When addressing the question, "What about the mistake [in the Book of Mormon] of saying the Hebrews Crossed the Red Sea when it really should be the Reed Sea?" Jeff Lindsay quoted D. Charles Pyle who wrote that:
Funny thing is, there
are critics of the Church who claim that the Book of Mormon is false because it
does not mention the Sea of Reeds when referring to the Red Sea in recounting
the Exodus. It is true that the phrase _ym swp_ does literally mean Sea of
Reeds. It is also true that the various Biblical scholars are saying that the
Sea of Reeds is not the Red Sea.
However, the biblical
scholars who make such claims are all wet, in my opinion. Why? First of all,
the ancient Greeks called what we know as the Red Sea combined with the Indian
Ocean, "Red Sea." Lastly, the Bible text itself plainly states that
Eloth (modern Elath) was on the shore of _ym swp_ (1 Kings 9:26)! Since _Red
Sea_ is our modern equivalent for both the Hebrew term and location, it is
perfectly acceptable and logical for the Book of Mormon to contain it as it
does.
In his book, The Exodus Itinerary
Sites: Their Locations from the Perspectives of the Biblical Sources,
Michael D. Oblath (at the time of writing, Adjunct Professor at the Pacific
School of Religion in Berkely and St. Mary’s College) wrote the following, locating
Yam Sûp on the coast of Elath/Eloth, further substantiating the arguments of
Pyle and other LDS apologists on this issue:
Exod 13:18
ויסב אלהים את־העם דרך המדבר ים־סוף
[And God led the people around the way of the wilderness of Yam Sûp . .
. ]
The minor difficulty
encountered in the form דרך המדבר ים־סוף, i.e., the definite
article present on a noun in a construct form, can be alleviated by
understanding the genitive as that of a geographical name (the “Way of the
Wilderness of Yam Sûp”). Verse 18, taken in context, describes the decision to
take the Israelites away from the Way of the Land of the Philistines. It is
possible to interpret this road (דרך) as referring to the Way of Horus, the road leading
along the northern coast of the Sinai Peninsula. As before, there is nothing in
the context of the passage to indicate that such is necessarily the case.
When indicating a
road, דרך suggests the direction
of travel by the name of the road. Hence, the Way of the Land of the
Philistines is a road leading toward Philistia. The Way of the Wilderness of
Yam Sûp is a road leading toward Yam Sûp. With no firm indication as to the
author’s fixed perspective, we cannot state the starting point of the journey
with any certainty.
. . .
Exod 23:31
ושׁתי את־גבלך מים־סוף ועד־ים פלשׁתים וממדבר עד־הנהר כי אתן בידכם את ישׁבי הארץ וגרשׁתמו מפניך
[I will set your
border from Yam Sûp to the Sea of the Philistines, and from the Wilderness to
the Euphrates. For I will give into your hands the inhabitants of the land and
you drive them out before you.]
With this description
of the general, perhaps idealized, borders of ancient Israel, the author fixed
the location of Yam Sûp. This border is presented as the contrast of two
extremes. One is in the general direction of south to north, or, more specifically,
southwest to northeast. In order to define a complementary, defining border, a
perpendicular direction must be applied. Hence, from the southeast toward the
northwest. If Yam Sûp is defined as the Gulf of Suez, the author will have
defined Israel’s borders with two “south to north” demarcation lines. Only
within the context of Yam Sûp being the Gulf of Elath does this boundary
description make any sense.
. . .
Num 21:4
ויסעו מהר ההר דרך ים־סוף לסבב את־ארץ
[Then they journeyed from Mt. Hor via the Way of Yam Sûp, in order to go
around the land of Edom]
Yam Sûp, located here
in proximity to Edom, can be no other body of water besides the Gulf of Elath.
Num 33:11
ויסעו מים־סוף ויחנו במדבר־סין
[They journeyed from Yam Sûp and camped in the Wilderness of Sin.]
Although this verse
does not locate Yam Sûp next to a fixed locale, it does place it near the
wilderness of Sin. The Wilderness of Sin . . . is also near Edom, confirming
the identification of Yam Sûp as the Gulf of Elath.
1 Kgs 9:26
ואני עשׂה המלך שׁלמה בעציון־גבר אשׁר את־אלות על־שׂפת ים־סוף בארץ אדום
[King Solomon built a fleet of ships at Ezion-geber, which is near (“with”)
Elath on the shore of Yam Sûp, in the land of Edom.]
As important in the
Hebrew Bible as it is within the Septuagint, this verse clearly identifies Yam
Sûp (as well as Ezion-geber and Elath) as being located in the region of Edom. The
only body of water in that vicinity is the Gulf of Elath. (Michael D.
Oblath, The Exodus Itinerary Sites: Their Locations From the Perspective of
the Biblical Sources [Studies in Biblical Literature 55; New York: Peter
Lang Publishing, Inc., 2004], 99-101, 104, 105, emphasis added)
