Wind could have parted Red Sea for Moses: report

The biblical narrative of the crossing of the Red Sea has inspired and mystified people for millennia. So far, Archaeologists and Egyptologists have found little direct evidence to substantiate many of the events described in Exodus, said to have taken place more than 3,000 years ago.

Now, a new study offers a new hydrodynamic explanation for the miracle – a strong east wind, blowing overnight, could have created a land bridge and allowed for passage.

By pinpointing a possible site south of the Mediterranean Sea for the crossing, the study - based on a reconstruction of the likely locations and depths of Nile delta waterways, which have shifted considerably over time - could benefit experts seeking to research whether splitting of the Red Sea ever took place.

The computer model shows the winds pushing the water back at a bend where an ancient river is believed to have merged with a coastal lagoon - named the 'Lake of Tanis' by Herodotus - along the Mediterranean Sea (left). With the water pushed back into both waterways, a land bridge would have opened at the bend, enabling people to walk across exposed mud flats to safety. As soon as the wind died down, the waters would have rushed back in.

U.S. researchers reported that while Moses might not have parted the Red Sea, a strong east wind that blew through the night could have pushed the waters back in the way described in biblical writings and the Koran.

Computer simulations, part of a larger study on how winds affect water, show wind could push water back at a point where a river bent to merge with a coastal lagoon, the team at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and the University of Colorado at Boulder said.

"The simulations match fairly closely with the account in Exodus," Carl Drews of NCAR, who led the study, said in a statement.

"The parting of the waters can be understood through fluid dynamics. The wind moves the water in a way that's in accordance with physical laws, creating a safe passage with water on two sides and then abruptly allowing the water to rush back in."

The computer simulations by Carl Drews and University of Colorado at Boulder (CU) oceanographer Weiqing Han are intended to present a possible scenario of events.

Drews explains part of his research conclusion

The book of Exodus describes Moses and the fleeing Israelites trapped between the Pharaoh's advancing chariots and a body of water that has been variously translated as the Red Sea or the Sea of Reeds. Although the biblical account attributes the splitting of the waters to the Lord's power, it includes an east wind as natural component in the chain of events.

“Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.”

This enables the Israelites to flee to the other shore. When the Pharaoh's army attempts to pursue them in the morning, the waters rush back and drown the soldiers.

Religious texts differ a little in the tale, but all describe Moses leading the Israelites out of Egypt ahead of a Pharaoh's armies around 3,000 years ago. The Red Sea parts to let Moses and his followers pass safely, then crashes back onto the pursuers, drowning them.

The study (published in the online journal PLoS ONE as 'Dynamics of Wind Setdown at Suez and the Eastern Nile Delta') is part of a larger research project by Drews into the impacts of winds on water depths, including the extent to which Pacific Ocean typhoons can drive storm surges.

His team pinpointed a possible site south of the Mediterranean Sea for the legendary crossing, and modeled different land formations that could have existed then and perhaps led to the accounts of the sea appearing to part.
The model requires a U-shaped formation of the Nile River and a shallow lagoon along the shoreline. It shows that a wind of 63 miles per hour, blowing steadily for 12 hours, could have pushed back waters 6 feet deep.

Computer Simulation of Wind Parting Red Sea

"This land bridge is 3-4 km (2 to 2.5 miles) long and 5 km (3 miles) wide, and it remains open for 4 hours," they wrote in the Public Library of Science journal PLoS ONE.

"People have always been fascinated by this Exodus story, wondering if it comes from historical facts," Drews said. "What this study shows is that the description of the waters parting indeed has a basis in physical laws."

The entire scientific article can be read online or downloaded from: http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0012481

Source:
Reuters, "Wind could have parted Red Sea for Moses: report", accessed September 22, 2010
Heritage Key, "Exodus Hydrodynamics: How the East Winds Parted the Red Sea", accessed September 22, 2010
UCAR,"Parting the waters: Computer modeling applies physics to Red Sea escape route", accessed September 22, 2010
Our Amazing Planet, "Parting of Red Sea Jibes With Natural Laws", accessed September 22, 2010