The Red Sea Crossing

Shalom Zahara, Please enjoy today's Daily Inspiration from Israel.

Tell the Israelites to turn back and encamp before Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, before Baal-zephon; you shall encamp facing it, by the sea.
דַּבֵּר אֶל־בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְיָשֻׁבוּ וְיַחֲנוּ לִפְנֵי פִּי הַחִירֹת בֵּין מִגְדֹּל וּבֵין הַיָּם לִפְנֵי בַּעַל צְפֹן נִכְחוֹ תַחֲנוּ עַל־הַיָּם
Exodus 14:2 (The Israel Bible)
da-BAYR el b'-NAY yis-ra-AYL, v'-ya-SHU-vu v'-ya-kha-NU lif-NAY pi ha-khee-ROT, BAYN mig-DOL u-VAYN ha-YAM, lif-NAY BA-al tz'-FON, nikh-KHO ta-kha-NU al ha-YAM
The Baal-Zephon Plan: Egypt’s final lesson
By Rabbi Pesach Wolicki
The Torah portion of Beshalach (Exodus 13:17-17:16) opens with a description of the Exodus from Egypt. After the Children of Israel journeyed for a few days, God commanded Moses to tell them to backtrack slightly and camp in a very specific location for a very specific purpose.

“Speak to the Children of Israel and let them turn back and encamp before Pi-Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, before Baal-zephon; you shall encamp opposite it by the sea. Pharaoh will say of the Children of Israel ‘They are imprisoned [heb. nevuchim] in the land, the desert has locked them in.’ I shall strengthen the heart of Pharaoh and he will pursue them, and I will be glorified through Pharaoh and his entire army, and Egypt will know that I am God.” (Exodus 14:2-4)

It is interesting that at the end of this passage, God told Moses that as a result of this plan, Egypt will finally know that He is God. Apparently, the Ten Plagues, including the final death of the firstborn, had failed to convince the Egyptians of the supremacy of the God of Israel.

What are the details of this plan? Let’s sum up the content of these verses:

First, the Children of Israel are to travel back toward Egypt and camp opposite Baal-zephon.
Upon hearing about this, Pharaoh will conclude that they are “imprisoned” – or nevuchim – in the land and “locked in” by the desert.
Emboldened by this conclusion, Pharaoh and his army will pursue the Children of Israel and fall right into the trap that God has set for them.
They will then learn, once and for all, that the Lord is God.

Why there? What is the purpose of the plan?

It seems that according to the plan, it is specifically the encampment of Israel at Baal-zephon that will cause Pharaoh to conclude that Israel is doomed. What is it about Baal-zephon that leads Pharaoh to believe that the God who decimated Egypt with the Ten Plagues would not be able to save Israel from being “imprisoned” and “locked in”?

The Torah portion of Beshalach (Exodus 13:17-17:16) opens with a description of the Exodus from Egypt. After the Children of Israel journeyed for a few days, God commanded Moses to tell them to backtrack slightly and camp in a very specific location for a very specific purpose.

“Speak to the Children of Israel and let them turn back and encamp before Pi-Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, before Baal-zephon; you shall encamp opposite it by the sea. Pharaoh will say of the Children of Israel ‘They are imprisoned [heb. nevuchim] in the land, the desert has locked them in.’ I shall strengthen the heart of Pharaoh and he will pursue them, and I will be glorified through Pharaoh and his entire army, and Egypt will know that I am God.” (Exodus 14:2-4)

It is interesting that at the end of this passage, God told Moses that as a result of this plan, Egypt will finally know that He is God. Apparently, the Ten Plagues, including the final death of the firstborn, had failed to convince the Egyptians of the supremacy of the God of Israel.

What are the details of this plan? Let’s sum up the content of these verses:

First, the Children of Israel are to travel back toward Egypt and camp opposite Baal-zephon.
Upon hearing about this, Pharaoh will conclude that they are “imprisoned” – or nevuchim – in the land and “locked in” by the desert.
Emboldened by this conclusion, Pharaoh and his army will pursue the Children of Israel and fall right into the trap that God has set for them.
They will then learn, once and for all, that the Lord is God.
Why there? What is the purpose of the plan?

The location where God wants Israel to camp is very specific. The Bible does not generally give us such detailed descriptions of locations. Yet here, we have very precise coordinates:

before Pi-Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, before Baal-zephon; you shall encamp opposite it by the sea.

Once the specific location at which Israel is to encamp – before Pi-Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea – is stated, the additional detail “before Baal-zephon” seems superfluous. Haven’t the directions been stated clearly enough? What is the importance of Baal-zephon?

It seems that according to the plan, it is specifically the encampment of Israel at Baal-zephon that will cause Pharaoh to conclude that Israel is doomed. What is it about Baal-zephon that leads Pharaoh to believe that the God who decimated Egypt with the Ten Plagues would not be able to save Israel from being “imprisoned” and “locked in”?

When God told Moses how Pharaoh would react to the news, He suggested that Pharaoh would say:

“They are imprisoned [nevuchim] in the land and locked in by the desert.”

What exactly do these phrases mean? “Imprisoned in the land”? “Locked in by the desert”? Why not simply say that Israel is “lost” or “stranded”? Why does God suggest that this is what Pharaoh will say? Furthermore, is there a connection between these unusual phrases and Baal-zephon?

Finally, God said that at the end of this plan, the Egyptians would finally “know that I am God.” The question is obvious. If the Ten Plagues, and especially the plague of the firstborn, didn’t teach the Egyptians to believe in God, why do we suppose that this plan would?

Jewish tradition teaches that the Ten Plagues successfully destroyed all the false gods of Egypt except for one – Baal-zephon (Rashi). Why? What is it about Baal-zephon that left it unchallenged by all the miraculous signs and wonders that God had done in Egypt?

Who is Baal-zephon?
What is the meaning of the name Baal-zephon? From the prefix Baal we know that we are dealing with a pagan god. Biblical text is replete with references to various Baals or pagan gods. Baal-zevuv, Baal-pe’or, or Baalim (the plural of Baal) are but a few examples. The Hebrew word Baal literally translates as “master”, “lord”, or “owner.” Zephon – is the Hebrew word for “north.”

A precise translation of Baal-zephon is “Master of the North” or “North-Lord.”

Remarkably, the Book of the Dead, an ancient Egyptian religious text, mentions a prominent god known as “Lord of the Northern Sky” – an almost perfect translation of the Hebrew “Baal-zephon.” This god’s Egyptian name was Set. He was the patron deity of Northern Egypt and was believed to be responsible for fierce desert storms.

According to ancient Egyptian mythology, Set murdered his brother and attempted to kill his nephew Horus. For this, Set was cast out into the lonely desert for eternity. In the 19th Dynasty – the period of Israel’s enslavement – there was a resurgence of reverence for Set, and he was seen as a great god, the god who benevolently restrained the forces of the desert and protected Egypt from foreigners.

Desert storms, the sea, and preventing escape?
Set personified the powers of darkness, chaos, and the sea waters that resisted light and order. The prominent 19th-century Egyptologist Dr. Heinrich Brugsch asserted that, from the standpoint of an Egyptian in Upper Egypt, the north was rightly considered to be the place of darkness, cold, mist, and rain, all of which were attributes of Set; and that the Hebrews called the region of darkness, or the winter hemisphere, Sephon, a name which appears to be connected beyond a doubt with Saphon, “North.”

As for Jewish sources, Rabbi Abraham Ibn Ezra (11th century) writes that Baal-zephon was believed to have the power to prevent slaves from escaping Egypt.

In light of the above, the tradition that Baal-zephon was the only remaining Egyptian god makes sense. Baal-zephon’s dominion was not in Egypt but out in the desert. The ten plagues took place in Egypt itself.

Understanding the plan
Let’s review the plan:

Speak to the Children of Israel and let them turn back and encamp before Pi-Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, before Baal-zephon; you shall encamp opposite it by the sea.

God specifically told Israel to encamp “opposite [Baal-zephon] by the sea.” Recall that Baal-zephon was believed to control the water.

Pharaoh will say of the Children of Israel ‘They are imprisoned [heb. nevuchim] in the land, the desert has locked them in.’

Hearing that Israel was stopped at Baal-zephon, Pharaoh would conclude that Baal-zephon had trapped them. The odd word choice – “They are imprisoned [heb. nevuchim] in the land, the desert has locked them in” – can now be explained.

The Hebrew word nevuchim is not usually translated as “imprisoned.” The actual translation of this word is “perplexed”, “depressed”, or “confused.” One ancient Aramaic translation renders nevuchim as “metarfim,” meaning “crazy.” (Tagum pseudo Jonathan)

If Pharaoh believed that Israel had fallen into the clutches of Baal-zephon – the god responsible for chaos, darkness, and desert storms – describing Israel as nevuchim would be an accurate way of saying “Baal-zephon has got them!”

The second phrase in Pharaoh’s suggested reaction is sagar aleihem hamidbar – “the desert has locked them in.” But an equally precise translation would be “he has locked the desert upon them.” In other words, Pharaoh believed that Baal-zephon had trapped the children of Israel in the desert.

This understanding is consistent with the ancient Aramaic rendering of Pharaoh’s reaction:

“The nation of the House of Israel is crazy in the land, the god Zephon, master of the desert, has caused them difficulty.” – (Targum ps. Jonathan Ex. 14:3)

Summing up the plan
God led Pharaoh to believe that Baal-zephon had successfully defied the God of Israel. Emboldened by this conclusion, Pharaoh rushed out to defeat Israel in the presence of Baal-zephon, over whom the God of Israel apparently had no power.

Thus, the stage was set for the refutation of the final god of Egypt – and with it all of Egyptian paganism.

With the escaping slaves camped right in front of Baal-zephon, the Egyptian god of storms, chaos, and water was refuted by a storm so orderly that it neatly split the water, miraculously forming two walls. Storms, chaos, and water were all clearly shown to be fully under God’s control.

The splitting of the Red Sea is the greatest miracle of the Exodus story not because it was a greater deviation from the laws of nature than, for example, the plague of blood. The splitting of the sea is the greatest miracle – the cause of the great song of praise that Israel sings to God – because through it Egypt and Israel knew finally, and without a shadow of a doubt, “that I am God.”

Rabbi Pesach Wolicki is Executive Director of Ohr Torah Stone’s Center for Jewish-Christian Understanding and Cooperation and cohost of the “Shoulder to Shoulder” podcast.

Related Names and Places: Splitting of the Sea
Relate Bible Verses: Chapter 14
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE https://theisraelbible.com/beshalach-the-baal-zephon-plan-egypts-final-lesson/?


Cheesecake and the Hebrew Bible
May 21, 2023

בַּחֹ֙דֶשׁ֙ הַשְּׁלִישִׁ֔י לְצֵ֥את בְּנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל מֵאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרָ֑יִם בַּיּ֣וֹם הַזֶּ֔ה בָּ֖אוּ מִדְבַּ֥ר סִינָֽי׃

On the third new moon after the Israelites had gone forth from the land of Egypt, on that very day, they entered the wilderness of Sinai.

ba-CHO-desh ha-sh'-lee-SHEE l'-tze-TAT b'-nay yis-ra-AYL may-E-retz mitz-RA-yim ba-YOM ha-ZEH ba-U mid-BAR si-NAI

Exodus 19:1
What do the Hebrew Bible and cheesecake have in common?

If you guessed the Hebrew month of Sivan, then you’re correct!

Sivan (סִיוָן) is the current name of the third month of the Hebrew calendar, adopted during the Babylonian exile. The name first appears in the Book of Esther (Esther 8:9)

In Sivan, the wheat fields in the Land of Israel turn golden, and the summer fruits start ripening. The youthful bliss of spring transforms into the solid maturity of summer.

It’s also the month when the Jewish people received the Torah at Mount Sinai, celebrated as the holiday of Shavuot (Feast of Weeks) on the 6th of Sivan.

But what in the world does cheesecake have to do with this?

The holiday of Shavuot, meaning Weeks, is the culmination of a seven-week period that begins on the second day of Passover. These seven weeks are a continuation of the Exodus, since the ultimate purpose of being freed from slavery in Egypt was to accept the Torah (the Written and Oral components together) from God at Mount Sinai.

During Temple times, Shavuot was one of the three pilgrimage festivals. Hundreds of thousands of Jews would travel to the Temple in Jerusalem to offer sacrifices, bring their fields’ first fruits (bikkurim), and enjoy God’s radiant presence.

Since the Second Temple was destroyed, Jews celebrate Shavuot through prayer, staying up all night studying the Torah, and eating festival meals, customarily with dairy foods like cheesecake.

The custom of eating dairy foods comes from several sources. One is from Song of Songs (4:11): “Sweetness drops from your lips, O bride; Honey and milk are under your tongue.” Since milk is a traditional metaphor for the Torah, the custom emerged to honor the holiday of the giving of the Torah by eating dairy foods.

The Book of Ruth

The Jewish people also publicly read the Book of Ruth on Shavuot, which tells the story of Ruth and Boaz, the progenitors of King David. One reason this Book is read is to commemorate King David, who died on Shavuot in 970 BCE.

As a side note, the Book of Ruth emphasizes that one’s paternal line determines their tribal membership. For example, a person can only claim descent from the Tribe of Judah if their father was from the Tribe of Judah.

Gratitude

Sivan is also a month of gratitude, as Jews worldwide give thanks for the gift of the Torah, which guides and enriches their lives. They reflect on the teachings of the Torah and how to apply them to their daily lives so they can become better and more successful in their spiritual journey.

So, whether it’s staying up all night to study the Torah, enjoying some delicious cheesecake, or reflecting on your past and working toward self-improvement, Sivan is a meaningful and inspiring month to celebrate.

May the month of Sivan bring you spiritual growth, joy, and blessings.

Related Names and Places:
https://theisraelbible.com/cheesecake-and-the-hebrew-bible/
Relate Bible Verses: Chapter 19
https://theisraelbible.com/bible/exodus-19/

The Red Sea Crossing
I have visited Egypt and have always been led to believe Mount Sinai is in Egypt. On my visit to various of the places which include travelling along the Suez Canal the supposed map site of Moses of the route which was taken. I have brought some thoughts to this thread and video, through following the scriptures and how knowledge has increased in technology we are more able to establish the truth of where the crossing and exactly where is the true Mount Sinai, after much deliberation of study a startling discovery that it is in fact in Saudi Arabia.


Exodus 14
Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 2 “Speak to the children of Israel, that they turn and camp before Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, opposite Baal Zephon; you shall camp before it by the sea.
NOTICE this says BEFORE
Well Worth looking at and closest to what I have been thinking and discussed with others studying and searching. From scripture and study of maps we find the truth.
Israel did not cross the river but the flooded Delta and it will happened again in the future (Isaiah 11:15-16)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJS_WVnfkG0&feature=youtu.be

http://houseofgold.blog.com/tag/rudolph-cohen/
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.


Rabbi Jonathan Ginsburg
http://www.answers.com/topic/exodus-route
From Rameses they went to their first station at Succoth (Ex 12:37; Num 33:5), proceeding next to Etham, at the edge of the wilderness (Ex 13:20). They were then instructed to turn back and to encamp before Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, over against Baal Zephon, so that Pharaoh might be afflicted with the great calamity which God had in store for him (Ex 14:1-4). The sea near which they were instructed to camp is the Red Sea (in Hebrew yam-suph), or "the sea of reeds" (Ex 14:22). Consequently the course the Israelites followed ran from west to east, without reaching a sea: they had to move either northward or southward from the edge of the wilderness, to come to a sea situated in the vicinity of the three above-mentioned places. The sea was crossed miraculously (Ex14:21-30) and from there they went on to the wilderness of Shur, where they failed to find water (Ex 15:22). Next came a three day march in the wilderness identified in Numbers 33:8 as the wilderness of Etham, which they had traversed previously: this indicates that their route had been circular. Their next stop was at Marah, but the water there was bitter (Ex 15:23).

Egyptian historical sources mention neither the Israelites' sojourn in Egypt nor their departure, but some Egyptian documents contain details which may help in elucidating the background of the Exodus. In the Anastasi I papyrus (late 13th century B.C.), a scribe officiating in an Egyptian fortress reported permission being granted to Edomite nomads to cross the border into Egypt with their herds. Concluded without requesting explicit authorization from Pharaoh, this seems to have been normal procedure. The construction of Pithom and Rameses, which is a historical fact, was accomplished under Pharaoh Rameses II, who built the new capital of Pi-Rameses (i.e. House of Rameses). According to Egyptian sources, this place was at the head of two roads. The first one, was the main route to Palestine running northeast to Qantara, from there to ancient Sile, and along the coast to Gaza. The second route to Palestine ran from the Qantir district (where Rameses is located) to the southeast, across semi-desert terrain, lying between the main Palestine road on the north and Wadi Tumilat on the south. This would have brought the Israelites to the region of Tell Maskhute; identified with Succoth, it lies near modern Ismailia, on the west bank of Lake Timsah. As the Israelites were prevented from using the Via Maris, the coastal highway, this was their only way to the wilderness of Sinai (cf Ex 13:18).

Numbers 33:3-15 gives the fullest list of stations on the route of the Exodus. In fact there is no general consensus on this point, and even the location of the "Red Sea" is far from agreed. An early Christian tradition of the 4th century A.D. locates the sea crossing at a site north of the Gulf of Suez, from which a road is mentioned as running southeast to Jebel Musa and Mount Catherine. This may find support in the preference of the wilderness road to the main highway as mentioned above, and would indicate that the Israelites wandered along the western coast of Sinai. It would also coincide with the 11 day trek "from Horeb by the way of Mount Seir unto Kadesh Barnea" (Deut 1:2), which is the actual length of the march from Jebel Musa in southern Sinai to Ain el-Qudeirat with which Kadesh Barnea is identified.

Against this view numerous objections have been raised. The southern part of the Sinai peninsula is stony and barren, and could have offered little food for such great multitudes of people. On the other hand, arable land may be found in the north only. During their wandering in the desert the Israelites ate manna (Ex 16:35), a substance which must have formed on trees. But trees are very rare in the southern part of Sinai, and much more frequent in the north; the other food, quails, which the Israelites ate before their arrival at and on their departure from Horeb (Ex 16:13; Num 11:31-32) is likewise found along the coast in the north, and not in the south. These considerations led to the proposition to identify Mount Sinai with Jebel Hilal south of el-Arish and east of Kadesh Barnea. To these materialistic objections, scholars have added further arguments based on literary grounds. However, none of these is well-founded. The fact remains that the name Paran, so closely connected with the Exodus (Num 13:3, 26; Deut 33:2), by which the whole wilderness of Sinai was named, is still preserved in one of the major wadis in the southern part of the peninsula, where it was crossed by an important west-east road, and where pre-Christian and Christian traditions venerated scared mountains.

No less disputed than the route of the Exodus is its date. Scholars in the 19th century suggested that Thutmosis III was the Pharaoh of the oppression, and that the Exodus took place in the reign of Amenhotep II (c. 1440 B.C.). More scholars, however, prefer a later date, placing the Exodus in the period of the 19th Dynasty, which would make Rameses II the pharaoh of the oppression, and Merneptah the pharaoh of the Exodus. The conquest of Canaan would thus have begun at about 1200 B.C.
Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/exodus-route#ixzz1rRlHvxb0