Recent scientific research suggests that natural phenomena may explain the biblical account of Moses parting the Red Sea. Scientists propose that severe weather conditions, including a strong wind, and geological circumstances could have caused the phenomenon.
Professor Nathan Paldor, an ocean scientist from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, conducted calculations indicating that wind could have played a role in the event. "When a strong wind blows southward from the head of the Gulf for about one day, the water is pushed seawards, thus exposing the bottom that was previously underwater," said Professor Paldor. His calculations suggest that a wind blowing between 65 and 70 kilometers per hour (40–45 miles per hour) from the northwest could have made a path for the Israelites. This wind, blowing for an entire night, could push the waters back by up to a mile, dropping the sea level by about three meters and allowing the Israelites to cross on an underwater ridge.
Computer modeling supports this theory; winds of 62 miles per hour (100 kilometers per hour) blowing from the right direction could open a three-mile-wide (five-kilometer) channel through the water, allowing the Israelites to walk through on dry ground.
One major criticism of this theory is that the Bible specifies that the wind comes from the east, while these calculations specify a wind from the northwest. Professor Paldor addresses this by pointing out that the original Hebrew description is "ruach kadim," which can be translated as "northeast." In his research, he maintains that "ruach kadim" can mean either northeasterly or southeasterly.
The biblical account is detailed in the Book of Exodus, chapter 14. The Bible states: "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."
Some scientists believe the mention of a strong wind is key to understanding how Moses crossed the Red Sea. Near the northern end of the Red Sea, strong tides regularly leave sections of the seabed completely exposed. Dr. Bruce Parker, former chief scientist of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, notes that Moses might have known about the tides in this part of the sea. "Moses had lived in the nearby wilderness in his early years, and he knew where caravans crossed the Red Sea at low tide. He knew the night sky and the ancient methods of predicting the tide, based on where the moon was overhead and how full it was," wrote Dr. Parker in an article for the Wall Street Journal.
Historical accounts support the possibility of crossing the Red Sea on foot. In 1789, Napoleon Bonaparte led a small group of soldiers on horseback across the Gulf of Suez during low tide, but his men were almost swept away by sudden tides. Louis-Antoine Fauvelet de Bourrienne, Napoleon's private secretary, wrote: "On the morning of the 28th we crossed the Red Sea dry shod." Crossing the Gulf of Suez with dry feet is not only plausible but has happened before in recorded history.
Researchers point to another location—the northern part of the Gulf of Suez—where the depth averages 20 to 30 meters and the bottom is relatively flat, making a crossing far more plausible. With its deep, irregular bottom, crossing the Gulf of Aqaba on foot would be almost impossible, even with divine intervention. Modern archaeological research suggests that the crossing more likely occurred near the northern end of the Gulf of Suez, near the site of the modern-day Suez Canal.
Alternative theories suggest that the crossing actually took place in the Nile Delta, at a place called the Lake of Tannis, located near modern-day Lake Manzala. In Hebrew, the Israelites are described as crossing "yam suf," which should be translated as the "Reed Sea," a reference to the reeds that grow densely in the brackish waters of the Nile Delta.
Carl Drews, a scientist who has studied this phenomenon, maintains that the Lake of Tannis provides a hydraulic mechanism for the waters to divide, allowing the Israelites to walk with waters as a wall on their left and right, as the Bible describes. His modeling shows that the Lake of Tannis could have been blown dry by a strong wind from the east. Such a wind blowing for eight hours would be enough to push the waters of the Lake of Tannis back up the Pelusiac Nile. This would allow the Israelites to make the 1.8 to 2.5 mile (three to four kilometer) journey from the Sethrum peninsula in Egypt to an area known as Kedua on the other side.
"When an earthquake triggers a tsunami, the trough of the approaching wave pulls the water away from the shore, making the tide appear to go out many hundreds of meters further than usual," said Drews, according to the Daily Mail. However, he maintains that a tsunami wouldn't produce a channel through the sea with water on both sides. "Modern reports of tsunamis indicate that the in-and-out period of the surge is less than one hour. This wave period would not match the narrative in Exodus 14, which indicates that Moses and the Israelites had several hours in which to complete their crossing," Drews said.
The best explanation for the biblical account is that Moses led the Israelites across the Nile Delta during a gale after wind setdown cleared a land bridge. In a process called "wind setdown," strong and persistent winds over a shallow body of water can expose dry land by piling up water upwind. As the water pushed back up the Nile, it would split around the peninsula, creating a three-mile-wide (five-kilometer) land bridge that would remain open for four hours.
Some believe that the Pharaoh's men lived on the tideless Nile River and would have been unaware of the dangers, leading them to be caught out when the tide came rushing back in. The biblical account describes the Israelites walking through the parted sea on dry ground, with the water forming walls on either side of them. The fleeing Israelites found themselves trapped between the advancing troops of Pharaoh on one side and the Red Sea on the other. Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and God caused a strong east wind to blow all night, dividing the sea and making the seabed dry ground.
The article was written with the assistance of a news analysis system.