Red Sea

Where is the Red Sea? The sea between Africa and Arabia that Israel crossed in the Exodus, with the 'Sea of Reeds' debate and the key chapters.

Today
Between Africa and the Arabian Peninsula
Country
Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Yemen etc.
Status
Sea: splits into the Gulfs of Suez and Aqaba in the north
Identification
Probable

The Red Sea gives its name to the best-known scene of the Exodus. God led the people of Israel toward the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea; when Moses stretched out his hand over the sea the waters divided, the people crossed on dry ground, and Pharaoh's pursuing army was swallowed by the waters. The Song of Moses, the Psalms and the New Testament recall this deliverance again and again. Ezion-geber, where King Solomon built his ships, also lay on the Red Sea, on today's Gulf of Aqaba.

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Where is the Red Sea, and which countries border it?

The Red Sea today stretches between Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, bordered by countries such as Egypt, Sudan, Eritrea, Saudi Arabia and Yemen. In the north it splits into the Gulfs of Suez and Aqaba on either side of the Sinai Peninsula. In the Bible it is the sea Israel crossed as if on dry land when leaving Egypt (Hebrews 11:29). The exact crossing point is unknown; because the Hebrew name can also be translated Sea of Reeds, some scholars suggest the reedy lakes north of the Gulf of Suez.

Red Sea or Sea of Reeds?

In the Hebrew text of the Old Testament this sea is called Yam Suph, a name that can also be translated Sea of Reeds. Some scholars therefore place the crossing at one of the reedy lakes north of the Gulf of Suez. Yet the same name is used for the Gulf of Aqaba (1 Kings 9:26), and both the ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament and the New Testament say Red Sea (Hebrews 11:29).

Where did the Red Sea part?

The Bible does not give the exact place of the crossing; it only says Israel camped by the sea and the waters divided when Moses stretched out his hand (Exodus 14:21). Proposed sites include the northern tip of the Gulf of Suez, the area of the Bitter Lakes and Lake Timsah, and the Gulf of Aqaba east of the Sinai Peninsula.