The Facts Concerning the Exodus-Part V

To know where Mount Sinai is, we must know where Midian is, and we must totally discard the traditional site of Sinai that goes back to the fourth century and Helena. We know Moses was tending the sheep of Jethro and he went to Sinai in Midian and not all the way around to the Sinai Peninsula, so we can rule that out.

We also know that the Amalekites were located around Petra in Edom and will fight Israel because they wanted to crush Israel before they got any stronger and closer. The Amalekites hear that Israel is coming along the Derek Seir, the way to Edom, which was a major trade route in the northern part of the Sinai Peninsula. They have heard the reports of what happened in Egypt and that they are now on their way to Seir (Edom), so they leave their capital in Petra and come to battle with them near Sinai, but where is Sinai?

We learn from Gal 1.17 that Sinai is in Arabia, and in the New Testament, this area was seen as the habitation of the Nabateans. In Gal 4.25 Arabia is mentioned and it is referring to the area immediately to the east of the Gulf of Aqaba. As a result of this, information, Mount Sinai is in an area known as Midian in Arabia, and they pass by the Amalekites on their way there, who lived in the area of Petra. Mount Sinai is not in the Sinai Peninsula. We have to know where Seir, Edom, and the land of Uz are located. Then we will see that the land of Uz is the same thing as Edom, Seir, and Esau. What one will need to do is get some biblical maps and look up the locations and it will show you the route they took. Once that is done, you will be able to see how these areas relate to the second coming of Yeshua, which we will deal with later.

The land of Edom and Uz is mentioned in Job 1.1 and Lam 4.21, and Job 4.1 we learn of Eliphaz the Temanite. Gen 36.1-11 tells us Esau is Edom, he has a son named Eliphaz, and Teman is a son of Eliphaz. The Eliphaz in Job 4 was probably the son of the Teman who was the grandson of Esau. So we have several names we need to know: MIdian, Seir, Edom, Uz, and Esau. These will be related to where Mount Sinai is. Now we are going to add more information.

Let’s look at some passages as to where Mount Sinai actually is. We learn from Deut 33.2 that the coming of the Lord is from Sinai, and he dawned on them from Seir (a parallelism). As a result of this information, we should look for Sinai in Seir, also known as Edom, Uz, Esau, and Mount Seir.

Another term we need to know is “Mount Paran” and we need to know where it is. In Judges 5.4-5 in what is called the Song of Deborah it says God went out from Seir, and the field of Edom, even Sinai, melted at the presence of the Lord. When did he do this? In the days of Moses. Hab 3.3-4 says, “God came from Teman, and the Holy One from Mount Paran.” So, Mount Sinai has to be around the border of Edom and Midian, probably east of the Gulf of Aqaba. Once we know where these places are, the Middle East will begin to shrink up. The stories will fit the geography in the Scriptures.

Exo 12.40-41 tells us that Israel came out of Egypt in Nisan 15, 430 years from the covenant between the halves in Gen 15. Nisan 15 will become a festival day in Lev 23. In Exo 19.1 Israel finally arrives at Mount Sinai on Sivan 3. They sanctify themselves for three days, and the Lord descends on the mount on Sivan 6. That means it took them about 47 days to get to Mount Sinai from the Faiyum in Egypt. So, they kill the lamb on Nisan 14, eat and then leave at night on Nisan 15, and cross the Red Sea on the morning of Nisan 17, and God gives the Torah on the fiftieth day. He will call this day Shavuot. These dates all become festivals and they will relate to the second coming of Yeshua.

So, what do we know so far? We know that Sinai has to be east of the Gulf of Aqaba, east of Midian, and south of Edom. We know that Sinai, Seir, and Mount Paran are synonymous (Deut 33.2; Judges 5.4-5). We know that Teman is Edom, and Edom is Seir, and Esau is Eliphaz and Teman. Again, Sinai is not on the Sinai Peninsula.

There is a mountain about 15 miles from the home of Jethro called Al-Bad in Midian with the name “Jabal-al-Lawz” which means “almond mountain.” Josephus says that Sinai is the highest mountain around and good for pasturing. George-Foote-Moore, an archaeologist, believes it could be it but is not sure. It is 8,465 feet high. Edom is also Seir, and Seir means “wooded mountains.” It is barren now because the Ottoman Turks had a law taxing people with trees, so they cut down the trees. Jabal-al-Lawz means “almond mountain” and that is a significant name (Jer 1.12-13; Aaron’s rod was almond). Jabal-al-Lawz fits the biblical description because it is east of the Gulf of Aqaba, south of Edom, and located in Midian. But the evidence for this mountain presented in books is not evidence because nobody has really gone in and done an official archaeological examination of the area because Saudi Arabia will not let anyone in to do one, so you can’t prove it. But, it is possible that it is Mount Sinai and there are some very interestings things that have been found on and around the mountain when others did get in to do an examination that was un-sanctioned by the state of Saudi Arabia.

In Part VI we will pick up here

Posted in All Teachings, Articles, Idioms, Phrases and Concepts, Prophecy/Eschatology, The Festivals of the Lord, The Tanak, Tying into the New Testament

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