S. Michael Houdmann Supporter Got Questions Ministries

The Hebrew word translated "red" in some 23 Old Testament verses dealing with the Exodus is the Hebrew word suph whose root is thought to be of Egyptian origin and meant a reed, especially the papy...

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July 01 2013 • 1 response • Vote Up • Share • Report

Ed Besselman Supporter

It's only with an English version of the Bible can you even ask that question. Red? Or Reed?... (like a scribe missed a letter).

If you look at the real reason behind the question - it is - Skeptics say that the Israelites crossed the Reed Sea in 6 inches of water - (so there really was not a miracle with the parting of the Red Sea).

If you believe that the Israelites crossed the Reed Sea in 6 inches of water, you have to believe a greater miracle than what is given in the Bible (about crossing the Red Sea)... You have to answer 'How did God drown all those Egyptians in 6 inches of water'?

January 18 2018 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

John Appelt Supporter

In Hebrew the sea is called “Yam Suph.” “Yam” unquestionably means “sea,” but “Suph” is uncertain. The Septuagint has “Eruthros Thalassa” which is Greek for “Red Sea,” and the New Testament follows the Greek form in Acts 7:36 and Hebrews 11:29. The sea may have gotten its name from the reddish hint from seasonal flowering of bacteria or from the reddish landscape around the sea. It is plausible it is connected to the people of Edom (“red”), I Kings 9:26. Some languages use colors for compass directions so that the Black Sea is north, Yellow Sea east, White Sea, that is, the Mediterranean Sea west, and Red Sea south. However, the Hebrew word “Suph” has never been the color red.

Sometimes “Yam Suph” is translated “Sea of Reeds,” which some believe was a lake north of the Red Sea. One problem is that the marshy lake is quite shallow, difficult to drown the Egyptian army. Furthermore, the descriptions of the Sea in the Bible point to the present sea called the Red Sea. The translation “Sea of Reeds” may not be correct. In Exodus 2:3, 5 and Isaiah 19:6 “suph” appears by itself but the word is probably borrowed from the Egyptian “twf,” meaning “bulrush” or “papyrus reeds.” These are references in or about Egypt. But the designation of the Red Sea must be Hebrew as “Yam” is definitely Hebrew.

When not related to the sea, “suph,” or related word “soph,” often deal with the “end” as in II Chronicles 20:16, Ecclesiastes 3:11, 7:2, 12:13, Isaiah 66:17, Amos 3:15, Daniel 2:44, 4:11, 6:26, 7:26, 28. According to these examples, “Yam Suph” could be translated the “Sea of the End” or “Sea of the Ends.” The Red Sea has two ends, extensions, or extremities. They are the Gulf of Suez, the western arm, and the Gulf of Aqaba, the eastern arm.

Geographically, the Bible points to the Red Sea as where the Israelites crossed. They were led on the Wilderness of the Sea Road, Exodus 13:17-18, which went past the two tips of the Red Sea, Numbers 21:4. They had gotten to the Suez portion of the Sea when God had Israel backtracking going south, becoming hemmed in by the mountains to the west and south, the Egyptian army descending from the north and the Red Sea to the east, Exodus 13:20-14:9. Near here is the Ras el-‘Adabiya, a peninsula that juts out into the gulf and where the sea narrows, about 4 miles wide. It is about 26 feet deep with a smooth sandy floor which explains how those on foot crossed easily but the chariot wheels became stuck and then the waters collapsed upon the Egyptian army. One historian noted that natives living at the Suez branch had traditions of the sea dividing once as given in the Bible.

Israel then emerged into the Sinai Peninsula. The path and the different stops mentioned in Exodus 15:22-23, Numbers 33:6-15, indicate they had crossed the Suez part of the Red Sea.

October 23 2022 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report