What archaeological evidence supports the "awesome deeds by the Red Sea" in Psalm 106:22? Canonical Setting and Vocabulary Psalm 106:22 : “Awesome deeds by the Red Sea, wonders by the Sea of Reeds.” The psalmist rehearses the Exodus miracle of Exodus 14 – 15. “Red Sea” is the Hebrew yam-sûph, a term used 24× in the Hebrew Bible and pointing to the same body of water crossed under Moses (Exodus 13:18; 15:4; Psalm 78:13; 136:13–15). Geographical Frame: Where Was the Crossing? 1. North-west Gulf of Suez (traditional view): Archaeology has identified Bronze-Age shorelines at the Ballah Lakes and El-Temsah Lake that once formed the northeastern extension of the Red Sea canal system (cf. Sir Alan Gardiner, The Canal of the Pharaohs). 2. Gulf of Aqaba / Nuweiba (southern view): Multibeam bathymetry (National Institute of Oceanography, Haifa, 1998) revealed an underwater ridge only 10–15 m below present mean sea level stretching from Nuweiba Beach to the Saudi coast—shallow enough for foot passage if exposed, yet bordered by 700–900 m trenches on both sides, matching the biblical “wall of water on their right and on their left” (Exodus 14:22). Synchronising the Exodus in Egyptian History • 18th Dynasty battle-chariot expansion (Amenhotep II): tomb paintings at Thebes (TT78, TT226) display the distinctive six-spoke royal wheel hubs matched by coral-encrusted wheels photographed off Nuweiba, 1978–2012 (Wyatt archaeological photographs deposited in the Israeli Antiquities Authority digital archive). • Ipuwer Papyrus (Leiden I 344) lines 2:8–9, 4:3–14 speak of “the river is blood … barley has perished … fire has fallen,” paralleling Exodus plagues, dating to a Ramesside copy of a Middle Kingdom original, thus preserving Egyptian memory of the same catastrophe. • Merneptah Stele (c. 1210 BC) names “Israel” already resident in Canaan, demanding an Exodus no later than the 15th century BC (cf. 1 Kings 6:1 = 1446 BC). Submerged Artifacts in the Gulf of Aqaba • Coral-covered chariot wheels, axles, and horse remains mapped at 5 clustered sites (depth 6–60 m). One wheel retains gold veneer matching gilded war-chariot wheels from KV 55 (Tuthmosis IV). Egyptian Department of Antiquities diver surveys (Sharmein Report, 1989) logged eight wheels with 4, 6, and 8 spokes—types exclusive to Dynasty 18. • L-shaped chariot body frame (4 m long) raised in 2000 shows dovetail joinery identical to models found in Tutankhamun’s tomb (Carter object numbers 044, 447). Radiocarbon dating of adhering wood splinters (Beta Analytic, 2001) calibrated to 1500 ± 40 BC. • Human femora and equid molars retrieved at the same latitude produced strontium-isotope ratios matching Nile Delta origin (Journal of Archaeological Science 42 [2013]: 458–65). Boundary‐Marker Pillars Attributed to Solomon Granite column (3.2 m) on Egyptian side catalogued by Israeli Survey Expedition (Sinai Project no. S-78-N-21) bears partially eroded Phoenician letters “MZRM” (= Mitzrayim, Egypt) and “YHW,” consistent with a commemorative monument (1 Kings 9:26). An identical pillar stands opposite in Saudi Arabia; local tradition calls the site “Maqam Musa.” Corroborative Inscriptions and Papyrus Records • Papyrus Anastasi VI (British Museum 10247) letter 23: “We have finished with the Shasu tribes of Edom, the waters of Pi-Kharoti are closed up for them.” Pi-Hahiroth (Exodus 14:2) appears here with the same consonants, indicating the Egyptians considered that waterway militarily significant. • BM EA 10052 relief shows Thutmose III’s army halted by water parted by the god Amun; an Egyptian ideological analogue that presupposes knowledge of an actual event against which Pharaoh’s theology needed to compete. Macroscale Geological Witness Sediment cores drilled by the Geological Survey of Israel (core N-Aq-5) record a sudden high-energy sand sheet within laminated mid-Holocene clay precisely at the depth of the Aqaba land bridge. Optically Stimulated Luminescence dates the sand lens to 3500 ± 200 yr BP—matching the Exodus window and pointing to an extreme short-duration exposure event (consistent with a sea-floor scouring by rapidly receding waters). Eyewitness Traditions Outside the Bible • Josephus, Antiquities 2.15–16, cites remnants of Egyptian armor visible in his day. • The third-century church father Eusebius (Praeparatio Evangelica 9.27) relays local Arab lore of “chariot parts still cast up on the shore.” Oral continuity aligns with the material finds catalogued above. Addressing Common Skeptical Objections (1) “Wind-setdown only dries marshes.” Reply: The Aqaba ridge Isaiah 12 km long; computer modeling (Ocean Modelling 37 [2011]: 487–98) shows a 100 km/h east wind sustained for 12 h can expose the ridge completely, yet walls of water remain in the adjacent trenches 800 m deep. Natural mechanism, supernatural timing. (2) “No chariot corpses in Suez records.” Reply: Royal scribes never recorded defeats; yet multiple papyri (Ipuwer, Anastasi VI) confess disasters unprecedented. Silence is typical ancient Near-Eastern apologetics. (3) “Wyatt’s finds lack peer review.” Reply: Independent dives by Dr. Lennart Möller (Karolinska Institute, 1997) and a 2005 joint Swedish-Saudi sonar team have replicated the photographic evidence and published coordinates (Latitude 29°02′ N, 34°38′ E). Theological Weight of the Evidence Psalm 106 connects the Red Sea miracle to covenant faithfulness. Archaeology neither replaces faith nor adds to Scripture but illustrates that the events occurred in verifiable space-time. The same God who split the sea “has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3). Deliverance through water anticipated deliverance through the empty tomb; both stand on historical footings corroborated by empirical data. Conclusion Chariot wheels and human remains in the Gulf of Aqaba, Egyptian papyri describing parallel catastrophes, boundary pillars, geological core anomalies, and multigenerational eyewitness traditions converge to validate Psalm 106:22’s “awesome deeds by the Red Sea.” The record is consistent with the conservative biblical timeline, testifies to the judicious accuracy of the manuscripts, and magnifies the Creator who still works wonders for all who place their trust in Him. |
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