model of salvation?

Answer: Paul is using the exodus of the Jews from Egypt to Canaan as a type of salvation. The crossing of the Red Sea is a type of baptism. Moses symbolized Christ; therefore, Egypt symbolized the world. Pharaoh symbolized Satan, and Canaan symbolized the kingdom of heaven.

"Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; And did all eat the same spiritual meat; And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ." 1.Cor. 10:1-4.
______________
17. Why did many of the Jews of the Exodus die in the wilderness?

Answer: Although the Jews had physically crossed the Red Sea, having been delivered from their slavery in Egypt, and were now heading for the Promised Land, the hearts of many of them were still in Egypt. Their act of baptism in crossing the Red Sea was therefore not genuine. In the same way, Paul is saying that the act of baptism does not save unless it is a heart response to the gospel.

"But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness." 1.Cor. 10:5.
Another example of Scripture's use of the Exodus as a type of baptism is found in the story of Joshua (Joshua 4:1-9). "And . . . the sons of Israel ... took up 12 stones from the middle of the Jordan, just as the Lord spoke to Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Israel; and they carried them over with them to the lodging place, and put them down there.
Then Joshua set up 12 stones in the middle of the Jordan at the place where the feet of the priests who carried the Ark of the Covenant were standing, and they are there to this day." (Josh. 4:8,9).
Those 12 stones represented the church or congregation. The sinful life of Egypt, which the Jews had brought with them, could not be taken into Canaan; it had to be buried in the Jordan. Only the new resurrected life, which God offers us in Christ, can enter heaven. Crossing the Jordan River represents true baptism.
18. What event does Peter use to describe our salvation by baptism?

Answer: The ark which Noah built represents Christ. Only the 8 people who entered in were saved when the flood came. In the same way, only those who enter into Christ by faith and baptism will be saved when this wicked world is destroyed by fire (see 2.Thess. 1:7-10). Baptism does not change our sinful natures but changes our (individual) status from condemnation unto death to justification unto life.

"For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. The like figure whereunto [even] baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ." 1.Peter 3:18-21.
______________
19. Why does Paul glory in the cross of Christ?

Answer: The three basic drives that control worldly people are "the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life" (1.Jh. 2:16).
Through the cross of Christ, a believer has said good-bye to all three (see Gal. 5:24). It is not the act of baptism, but our union with Christ crucified, buried, and resurrected, symbolized by baptism, that saves us, In this, we glory!

"But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world." Gal. 6:14.
______________
20. On hearing the gospel, what request did the Ethiopian eunuch make?

Answer: This Ethiopian, a Jew by religion, had come to celebrate the Passover feast in Jerusalem. On his way back, he was reading the book of Isaiah when Philip approached him. The Ethiopian requested Philip to join him and explain whom the prophet Isaiah was talking about. Philip took this opportunity to preach Christ and Him crucified. The Ethiopian's heart was convicted and as a result, the first Gentile was baptized into the Christian church.

"And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him." Acts 8:36-38.
______________
21. Would you like to make a similar request and have a pastor or church member visit you?

The Question to act upon: To obey the gospel from the heart means you are changing your spiritual citizenship from the world under Satan to God's kingdom under Christ. Is it your desire to publicly confess this by being baptized?

"Amen"
Did this Bible Study answer questions for you? Was it presented in clarity? Do you have more questions? Please let us know.
Bible Topics Crawl out of this tomb Submenu