Reader Garry Matheny writes:
Dear Sir
There is a new book out THE QUEST FOR THE LOCATION OF THE RED SEA CROSSING, (Nov. 2009, Amazon.com, ISBN-13: 978-1597552455) it has a new route for the Exodus and a new crossing place of the Red Sea. It is based on the belief that Josephus was right and Israel left from the west side of the Nile. All the places names have been found; (1) Succoth = Sokar (Saqqara) (2) Etham = Atium. (3) Migdol = Great Pyramid. (4) Ball-zephon = Sphinx. (5) Pi-hahiroth = Pē hah·khē·roth (pronunciation of Strong’s) Kheraha, Pi-Khiroti, Al-Qāhira. (6) The Sea = Flooded Delta from the seventh plague.
Respectfully ....
Our Reply:
Dear Garry
Thanks for your information.
However, for one - as we have argued in articles and posts – the Bible does not say that the Israelites crossed the Red Sea, but yam suf, “Sea of Reeds”, which is not appropriate in the case of the Red Sea.
The Israelites are clearly the MBI (Middle Bronze I) people, this being – as we maintain – the very starting point for any biblically-based archaeology.
The best accounts of the MBI are to be found in the writings of Dr. Rudolph Cohen and Professor Emmanuel Anati, who, we believe, has provided the most expert and compelling route for the Exodus.
Best regards,
Damien Mackey.
Garry now has this You Tube video out on the sea crossing of the Exodus.
The Bible, Sphinx and Great Pyramid.wmv
Both the Sphinx and the Great Pyramid are in the Bible.
00:30:00
Added on 29/12/2011
The Sphinx and the Great Pyramid are easily the most recognizable landmarks in Egypt, the Great Pyramid being the only one of the original Seven Wonders of the World to have survived. But today we are told they are not found in the Bible? Many Bible personages were in Egypt: Abraham, Sarah, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Aaron, Joshua, the children of Israel, the Prophet Jeremiah, even Jesus as a baby was there with Mary and Joseph, and the Bible names many places in Egypt, but somehow forgot its greatest landmarks?
Presently there are nine different routes for the Exodus and Red Sea (yam suf) crossing and over a dozen Mountains that claim the title of Mount Sinai. With each route placing the encampments of Israel in different locations. Is something wrong? Yes: they started from the wrong location! They have Israel on the east side of the Nile Delta, but Artapanus (second century B.C.), Philo (20 B.C. - 50 A.D.), Josephus (first century A.D.), Eusebius (263–339 A.D.), and John of Nikiu (seventh century A.D.) all have Moses or the children of Israel on the west side of the Nile, with the confrontation between Moses and the king of Egypt at Memphis, again on the west side of the Nile.
The Exodus route has some 40 plus encampments on it (Numbers 33), usually only one identification for each is given, but the sea crossing is marked with four sites, Baal-zephon, Migdol, Pi-hahirot and the sea itself, with Israel encamped between them. It would seem God wanted to mark this site well and yet today we have a lot of question marks as to these four place names, and because each of the nine routes for the Exodus have a different sea crossing, they also have these place names in different locations!
I am saying that “Baal-zephon” is the Sphinx and “Migdol” is the Great Pyramid, “Pi-hahiroth” is the ancient Egyptian site of Khereha, also spelled Kher-ahau (vowels are conjecture), about six miles east from the Sphinx. (Strong's Concordance gives the pronunciation of Pi-hahiroth as “pē hah•khē•roth’”, the “pē hah” is Hebrew and the last part is believed to be Egyptian, see Gesenius’s Lexicon) And “the sea” is a flooded delta from the 7th plague, which besides the hail it also rained (Exodus 9:24-34) Not only was this “very grievous” but the worst storm that had ever hit Egypt and it was in “all” the land. All the land of Egypt included unto the city of Syene (Ezekiel 29:10), some 600 miles south of Memphis.
Before dams were built across the Nile, the Delta flooded every year, from the beginning of July till the end of November, with its highest month in September. The average inundation was twenty-four feet above the height of the Nile. Herodotus (Greek historian, 440 B.C.) tells us that at the time of the annual flood, not only was the Delta a sea, and ships crossed over the Delta instead of in the channels, but that this sea also came close to the pyramids. “[T]hey pass by water not now by the channels of the river but over the midst of the plain: for example, as one sails up from Naucratis to Memphis the passage is then close by the pyramids, whereas the usual passage is not the same...” (Herodotus, History II)
The name Migdol is found seven times in the Bible and Strong’s #4024, has it as “Migdol = tower”. It is translated “tower” three times in the Old Testament; the other four times it is left untranslated and simply given as “Migdol”, as it is found in the Exodus account (Exodus 14:2 and Numbers 33:7). Some believe Migdol could have been a fort, but the Bible told us Israel was avoiding war. The ancient Egyptian name for a pyramid was “Mir”; it was the Greeks who first started calling them “pyramids”, hundreds of years after the time of the Exodus. So the Hebrew Bible is not going to use the Greek name to describe them. For the Jews it was Migdol, a tower, they were simply calling it by what it looked like to them, as we would say the Eiffel Tower. Pliny the elder (Roman author, first century A.D.), when talking about the pyramids of Egypt, said the same, on the “Libyan side, are the towers [Latin = Turres] known as the Pyramids.”
Baal-zephon, Strong’s #1168 gives for “Baal” = Lord, and #6828 “zephon” = north, or “Lord of the north”. Baal-zephon was the god of the Assyrians and Phoenicians, and was worshiped in Canaan. The children of Israel were familiar with Baal-zephon from their time in Canaan before they came to Egypt, and one would expect Israel to use a name they were familiar with. Just as the Egyptian god Amun was called by the Greeks, Zeus and by the Romans, Jupiter, so the Sphinx was called Baal-zephon by the Jews.
The name Baal-zephon is given three times in the Bible and all three are at the sea crossing. Josephus did not say that Baal-zephon was a city, but only called it a “place.” “[O]n the third day they came to a place called Beelzephon....” The book Legends of the Jews said it was a place with both an Idol and a temple “the great sanctuary of Baal-zephon was situated” Jewish sources say that Baal-zephon was an idol, “before the idol Zephon,” (*Targum Pseudo-Jonathan, Exodus 14), “idol of Zephon,” (Targum Onkelos, Exodus 14). The Sphinx and its temple are located next to each other. (*The Targums follow the first five books of the Bible but add some Jewish traditions)
Jewish sources make an interesting comment about this idol. “Of set purpose God had left Baalzephon uninjured, alone of all the Egyptian idols. He wanted the Egyptian people to think that this idol was possessed of exceeding might, which it exercised to prevent the Israelites from journeying on.” (The Legends of the Jews, III, Pharaoh Pursues the Hebrews, also Targum Pseudo-Jonathan, Exodus XIV). As quoted above these Jewish sources said the reason Baal-zephon was still standing was to give Pharaoh a false hope in this idol. The Sphinx would be the only possibility for Baal-zephon, for all believe it was standing when the children of Israel left Egypt! What other idol could it have been? These Jewish sources just quoted said Baal-zephon was the only one left. It was and is still there; we are left with very few possibilities to pick from. It could not have been some carry-around idol that was set back up, but of necessity it would have to have been very large, for it was used as a landmark for a nation.
The Uraeus, or cobra, was the symbol of lower or northern Egypt (Please keep in mind the geography of Egypt. “Lower” Egypt is in the north, and “upper” Egypt is in the south. The Nile flows from south to the north, the opposite of the Mississippi river.) Pharaohs wore both the vulture and the cobra on their headdress to show they were the rulers of the two lands, or Northern and Southern Egypt. On the upper forehead of the Sphinx is clearly seen the Uraeus or cobra and it is made from the stone of the Sphinx itself. A two-foot limestone piece of the Sphinx’s cobra is now in the British Museum #1204. Since the Sphinx only had the cobra (Uraeus), as a permanent part of it, and therefore was a symbol of Northern Egypt, it was a clear sign to all the Egyptians that the Great Sphinx was “Lord of the north”, and to the Hebrews, this was Baal-zephon!
“And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground:” (Exodus 14:22) But the Egyptians may have found mud as it “poured” rain at that time, Psalm 77:17-20. Did Israel find anything else? The Targum Pseudo-Jonathan (Exodus 16) said when Israel crossed the Red Sea they found fruits and vegetables there! “Israel walked upon the land in the midst of the sea, and there did spring up sweet fountains and trees yielding food and verdure and ripe fruits,(even) on the ground of the sea.” What are these doing here? I could understand fresh water springs (“sweet fountains”) in the Delta, but “trees,” “verdure” and “ripe fruit”? The Nile had flooded early (7th plague), and the crops that would have been brought in, were instead, left on the vine and covered by the flood. If the average inundation was twenty-four feet above the height of the Nile, there are going to be hundreds of square miles of crop land covered, only in this case, the crops will still be there under water.
The Red Sea crossing is the climax of Israel’s flight out of Egypt, and the greatest miracle of the Hebrew Scriptures. The only other event that is referred to more in the Bible is the resurrection of Christ. Now with what has been said, can you imagine a more dramatic place to work the greatest miracle in the Hebrew Scriptures? Israel did not sneak out of Egypt, but the Bible says, “the childrenof Israel went out with an high hand.” (Exodus 14:8) Israel left rejoicing as their bondage was over and they were going to a promised land. At that moment in History, Egypt was the super power of the world, with the most wealth and greatest land marks on Earth. I believe God wanted to show the world that He was not impressed with their accomplishments and so purposely saves the miracle of the Red Sea crossing for the area they most prided themselves in. Right in front of Egypt’s greatest symbols, the Nile, the Sphinx and the Great Pyramid, with Israel fleeing from Pharaoh, and the Egyptian troops going down into the midst of the sea.
If you have ever seen a picture of the pyramids lit up at night, it is quite impressive. Even with the rugged stones on the outside of the pyramids, pictures can still be projected up on to their sides, and the Sphinx lit up in different colors. But 3500 years ago the Pyramids would have had all their smooth facing stones on them and the Sphinx proudly crouched beside them. And on the night (Exodus 14:21-27, Exodus 13:21) of the Red Sea crossing there was a thunder and lightning show (Psalm 77:17-20) that would have lit them up. It would not be hard to imagine the wind blowing the sand through the air and the loud thunder claps, with the Giza plateau lighting up from God’s “arrows.” But I would not have expected the Egyptians to do what they did. Egypt saw her slaves getting away and foolishly put her trust in the Sphinx, and then descending into the Red Sea, on a path that was made for someone else. By the time of the morning watch the last of Israel’s enemies had drowned. The thunder and lightning would then have subsided, as would the wind, but each remaining lightning strike would still light up Migdol and Baal-zephon. However these proud landmarks could not help the Egyptians, but did what rocks have always done.....(If you want salvation from the “lake of fire”, then put your trust in Jesus Christ the Son of God. “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” John 14:6)
In the morning’s light Israel saw her enemies dead on the sea shore, and all fear was gone. It was at this moment that they fully realized their redemption and filled with amazement and emotion, they then belted out the victor’s song. Perhaps this song might have even been heard across the waters to where Migdol and Baal-zephon sat. People are looking for the “mysteries and secrets” of the Great Pyramid and the Sphinx. Well, here are some secrets; the Great Pyramid was Migdol and the Sphinx was Baal-zephon of the Bible, and they witnessed the greatest miracle of the Old Testament and could do nothing to help those who had put their trust in them.
Presently there are nine different routes for the Exodus and Red Sea (yam suf) crossing and over a dozen Mountains that claim the title of Mount Sinai. With each route placing the encampments of Israel in different locations. Is something wrong? Yes: they started from the wrong location! They have Israel on the east side of the Nile Delta, but Artapanus (second century B.C.), Philo (20 B.C. - 50 A.D.), Josephus (first century A.D.), Eusebius (263–339 A.D.), and John of Nikiu (seventh century A.D.) all have Moses or the children of Israel on the west side of the Nile, with the confrontation between Moses and the king of Egypt at Memphis, again on the west side of the Nile.
The Exodus route has some 40 plus encampments on it (Numbers 33), usually only one identification for each is given, but the sea crossing is marked with four sites, Baal-zephon, Migdol, Pi-hahirot and the sea itself, with Israel encamped between them. It would seem God wanted to mark this site well and yet today we have a lot of question marks as to these four place names, and because each of the nine routes for the Exodus have a different sea crossing, they also have these place names in different locations!
I am saying that “Baal-zephon” is the Sphinx and “Migdol” is the Great Pyramid, “Pi-hahiroth” is the ancient Egyptian site of Khereha, also spelled Kher-ahau (vowels are conjecture), about six miles east from the Sphinx. (Strong's Concordance gives the pronunciation of Pi-hahiroth as “pē hah•khē•roth’”, the “pē hah” is Hebrew and the last part is believed to be Egyptian, see Gesenius’s Lexicon) And “the sea” is a flooded delta from the 7th plague, which besides the hail it also rained (Exodus 9:24-34) Not only was this “very grievous” but the worst storm that had ever hit Egypt and it was in “all” the land. All the land of Egypt included unto the city of Syene (Ezekiel 29:10), some 600 miles south of Memphis.
Before dams were built across the Nile, the Delta flooded every year, from the beginning of July till the end of November, with its highest month in September. The average inundation was twenty-four feet above the height of the Nile. Herodotus (Greek historian, 440 B.C.) tells us that at the time of the annual flood, not only was the Delta a sea, and ships crossed over the Delta instead of in the channels, but that this sea also came close to the pyramids. “[T]hey pass by water not now by the channels of the river but over the midst of the plain: for example, as one sails up from Naucratis to Memphis the passage is then close by the pyramids, whereas the usual passage is not the same...” (Herodotus, History II)
The name Migdol is found seven times in the Bible and Strong’s #4024, has it as “Migdol = tower”. It is translated “tower” three times in the Old Testament; the other four times it is left untranslated and simply given as “Migdol”, as it is found in the Exodus account (Exodus 14:2 and Numbers 33:7). Some believe Migdol could have been a fort, but the Bible told us Israel was avoiding war. The ancient Egyptian name for a pyramid was “Mir”; it was the Greeks who first started calling them “pyramids”, hundreds of years after the time of the Exodus. So the Hebrew Bible is not going to use the Greek name to describe them. For the Jews it was Migdol, a tower, they were simply calling it by what it looked like to them, as we would say the Eiffel Tower. Pliny the elder (Roman author, first century A.D.), when talking about the pyramids of Egypt, said the same, on the “Libyan side, are the towers [Latin = Turres] known as the Pyramids.”
Baal-zephon, Strong’s #1168 gives for “Baal” = Lord, and #6828 “zephon” = north, or “Lord of the north”. Baal-zephon was the god of the Assyrians and Phoenicians, and was worshiped in Canaan. The children of Israel were familiar with Baal-zephon from their time in Canaan before they came to Egypt, and one would expect Israel to use a name they were familiar with. Just as the Egyptian god Amun was called by the Greeks, Zeus and by the Romans, Jupiter, so the Sphinx was called Baal-zephon by the Jews.
The name Baal-zephon is given three times in the Bible and all three are at the sea crossing. Josephus did not say that Baal-zephon was a city, but only called it a “place.” “[O]n the third day they came to a place called Beelzephon....” The book Legends of the Jews said it was a place with both an Idol and a temple “the great sanctuary of Baal-zephon was situated” Jewish sources say that Baal-zephon was an idol, “before the idol Zephon,” (*Targum Pseudo-Jonathan, Exodus 14), “idol of Zephon,” (Targum Onkelos, Exodus 14). The Sphinx and its temple are located next to each other. (*The Targums follow the first five books of the Bible but add some Jewish traditions)
Jewish sources make an interesting comment about this idol. “Of set purpose God had left Baalzephon uninjured, alone of all the Egyptian idols. He wanted the Egyptian people to think that this idol was possessed of exceeding might, which it exercised to prevent the Israelites from journeying on.” (The Legends of the Jews, III, Pharaoh Pursues the Hebrews, also Targum Pseudo-Jonathan, Exodus XIV). As quoted above these Jewish sources said the reason Baal-zephon was still standing was to give Pharaoh a false hope in this idol. The Sphinx would be the only possibility for Baal-zephon, for all believe it was standing when the children of Israel left Egypt! What other idol could it have been? These Jewish sources just quoted said Baal-zephon was the only one left. It was and is still there; we are left with very few possibilities to pick from. It could not have been some carry-around idol that was set back up, but of necessity it would have to have been very large, for it was used as a landmark for a nation.
The Uraeus, or cobra, was the symbol of lower or northern Egypt (Please keep in mind the geography of Egypt. “Lower” Egypt is in the north, and “upper” Egypt is in the south. The Nile flows from south to the north, the opposite of the Mississippi river.) Pharaohs wore both the vulture and the cobra on their headdress to show they were the rulers of the two lands, or Northern and Southern Egypt. On the upper forehead of the Sphinx is clearly seen the Uraeus or cobra and it is made from the stone of the Sphinx itself. A two-foot limestone piece of the Sphinx’s cobra is now in the British Museum #1204. Since the Sphinx only had the cobra (Uraeus), as a permanent part of it, and therefore was a symbol of Northern Egypt, it was a clear sign to all the Egyptians that the Great Sphinx was “Lord of the north”, and to the Hebrews, this was Baal-zephon!
“And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground:” (Exodus 14:22) But the Egyptians may have found mud as it “poured” rain at that time, Psalm 77:17-20. Did Israel find anything else? The Targum Pseudo-Jonathan (Exodus 16) said when Israel crossed the Red Sea they found fruits and vegetables there! “Israel walked upon the land in the midst of the sea, and there did spring up sweet fountains and trees yielding food and verdure and ripe fruits,(even) on the ground of the sea.” What are these doing here? I could understand fresh water springs (“sweet fountains”) in the Delta, but “trees,” “verdure” and “ripe fruit”? The Nile had flooded early (7th plague), and the crops that would have been brought in, were instead, left on the vine and covered by the flood. If the average inundation was twenty-four feet above the height of the Nile, there are going to be hundreds of square miles of crop land covered, only in this case, the crops will still be there under water.
The Red Sea crossing is the climax of Israel’s flight out of Egypt, and the greatest miracle of the Hebrew Scriptures. The only other event that is referred to more in the Bible is the resurrection of Christ. Now with what has been said, can you imagine a more dramatic place to work the greatest miracle in the Hebrew Scriptures? Israel did not sneak out of Egypt, but the Bible says, “the childrenof Israel went out with an high hand.” (Exodus 14:8) Israel left rejoicing as their bondage was over and they were going to a promised land. At that moment in History, Egypt was the super power of the world, with the most wealth and greatest land marks on Earth. I believe God wanted to show the world that He was not impressed with their accomplishments and so purposely saves the miracle of the Red Sea crossing for the area they most prided themselves in. Right in front of Egypt’s greatest symbols, the Nile, the Sphinx and the Great Pyramid, with Israel fleeing from Pharaoh, and the Egyptian troops going down into the midst of the sea.
If you have ever seen a picture of the pyramids lit up at night, it is quite impressive. Even with the rugged stones on the outside of the pyramids, pictures can still be projected up on to their sides, and the Sphinx lit up in different colors. But 3500 years ago the Pyramids would have had all their smooth facing stones on them and the Sphinx proudly crouched beside them. And on the night (Exodus 14:21-27, Exodus 13:21) of the Red Sea crossing there was a thunder and lightning show (Psalm 77:17-20) that would have lit them up. It would not be hard to imagine the wind blowing the sand through the air and the loud thunder claps, with the Giza plateau lighting up from God’s “arrows.” But I would not have expected the Egyptians to do what they did. Egypt saw her slaves getting away and foolishly put her trust in the Sphinx, and then descending into the Red Sea, on a path that was made for someone else. By the time of the morning watch the last of Israel’s enemies had drowned. The thunder and lightning would then have subsided, as would the wind, but each remaining lightning strike would still light up Migdol and Baal-zephon. However these proud landmarks could not help the Egyptians, but did what rocks have always done.....(If you want salvation from the “lake of fire”, then put your trust in Jesus Christ the Son of God. “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” John 14:6)
In the morning’s light Israel saw her enemies dead on the sea shore, and all fear was gone. It was at this moment that they fully realized their redemption and filled with amazement and emotion, they then belted out the victor’s song. Perhaps this song might have even been heard across the waters to where Migdol and Baal-zephon sat. People are looking for the “mysteries and secrets” of the Great Pyramid and the Sphinx. Well, here are some secrets; the Great Pyramid was Migdol and the Sphinx was Baal-zephon of the Bible, and they witnessed the greatest miracle of the Old Testament and could do nothing to help those who had put their trust in them.
For more on this see = www.Sinai-Horeb.com - SINAI/HOREB
EXODUS
THE ROUTE
SEA CROSSING
GOD’S MOUNTAIN
370 pages
Dimensions: 5.5 x 8.5
Fully illustrated with 50 maps and pictures.
Publisher: Xulon Press (May 26, 2011)
http://www.xulonpress.com/bookstore/bookdetail.php?PB_ISBN=9781613792971
ISBN-10: 1613792972
ISBN-13: 978-1613792971
G. M. Matheny is a fresh voice in biblical archaeology. Thoroughly researched, thoroughly fascinating . . . EXODUS: The Route, Sea Crossing, God's Mountain challenges the old theories about the route by which Moses led the children of Israel out of Egypt. You'll be amused and enlightened as Matheny takes down some of the sacred cows of earlier authors, as effectively as Moses destroyed the golden calf in the wilderness.
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