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Updated: 2018.04.29
Customarily, we investigate matters in order of who, what, when, where, why and how. In the case of disputed history, however, when an event happened constrains who could have been involved, which can often determine many of the remaining aspects. So the when window must be ascertained first. We can only answer these questions in the order that we can resolve these historical mysteries that have eluded and misdirected so many for so long.
Because reliable historical specifics corroborating the Tōr•âhꞋ account of the éÀöÄéàÈä are precious limited, however, we must start from the best available information. In this case, the most reliable information complementing Tōr•âhꞋ is recent 14C dendrochronological dating. For the unprecedented "10 Plagues", this means dating their most likely, correspondingly-unprecedented, cause: the unprecedented in all of recorded human history, VEI=7 apocalyptic volcano eruption of – literally – Biblical proportions, on the island of Καλλίστη. Ergo, we must start with when.
| When? | Where? | Who? | What & How? | Why? |
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stela + Ipuwer's Plagues Papyrus + Khat-shepset erased fm Karnak wall 250x174.jpg "Paroh Khat-shepset (BCE1504-1483) erased from wall of Karnak temple-palace") |
 Khat-shepset erased fm Karnak wall 650x452.jpg "Click to enlarge"){kind=small} Par•ohꞋ Khat-shepset erased from the incised-in-stone Egyptian history on the walls of the temple-palace of Karnak, in the ancient capital of Upper Egypt, Waset. |
Contrary to Old School Arts-degreed pseudo-scientist historians and archeologists, biased with an agenda of fear of ridicule from their peers for "belief in a fairy tale" (their view of the Bible) – the scientific score on the "Exodus" is:
evidence against the "Exodus" having occurred = 0,
evidence for the "Exodus" having occurred = considerable (below) and mounting.
Encouragingly, a recent infusion of hard science is upgrading the fields of history and archeology, supplemented by a number of related sciences and technologies.
Still, some scholars with impressive and professional-sounding positions, yet lacking a modicum foundation in computational logic and science, make elementary school mistakes. Gary Greenberg, President of the Institute of History, Archaeology and Education, insinuates, based on the fallacy of lack of evidence, "nor is there any evidence from Egyptian records that the firstborn child of each Egyptian family died on one night." However, his assertion, illogically based on assumed silence, is contradicted by the non-silence – buttressing the implied custom underlying the well-known account of the A•qeid•âhꞋ – of a National Geographic documentary: throughout the ancient Near East, child sacrifice, of both firstborn sons and firstborn animals, from birth to age 3 months, was widely practiced – particularly during spring commemorations!!!
When nothing else saved the ancients and all was lost, this was the ultimate sacrifice, documented multiple times – in addition to the A•qeid•âhꞋ, in Ta•na"khꞋ, to plea to and implore their god.
Significant evidence corroborating the éÀöÄéàÈä includes:
 0350x153.jpg "Dialogue of Ipuwer papyrus, 19Dyn hieratic (rtl)") |
 1600x700.jpg "Click to enlarge"){kind=small} Dialogue of Ipuwer papyrus, 19th Dynasty (began c BCE ), hieratic (rtl). (photo: Rijksmuseum van Oudheden; Leiden, Netherlands) |
Ipuwer 10 Plagues Papyrus – 
Clearly, such an unprecedented cataclysm in Egypt (=, to them, the anger of their elohim, encompassing the entire Mediterranean basin, affecting weather world-wide for more than a year after) never before witnessed in human history, dictated that not only must Par•ohꞋ sacrifice his firstborn son, he must require it of every subject in Egypt. We know that é‑‑ä accomplishes His Will through people. The "Arm of é‑‑ä" that went from house to house throughout Egypt that night was not some supernatural green smoke-ghost, nor a (Tōr•âhꞋ-prohibited) anthropomorphic "Arm." Rather, this "miracle" was accomplished by the soldiers of Par•ohꞋ throughout his kingdom checking every house for blood on their lintel. Decades ago, I was the first in modern times to realize and suggest this.
Some scholars, however, admit a provenance of this copy (in contrast to the undiscovered earlier original) as early as the 18th Dynasty (which began c BCE ). However, this papyrus copy only fixes a terminus ante quem for the Yᵊtzi•âhꞋ.The original would, similarly, only move the terminus ante quem correspondingly earlier; speculated to be late in the 17th Dynasty of the Second Intermediate Period (c BCE ).
Neb-petit-Râ Yah-moses' 10 Plagues Stela – c BCE
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 10 Plagues ("tempest") Stela |
"…the elohim vented their anger. [Then] the elohim [caused] the sky [to rain a plague], with [dark]ness in the condition of the [Underworld], the sky being in a hailstorm.…"
"Then every house, every quarter that they (scil. the storm and rain) reached [… their corpses(?)] floating on the water like skiffs of papyrus outside the temple-palace audience chamber for a period of […] days […] while no torch could be lit in the Two Lands (i.e. Upper & Lower Egypt)."
Although (as correctly published by modern scholars) the "Tempest Stela" was commissioned by the better-known (and later) "Ahmoses I" (not his grandfather Ahmoses), this likely attestation of the "10 Plagues" is written in a 3rd person narrative: "His Majesty" (saw or heard this and that). Regardless whether it's customary for Pharaohs to describe their accomplishments in such 3rd person language, Pharaohs had a belief in a reincarnating divine continuity of self-identity. The stela could, therefore, reflect a chronicling of events witnessed, and told him (the reincarnated Ahmoses), by his patronym grandfather Ahmoses. Consequently, the actual events witnessed by "Ahmoses" in the "Tempest Stela" could be 2 generations before "Ahmoses I".
The Καλλίστη eruption frames the opening of the window in which the Yᵊtzi•âhꞋ occurred, while the description in the "Tempest Stela" of Neb-petit-Râ Yah-moses (incorrectly corrupted to "Ahmoses I") evidences that the event had already occurred; i.e. the closure of that window. Thus, the Yᵊtzi•yâhꞋ occurred on Firstmonth 15, in an early spring – perhaps as long as several years after the Καλλίστη Eruption (in the wake of climatic upheavals and droughts of, literally, Biblical proportions). currently 14C/dendrochronologically dated.
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 What's left of Καλλίστη. The entire center of the island was blown away, leaving this enormous 7½ mile (12 km) diameter lagoon where the center of the island once was. (NASA satellite) |
Καλλίστη Volcano Eruption – Some scholars further associate (as I did) the combination of an unprecedented and unparalleled single erasure of an Egyptian humiliation on a wall of the Karnak temple-palace, with the Ipuwer Papyrus, the •vᵊr•uꞋ of Egyptian records during this period, the Καλλίστη Eruption and the éÀöÄéàÈä – all of which occurred in the same general time frame as the Καλλίστη Eruption! This convergence of world-changing, once-in-the-recorded-history-of-mankind events is too astronomically improbable, to be unrelated "coincidences." (Some geologists have estimated that the Καλλίστη eruption, VEI=7 was at least the second-biggest volcano eruption in the entire, 13 billion year, history of this planet, making the convergence around the same century – along with "strikingly similar witnesses, all in the same general time window, to a supernatural set of 10 miraculous events of similar magnitude" – practically impossible.)
Preceding this cataclysmic blow, we know there were a number of lesser temblors and eruptions at Καλλίστη preceding the cataclysmic event, perhaps for weeks or months, that warned the inhabitants of the island to evacuate. No human skeleton victims of the eruption were found in Akrotiri, as they were in the Pompeii eruption. Moreover, the smoke plume would have been visible in the Nile Delta – feared by the Egyptians as anger of their perceived elohim. These warning temblors and minor eruptions also enabled Moses to plan, prepare and evacuate the •vᵊr•uꞋ before the eruption and resulting tsunami reached the mouth of the Nile Delta, only 2-3 hours after the blast.
The "Mathestimate" The speed of a tsunami depends upon the depths of the water through which it travels, varying from the speed of an airliner in deep water (≈765 kmh / 475 mph) in 4500 m (15,000 ft) of water and slowing in shallow water to that of a fast bicyclist (≈65 kmh / 40 mph) in 30 m (100 ft) of water.
The formula for the velocity of a tsunami is: Velocity = square root of: {the acceleration of gravity (g = 9.8 m/s2 or 32 ft/s2) times the water depth}. E.g., @ 2,000m depth, applicable to most of its route, the tsunami velocity would have been ≈140 m/second ≈500 kmh (≈300 mph).
The distance from Καλλίστη, just north of Crete, to the mouth of the Nile Delta (the environs of Yâm Suph) is 854 km (531 mi).
Depths between Καλλίστη and Yâm Suph in the Nile Delta range from basins around 200m deep to basins exceeding 2000 m.
Ergo, a rough estimate can be derived simply by dividing the distance by the estimated velocity: 854 km (531 mi) ÷ 313 kmh (200 mph) ≈ 2 ¾ hours.
Preceding Tidal Draw-out To give readers a general idea, both the volume and time period of the draw-out preceding a tsunami depend upon the periodicity of the tsunami wave. Depending upon their size, tsunamis may have a periodicity of around 10 minutes. That means the wave could pass under a boat in the open ocean (such a wide swell, perhaps only 1 meter high in the open ocean, almost unnoticed) in about 10 minutes. The preceding draw-out at arrival on shore would be half of the wave's period; in this example, 5 minutes before the tsunami hits. The periodicity and wave height upon making land seem to be widely varying guesses. What is better known is that a sizable chunk of Καλλίστη (≈60 km3, i.e. 15 mi3 DRE
A growing number of temblors and snorts of gas emissions at Καλλίστη before the great blow means that, for a considerable time – perhaps weeks, months or a year or so, Mosh•ëhꞋ could have studied and considered the various after-effects of such an eruption—and, once the glow and ash from a precursor plume was seen in the northwestern sky, it's entirely possible that he had developed some sense of what to expect, and when. However, even if Mosh•ëhꞋ had noticed smaller tsunamis that followed the series of smaller eruptions preceding the great eruption, at best he could have known that, from the time of the flashing, glowing (at night) and smoke (during the day) in the northwestern Egyptian sky, the tsunami would arrive in the Delta about 3-4 hours later. The last signal of the impending arrival of the tsunami would have been a massive recession of water from Yâm Suph.
As it worked out, there was neither enough time for Par•ohꞋ's chariots either to overtake the •vᵊr•uꞋ nor to turn around and escape from the tsunami by the way they had come.
Only beginning in the 21st century CE, 14C /dendrochronological datings for the Santorini (Thera) eruption have emerged to combine with even more recent 14C datings of Egyptian Dynasties, to narrow the search window of the Yᵊtzi•âhꞋ – from still-argued theories that, only a couple of decades ago, were mindlessly spattered across a couple of millennia, to the present corridor of roughly 55 years in the late BCE 16th to early 15th centuries.
Volcanologists have estimated that the Καλλίστη eruption caused both a suffocating cloud of ash which darkened the Mediterranean lands and destroyed the next year's crops world-wide, as well as a tsunami more than 100 m (>350 ft) high – a 32-story wave, which hit the northern coast of Egypt—exactly where, and when (≈3-4 hours later), the éÀöÄéàÈä occurred. Such an ash cloud and tsunami would have set into motion all 10 of the chain of events we now call the 10 Plagues.
The only recent volcano of comparable VEI=7 magnitude was the Mount Tambora eruption in Indonesia in 1815 CE. "The eruption created global climate anomalies in the following years, while 1816 became known as the 'year without a summer' due to the impact on North American and European weather. In the Northern Hemisphere, crops failed and livestock died, resulting in the worst famine of the century."
Realistically, the accounts of this period could only be describing the after-effects of the Καλλίστη eruption.
The convergence of all of these phenomena was itself a miracle of far greater magnitude.
Perhaps the erasure of the events of Par•ohꞋ Khat-shepset, only after a 20 year hiatus and by her own son, Par•ohꞋ Men-kheper Ra Tut-moses 3rd, from the Wall at the temple-palace of Karnak, strongly suggests an unprecedented, catastrophic and blatantly covered-up Egyptian embarrassment – surely regarded by Men-kheper Ra as a damnation and abandonment by their elohim – during the reign of Par•ohꞋ Khat-shepset. This, too, would represent a terminus ante quem, not a terminus post quem.
Recent 14C datings of the Καλλίστη eruption, coupled with the even more recent 14C datings of Egyptian reigns, intimate that the Par•ohꞋ of that time, which probably converged with the éÀöÄéàÈä, was likely no later than the emergence of the New Kingdom with the reign of Neb-petit-Râ Yah-moses (c BCE -); though this is only a terminus ante quem.
These events may instead be coeval with the late Second Intermediate Period/17th Dynasty (ended c BCE ).
According to the Ta•na"khꞋ, Moses was named not by his Hebrew parents, but by an Egyptian Pharaonic Princess who named him with her royal Pharaonic household surname – ???-moses.
The name Moses was Egyptian, not originally Hebrew. The Hebrew rendition derives from the Egyptian, as demonstrated from its paradigm: drawing Moses from the Nile water. This was proof, in the mind of the Egyptian Pharaonic Princess, of her own incarnation fulfilling the Egyptian myth of IꞋsis drawing HōrꞋus from the Nile. -moses is a loan word in Hebrew, borrowed from Egyptian. "Drawn from the water" was not the meaning of the original Egyptian. In the Egyptian language of the Princess who named him, -moses meant "incarnate" or "incarnation" (i.e. "is born). Each member of the royal family was considered to be a "moses" (incarnation) of one of their gods. For example, Tut-moses 3rd's throne name, paralleling a first name, was Men-kheper Râ.
That means Mōsh•ëhꞋ was born during the reign of a ???-moses. The question then reduces to "Which ???-moses?"
Josephus quotes Αἰγυπτιακá, (a work attributed to Manetho) as attesting that Mōsh•ëhꞋ was a contemporary of Par•ohꞋ "Τέθμωσις", and added that he reigned after the Yᵊtzi•âhꞋ for 25 years and 4 months.
Until recently, Arts-degreed humanities archeologist "authorities" relied on Josephus' report, dating the Yᵊtzi•âhꞋ according to the reign of Tut-moses – and the reign of Tut-moses according to their error-prone, primarily pottery-based relative dating.
The introduction of 14C dating is (finally! thankfully!) revolutionizing archeology, energizing a massive swing, away from the former primary reliance on the cultural guesstimating art of humanities, toward scientific method. No one should be surprised that this new information necessitates a rethink in some areas. It had been humanities-guesstimated that the reign of Tut-moses 3rd (14C dated to c BCE ) corresponded with the Καλλίστη eruption; all guesstimated to c BCE 1453.
14C dating shot that assumption down in flames – widening an assumed (!) half-century gap to 1¼ centuries.
As 14C dates began to come in for the Καλλίστη eruption, scholars were forced to adjust to the earlier eruption date, switching from Tut-moses 3rd to the earliest known "moses" namesake at the time: Neb-petit-Râ Yah-moses (corrupted to "Ahmoses 1").
"Ahmoses I" was thought to be, well, "Ahmoses I," the original "Ahmoses." In 2012, however, the French archeological team of Biston-Moulin discovered a stone lintel in the Third Pylon of the temple-palace of Karnak (in Luxor, Egypt) revealing the cartouche of an earlier "Ahmoses" – predecessor of Par•ohꞋ Sen-akht-en-Râ Yah-moses ("Ahmoses I")! Since this "Ahmoses" was the grandfather of "Ahmoses 1", perhaps we should call him "Ahmoses 0"? This earlier "Ahmoses" may enlarge the window of events be extended even earlier to admit his reign (estimated beginning c BCE ) – only about a decade before the 14C dating of the Καλλίστη eruption!.
Little is known about the 17th Dynasty in which Par•ohꞋ Sen-akht-en-Râ Yah-moses reigned. While current historians vacuously allot only 1 year to his reign, so little is known of this era that it seems more credible to simply divide the estimated total number (190) of years in the 17th Dynasty by the estimated number (9) reigns, yielding ≈21 years/reign.
Using this resulting estimated 21 years reign would place Sen-akht-en-Râ Yah-moses as Par•ohꞋ when Καλλίστη erupted!
If we allow that Josephus (and Manetho, for that matter) may have confused the correct ???-moses, then the reign of Par•ohꞋ Sen-akht-en-Râ Yah-moses matches up with the Καλλίστη eruption, suitably framing the Yᵊtzi•âhꞋ.
If we also allow that Par•ohꞋ Neb-petit-Râ Yah-moses ("Ahmoses I") recounted the phenomenal "plagues" witnessed by "His Majesty" – meaning his grandfather, then the "Tempest Stela" also corroborates the other evidence.
Since the dating of the original of the Ipuwer Papyrus is unknown, there is no reason precluding this as additional corroborative evidence.
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It was a matter of timing for Mosh•ëhꞋ to bait Par•ohꞋ ???-moses into sending his chariots from the the ancient capital of Upper Egypt, Waset, north to the Delta of Lower Egypt in which most of the •vᵊr•uꞋ lived, and where Mosh•ëhꞋ and A•ha•ronꞋ had evidently gone to personally take charge of evacuating a large—and the most at risk—contingent east into the ñÄéðÇé from the northern corner of the Delta.
Par•ohꞋ ???-moses' dilettantish tactic seems to have been to geographically corner Moses, personally, in Yâm Suph (the reed marshlands separating the Delta from the Sinai) and destroy him. Only after amateurishly assuming the simple and certain defeat and execution of the formidable adopted-brother, Egyptian-trained, traitor Pharaonic Prince-General Moses, would it have then been reasonable for Par•ohꞋ ???-moses to expect the •vᵊr•uꞋ to despair and serve him again, whether by returning to Egypt in corvée or in Kᵊna•anꞋ.
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 Map: ñÄéðÇé, éÀöÄéàÈä, Ël Arish, äÇø ëÌÇøÀëÌÉí = äÇø ñÄéðÇé, îÄãÀáÌÈø ôÈàøÈï |
Because of the disappearance of many of the landmark place names designated in the Biblical account of the éÀöÄéàÈä, no one today has been able to positively trace the route taken by the Israelis through the ñÄéðÇé. Though there is a monastery at the highest mountain near St. Catherine, äÇø ñÄéðÇé is most likely the southernmost of three candidate mountains in the present day Israeli NëgꞋëv. Archaeologists have been unable to find any physical evidence of the Yᵊhud•imꞋ during the éÀöÄéàÈä.
Using modern-day names, the most likely path for the éÀöÄéàÈä seems to have begun in the area of the Delta, walking eastward to Balluza (12-E) and Rumani (12-E) at the western end of the Bardawil Lagoon, which is on the northern coast of the ñÄéðÇé. They then may have proceeded north to this isthmus, identified as áÇòÇì öÀôÉï, and along the isthmus. The isthmus would have provided a "wall" of water, preventing approach, from either side of the Israelis. The only way to pursue them would have been along the same route they took, the isthmus. The tsunami would certainly have swamped the Egyptian chariots.
The Israelis continued eastward along the coast to El Arish where the quail fall in the autumn. From El Arish, the Israelis turned south and slightly west to an oasis identified with Mâr•âhꞋ (El Murah, perhaps the area near Mt. "Maghara," 1â), where there are still bitter waters today. Their next stop was to the east, at Abu Aweiqila (1á), identified with Eil•imꞋ. From there they traveled southeast to Asmon (Wadi Ain al-Qudeirat, al Quseima, 1á), near ÷ÈãÅùÑ áÇÌøÀðÅòÇ (1-2 á), then southeast again to äÇø ëÌÇøÀëÌÉí (1-2 à-á)—identified with äÇø ñÄéðÇé. äÇø-ùÒÅòÄéø has probably been corrupted (via ancient Hebrew) to the modern äÇø-ùÑÈæÌÇø, located nearby (2à) to the northeast. Modern äÇø çÉãÌÅá (2à)—probably earlier äÇø çÉøÅá, easily confused in Hebrew—is located about 33 km to the northeast. All of these mountains are in the present-day Israeli NëgꞋëv.
Maverick archaeologist Emmanuel Anati identifies éÇí ñåÌó with Bardawil Lagoon on the north shore of the ñÄéðÇé (1â-ã). The drowning of the chariots may have occurred on the (then much wider) isthmus enclosing the lagoon on the north, which Anati identifies as áÇòÇì öÀôÉï.
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| Yâm Suph, at the edge of a Nile tributary. Palms in background indicate dry land. Nile Delta (dark green) and Nile River. Egypt, Mediterranean Sea (dark blue) on the north, Sinai (dark blue: Gulf of Su•?tz on southwest, Gulf of Aqaba on southeast and Red Sea to the south). Papyrus reeds, along the bank of Nile. Great wetland-savanna marshes of papyrus reeds, flooded annually by the Nile (before the Aswan Dam and Suëtz Canal), formed a éÇí ñåÌó (Sea of Papyrus-reeds), forming a natural barrier along much of the northeast side of the Nile Delta. |
Identification of éÇí ñåÌó ("Sea of Reeds") has long been widely and hotly disputed. I suggest that éÇí ñåÌó was the marshy area of reeds on the east side of the northern extremity of today's Su•ëtzꞋ Canal. Somewhere in these marshy reeds, or along the isthmus enclosing the Bardawil Salt-Marsh on the north (see map, 1â-ã), archaeologists should be able to find evidence (if not destroyed by Muslims in the modern digging of the Su•etzꞋ (Suez) Canal, like we've seen in Iraq, Syria and Har ha-BaꞋyit) of Par•ohꞋ's chariots, lost when a storm hit the area.
In Hebrew, a fighting chariot was called a øÆëÆá while the chariot or carriage for transportation was called a îÆøÀëÌÈáÈä. The latter parallels the Egyptian term, mrkbt. Having neither cavalry (knights on horseback) nor armored corps (chariots), the •vᵊr•uꞋ had no military answer to Par•ohꞋ's cavalry and armored corps. Defeating the vastly superior Egyptian forces would require vastly superior strategy.
Update 2003.01.19— The northeast section of the Egyptian Delta comprised great wetland savannas and marshlands that flooded every year, measuring approx. 40 km from north to south—éÇí ñåÌó. While there is another 30 km of dry land from there south to today's Ismailia where many •vᵊr•uꞋ may have crossed, the •vᵊr•uꞋ trapped in the northern section—including the leadership whom Par•ohꞋ so desperately wanted to destroy—would have had to cross éÇí ñåÌó.
The northern area of ñÄéðÇé supports date palm plantations and, toward the eastern part, pomegranates, olives and almonds. Moreover, the annual migration of quails southward from Europe comes ashore in this area near El Arish, falling to the ground in exhaustion after crossing the Mediterranean Sea.
Archaeologist Emanuel Anati suggests that Mâr•âhꞋ (bitter) and Eil•imꞋ (gods), points in the éÀöÄéàÈä journey, are located about 40 kilometers south of El Arish. ÷ÈãÅùÑ áÇÌøÀðÅòÇ is another, 35 km southeast of these. None of the traditional "Mt. Sinai," identifications have any attestation prior to 4th century Christianity.
This ôÌÈøÈùÑÈä immediately following the éÀöÄéàÈä begins áÌÀùÑÇìÌÇç [ {by} Par•ohꞋ of the am]: i.e., "and it became in [Par•ohꞋ's] sending [of the kindred]…"
14.1-2—"Come back and make camp before ôÌÄé äÇçÄéøÉú, between îÄâÀãÌÉì and the sea, before áÇòÇì öÀôÉï
In studying the path of the éÀöÄéàÈä, we must take into account the change in topography since BCE 17th century. As I reported in last month's issue [i.e. ≈1996.01, of our subsequently discontinued monthly newsletter], the Khula Valley in Israel has risen several meters in the last 50 years alone. Part of ancient Alexandria, Mi•tzᵊraꞋyim, on the northern coast, is today out in the Mediterranean Sea underwater. It is being excavated by archaeologist scuba divers.
Referring to the ñÄéðÇé map, as I mentioned in the previous issue, the Yᵊhud•imꞋ lived in the southern part of the Nile Delta, in northeast Mi•tzᵊraꞋyim. (The easternmost edge of the Nile Delta is shown in the map as the pale orange section at the top left, the area north and west of the Gulf of Su•etzꞋ.) Incidentally, the pyramids of Giza, only about 10 km west of modern Cairo at the southern tip of the Delta, were built eons before Yo•seiphꞋ's arrival, and he arrived in Egypt 400 years before the éÀöÄéàÈä! They pyramids date to to the reign of Par•ohꞋ Khufu ("Cheops") circa B.C.E. 2840—365 years before the Ma•bulꞋ, during the time of NoꞋakh!
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 äÇø ñÄéðÇé (äÇø ëÌÇøÀëÌÉí; "Saffron/Senna – Mountain," in the Israeli NëgꞋëv). Note cleft in rock at right of summit. There were 2-3 mountains in the ñÄéðÇé that were traditionally regarded as "Holy Mountains" by all of the peoples – and called "Sinai Mountain." This is the "äÇø ñÄéðÇé". |
Par•ohꞋ ???-moses, however, lived in Upper (south central) Mi•tzᵊraꞋyim on the Nile in his ancient capital of Waset. in the temple-palace of Karnak (el-Karnak), 740 km south of modern Cairo. Mosh•ëhꞋ commuted to the ancient capital of Upper Egypt, Waset, to negotiate with Par•ohꞋ in the embryonic temple-palace of Karnak (completed a couple of centuries later).
Apparently, é‑‑ä wanted Bᵊn•eiꞋ-Yi•sᵊr•â•eilꞋ to burn their bridges behind them so there would be no way back, because He instructed Mosh•ëhꞋ to bring them back to within striking distance of Par•ohꞋ—taunting and baiting Par•ohꞋ to pursue them ("return, and make camp "; 14;1).
Looking at the map, the location of ôÌÄé äÇçÄéøÉú is likely one of the few paths eastward across what is today the Suëtz Canal. The Encyclopedia Judaica map appears to show that the area from present-day Port Said on the Mediterranean southward to El-Qantara (about halfway down to Ismailiya) is marshland (éÇí ñåÌó and the area immediately south of Ismailiya is sand dunes and Great Bitter Lake. That leaves the area from Ismailiya north to El-Qantara and the northern area of éÇí ñåÌó as the primary "gates" from the Delta to the ñÄéðÇé.
 250x177.jpg "Bardawil salt marsh 1914-19 Canterbury Rifles (Victoria Univ Wellington NewZeal)") |
 635x450.jpg "Click to enlarge"){kind=small} Bardawil salt marsh, 1914-19 Canterbury Rifles (Victoria Univ Wellington NewZeal) |
Parts of the Bardawil Lagoon, on the northern coast of ñÄéðÇé, are only ankle deep in the modern photo. Likely, the area became a shallow salt-marsh as the Mediterranean receded to leave a large strip of land on the north side of of the lagoon. Only a small strip remains today. But then, like Alexandria, which is mostly underwater today, during the recession of the Mediterranean, the strip would have been wide enough to accommodate Bᵊn•eiꞋ-Yi•sᵊr•â•eilꞋ, who would then have been protected by Bardawil Lagoon "like a wall on their right" (southern flank) and the Mediterranean Sea "like a wall on their left" (northern flank)—two walls of water – and chariots don't sail.
Then followed, soon after, the opposite reaction: the greatest tsunami the world has ever seen: the wave of water that swallowed up Par•ohꞋ and his armored corps. Par•ohꞋ and his armored corps were caught in the middle: between the tsunami from the north and, on the south, a strip of reed marshland.
Now it becomes clear why not so much as a wheel has been found. The draw-down in the wake of the tsunami would have swept all traces back out into the Mediterranean Sea. If any traces are ever found they could be almost anywhere in the southern Levantine Basin of the Mediterranean Sea or destroyed in the excavation of the Su•etzꞋ Canal.
Since parts of Alexandria are today well out in the Mediterranean, any search for the remnants of Par•ohꞋ' s armored corps should be conducted with scuba gear, probably under meters of mud, in the Mediterranean Sea along the north shore of the eastern Delta and Lake Bardawil.
Goshen, the land where the òÄáÀøÄéí settled, was in lower (northernmost) Mi•tzᵊraꞋyim in the Delta area. (Upper Egypt was southern Egypt.) This also corroborates the likelihood that Bᵊn•eiꞋ-Yi•sᵊr•â•eilꞋ crossed éÇí ñåÌó in the general area to the west of the modern Su•etzꞋ Canal, between today's Port Sa•idꞋ and Ismailiya—much of which was marshland – a éÇí ñåÌó.
Modern routes through this area are principally dictated by topographical considerations most of which, likely, also prevailed in ancient times (though perhaps to a different degree). The map shows five east-west routes through this area, from Ismailiya at the southern end to El Qantara on the north. The middle routes show as smaller roads today. There are only two principal routes, more likely used to move a large number of people, at Lake Timsakh (Timsah; immediately southeast of Ismailiya, 12-E) at the southern end and El Qantara at the northern end.
Probably the marshland is the site where, for half an hour, a tsunami sucked back the water so that the route was sufficiently firm for Bᵊn•eiꞋ-Yi•sᵊr•â•eilꞋ to pass through on terra firma (see 14.29).
Whichever east-west route Bᵊn•eiꞋ-Yi•sᵊr•â•eilꞋ took into the ñÄéðÇé, they soon turned north to Balluza (12-E) and then to the Rumoni (12-E) area. This would have been an ideal location for Mi•tzᵊraꞋyim to establish an "early warning" tower—a îÄâÀãÌÉì—intercepting the major path from (then) Kᵊna•anꞋ approaching Mi•tzᵊraꞋyim. Other considerations also recommend îÄâÀãÌÉì as in the Rumoni area. According to 14.2, Bᵊn•eiꞋ-Yi•sᵊr•â•eilꞋ camped along the coast, north of îÄâÀãÌÉì by áÇòÇì öÀôÉï. Note that scholars identify áÇòÇì öÀôÉï area where I've marked it in Hebrew (áÇòÇì öÀôÉï).
Notice also where the quail migrations fall in the autumn at EI 'Arish, and the route south from there, via what I've marked as the SE fork, down to ÷ÈãÅùÑ áÇÌøÀðÅòÇ (circled, to the right of the date palm plantations).
This is further corroborated by the proximity to îÄãÀáÌÈø ôÈàøÈï and äÇø ëÌÇøÀëÌÉí (also known as "Mt. Sinai") southeast of ÷ÈãÅùÑ áÇÌøÀðÅòÇ. äÇø ëÌÇøÀëÌÉí = äÇø ñÄéðÇé, is in the Israeli NëgꞋëv.
Because òÇæÌÈä was blocked to Bᵊn•eiꞋ-Yi•sᵊr•â•eilꞋ, they couldn't enter Kᵊna•anꞋ directly and had to turn southeast, along the route I've marked to äÇø ëÌÇøÀëÌÉí, to travel southeast from äÇø ëÌÇøÀëÌÉí and cross into today's Ya•rᵊd•einꞋ, south of Yâm ha-MëlꞋakh. This puts äÇø ñÄéðÇé = äÇø ëÌÇøÀëÌÉí directly on their route! And fixes äÇø ñÄéðÇé in the Israeli NëgꞋëv!
One of the least questionable assumptions is that the incident of the quail dropping among the Israelis certainly coincided with the annual autumn migration of quail near presentday El Arish, on the northern shore of the ñÄéðÇé peninsula. After crossing the Mediterranean Sea on their southern migration, the quail are exhausted from the long flight over the water and crash land helplessly upon reaching landfall, too exhausted take to the air again.
This corroborates the references to descriptive placenames like ôÌÄé äÇçÄéøÉú and áÇòÇì öÀôÉï, which combine to suggest that the Israelis fled across the north shore of the ñÄéðÇé to òÇæÌÈä where they were turned back by the specter or the ôÌÀìÄùÑÀúÌÄéí. This provides one, though not the only, scenario which is in harmony with the laws of physics and reason.
The annual autumn bird migrations result in quail falling exhausted at El Arish, on the northern coast of the ñÄéðÇé (see map, 1â) after their long flight over water, exactly as described in Tor•âhꞋ.
 Wadi Ain al-Qudeirat 350x236.jpg "ccc") |
 Wadi Ain al-Qudeirat 768x530.jpg "Click to enlarge"){kind=small} Qadeish Barneia (al Qosima) Wadi Ain al-Qudeirat |
Recognizing that "ãÌÆøÆêÀ àÆøÆõ ôÌÀìÄùÑÀúÌÄéí was nearby" is an important clue to the path of the éÀöÄéàÈä and the location of Yi•sᵊr•â•eilꞋ at that point in it. Nearby to the way through àÆøÆõ ôÌÀìÄùÑÀúÌÄéí means they were in the vicinity of modern el-Arish! They had gone across the northern shore of the ñÄéðÇé and were forced to stop route when they came "near" the ôÌÀìÄùÑÀúÌÄéí. They likely spent the brunt of their 40 years in the north part of the ñÄéðÇé peninsula.
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Migrants Colonizing Lower Egypt's Delta: •vᵊr•uꞋ ("Hebrews") ≡ •pᵊr•u Plus ≡ KhëqᵊqâwꞋ KhâsꞋᵊt (Hyksos) |
| "Moses" |
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The •vᵊr•uꞋ had only an infantry of 600,000 soldiers armed with clubs, maces, wooden spears, slings and probably a small number of compound bows and flint-tipped arrows they had managed to make covertly. It's seems unlikely that there was sufficient time, after acquiring precious metals upon leaving Egypt, to produce bronze swords and spearheads to match those used by the Egyptian soldiers. The only bronze sword possessed by the •vᵊr•uꞋ (Akkadian-Egyptian "A•piꞋru") was probably the personal sword of the Egyptian vizier (and consort to the late Par•ohꞋ Khât-shepꞋset) turned I•vᵊr•iꞋ commander, Sen-en-mut ["Brother of the mother"] (of the "divine" Royal Pharaonic House of) Tut-Moses.
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 Likely Route, and Initial Egress Routes, of the éÀöÄéàÈä |
Besides the 600,000 soldiers traditionally estimated, adding in their wives, children and the old suggests an estimate in excess of two million •vᵊr•uꞋ. The account (Shᵊm•otꞋ 12.38) also notes that an òÅøÆá øÇá went up with the •vᵊr•uꞋ – the first geir•imꞋ ("converts," in contrast to the earlier episode in ShᵊkhëmꞋ, bᵊ-Reish•itꞋ 34) – adding to the number of emigrants. The best estimate, then, is between 2-3 million persons, a lot of people to sneak through a marshland, carrying all of their worldly possessions, in a very short time. This suggests to me that the initial border crossing utilized many routes of initial egress, leading to a rendezvous at a safer distance in the ñÄéðÇé.
Note that "Mut" ("mother" goddess), in this era, referred specifically to the convergence of Hathor-Isis-Mut, incarnated in the person of Khât-shepꞋset. Note also that each Par•ohꞋ had his own first name. Historians are generally too lazy to include them, preferring 1st, 2nd, etc. First names are included, along with a great deal of other information, in my book, The Mirrored Sphinxes Live-LinkT .
 Khat-shepset keruv sphinx (ancient-egypt co uk Metropolitan Museum) 250x376.jpg "Khat-shepset keruv sphinx") |
 Khat-shepset keruv sphinx (ancient-egypt co uk Metropolitan Museum) 399x600.jpg "Click to enlarge"){kind=small} Khât-shepꞋset kᵊruvꞋ (Hellenized to "sphinx" (ancient-egypt co uk Metropolitan Museum) |
Members of the pharaonic family were each considered to be a Tut-enabled incarnation of one of their gods. Khât-shepꞋset found Mosh•ëhꞋ in the papyrus-reed bulrushes of the Nile, just as Egyptian beliefs held that Isis, through the knowing counsel of Tut, had found the man-god Horus among the papyrus-reed bulrushes of the Nile. Therefore, she reasoned, since Egyptian beliefs also held that every member of the royal family was a Tut-incarnation – Tut-moses – of some Egyptian god, she had to be the Tut-moses of Isis (who, by this era, had been merged with Hathor (the cow-goddess) and Mut – as in Sen-en-mut!). These conclusions combined, she reasoned, to identify her counterpart foundling baby, Mosh•ëhꞋ, as the Tut-moses of Isis' counterpart foundling, the man-god Horus. So she identified Mosh•ëhꞋ as the Tut-Moses of the man-god Horus. The Hebrews refused to perpetuate the name of the Egyptian god, Tut and, voila – "Moses" (whose first name, likewise not perpetuated by the Hebrews for the same reason, was probably Sen-en-mut of the Egyptian record)!
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Little dismays me more than movies like "The Ten Commandments" and "Prince of Egypt" – Hollywood mythologization of historical events.
While movies depict the sea welling up into walls on either side as Mosh•ëhꞋ raises his arms, the Biblical account indicates it took all night and that it was preceded by an east òÇæÌÈä wind. The reference to the waters serving as a wall on either side is a figurative, referring to the barrier that the water presented to the Egyptian armored corps on both sides. This would be true of either the swampy Yâm Suph in the eastern Delta or the Bardiwal isthmus on the northern coast of the Sinai.
The sea didn't stand up in great walls of water on each side as the •vᵊr•uꞋ walked between them (as depicted in the Cecil B. DeMille/Charleton Heston movie). Rather, Tor•âhꞋ describes the two bodies of water serving as a "wall" (i.e., barrier) between the •vᵊr•uꞋ and the Egyptians; exactly the fitting description whether, for example, after their crossing what is today the Su•etzꞋ Canal, a tsunami flooded the northern section into a barrier ("wall") while the Gulf of Su•etzꞋ remained a "wall" on the south. (Less likely, the narrow strip of land north of Sabkhat El Bardawil—with the Mediterranean acting as a wall against Egyptian attack from the north and a flooded Sabkhat El Bardawil lagoon acting as a wall against Egyptian attack from the south.)
The portion of the tsunami headed for the Delta would have barely cleared the island of Crete, which acted as a lens to steer and focus the tsunami, thereafter traveling unimpeded, onto the Delta.
History has recorded an aggregation of cataclysmic, world-changing events that concentrated around, and precipitated the end, of the Egyptian Second Intermediate Period/17th Dynasty and the beginning of the New Kingdom/18th Dynasty – serendipitously (if you believe in coincidences) near the time of the most cataclysmic volcano eruption human beings have ever witnessed: the logarithmic category VEI=7 Καλλίστη eruption!
Humans have always termed something that they couldn't explain through natural causes as a miracle. But that merely implies that a miracle is defined as something that humans cannot explain at the time it happens by natural causes. The definition of miracle certainly doesn't necessarily imply that the Perfect Creator contradicted the perfect laws that He Himself ordained. A self-contradicting creator, by definition, cannot be perfect. Thus, miracles absolutely are explainable by natural laws. The only question is whether humans can explain an occurrence (not a miracle) or not (a miracle!). It then follows that occurrences that were considered miracles eons ago can often be explained through today's advancement in science. They are still miracles because humans couldn't explain them at the time they occurred. They wouldn't be miracles if they happened today. On the other hand, there are still miracles that humans cannot explain through the application of the laws of science.
All of the events of the éÀöÄéàÈä recorded in Ta•na"khꞋ were real events resulting from natural causes whose miracle, while genuine, lay not in the supernatural world of silly superstitions but in the Divine chronological pre-ordering of naturally-occurring physical phenomena that unerringly obey the Omni-scient's perfect laws of physics, mathematics and logic. Prior to the 21Ꞌ century CE, dating the éÀöÄéàÈä was a speculative art that had arts-degreed, humanities archaeologists even arguing in which millennium éÀöÄéàÈä occurred – if éÀöÄéàÈä occurred at all!
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 Eastern Mediterranean, showing path of Καλλίστη Tsunami into the Egyptian DeltaEastern Mediterranean – showing Καλλίστη and the path of the tsunami to the Nile Delta. Satellite photo NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center. Tsunami graphics © 2006 by Yi•rᵊmᵊyâhꞋu Bën-Dâ•widꞋ. |
Linchpin Tōr•âhꞋ/Nᵊtzâr•imꞋ Concepts Unlike modern rabbis, priests, imams and clerics of other religions, Mosh•ëhꞋ understood that his unique placement as an adopted Pharaonic Prince, thereby obtaining the unique tutoring in Egyptian military strategy, priestly instruction in Egyptian magic and other learning, was not his own doing, but, rather, the manifestation of é‑‑ä pre-paving His Way, enabling His servants to accomplish His Will.
Consequently (with only one major exception), rather than take credit himself like modern folks, Mosh•ëhꞋ (the Nᵊviy•imꞋ, et al and Nᵊtzâr•imꞋ), directed all credit to é‑‑ä. Yes, His servants, not supernatural magic, were the gears, but (ultimately) é‑‑ä
Thus, the there are two glaring differences between the ancient Tōr•âhꞋ practice of Mōsh•ëhꞋ and modern rabbinic practice:
innumerable rabbinic reforms dating from the early Christian-era elimination of 10 Commandments from tᵊphil•inꞋ and mᵊzuz•ōtꞋ to the 20th century (pre- Sho•âhꞋ) redefinition of Sha•bâtꞋ according to prohibitions of "magic fire" (electricity; later amended to "creating"), introducing fences; each fence herding Jews a bit farther away – astray – from Tōr•âhꞋ in contravention of Dᵊvâr•imꞋ 13.1-6); inevitably leading to
the 180° pivot from Yi•sᵊr•â•eilꞋ serving é‑‑ä in the Biblical era to today's expectation that é‑‑ä will dutifully obey the "holy prayers" "properly incanted" (i.e. incantation according to rabbinic pᵊsuq•imꞋ ritual tradition); i.e. today representing that é‑‑ä serves Orthodox and Ultra-Orthodox rabbis and their sanctimonious disciples – the goal of all ancient idolaters and cause of the Sho•âhꞋ!
Nᵊtzâr•imꞋ, by contrast, pray for understanding and revelation of His Will, not our will, so that we may faithfully serve é‑‑ä by practicing His Tōr•âhꞋ as He conveyed to Mōsh•ëhꞋ on Har Sin•aiꞋ!
Like Israel's modern war victories against impossible odds, Mosh•ëhꞋ and the •vᵊr•uꞋ understood that credit belonged to é‑‑ä—not to coincidence merely because it resulted from natural, understandable, and explainable causes. Those naturally occurring causes were pre-ordered at the creation of the universe by é‑‑ä. Now those are miracles!
Despite the obvious latitude of centuries-wide speculations that even questioned whether or not the éÀöÄéàÈä was a mere myth, they were agenda-driven to adamantly refused to consider a date that coincides within a maximum of 50-100 years of their best estimate of a convergence of the "10 Plagues" and éÀöÄéàÈä with the greatest volcanic eruption in all the annals of all recorded history—at Καλλίστη in the Mediterranean Sea.
What really happened is revealed in Tōr•âhꞋ. In the associated commentary to the corresponding pâ•râsh•otꞋ: wâ-Ei•râꞋ and Bō.a, I offer scientifically viable explanations for how the 10 "plagues" were each a natural event. Additionally, I am the first, original and sole author to ever provide a scientifically viable, historically corroborated and stunningly correct explanation of the 10th Mak•âhꞋ ("plague"; death of the firstborn son)!
For those unfamiliar with Judaism: Weekly Tōr•âhꞋ reading/study portions have been standardized throughout the Jewish world for millennia.
For the full year of weekly Tōr•âhꞋ portions, consult any Judaic calendar, widely available in late summer from many funeral homes, (legitimate, not Christian/"Messianic" phony!) synagogues, Jewish bookstores and gift shops as well as kâ•sheirꞋ butchers, delis, restaurants and bakeries.
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| Supernatural: From the ancient Egyptian Pharaohs' "Barge to the stars" mythology to Christian mythology |
Was the Cecil B. DeMille, Charleton Heston, standing walls of water "Exodus" – Poof! Presto! – a supernatural magic event? Overriding/contradicting the perfect (!) natural laws of computational logic (physics & mathematics), operating our universe, authored by the Omniscient & Immutable Creator?
Followers, as well as practicers, of magic are prohibited by Tōr•âhꞋ ( Dᵊvâr•imꞋ 18.9-14); rather, one must follow a Nâ•viꞋ like Mōsh•ëhꞋ (ibid., 15-24).
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| Anthropomorphism prohibited by Tor•âhꞋ: Creation of Adam (Michelangelo, fresco, Sistine Chapel) |
The miracle which has most baffled scholars is the killing of the firstborn—of man and beast—among the Egyptians which didn't touch the •vᵊr•uꞋ. In this context, one must have some insight into the pagan world of the Egyptians (and the rest of the world, for that matter) at that time. When everything went wrong for a king or kingdom what was the ultimate show of devotion a king of kingdom showed to their gods to make their appeal for their prayers to be heard? Sacrificing their firstborn—man and beast. When Tor•âhꞋ states that a ma•lâkhꞋ of é‑‑ä enforced the killing, that is literally true; but, as Tor•âhꞋ also confirms, é‑‑ä used Par•ohꞋ's generals and soldiers to be that messenger. Par•ohꞋ ordered all of the inhabitants of Egypt—including the •vᵊr•uꞋ—to sacrifice all firstborn of man and beast, to be enforced by his soldiers on the 14th of Nisan. The soldiers would check every household and, if blood from the ordered qârbân wasn't smeared on the doorpost, the soldier would execute the sacrifice himself.
Now, if you were Mosh•ëhꞋ facing the Par•ohꞋ's proclamation to kill all of your firstborn, man and beast, how would you respond? At the inspiration of é‑‑äa href= "Glos_K-M.htm#Df-Mosheh">Mosh•ëhꞋ devised a mechanism of deliverance. The soldiers were looking for blood on the door post as proof the commanded qârbânot had been made, so the •vᵊr•uꞋ would provide it! And there is the story of the ôÌÆñÇç lamb! Typical of all soldiers, the Egyptian soldiers were lazy, "skipping over" the houses where blood was smeared on the doorposts as ordered by Par•ohꞋ. Obviously (to them), that household had obeyed Par•ohꞋ and made the ordered qârbânot. And because the idea of substituting the blood of the ôÌÆñÇç lamb was inspired by é‑‑ä, all firstborn—man or beast or other income—of Jew and geir—belongs to é‑‑ä. This is why Malâkhi ha-Nâ•viꞋ describes (3.8) the failure to give the firstborn (excepting Kohan•imꞋ, redeemed via payment of the pidyon ha-bein) and firstfruits to é‑‑ä according to the guidelines of Tor•âhꞋ (i.e., only as given to recipients who qualify according to Tor•âhꞋ) as robbing é‑‑ä. The rest is—also—history.
In this week's pâ•râsh•âhꞋ we also find the Song of îÄøÀéÈí (15.1ff). What did îÄøÀéÈí's singing sound like? Fortunately, I can direct you to where you can hear what scholars recognize as the most pristine example on the planet—a late Israeli Tei•mân•itꞋ singer. Hate the cartoon mythologization "Prince of Egypt." But love the authentic Tei•mân•iꞋ singing of the most famous Israeli and Tei•mân•itꞋ in the world: the late òôøä çæä, who sang the theme from the movie, "Prince of Egypt," (Song: "Deliver Us") and is the movie voice of Mosh•ëhꞋ's mother, éåÉëÆáÆã.
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From the account of the àÅùÑ æÈøÈä offered by Nâ•dâvꞋ and Av•i•huꞋ (wa-Yi•qᵊr•âꞋ 10:1ff) it is clear that the àÅùÑ of the Mi•zᵊbeiꞋakh was not just any fire.
When we investigate àÅùÑ in Tor•âhꞋ we find that, already in the time of Av•râ•hâmꞋ and Yi•tzᵊkhâqꞋ at the A•qeid•âhꞋ, Av•râ•hâmꞋ brought special àÅùÑ with him (bᵊ-Reish•itꞋ 22.6-7; other passages suggest, but do not state explicitly, that the àÅùÑ was holy). This àÅùÑ may have been maintained from the ìÇôÌÄéã àÅùÑ described in bᵊ-Reish•itꞋ 15.17.
The òÇîÌåÌã àÅùÑ (Shᵊm•otꞋ 13.21-22; 14.24; bᵊ-Mi•dᵊbarꞋ 14.14; Nᵊkhëm•yâhꞋ 9.12, 19) may share similarities with àÅùÑ é‑‑ä (bᵊ-Mi•dᵊbarꞋ 11.1, 3; Mᵊlâkh•imꞋ ÂlꞋëph 18.38).
The òÇîÌåÌã àÅùÑ was likely not preserved through the gâl•utꞋ in Mi•tzᵊraꞋyim. It seems more likely that the àÅùÑ that constituted the òÇîÌåÌã àÅùÑ derived from the úÌÄäÂìÇêÀ-àÅùÑ from the heavens described in Shᵊm•otꞋ 9.23. This probably described legs of lightning that seemed to walk on the earth, causing brush and forest fires in the wilderness. It is probably this àÅùÑ that was preserved, maintained, and carried at the front of the column of Israelis in this week's si•dᵊr•âhꞋ (13:21-22 & 14:24).
This àÅùÑ was renewed at äÇø ñÄéðÇé. In fact, Tor•âhꞋ states (Shᵊm•otꞋ 19.18) that "All of äÇø ñÄéðÇé smoked as a result of éÈøÇã òÈìÈéå, é--ä áÌÈàÅùÑ (yarad alayv é‑‑ä ba-eish; descended upon [the har] é‑‑ä in the fire)! Placement and maintenance of this àÅùÑ from äÇø ñÄéðÇé likely comprised the Shᵊkhin•âhꞋ of Shᵊm•otꞋ 40.34-38).
Rather, when é‑‑ä ordered the Bᵊn•eiꞋ-A•ha•ronꞋ ha-Ko•heinꞋ to give àÅùÑ upon the Mi•zᵊbeiꞋakh (wa-Yi•qᵊr•âꞋ 1.7), this was the particular àÅùÑ from äÇø ñÄéðÇé. The theme of àÅùÑ from é‑‑ä exclusively upon His Mi•zᵊbeiꞋakh is also found in the account of Eil•i•yâhꞋu ha-Nâ•viꞋ on Har Ka•rᵊm•ëlꞋ (Mᵊlakhim Aleph 18.23ff). It is also corroborated in Dâ•widꞋ ha-MëlꞋëkh (Di•vᵊr•eiꞋ-ha-Yâm•imꞋ ÂlꞋëph 21.26; see also Tᵊhil•imꞋ 18.9; 50.3; 78.14 and 97.3).
13.21 – Casual readers may have the impression that there was a "changing of the guard" every morning and every evening. Did the òÇîÌåÌã òÈðÈï go up into heaven every morning as the òÇîÌåÌã àÅùÑ came down and replaced it? Did the reverse take place every evening?
The description in Ta•na"khꞋ allows, equally well and far more logically, that this was a òÇîÌåÌã àÅùÑ with accompanying smoke. In the night darkness, the fire was the attribute primarily visible while in the day the smoke was more visible.
This pâ•râsh•âhꞋ begins (13.17) åÇéÀäÄé, áÌÀùÑÇìÌÇç
14.19à – åÇéÌÄñÌÇò îÇìÀàÇêÀ äÈàÁìÉäÄéí
What is a îÇìÀàÇêÀ äÈàÁìÉäÄéí? Generally, it's a human agent or messenger. But as we can see in this pâ•suqꞋ, a natural, but highly unusual, phenomenon can also be a îÇìÀàÇêÀ äÈàÁìÉäÄéí
This îÇìÀàÇêÀ äÈàÁìÉäÄéí was the plume of smoke and ash spewed out from the eruption of the Καλλίστη volcano, which blanketed the coastlands of the ñÄéðÇé for several weeks.
The English translations take liberties that are based on the imaginations of translators compelled to interject their own ideas of "sense" (generally implying medieval European perspective displacing the ancient Middle East perspective), ideas lacking justification in Hebrew.
There's nothing in the Hebrew about the pillar of cloud "removing and going behind them." Rather, this is a volcanic plume of smoke and ash that is on both sides of both parties, occasionally engulfing one and/or the other party, simultaneously. The prevailing winds probably determined the most frequent dispersal. It's also likely that Yi•sᵊr•â•eilꞋ made use of the smoke to cover some of her movements, and this may be what is being described in the text.
14.19á – äÇäÉìÅêÀ ìÄôÀðÅé îÇçÂðÅä éÄùÒÀøÈàÅì, åÇéÌÅìÆêÀ îÅàÇçÂøÅéäÆí;
There's nothing here about "removing" from before Israel in order to go behind them. The incoming myriad plumes of smoke-clouds from the Καλλίστη eruption blew both in front and behind them, concealing their movements and whereabouts. Moreover, other pᵊsuq•imꞋ point out that Yi•sᵊr•â•eilꞋ traveled as needed to remain in smoke-free areas.
14.19â – åÇéÌÄñÌÇò òÇîÌåÌã äÆòÈðÈï îÄôÌÀðÅéäÆí, åÇéÌÇòÂîÉã îÅàÇçÂøÅéäÆí:
Again, this doesn't imply sequence. The plumes of smoke-clouds did both simultaneously, blowing both in front and behind the bivouacking Yi•sᵊr•â•eilꞋ—not moving back and forth, first one and then the other.
Moreover, also simultaneously, these plumes of smoke-clouds blew between the Israeli and Egyptian camps.
Similar liberties were taken by the translators in rendering "and it was a cloud of darkness to them, but it gave light to these." "To them" and "to these" isn't in the Hebrew.
14.20á – åÇéÀäÄé äÆòÈðÈï åÀäÇçÉùÑÆêÀ, åÇéÌÈàÆø àÆú-äÇìÌÈéÀìÈä;
In today's polluted environment, most everyone has seen how smoke darkens the day sky; and no one who has ever tried stargazing in an urban setting can ignore the glow from the lights of a city at night, creating a glowing aura over the city. In this case, the plume glowed at night from the thousands of campfires, and perhaps from the moonlight.
14.21á – åÇéÌåÉìÆêÀ é‑‑ä àÆú-äÇéÌÈí, áÌÀøåÌçÇ ÷ÈãÄéí òÇæÌÈä ëÌÈì-äÇìÌÇéÀìÈä
The logician is always on guard against the fallacy of post hoc, ergo propter hoc – interpreting two sequential events as cause-effect related. If a strong (or òÇæÌÈä) east wind blows all night and an Egyptian farmer in the Sinai notices in the morning that a naꞋkhal has receded to a dry bed, the farmer might well draw the conclusion that the east wind caused the naꞋkhal to recede – whereas something else entirely may have been the cause.
The farmer would be correct that there was an east wind, and he'd be correct in his observation that the river receded. These facts would not be in dispute. Yet, another factor of which the farmer was unaware, such as shutting the gates of a dam a couple of miles upstream, may have been the real cause.
Our pâ•suqꞋ doesn't state that the east wind caused the Mediterranean to recede, only the sequence of the two. The author probably thought they were causally related. But the cause was more likely the eruption of the volcano at Καλλίστη which first caused a recession as the sea rushed to fill in the great cavity left by the eruption.
The very acceleration of the waters created a momentum that exaggerated the recession, "and He set / placed the sea for dry land and He split the sea."
Many of the allusions to àÅùÑ by the Nᵊviy•imꞋ should by understood in this light. For example, Zᵊkhar•yâhꞋ Bën-Bë•rëkh•yâhꞋ Bën-Id•oꞋ ha-Nâ•viꞋ (3.2) describes the Mâ•shiꞋakh as an ember from that àÅùÑ.
When we speak Tor•âhꞋ, our tongue and lips are burning embers, and the words of Tor•âhꞋ that issue forth are flames of consuming àÅùÑ.
This should give new meaning to many of the allusions to sparks of àÅùÑ, "his àÅùÑ," embers of an àÅùÑ, kindling an àÅùÑ (in addition to the literal ùÑÇáÌÈú prohibition of kindling our own àÅùÑ, cf. Yᵊsha•yahꞋu ha-Nâ•viꞋ 50.10-11), and the like.
See also Yᵊsha•yahꞋu ha-Nâ•viꞋ 66.15-16 & 24 and explore a new world of àÅùÑ in the Nᵊviy•imꞋ from a Hebrew concordance (not Strong's or English-based; you must be able to look up the Hebrew word and find its exhaustive listing).
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How would you teach a child? Would you say to a child, "Go do as you please and I'll make you a mature and responsible adult?" Or would you apprentice the child, giving him or her hands-on experience?
Apprenticeship implies a master-apprentice partnership. Discipling derives from the term discipline.
14.15à – îÇä-úÌÄöÀòÇ÷ àÅìÈé;
Where is the account of this cry to é‑‑ä? Why wasn't it mentioned? Mosh•ëhꞋ had told Bᵊn•eiꞋ-Yi•sᵊr•â•eilꞋ (14.13) to hold their position and see éÀùÑåÌòÇú é‑‑ä, but é‑‑ä admonishes Mosh•ëhꞋ (14.15á) to speak to Bᵊn•eiꞋ-Yi•sᵊr•â•eilꞋ åÀéÄñÌÈòåÌ – and move out!
Paraphrased in the modern vernacular, é‑‑ä is rebuking Mosh•ëhꞋ for telling Yi•sᵊr•â•eilꞋ to sit on their hands and watch while é‑‑ä saves them. 'Don't bellyache to Me,' é‑‑ä admonished Mosh•ëhꞋ. Instead, while Bᵊn•eiꞋ-Yi•sᵊr•â•eilꞋ prayed for salvation, they were also to 'get moving,' to 'get a move on,' and do their utmost to bring about their own salvation.
This stands in stark contrast to the Christian position that the individual makes no contribution to his or her own salvation. In Christianity, 'All is Christ.' But in Judaism, Yᵊhud•imꞋ and geir•imꞋ are junior-partner servants of é‑‑ä, hands-on apprentices learning to become more like é‑‑ä through our practice under His Hand, working out our salvation (doing our utmost ⇒ ki•purꞋ), together, with é‑‑ä.
Christianity is popular because it cornbines the fantasy of 'do as you please' with the 'feel good' mirage of complete forgiveness and eternal reward for doing what you please. People choose to ignore the historical facts, to delude themselves rather than face up to maturing and shouldering responsibility for themselves and their part (which Tor•âhꞋ defines as one's utmost = "all one's heart and all one's might") in working out their own salvation. Yet, even "Apostle St. Paul" the Apostate, in his letter written ca. 60 C.E. to the Gâl•utꞋ in Kavalla, Greece, declared (X Paul 2: 12): "κατεργαζομαι your own σωτηρια, (LXX reading corresponding to éÀùÑåÌòÈä in Ta•na"khꞋ) with fear and trembling."
Of the three instances in Tor•âhꞋ for which κατεργαζομαι is rendered in LXX, with an Hebrew counterpart in MT, it is once rendered òÈáÇã and twice for òÈùÒÈä.
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