Red Sea
Red Sea is a body of water mentioned in the Old Testament, located in the region of Sinai in modern-day Egypt. Known today as Gulf of Aqaba. It appears across 5 verses in Scripture.
Biblical History
The Red Sea (Hebrew yam suph, "Sea of Reeds") holds an unparalleled place in biblical history as the site of God's most dramatic act of deliverance in the Old Testament. When Pharaoh pursued the fleeing Israelites, God parted the waters, allowing His people to cross on dry ground, then collapsed the sea upon the Egyptian army, destroying it entirely (Exodus 14:21-28). This event became the defining act of salvation in Israel's memory, celebrated in the Song of Moses (Exodus 15) and recalled throughout the Psalms, Prophets, and wisdom literature (Psalm 106:7-12; Isaiah 51:10). The Red Sea also marked the boundary of Israel's promised territory (Exodus 23:31) and featured in Solomon's maritime ventures, when his fleet operated from Ezion-geber on the Gulf of Aqaba (1 Kings 9:26). The New Testament references the crossing as an act of faith (Hebrews 11:29) and a type of baptism (1 Corinthians 10:1-2). The Red Sea thus functions as Scripture's supreme symbol of divine liberation, prefiguring the ultimate deliverance accomplished through Christ.
Archaeological & Historical Notes
The identification of the biblical yam suph remains one of the most debated questions in biblical geography. The Hebrew term literally means "Sea of Reeds" rather than "Red Sea," and scholars have proposed locations ranging from the Gulf of Aqaba and the Gulf of Suez to the Bitter Lakes and Lake Timsah along the modern Suez Canal route. The traditional identification with the Gulf of Aqaba, reflected in the existing data, connects to Solomon's port at Ezion-geber. Egyptian records describe bodies of water in the eastern Delta region using similar terminology. Underwater surveys in both the Gulf of Aqaba and the Gulf of Suez have not produced conclusive evidence for the crossing event. The Suez Canal construction in the nineteenth century significantly altered the geography of the isthmus region, making reconstruction of ancient waterways difficult.
Verse Appearances (5)
References
- Orr, J. (ed.) (1915) The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Chicago: Howard-Severance Company. [Public Domain]
- OpenBible.info (n.d.) Bible Geocoding. Available at: https://www.openbible.info/geo/. [CC BY 4.0]
- Bagnall, R. et al. (eds.) (n.d.) Pleiades: A Gazetteer of Past Places. Available at: https://pleiades.stoa.org. [CC BY 3.0]
- Wikidata contributors (n.d.) Wikidata. Available at: https://www.wikidata.org. [CC0]
- Lawrence, D. et al. (2025) Villages to Empires: a settlement dataset for the Southern Levant. doi:10.5281/zenodo.15111732. [CC BY 4.0]
- Church of England (1769) The Holy Bible, Authorized (King James) Version. [Public Domain]