What is the name of the Red Sea?

One of the most memorable miracles in the Bible was the deliverance of the nation of Israel when they crossed the Red Sea. The Gulf of Aqaba is also called “The Red Sea.” We read in 1 Kings 9:26 – “King Solomon also built a fleet of ships in Ezion-geber, which is near Eloth (Eilat), on the shore of the Red Sea in the land of Edom.” If you consult an atlas, you will notice that this scripture associates the location of the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aqaba. Even though the “Bitter Lakes” region of Egypt is often suggested as the traditional Red Sea site, it is too marshy and shallow. We have many scriptures to illustrate that the Israelites crossed in deep waters. Exodus 15:5, “The deeps cover the Egyptians; they went down to the depths like a stone.”

If the Israelites crossed the Gulf of Aqaba, is there an underwater land bridge?  

Undersea investigations in the Gulf of Aqaba have located the remains of an underwater land bridge at a possible crossing point near the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula. This landmass under water in the middle of the Gulf of Aqaba is consistent with Isaiah 51:10, “Was it not Thou who dried up the sea, the waters of the great deep; Who made the depths of the sea a pathway (possibly applying to the southern tip or to the middle of Gulf of Aqaba); for the redeemed to cross over.” 

What is exciting are claims for three undersea discoveries: a four-spoke chariot wheel, a four-spoke gold chariot wheel, and an eight-spoke wheel and chariot cabs. All these were found in the upper third of the Gulf of Aqaba in 1978. If proven, these underwater finds support the view that the Israelites crossed at the Nuweibe beach on the Gulf of Aqaba. However, caution is warranted. There are many claims not backed by scholarly archeological study. Giving credence to such uncertain claims has led and continues to lead to historic confusion over the crossing site.  

An expanded discussion of this topic may be found at www.beautiesofthetruth.org with a search of the November 2003 issue “Jabal al Lawz – The search for the real Mt. Sinai.”