“Mount Sinai in Arabia”

Originally posted on December 16, 2006 – by Andre Piet

Last Wednesday, I attended a very fascinating Bible study on the location of Mount Horeb. Traditionally, it is identified at the southern tip of the peninsula between Israel and Egypt. This tradition goes back to the mother of Emperor Constantine (Helena), who is said to have seen in a vision that “the mountain of God” had to be located there…

However, there appear to be decisive reasons to reject this traditional location and to place Horeb in Saudi Arabia, east of the Gulf of Eilat.

Reason #1
According to Scripture, “the mountain of God” is located in the region of Midian.

Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. And he is leading the flock behind the wilderness and is coming to the mountain of the One, Elohim, to Horeb.
Ex. 3:1

And where is Midian located? Answer: east of the Gulf of Eilat. Consult any Bible map, and you’ll see. The first mention of Midian in the Bible is already telling, for we read there that Midian was one of the sons of Abraham and Keturah, and that he, during Abraham’s lifetime, was sent eastward (Genesis 25:6).

Reason #2
Paul speaks of “Mount Sinai in Arabia” (Galatians 4:25).

Reason #3
If the land of Goshen was located northeast of the Nile River (as is generally assumed), then there was no reason for the people of Israel, on their way to Horeb, to cross the Red Sea.

Reason #4
The eastern border of Egypt is “the brook of Egypt” (Joshua 15:4), which is the present-day Wadi El-Arish (west of the Gaza Strip). This means that what is now called the Sinai Desert lay within the territory of ancient Egypt. In fact, the Pharaoh had military outposts stationed there and also engaged in mining in the area. The traditionally identified mountain was therefore located within the borders of Egypt, whereas according to Scripture, Mount Horeb lay explicitly outside of Egypt.

Reason #5
According to Scripture, the Red Sea refers to the Gulf of Eilat (1 Kings 9:26). Therefore, when Israel left Egypt and crossed the Red Sea, they necessarily ended up in Arabia.

When the people of Israel departed from the region of Goshen, they hastily set out—following the cloud—toward the Gulf of Eilat. They traveled day and night (Exodus 13:21), and over the course of what was likely a little more than two weeks, they made only three stops along the way (Num. 33:5–8).

At a later time, I would like to go into more detail about the location where Israel crossed the Red Sea, and about discoveries such as Elim, the split rock, the altar with twelve standing stones, the scorched summit of Mount Horeb, the cave in that mountain, etc.

Delen: