RED SEA (Gr. Ἐρυθρὰ ἅλ-λασσά; Heb. jām sūph). — A large expanse of sea extending from the entrance at Bāb el-Mandeb, between southwestern Asia to the east and the northeastern coasts of Africa to the west, as far north as Cape Mohammed, where it divides into the two branches of the Gulf of Suez (Sinus Arabicus) to the west and the Gulf of el-Aqabah (Sinus Aelanticus) to the east. The Hebrew name jām sūph, "sea of reeds" or "sea of seaweed" (Ex. 10:19; 13:18; 15:4), is of uncertain origin; however, its identification is not in doubt, since its extremity is indicated (Ex. 23:31; 1 Kings 9:26; Jer. 49:21) as the Elanitic or Gulf of el-Aqabah.
The general opinion, supported by biblical texts, is that the miraculous passage of the Hebrews across the Red Sea (Ex. 15:4-22) took place in the Gulf of Suez, which at that time was connected to the basin of the Bitter Lakes by natural channels. Even today, reeds grow there, and it is not unlikely that they were abundant at the time of the Exodus, thus justifying the Hebrew name.
The precise location of the crossing has been variously determined: by the Serapeum between Lake Timsah and the Bitter Lakes; by Saluf between the Bitter Lakes and Suez; or by the ford that once connected Clysma (Suez) to el-Satt. The most probable opinion, presented by Bourdon and based on geography, archaeology, and the study of papyri, places the crossing between Ġebel Ġeneffef and Ġebel Ḥasan along the track leading to the ford situated in the southern part of the Little Bitter Lake.
The Hebrews, forced to change direction in their march toward Palestine, proceeded from the Serapeum along the route west of the Great Bitter Lake leading to Suez. Leaving to their right the marshy terrain extending between the route and the lake—called in a papyrus by the Egyptian name equivalent to Phihahiroth ("the marshes")—they camped at the foot of Ġebel Ḥasan, where, since the time of Seti I, there had been a fort (Magdal) facing the stele of Beelsephon (Ex. 1:1-2), garrisoned to guard both the route leading to Suez and the track to the ford of the Bitter Lakes.
Red Sea. — [Christian sarcophagus of the 4th century depicting the scene of the crossing of the Red Sea — Rome, Christian Museum of the Lateran.]
The Egyptians, confident that the Hebrews would not venture across the ford and certain they could now cut off the fugitives, waited for them to surrender. But during the night, a violent wind arose from the east, hiding the two armies from view, and Moses, under the Lord’s protection, ordered the movement toward the ford of the Bitter Lakes, which, due to the tide, had widened. They crossed on dry land to the other shore, reaching the desert. At dawn, the Egyptians attempted the crossing as well; but the Lord threw them into panic, and at Moses’ gesture, as they were in the midst of the sea, the waters returned to their course, and in their attempt to retreat, they were met by waves that engulfed them.
DONATO BALDI
Archaeology. — Christian art depicted the scene of the crossing of the Red Sea (Ex. 14:21-36; 15:1-6) in the 4th century on the fronts of several sarcophagi: in these, to the left, a large gate usually opens from which emerge horsemen and foot soldiers, led by the Pharaoh in a chariot, pursuing the Hebrews. Beneath the horses, two or three symbolic figures represent Egypt, the land, and the Red Sea. This is followed by the moment of the clash: men and horses struggle in the waves, drowning. To the right, the group of the Hebrews, freed with Moses—a beardless young man—who strikes the sea with his staff, contrary to the scriptural text, which states that the prophet had opened the sea with the staff and, stretching out his hand at God’s command, caused it to fall back upon the Egyptians. Of the Hebrews, some observe the ruin of their enemy, others are on the move, holding children either by the hand or on their shoulders; others carry in their folded cloaks the unleavened dough. The throng is led by Moses’ sister, who plays a small drum and follows the pillar of fire, depicted as a twisted column with a Corinthian capital, surmounted by a burning brazier.
This is seen, for example, on the lid of a sarcophagus discovered in St. Lawrence’s (San Lorenzo) at the Verano, belonging to a certain Gorgonius (late 4th century). Of the other representations of the crossing on sarcophagi, seven are Roman and thirteen Gallic. The most famous sarcophagi are the Lateran no. 111, those in the museums of Split, Arles, Bellegarde, Avignon, and the church of St. Trophimus in Arles, used as an altar mensa.
Other reproductions of the scene appear in a panel of the door of St. Sabina and in one of the museums of the basilica of St. Mary Major (5th century), in which the Hebrew people, with Moses, witness the drowning of the Egyptians.
Finally, the crossing of the Red Sea is frequently depicted in miniatures, such as in the manuscript of the Homilies of St. Gregory Nazianzen (late 9th century) and in a Psalter of the 10th century (H. Omont, Les miniatures des manuscrits grecs de la Bibliothèque nationale, Paris 1902, pls. 42 and 9); in Octateuchs of the 11th and 12th centuries, such as the Vatican Greek codices nos. 746 and 747 (Wilpert, Mosaiken, p. 455), etc.
In this scene, G. Wilpert saw as a possible symbolic interpretation the invocation: “Deliver the soul of your servant as you delivered Moses from the hand of Pharaoh”; E. Becker, however, sees an allusion to the Battle of the Milvian Bridge and the defeat of Maxentius; F. I. Dölger, a symbol of Baptism, according to St. Paul (1 Cor. 10:2).