The Book of Exodus provides an account of the departure of the Children of Israel from slavery in Egypt and their journey through the wilderness to the Promised Land.
Now, bible scholars believe they have found vivid evidence that these famous passages from the Christian Bible did happen, UG Christian News has learnt.
Following three trips to Saudi Arabia, scholars from the Doubting Thomas Research Foundation (DTRF) describe what they uncovered as “mind-blowing,” and claim the Israelites traveled through the modern-day kingdom to get to Israel.
According to CBN News, one of the most “plausible” route DTRF uncovered is one where the Israelites left Egypt through Cairo and crossed into the Sinai Peninsula.
The researchers claim the real Mount of Sinai is located over a hundred miles eastwards across the Gulf of Aqaba, which separates the Sinai Peninsula from Saudi Arabia.
Mr Mauro from the Doubting Thomas Research Foundation (DTRF) told the Daily Star Online the location is believed to be where God parted the waters and led the Children of Israel across the Red sea.
Among the evidence, he claims are inscriptions of what appear to be cows on Jabal al-Lawz, which matches up with the biblical story of the idol of the Golden Calf. The researcher said that ancient rock structures at the foot of the mountain could be the remains of the altars built by the Israelites.
The Old Testament chronicles how Moses struck a rock, causing it to split, spilling out water to quench the thirst of the Israelites. Mauro says they have found a large, seemingly water-eroded rock, sitting on a hill and split in two.
“The golden calf, the split rock, Moses’ altar, the Red Sea crossing site; all of these pieces need to fit, and they fit at this site in a way that no other site does,” he said, according to CBN News.
“After three trips to Saudi Arabia, and I’m fully convinced that the Israelites went into the ancient land of Midian when they fled slavery in Egypt,” he added. “It’s going to take some time to bring this alternative theory into mainstream historiography, but I believe that our work is going to seriously shift the landscape on this subject.”
Mauro also told the Daily Star Online there is evidence that Moses split the sea at the Gulf of Aqaba on the modern-day beach of Nuweiba. There, the crossing would be just eight miles wide and a depth of only 33 meters (108 feet).
According to sources, the theory that Jabal al-Lawz is the biblical Mount Sinai is not new and has been challenged by traditional academics, many of whom question the entire Exodus account and some go as far as to dismiss the existence of Moses.
“I would basically say to someone who’s (skeptical) about the Exodus to keep an open mind about the subject,” Mauro said. “These events really did happen. It doesn’t require belief in one of these faiths to accept the evidence.”
Mauro said his team is currently trying to piece together an exact timeline and map structure for Exodus based on their findings.
