Through the Red Sea on Dry Ground

The Old Testament Seminary Teacher Manual says this about the story of the Israelites crossing the Red Sea: “Some modern scholars have argued that Moses did not take Israel directly to and then through the Red Sea proper (the Gulf of Suez branch of the Red Sea), but rather through the ‘Reed Sea,’ since in Hebrew Yam Suph means ‘The Reed Sea.’ These scholars believe the area crossed was a marshy lowland near the Bitter Lakes. … They maintain that the chariots of the Egyptians bogged down in the mud and then the soldiers drowned when higher waters came in. But Latter-day Saints have information that the Exodus account is correct. Both the Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants state directly that it was the Red Sea (see 1 Nephi 17:24–27; D&C 8:3). Exodus 14:22, 29 says that ‘the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left,’ certainly implying more than passing through a marshy area dried by a sudden wind.” A recently published scripture help takes a more neutral position on the question of whether it was the “Reed Sea” or the “Red Sea” with this description: “After Pharaoh allowed the Israelites to leave Egypt, God led them ‘through the way of the wilderness of the Red sea.’ The exact location where the Israelites camped after their departure from Egypt is unclear. The Hebrew phrase translated as ‘Red Sea’ can also be translated as ‘Reed Sea’ or ‘Sea of Reeds.’ Because of this, some believe that the Israelites may have camped near some other body of water. However, other evidence suggests that the text is indeed referring to the Red Sea. Regardless of where the Israelites were, the scriptures suggest that the sea they crossed was a large body of water.” The debate between Reed Sea and Red Sea really concerns the depth of the water; if it was indeed the Reed Sea then the water was shallower than the deep water of the true Red Sea.

It is likely that some modern scholars prefer the Reed Sea interpretation because it takes some of the miracle out of the story because it would mean the water was a shallow, marshy place they crossed. I like this anecdote about the debate: “An atheist was sitting on the park bench next to a young Christian who was reading his Bible. Suddenly the young Christian man began shouting ‘Praise God! Hallelujah!’ The atheist asked him. ‘Why are you so excited?’ The young man said ‘I just read that God parted the waters of the Red Sea, so the children of Israel could go across.’ The atheist said to him ‘Oh no that wasn't the Red Sea. That was the Reed Sea which only has 2 inches of water in it.’ The young man thanked him and continued to read. Suddenly he burst out again shouting ‘Praise God! Hallelujah!’ The atheist then asked him ‘Now what are you shouting about?’ The young man replied with excitement, ‘God drowned the entire Egyptian army in 2 inches of water!’”  

 For me, given the scriptures of the restoration, it seems clear that where they crossed was indeed the Red Sea. In the Book of Mormon uses the term Red Sea in multiple places. For example, Nephi declared to his brothers, “Therefore let us go up; let us be strong like unto Moses; for he truly spake unto the waters of the Red Sea and they divided hither and thither, and our fathers came through, out of captivity, on dry ground, and the armies of Pharaoh did follow and were drowned in the waters of the Red Sea” (1 Nephi 4:2). He said again on another occasion, “Now ye know that Moses was commanded of the Lord to do that great work; and ye know that by his word the waters of the Red Sea were divided hither and thither, and they passed through on dry ground. But ye know that the Egyptians were drowned in the Red Sea, who were the armies of Pharaoh” (1 Nephi 17:26-27). These passages are certainly was not describing a body of water only a few inches deep. The same goes for this statement by Nephi, son of Helaman: “Behold, my brethren, have ye not read that God gave power unto one man, even Moses, to smite upon the waters of the Red Sea, and they parted hither and thither, insomuch that the Israelites, who were our fathers, came through upon dry ground, and the waters closed upon the armies of the Egyptians and swallowed them up?” (Helaman 8:11) The fact that the waters “closed upon” the Egyptian army clearly suggests a large body of water. Perhaps most importantly, modern revelation also confirms that it was the Red Sea: “Now, behold, this is the spirit of revelation; behold, this is the spirit by which Moses brought the children of Israel through the Red Sea on dry ground” (Doctrine and Covenants 8:3). To a people who understood the term Red Sea the same way we do in current geography, that is what the Lord called the body of water that Moses and the Israelites miraculously crossed. Wherever it was that the Israelites crossed a body of water, one thing is clear: the Lord miraculously preserved His people from the Egyptians and this story has inspired the Lord’s people to believe in His power to help them for millennia.