Where did the Israelites Go When They, “TURNED BACK,” in the Exodus?

Where did the Israelites go when they, “turned back,” in the Exodus?

Exodus 14 opens by saying:

“Now the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Tell the sons of Israel to turn back and camp before Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea; you shall camp in front of Baal-zephon, opposite it, by the sea. For Pharaoh will say of the sons of Israel, ‘They are wandering aimlessly in the land; the wilderness has shut them in.’ “Thus I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will chase after them; and I will be honored through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD.” And they did so.” (Exodus 14:1-4)

This portion of the Exodus narrative occurs after Moses and the Israelites have left Egypt, having, “…set out from Succoth and camped in Etham on the edge of the wilderness,” (Exodus 13:20). The specific route the Israelites took in leaving Egypt has been and continues to be disputed. The toponyms listed in Exodus 14:2 have never been definitively identified. As such, debates persist over whether these are locales in or near Egypt, or if they are somewhere much further away.

In my previous video, I laid out my case for why I believe the Biblical יַם ס֑וּף (commonly rendered as, “Red Sea”) refers exclusively to the Gulf of Aqaba – the Red Sea’s eastern branch along the Sinai & Arabian coasts, and should not be understood as a marshy, inland lake near Egypt. By extension, I also favor the true location of Mount Sinai as being somewhere in or near ancient Midian, likely in the north-western portion of modern Saudi Arabia.

Assuming these to be the proper locations for יַם ס֑וּף and Mount Sinai, Moses and the Israelites would have been initially traveling in this direction when the command was given to him to, “turn back.” How far along in their journey they were, we can’t be absolutely sure. As much as the Bible records though, they had encamped at a place called, “Etham.” Like the toponyms in Exodus 14:2, we do not know where Etham is. However, Exodus 13:20 does state that Etham is, “on the edge of the wilderness.” Of course, this begs the question, “which wilderness?”

That being said, I believe that the wilderness being referred to in Exodus 13:20 is the same wilderness that Israel would eventually wander in for 40 years. Given a Midianite/Arabian location for Mount Sinai, this wilderness is most likely the desert of the Arabian Peninsula. Thus, I believe that Etham was on the edge of the Sinai & Arabian border.

The word translated as, “turn back,” is the verb שׁוּב. To properly interpret what God meant when He told Moses to שׁוּב, it’s important to understand that the reason this command was given to Moses was because it would draw out the Egyptians for their subsequent destruction in the יַם ס֑וּף. Therefore, whatever action was taken when Moses and the Israelites, “turned back,” it was of great enough significance that it led the Egyptians to believe that: 1) the Israelites were trapped in the desert and 2) they could recapture them after having let them go free.

שׁוּב does not merely mean to turn left or right, it means turn around or return – the idea being an about face. In fact, שׁוּב is frequently used to describe repentance (Job 22:23; 1 Kings 8:33, 35, 48, 13:33; 2 Chronicles 15:4, 30:9; Proverbs 1:23; Isaiah 6:10, 10:21-22, 31:6, 59:20; Jeremiah 3:7, 12, 14, 22, 4:1, 5:3, 15:7, 18:8; Ezekiel 3:19-20, 13:22, 14:6, 18:24, 30, 33:18; Hosea 3:5, 5:4, 6:1, 7:10, 11:5, 14:2; Amos 4:6). Repenting means turning about face from your sin and returning to an obedient lifestyle; it is not a partial or incomplete turn. With this in mind, I believe that what God commanded Moses to do was turn around and, for a time at least, begin heading back towards Egypt.

The narrative of Exodus 14 should guard us from assuming that this was a full return to Egypt proper. The Israelite encampment described in verse 2 is the place where the Egyptian army, “overtook,” them (v.9), leading the Israelites to scorn Moses (v.11-12) before God parted the sea (v.21). Thus, “the sea,” described in verse 2 should be equivocated with the Gulf of Aqaba. This infers that Pi-Hahiroth (mouth of the canal/gorge), Migdol (tower/fortress) and Baal-Zephon (lord of the north) are references to the eastern Sinai coast.

However, if the turning around of the Israelites at the edge of the Sinai & Arabian deserts was enough to lead the Egyptians to believe that they were lost, trapped, and vulnerable to recapture, then this implies a time period when Egypt maintained a very strong hegemony over the Sinai Peninsula. This recognition can help in future attempts to locate the Exodus in the historical record of ancient Egypt, as we should be looking during a time when the Egyptians firmly controlled and regulated the Sinai. Furthermore, the location of any Egyptian establishments in the Sinai could be used as a clue as to where the Exodus route was.

[AChristianGuy]

Which way do you think the Israelites went when they left Egypt?

[hosseinheydaryan]

Based on the Koran story, they start to leave Egypt at night and Freon after collecting some power men start to move in the morning, this means at least 6 hour or 12+6 hour (if they move at the next day) have distant between moses and Freon,
By this time schedule I think Moses move cross the red see

And when they cross the see, Moses go to the mountain and remain for 40 days, and they only place that have many mountains is the Sina mountain, and then keep they path to the Sina desert

This is my guess

[Migler]

Paul said the mountain was located in Arabia.

”Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia; she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children.”
‭‭Galatians‬ ‭4‬:‭25‬

Exodus says the mountain was located in Midian.

”Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.”
‭‭Exodus‬ ‭3‬:‭1‬

The mountain in Midian where God spoke to Moses is the very same mountain where Moses received the law from God.

Midian was part of what was later called Arabia and was located in the northwest Arabian Peninsula. Midian is the same region as modern day Saudi Arabia. Therefore, Mount Sinai is located in Saudi Arabia.

[vivliforia]

Question:
Exodus 14:30
[30]So the Lord saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel SAW the Egyptians DEAD on the SEASHORE.

How could the Israelites see the Egyptians dead on the seashore? The sea must not be too wide.

[riverstyx]

Though unbelieving "scholars" insist that YaM SuPH must be a shallow fresh water lake, all the Biblical references to the Yam SuPH point to what we call the Red Sea today. While some clearly refer to the Gulf of Aqaba, I believe a case can be made that the Gulf of Suez is also included. A key point in determining where they "turned back" is the fact that Moses asked for and Pharaoh finally granted a journey of three days to worship and sacrifice in the wilderness. As long as they did not travel beyond a reasonable three day distance, Pharaoh would not be overly concerned. They would still be doing what he had reluctantly granted. The instruction to turn back 180 degrees would not have moved Pharaoh to send out his army to bring them back, for they would already be doing that. If we, however, understand "turn back" to mean "turn west" (In Hebrew idiom "front" and "back" can also mean east and west.), a turn to the west at three days out would lead Pharaoh to conclude they were wandering aimlessly, especially if their journey so far had been toward Mt. Sinai, to where God had instructed Moses to bring them. From Succoth, instead of going by way of the Philistines (east to northeast along the coast) the quickest route to go by the way of the Red Sea would be to go south toward the Gulf of Suez. A three day trek in haste would put them about even with the northern limit of the Gulf of Suez and to the edge of the desert region along the eastern shore of the gulf. A turn to the west at that point would have brought them around the northern tip of the gulf. Pharaoh would realize they were not returning, but their direction and apparent immediate destination would move him not only to think that they were wandering aimlessly and trapped but also that he could quickly reach them and recapture them. A submerged land bridge across the northern tip of the Gulf of Suez descends only about fifty feet and is only about six miles long - a reasonable distance for completing in one night. Crossing at that point would put them right back into the desert of Etham, in which they would travel (south, I believe) for three days to Marah. They were at Etham both before and after the Red Sea crossing. I think they gathered about a day at Succoth for Moses' instructions, then traveled three days to the edge of Etham where they probably did just as they had proposed and spent the fifth day worshiping (perhaps a Sabbath day). The next two days would bring them around the northern tip of the gulf, and by the next morning all of Pharaoh's army was dead in the Red Sea, completing the first week that corresponded with the Feast of Unleavened bread, for they were moving in haste. After that, the need for haste was over because there was no more Egyptian army. I think some other mountain besides the traditional site was the true Mt. Sinai. (The desert of Etham is also called the wilderness of Shur. "Shur" translates to "wall" and could refer to the wall-like escarpment to the east of the coastal plain at that point.)

[PyramidEagle]

Conjecture??? That would be misleading.

[Thehaystack]

Would Joseph’s bones been buried in or near Goshen? If his bones were more southern, then was the body retrieved and then taken up. I think he would be buried near Memphis, and not cause the Israelites to back and forth before the Exodus. Anyways just off topic question, sorry.

[zerohere]

So Egyptians drowned in a inland lake and king Solomon built a fleet of ships in said inland lake and never went around and what about it being in the Red Sea peninsula?

[tedspeer]

Thanks for your research and explanations! In regards to repentance, it does not mean to turn from sins. It simply means to turn. The Bible speaks several times of God repenting. God does not sin; therefore, repentance does not always refer to sinning.

[sergeg]

real Mt. sinai is located at Saudi Arabia. Jebel Al Lawz you can see the mountain is burnt on the top

[peacefulpatriots]

The crossing site was identified back in the 80s by Ron Wyatt, along with the real Mt Sinai, complete with the metallurgy site used to make the Tabernacle furnishings.

[Silverheart]

Dear Christian Guy,
There are many problems with your hypothesis. Many of the problems are asserted by Scripture and some other problems asserted by scholarly archaeology. As it stands, it appears that Scripture and archaeology disagrees with your hypothesis.

Some confusion caused by inaccurate translation of the text.
"מִיַּם־ ס֔וּף" = "sūp̄ yam", (sometimes transliterated as "suph") does not mean "red sea". It actually means "reed sea". "Sūp̄" is usually correctly translated in Ex. 2:3, 5 as "reeds".

Unfortunately, the idea of "red sea" has become set in stone and because of tradition. Many translations are reluctant to accurately translate the Hebrew words because of tradition. Only a few English translations accurately translate the Hebrew words : Aramaic Bible in Plain English, International Standard Version, Peshitta Holy Bible Translated, Common English Bible. However, some translations do have footnotes giving the correct translation & clarifying the problem.

Archaeological evidence strongly suggests that the reed Sea was located within the boundaries of ancient Egypt, which would not include the Sinai Peninsula (contemporary boundaries of Egypt do include the Sinai Peninsula). All indications are that the Reed Sea was located somewhere along the Ismuth of Suez in a now extinct body of water (There have been significant changes to that area in the last 3500 years).

An often overlooked piece of the puzzle, concerning the location of the Reed Sea is found in the Scriptures. Exodus 10:19 states:
"And the LORD turned the wind into a very strong west wind, which lifted the
locusts and drove them into the Red Sea. Not a single locust was left in all
the country of Egypt."
Of course the english words "Red Sea" should be rightly called the "Reed Sea".
The locusts were driven from Egypt in an easterly direction, by a very strong west wind.
If one looks on a map there are the bodies of water that were once on the border of Egypt at the Ismuth of Suez and the only other body of water to the east of Egypt is the Dead Sea. However the Dead Sea has never been called the Sea of Reeds. This leave the bodies of water along the Ismuth of Suez.

Another consideration is an inscription on the Karnak Temple of Amun in Luxor, which mentioned the border forts protecting Egypt. One of the Fortresses mentioned in Migdol (by name), as one of the Border forts along the border of Egypt, which was roughly along the Ismuth of Suez, taking advantage of the bodies of water as a natural boundary for ancient Egypt. Just where Migdol is located along the border of Egypt has not yet been positively identified. Egyptologist Dr. James Hoffmeier has identified several sites of ruins of which one may very well may be Migdol. Excavations of these potential sites are planned in the future.
It is believed that this that the Migdol mentioned on the Temple inscriptions is the same (and only) Migdol mentioned in Ex. 14:1.

The Scriptures say:
"Then Moses made Israel set out from the Red Sea, and they went into the
wilderness of Shur. " (Ex. 15:22)
The wilderness of Shur is a location that we know the location of. The strong historical tradition locates the "wilderness of Shur" (or “desert of Shur”) in the northern Sinai, east of the isthmus. This historical tradition is supported by the Scriptures:
"So Saul defeated the Amalekites, from Havilah as you go to Shur,
which is east of Egypt." (1 Sam 15:7)
the land of the Amalekites was between the Dead Sea and the Mediterranean Sea in the southern Levant just east of the wilderness of Shur.
Also in 1 Sam 27:8:"
"Now David and his men went up and raided the Geshurites and the Girzites
and the Amalekites; for they were the inhabitants of the land from ancient
times, as you come to Shur even as far as the land of Egypt. "
Obviously Egypt is described as being on the other side of Shur. In verse 10, Achish asked David, "Where have you made a raid today?" And David told him in the Negev.
So according to Scripture, once the Israelites crossed the Reed Sea they entered the "wilderness of Shur" in the northern portion of the Sinai Peninsula.

References:
Many of the research and excavations of Dr. James Hoffmeier.
Note: Dr. Hoffmeier speaks of an incident when some advocates approached him
wanting him to endorse the Saudi Arabia hypothesis. He told them the hypothesis
was completely unsound and He could not. He said he is not aware that any
professional, credentialed, archaeologists have ever endorsed this hypothesis.

"New Evidence from Egypt on the Location of the Exodus Sea Crossing: Part I" By Gary Byers MA.


Associates for Biblical Research - an association of Professional Christian Archaeologists actively researching and excavating Scriptural issues.
Be Well,
DZ

[michaele.stovall]

Google says pihahiroth is nuweiba beach, egypt, theres a totem pole there stating the exodus location

[jperez]

i subscribe to the theories of david rohl on the timing and placement of the journey and path of the exodus by virtue of the viability of the logistics involved. he was also able to show the derivations of the places and names in the bible. although it is still subject to change depending on future evidence, his thesis on the path undertaken for the exodus appears the most cogent and viable.

[ISA-USA-ALLAH]

One is a railroad crossing that's air born and the other is a bridge of allans truth and the Pennsylvania Indiana county hospital Pennsylvania Indiana county

[ing-mariekoppel]

Even the turquoise road is too far south.

[byronrhodes]

Wouldn’t the throne of pharaoh at the time of the exodus need to be near where Moses and Aaron were? What evidence brings you to the conclusion that Memphis was the seat of power for Egypt in that day?

[kazi_enterprise]

Try read holy Quran about Moses storyline. So that's might clearance any doubts

[TVDimasNidaFFF]

Bingung kan ? Itu karena sejarahnya bukan di midle east

[Mobius]

The problem with the Gulf of Aqaba crossing is having to put the Wilderness of Shur in MIdian when we know by Gen 20:1 that Abraham lived in Negev and lived between Kadesh and Shur. If the Negev was between Shur and Kadesh, then if Kadesh was near Petra and wadi Musa then Shur was to the west of the Negev.