It is one of the Bible's most famous wonders: the sea divides itself from Moses and his people and allows them to flee from the Egyptians. Researchers have now discovered how this is actually possible.
The flight of the Israelites through the Red Sea on their exodus from Egypt is a key scene in the Bible. The division of the water masses described as a divine miracle certainly holds up to scientific scrutiny: as reported by US climate researchers in the online journal "PLoS One", strong easterly winds in the region could in fact temporarily expose a broad ford. However, this scenario was not possible in the Red Sea, but north of it in the Nile Delta near the Mediterranean coast.
It is one of the most famous miracles described in the Bible: When leaving Egypt, the Red Sea blocks the Israeli persecuted by the Pharaoh's troops. Then come at night strong easterly winds, divide the sea and allow the fleeing the train through the sea. The pursuers, on the other hand, drown under the backwaters.
East winds can expose dry passage
Using satellite imagery and archaeological data, scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) at the University of Colorado at Boulder identified a potential site for the wondrous natural spectacle. According to this, the scenario could have taken place 3,000 years ago in the Nile Delta near the city of Port Said. At that time, probably about two meters deep Nile arm ended in an elongated arc in a coastal lagoon, the lake of Tanis.
According to the researchers' calculations, at this bend east winds about 100 kilometers per hour could clear a dry passage within 12 hours. This approximately four kilometers long and five kilometers wide ford was walkable for about four hours, according to the study. When the storm subsided, the masses of water were able to return quite abruptly.
The miracle only a physical law?
"People were always fascinated by the history of the Exodus and wondered if it was based on historical facts," says study leader Carl Drews. "The described division of water is actually based on physical laws and can be understood with the help of fluid dynamics."
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