From the Red Sea to Mt. Sinai
With the discovery of Mt. Sinai, there remained one question- what route did they take from the sea to the mountain? At first glance, it seemed an easy answer because there is a large wadi (or canyon)- Wadi al Hasha- which leads from the large shore on the Arabian side directly to the large wadi which circles around and leads right into the main area of the Jebel el Lawz range. Then, when Rephidim, the last encampment before going to Mt. Sinai, was located, it too was in a straight line with the wadi leading from the sea. But there was one verse which indicated that the multitude had NOT gone directly to the mountain- Numbers 33:10 says that they left Elim, the 2nd stop mentioned after crossing the Red Sea, and THEN "encamped by the Red Sea".Ron had asked our friends in Saudi Arabia, who had filmed the mountain for us, if they would "scout out" the entire region. They returned to the region many, many times and provided us with wonderful footage of their journeys, including their travels in the wadis. From their journeys and our maps, we had precise information about the region and finally believe we have been able to trace their journey, at least on a broad scale.
Rephidim was the last encampment before reaching Mt. Sinai, and later you will see the evidence which we believe proves the location of this site. The Bible mentions 4 other locations prior to reaching Rephidim- Marah, Elim, Dophkah and Alush. We aren't given enough information to be able to locate Marah with any certainty, which was where they encountered "bitter water"- was it a stream, or a lake? Neither the account in Exodus 15:23-26 or Numbers 33:8-9 makes this clear. We are given a better description of Elim:
NUM 33:9 And they removed from Marah, and came unto Elim: and in Elim were twelve fountains of water, and threescore and ten palm trees; and they pitched there.
Our friends had stated that one thing that surprised them about the entire region of NW Saudi Arabia was the lack of palm trees, especially considering how plentiful they are in Egypt. This would certainly make an oasis with palm trees, such as Elim, quite noticeable. But there were no palm trees to be found throughout the large wadis which led from the seashore directly east. From this, we concluded that they did not take this direct route, but instead another. And the Biblical account provides more information which also indicates that they did not travel directly east from the sea:
NUM 33:10 And they removed from Elim, and encamped by the Red sea.
For a long time, I puzzled over this- did it mean the great multitude traveled awhile, then went back to the sameshore of the Red Sea? That doesn't seem likely. Instead, it indicates that they traveled either north or south, then ended up at the sea shore, although at a different location. If they went north, they would be leaving the area of the Jebel el Lawz range. But they could have gone south and still remained in the general vicinity. Although the Arabian shore at the crossing site is even larger than the beach at Nuweiba on the Egyptian side, it too is completely blocked to the south by mountains which extend out to the sea. These mountains continue along the shore for over 15 miles to the south. Then, open-shore again appears. And within these mountains are several wadis which extend through them in a north/south direction, beginning at the shore where the crossing took place and ending at the wadi to the south which again leads to the sea.
