Once again someone has proposed a scientific model for a miraculous event, this time the parting of the “Reed Sea” (ים סוף). The model requires an easterly wind of about 100km/h to blow for about 12 hours to leave bare ground almost 5km wide through which the Israelites could pass.
Let me add my voice to the many who note that this sort of endeavour is absurd and misguided. For one, the specific requirements ultimately bear almost no resemblance to the description in Exodus 14, with the one exception that there is a passage made through the water. Look at the specifics from Exodus:
- There’s a pillar of cloud which stands between the Egyptians and the Israelites;
- The sea parts when Moses lifts his hand (Ex 14:21). Yes, there’s a strong East wind, but there is no sign of a 12 hour wait for the sea to part.
- The water forms a wall on either side (Ex 14:22). The scientific model would have no such distinct barrier.
Of course, if the scientific model were accurate, there’s another miracle at hand: getting the men, women, children, livestock, and other belongings to move through the gap while a wind of over 100km/hr was blowing them.
1 thought on “parting the sea”