Is the Mt. Sinai in Egypt the real Mt. Sinai?
Doesn't the Bible say that Israelites had LEFT Egypt before they came to Sinai? Doesn't that mean that Mt. Sinai is outside Egypt? Why is the Mt. Sinai in Egypt believed to be the real Mt. Sinai? Is there any evidence to suggest that it is?

Come on this is an easy one. Borders change

As I understand it, the mountain known today as "Sinai" is the one that has been traditionally identified as such. However, I'm not aware that any map exists from the appropriate time-period that identifies any mountain or geographic feature as "Sinai".

So, even if you accept that there was an exodus and that someone named Moses thought that god spoke to him on Mt. Sinai, there is no way to verify that the mountain that all of the pilgrims visit today is even the correct mountain.

If I recall correctly, there is even some debate within biblical archeological circles as to the precise location of "Mt. Sinai".

Regards,

The Bible says the Israelites journeyed to Mt. Sinai which was in the land of Midian. So I guess the question that needs to be asked is where is Midian today? Or what country or area was the land of the Midianites? I don't think Midian was on the Sinai Peninsula.

I would really like to know how today's Mt. Sinai got it's name. The Sinai in the Bible was also known as Mt. Horeb or the mountain of God. It was here that God appeared to Moses in the burning bush. Moses had fled to the land of the Midianites after he had muredered a man. His wife was a Midianite. The burning question I have is 'where is Midian'? Anybody know?

Another possibility: "Mt. Sinai" might really be "a mountain in Sinai", that familiar peninsula. Which could be any of several mountains.

However, I don't know Hebrew, but I have seen that sort of second phrase listed as an alternative translation ("Garden of Eden" vs. "a garden in Eden").

Ya all shoulda watched the History Channel last week. 7 hours worth of "Who wrote the Bible" plus the flood, exodus etc. very good stuff. The Rabbi Wolpe explained that no one knows the exact location of the real Mt. Sinai of Moses, Constantine put up a church on the one people assume is correct, but no one really knows, Wolpe claims the Bible did not say which mountain it is because God knew people would go worship the mountain instead of him.

This is complete paroting, but I thought this might be interesting. Maybe someone has heard of it to verify or contradict it. Someone was flying over the area between Egypt and Palestine and they think they found the mountain. It was chared. Shaky, but worth investigating.

Josephus, a Friend Of A Friend? You are joking, right?

I taped all four episodes of the special. They were interesting.

The Bible tells us where this 'mountain of God' is. It says it was in Midian. the Ancient land of Midian was not located on the Sinai peninsula, i don't think.

So where is Midian today?

Iconoclast

The peoples the OT refers to as "Midianites" were nomadic (as in "moved around a lot")
Arab tribes (that is plural, as in "more than one") who lived mainly in the north-western portion of the Arabian Desert.


[This message has been edited by Iconoclast (edited January 08, 2001).]