An illustration based on new research shows how wind could have moved and split waters from two ancient basins.
The parting of the waters described in the book of Exodus that enabled Moses and the Israelites to escape the pharaoh's army is possible, computer simulations run by researchers at the National Center for Atmospheric Research and the University of Colorado at Boulder show.
To test the theory that the biblical account may have depicted actual events, the researchers studied maps of the region, archaeological records and satellite measurements to find a topographical feature where such an event might have been possible. They settled on an area south of the Mediterranean Sea where some oceanographers say a branch of the Nile River drained into what was called the Lake of Tanis, a coastal lagoon 3,000 years ago.
The computer model shows a 63 mph east wind blowing across the area and its 6-feet-deep waters for 12 hours. In the scenario, the wind pushed back the waters into both the lake and the channel of the river, exposing a mud flat 2 to 2.5 miles long and 3 miles wide for four hours. As the winds died down, the waters quickly flowed back in and in theory would have drowned anyone on the mud flat.
“The simulations match fairly closely with the account in Exodus,” said Carl Drews of NCAR, the lead author of the study published in the online journal PLoS ONE. (Read the full study)
“The parting of the waters can be understood through fluid dynamics. The wind moves the water in a way that’s in accordance with physical laws, creating a safe passage with water on two sides and then abruptly allowing the water to rush back in.”
YouTube: Parting the waters, Part 1: The physics of a land bridge
Parting the waters, Part 2: Carl Drews on wind setdown research
The biblical account of Exodus has Moses and his followers trapped by the pharaoh forces against a body of water, which has been translated to both the Red Sea and the Sea of Reeds. In the account, a strong wind comes up after night falls and parts the waters behind the Israelites. Moses leads them into the breach but when the pharaoh army pursues them at daybreak, the gap disappears and the army is lost.
Previous research has focused on areas of the Red Sea near the modern-day Suez Canal where the biblical miracle may have been possible. The NCAR/CU team said their research shows those scenarios unlikely. They ran a series of 14 computer simulations to pinpoint the area where the parting of the waters was most likely.
“People have always been fascinated by this Exodus story, wondering if it comes from historical facts,” Drews says. “What this study shows is that the description of the waters parting indeed has a basis in physical laws."
Drews conducted the Exodus research as part of a larger project on how winds can affect water depths.
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There is one minor detail you are leaving out. THEY WALKED ON DRY LAND
Any one who takes the old testament seriously, give me a call!! I have several thinings that are invisable that I would like to sell to people that buy into things that are ridicules!! Religions are all about one 3 things... mind control, power, and MONEY!! Did I say money!!! Get a life, you are mortal will die, then nothingness. Your not special, and do not live on for ever!! I have proof of this! If you would like this proof, then write me at the address below, and send $10.99!
Address: Santa P.O box 666 Down under 666666
You didn't leave a number. I am interested in buying some of these invisible things. What sort of products are they? Also, you must have made a typo with the address. It is not real. I am trying to send the money now. I want the proof too.
frank – you don't make me giggle and i bet God isn't laughing either. If he made the suit of undefeatable armor – it would be undefeatable to everyone EXCEPT God. Naturally God could defeat it – HE'S GOD, he created it and he can do anything he wants. He doesn't operate by our standards, beliefs or expectations and HE answers to no one. That must be why he's GOD and we're just humans.
And i hope God really does BLESS you!!!!!!
@namegame,
Oh good, finally someone who is in direct contact with God... please ask him to make that rock so big that not even He could move it...
No, really I kid you... you are a perfect example of circular reasoning... God says the bible is true; the bible says God is real... makes all the sense in the world, who needs anything more.
You must be the sheep that the bible talks so much about...
Religion is just a figment of one's imagination.
63 mph winds and a whole lot of mud? and all of these people just got through just fine? what a crock of poop! you religious will distort and ignore your way through every scientific fact??
wake up idiots...
Where was the "wind" during the holocaust?
it's always been science v christianity. so, let me get this straight; science helped proved that an outrageous and unbelievable biblical event could've been possible and non-Christians are still calling b.s.? hasn't your whole stance been that stories from a 2000 year old book hold no scientific proof and faith isn't reliable?
on a related CNN story, brain matter has been found in the living room of tom cruise's cabin. despite the gross facial disfiguration of the deceased, authorities were still able to identify the body of that to tom cruise from the the vanilla sky poster above his mantle.
You know, I had a hard time believing in the Big Guy in the Sky but now I is saved!!! Thanks for fueling America's most ridiculous fantasy. A waste of time for sure.
Moses didn't part the Nile. He parted the Red Sea, you nits!
Either God parted the water for the Israelites to pass through or it was a coincidence of nature. But what are the odds that Moses would have them all assembled in the right place at the right time to take advantage of this "coincidence"? How would he have known that this phenomena would take place? If it had happened before, the Pharoah's agents would've known about it (they kept very careful records of the Nile's levels), but they didn't – they got into the chase and rushed down into the breach hard on the heels of the last man crossing. In the time span the phenomena lasted would it have allowed only enough time for the Israelites to pass or would some of the Pharoah's men have made it to high ground on the other side and been disarmed by Joshua? Too much luck for it to be luck.
There is a hell, and Mr. Hawkings and you are still going. God is not a respecter of persons, and He is not mocked. Keep laughing and mocking, Mr. atheist; the day draws near.
This never happened. There was never a Moses, Jesus, etc. You are all f&cking sheep.
If the wind was so strong as to part a sea of water, how were humans and horses pulling carts able to not get blown away?
It's quite incredible how much effort can be spent arguing about an unprovable premise. That being said, it does not logically follow that simply because something is unprovable, it does not exist. In any event, the existence or non-existence of God misses the point. What is important is how we treat each other. This is the lesson of the parable of the Good Samaritan. What a shame it is still lost on most people.
i'm not here