SUMMARY: The next in a series (with a Sneak Peek VIDEO) highlighting themes in the new film The Red Sea Miracle; this time delves into the Direction step of the Exodus journey.
When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near. For God said, “Lest the people change their minds when they see war and return to Egypt.” But God led the people around by the way of the wilderness toward the Red Sea… – Exodus 13:18 (ESV)
Which Way did they (the Israelites) Go?
Each Patterns of Evidence film has a sequence of events or biblical identifications that we look for in the investigation. The Red Sea Miracle, coming to over 800 theaters nationwide February 18, has a six-part sequence. The second step in this sequence is DIRECTION; which way did Moses lead the Israelites out of Egypt? One of the important clues in determining this question comes 40 years earlier in the narrative, just after Moses had killed an Egyptian taskmaster for beating a Hebrew slave.
When Pharaoh heard of it, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from Pharaoh and stayed in the land of Midian. – Exodus 2:15 (ESV)
Moses would live 40 years in Midian tending sheep, until one day he led his sheep to the far side of the wilderness, a place called Horeb, the mountain of God. It was there that the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a burning bush and told Moses to return to Egypt and bring the Israelite people back to this very mountain to worship him.
The question many people have asked is “Was Moses in Midian when this event happened? And if so, where is Midian?” That was a question I have asked many archaeologists and you might be surprised by the answer.
Where is Midian?
I went to London in 2005 to see archaeologist Peter Parr (Institute of Archaeology, University of London). He led the first official British archaeological survey of Saudi Arabia. It was while he was in northwest Saudi Arabia that he worked on the archaeological site called Qurayyah.
Peter and his team discovered that Qurayyah was a major center for pottery production. They found pottery fragments strewn across the ground. This distinctive decorated pottery became known as Qurayyah painted ware. Many have also called it Midianite pottery.
Peter went on to explain, “The Midianites we know from the Old Testament, that it was Moses who married the daughter of the Midianite priest, Jethro. That doesn’t necessarily mean that they had a state, in the sense of a state structure. But, there was a community and I think one can assume that Qurayyah … was a major center. We certainly have the fortifications which were certainly of that date [12th century BC]. There was actually a kiln, the remains of a kiln, where this material [pottery] had obviously been made and we know that from analysis that the pottery, a lot of it, was actually made at Qurayyah.”
“The true Midianite pottery, which more cautiously I prefer to call ‘Qurayyah painted ware,’ if I can put that in brackets. A lot of archaeologists object to putting an ethnic name, a people name, to pottery. Pottery does not necessarily mean people – and they would prefer a more neutral term.”
I asked Peter if this type of Midianite pottery was found in the Sinai Peninsula around the traditional Mount Sinai. He replied, “It is true that no pottery of this type has not been found in Sinai.” I found this curious, because the southern Sinai Peninsula has been the area many have suggested for Moses’ burning bush encounter with God at the mountain.
Peter continued, “It is possible that the Midianites were roaming, were active, were there in some form in the Sinai and the eastern part of Egypt and just didn’t leave any indication in their pottery. That’s possible, like I say, but it’s strange.” This leads me back to northwest Saudi Arabia.
If Midian was in northwest Saudi Arabia, is it likely that Moses traveled outside of Midian to graze Jethro’s flock, and to see the burning bush on Mount Sinai? Peter thought about this question for a moment, then responded. “He wouldn’t wander over vast areas. In other words, I can see if it was postulated that Moses was operating in Sinai, I can see him not wandering out of Sinai. Equally … If Moses was in northern Arabia … with his flocks, he probably would have stayed there. There is no reason why he should move out of the area as far as I can see.”
A Second Opinion on the Location of Midian
Peter Parr defined ancient Midian as, “the northwest corner of the Arabian Peninsula, east of the Gulf of Aqaba.” Environmental geographer Glen Fritz, however, argues for a smaller and more specific definition for the land of Midian. He uses numerous ancient sources and the geographic realities of water and mountain ranges to place Midian in the coastal zone shown on the map below. Areas to the north and on the other side of the high mountains to the east he considers to be outside of Midian proper. (see a past Thinker Update with a video of Glen Fritz talking about the lost sea of the Exodus)
Glen echoes Peter Parr’s caution about calling the pottery Midianite ware, “considering the lack of known ties between Qurayyah and the Midianites.” Glen also notes on his website that the dates assigned to this pottery production are centuries after the time of the Exodus out of Egypt.
The Bible Locates the Land of Midian
Regardless of which view is more accurate, each puts the ancient land of Midian east of the Gulf of Aqaba. This is supported by a passage in the Bible that puts Midian east of the Promised Land (marked as “Israel” on the black and white inset map, in the upper right corner of the map above).
Abraham and Sarah had a son Isaac, who was declared to be the heir of the special promises of God, including the land of Canaan. Abraham is also recorded as having several other sons, including one named Midian. The Bible says all these other sons were sent to live east of Canaan and away from Isaac. Many of Abraham’s descendants listed in this chapter show up as nations later in the account.
But to the sons of his concubines Abraham gave gifts, and while he was still living he sent them away from his son Isaac, eastward to the east country. – Genesis 25:6 (ESV)
The key point is that the Sinai Peninsula is west of the Promised Land, not east of it. This means the land of Midian did not include what today is called the Sinai Peninsula. It must have been east of Aqaba in agreement with all the other historical sources.
The location of Midian gives one piece of the puzzle in the search for the Israelite’s Exodus from Egypt. If the first goal was to reach a mountain either in or in close proximity to Midian, then the direction the Israelites initially took out of Goshen in Egypt’s Nile Delta would have been southeast toward that goal. There are numerous other aspects of this journey that need to be uncovered in the quest of solving this 3500-year-old mystery. One more will be explored next week. In the meantime, KEEP THINKING!
TOP PHOTO: Moses and Aaron speak to Pharaoh before the Israelites are thrust out of Egypt. (© 2020 Patterns of Evidence, LLC.)
