“And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and Yahweh drove the sea with a strong east wind all the night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters parted; and the Israelites went by land among the sea."
Bible Ex. 21, 22
Biblical miracle
According to the Bible, in the XIII century BC, the founder of the religion of Judaism, Moses, who managed to unite all the Israeli tribes into a single people, received the command of God to bring his fellow tribesmen out of Egypt. By that time, the Israelites had been under the rule of Pharaoh Ramses II for decades, a talented and cruel military leader who desperately sought to restore the former greatness of Egypt by conquering Asia. To this end, he invaded the land of Goshen, located in the Nile Delta, where Israeli tribes lived for several centuries, and built the cities of Pithom and Raamses on the occupied territory. which became a strategic foothold for the pharaoh in the decisive thrust to the east.
None of the ancient Egyptian texts mentions "Egyptian executions", although the chroniclers at that time carefully recorded any event. Perhaps the events described in the Bible are just a myth
From that time began the long period of Israeli slavery and persecution by the Egyptian authorities against a large but scattered people, colorfully described in the Old Testament.
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The route taken by Moses
After the numerous miracles shown by Moses, which angered the hard-hearted Pharaoh, and the "executions of the Egyptians", 45 thousand Israelites with cattle and household belongings left Egypt. Having learned about the flight of the conquered people, Ramses II, together with his army, set off in pursuit of the Israelites and overtook them near the coast of the Red (Red) Sea. Learning about the approach of his pursuers, Moses "cut" the water with the help of a magic wand. On the exposed bottom, the Israelis safely crossed to the opposite bank. When the pharaoh's chariots drove into the passage formed between the seething walls of water, Moses stretched out his hands - and in the blink of an eye the sea closed over the heads of the enemies.
The vagaries of the weather
For thousands of years, the event described in the Bible for the followers of Judaism, and later for Christians, was another proof of the boundless power of the Almighty, who performed a miracle. However, in the second half of the 20th century, English climatologists, drawing attention to the biblical description of the wind that blew all night over the Red Sea, suggested that it was a powerful air flow that could affect the water level and thereby contribute to the successful crossing of the Israelites.
Already in this century, scientists of the St. Petersburg branch of the Institute of Oceanology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, developing the hypothesis of their English colleagues, stated that the passage of Moses described in the Bible could have taken place in the Gulf of Suez, which separates Africa from the Sinai Peninsula. It is in this place, at a depth of seven meters, that a transverse reef is located, which in biblical times was most likely four meters higher. Mathematical calculations of the situation described in the Old Testament showed that in the event of a coincidence of such natural and climatic phenomena as low tide and a hurricane wind, the speed of which should be at least 35-40 meters per second, the water level in the reef area can significantly decrease within a few hours … As a result, there is a real possibility of draining a reef shallow, up to four kilometers wide, on which the Israelis could have passed. The heavy chariots of the Egyptians overtaking them got bogged down in a muddy bottom, after which a powerful return wave of the tide struck them, engulfing the invincible army.
Historians' mistake
At the same time, American scientists Carl Drews and Weining Hanh, without questioning the reality of the events that took place 33 centuries ago in the Middle East, believe that even a very strong east wind was not able to drain such a vast area of deep-sea water. Moreover, they boldly suggested that numerous Bible scholars and Israeli historians were mistaken in mistaking the Old Testament Red Sea for the Red Sea. Translated from Church Slavonic, as well as from English, the Red Sea, or Red Sea, has a different name - the Sea of Reeds. The Hebrew name of the sea, which the Israelites crossed - Yam-Suf, is also translated. However, reeds never grew in the Red Sea area.
Proceeding from this, American scientists proposed to the scientific community to discuss the hypothesis that Moses made his famous crossing not through the sea, but through the lake, which in Old Testament times was located near the ancient city of Tanis in the eastern part of the Nile delta. Now this lake is called Menzala, and its shores are teeming with thickets of reeds.
Careful analysis of ancient maps and archaeological data, as well as computer modeling allowed the researchers to argue that a similar miracle with the Israeli people could have happened precisely on the shallow and reed-overgrown Lake Menzala, whose waters could well have been dispersed by a strong and prolonged wind. The research results were published, provoking mixed reactions from readers and a whole series of new, sometimes the most fantastic, explanations for the biblical miracle.
Incredible hypotheses
So, in particular, the Israeli geologist Yehudi Menachem in 2005 stated that the exposure of the bottom of the Red Sea during its crossing by Moses was associated with a strong earthquake that occurred on the Arabian Peninsula in the second half of the 13th century BC. The earthquake caused a rapid outflow of water into the Gulf of Aden, and then turned into a devastating tsunami, which, most likely, destroyed the army of the pharaoh.
The American orientalist David Warren, after analyzing the Chinese chronicles of that period, suggested that the legendary water withdrawal was caused by the gravitational forces of a large comet then seen in the sky. He is echoed by the English researcher Charles Masterson, who in 2009 stated that the biblical miracle was caused … by the planet Nibiru, which approached the Earth at a minimum distance that day. According to Masterson, the famous "Egyptian executions" that fell on the subjects of Ramses II are also explained by the negative impact of the space guest.
Lawrence Alma-Tadema. "Death of Pharaoh's firstborn." 1872 year
No less curious is the version of the British UFO Society, according to the members of which, the exposure of the bottom was caused by the impact of … an alien ship. This hypothesis, according to ufologists. finds confirmation in a number of ancient Egyptian sources, it is also reflected in the late Roman chronicles, where a fiery chariot is mentioned that overshadowed the path from the sky to ships heading to the ports of the Red Sea. The Bible indirectly mentions this, indicating that the road to Moses on his dangerous journey was illuminated by a bright cloud, allegedly sent by the god Yahweh.
Today, many are questioning the reality of the events described in the biblical sources. And this is not surprising, because it is difficult for a modern person to imagine how limitless and inexplicable the influence of higher powers can be, the existence of which was well known to people of previous historical eras.