Red Sea (Heb. Yâm Sûf, “sea of reeds”). Our name “Red Sea” is a literal translation of the gr term. Eruthrán Thálassan which is used in Greek writings; in the LXX and the NT it is a translation of the Hebrew phrase. Narrow sea that separates the Arabian Peninsula from Africa, and which is divided in the north into 2 gulfs separated by the Sinai Peninsula (Exo 15:4, 22; etc.). The Red Sea, from Suez to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, is about 2,100 km long and about 240 km wide, but only its 2 northern gulfs play a role in the biblical story. The western branch, also known as the Gulf of Heroopolis, and now called the Gulf of Suez, is about 290 km long and has an average width of 32 km. The eastern arm, known as the Gulf of Aqaba, is about 175 km long and has an average width of 24 km. Navigation in the Red Sea was dangerous in ancient times because of the sudden storms that arise there, and because of the many hidden coral reefs in it. In Isa 11:15 it is called “Sea of Egypt”. Map IV, C/D-5/6. The origin of the names of the sea is not clear. It may come from a mythological king, Erythras, who reigned in the region; the color of the corals that cover the bottom; of the reddish mountains that border it; or of the Edomite people who lived in the surrounding territories (the word Edom means “red”). The Hebrew term “sea of reeds” is equally difficult to explain, because it has no reeds or reeds. Some, therefore, have thought that this name was originally applied to Lake Timsa or the Bitter Lakes, north of the Gulf of Suez, in which they are found, and that by extension the name was later transferred to the Red Sea. Others suggest that in very ancient times the Bitter Lakes were connected to the Gulf of Suez, and that the latter received the name of “sea of reeds” when in the northern extremes there were. Whatever the correct explanation of the names, it is clear that the term Heb. Yâm Sûf and the gr. Eruthrán Thálassan refer to what is now known as the Red Sea, and not to Lake Timsa or one of the Bitter Lakes as some scholars suggest. Map V, B-4. The Red Sea is well known for its connection to the story of the exodus,* which the Israelites crossed on dry foot after the waters miraculously parted. This escape route for the persecuted was at the same time the tomb of the Egyptian persecutors (Exo 13:18; 14:21-31; 15:4; etc.: cf Isa 11:15). This crossing appears to have taken place near the northern end of the Gulf of Suez, although the exact location is difficult to pinpoint. On the other hand, the Gulf of Aqaba is obviously the other arm of the Red Sea that is related to the account of the pilgrimage through the desert, after they left Mount Sinai (Num 21:4; Deu 1:40; etc.). The Israelites were at Ezion-geber* and Elath, 2 places at the northern end of this gulf (figs 183, 217), on their way to Transjordan (Deu 2:8; etc.). In Solomon’s time, Ezion-geber was an important port from which naval expeditions departed from the kingdom to the country of Ophir (1Ki 9:26-28). Bib.: Herodotus ii.8; FJ-AJ ii. 11.1; 15.1; EGS xvi.3.5; 4.20; P-NH vi.23. Salty sea. See Dead Sea.
Source: Evangelical Bible Dictionary
narrow inland sea that separates the Arabian Peninsula in western Asia from northeastern Africa. Its name is due to the masses of red algae that appear on the surface. It stretches northeast from the Bab el-Mandeb Strait to Suez, Egypt, about 2,253 kilometers and has a maximum width of about 355 kilometers. It reaches a maximum depth of about 2,130 meters. In the extreme north, the Sinai Peninsula divides it into the Gulf of Suez and the Gulf of Iqaba. The M. Red was the one that the Israelites passed when they left Egypt. In the ancient texts this name is not given to it, it is simply called the sea, as in Ex 14, or the sea of Suf, yam sûf, that is, the sea of reeds, Ex 15, 4, a name that is due to the abundance of reeds in the extreme north of the western arm of the sea.
Digital Bible Dictionary, Grupo C Service & Design Ltda., Colombia, 2003
Source: Digital Bible Dictionary
(Heb., from yam, sea, and from suf, red). Near the city of Rameses-tanis (in Goshen, where the Israelite slaves lived) there were two bodies of water, the waters of Horus, which is the same as Sichor (another name for the Nile, Isa 23:3; Jer 2: 18), and a body of water referred to by the Egyptians themselves as Suf, also called the Swamp Papyri. This last mentioned, the Sea of Reeds, or Lake Timsa, is undoubtedly the body of water crossed by the fleeing Israelites, with the Egyptians in hot pursuit. This latest identification does not lessen the miraculous rescue performed by God or the terrible judgment that befell Pharaoh’s armies.
Source: Hispanic World Bible Dictionary
A long, narrow arm of the sea, an extension of the Indian Ocean, separating the Arabian Peninsula from northeast Africa. The western end of the m. R. is divided into two gulfs, Akaba and Suez, on both sides of the Sinai Peninsula. In the OT the name in Hebrew is “Sea of Reeds” or “of Reeds”, due to their abundance on the shores of the Gulf of Suez, which is the part that is related to the story of the exodus. In the Greek NT it is mentioned as the thalassa eruthros (Vermejo or Red Sea) in Acts 7:36 and Heb 11:29. The origin of the designation of m is not known with certainty. A. Some think that the Greek name comes from underwater algae (Erytranema) that produce scarlet reflections. Others think that the name came from the peoples who settled on its banks, especially the †¢Edomites. The Gulf of Suez that the Israelites crossed in the exodus must have extended further inland. The modern excavation of the Suez Canal demonstrated the existence of bodies of water in the area in ancient times. Israel’s borders would be set “from the MR to the Sea of the Philistines, and from the desert to the Euphrates” (Exo 23:31).
Source: Christian Bible Dictionary
dude, MARA
see, ADRITIC, BRONZE, NEO MEDITERRIA, SODOMA, GOMORRAH
sit, a8, 201, 365
vet, The Hebrews called it “Yam sûph”, “sea of reeds”. The term gr. literally translated as Red Sea is “Erythra Thatassa”, used by Herodotus (2:8), the LXX (Ex. 15:4, 22) and Josephus (Ant. 2:11, 1; 15, 1). The origin of this name is unknown. The Greeks derived it from that of Erythras, a fabulous king who was believed to have reigned over a country situated on this sea (Strabo, 16:3, 5; 4:20; Pliny, Hist. Nat. 6:23). Erythras would correspond to Edom, which in Heb. means red people by coppery skin: the Edomites and Phoenicians. It is also supposed that the name may come from the coral banks that fill the bottom of this sea and that are found along its coasts. Ancient geographers called the Red Sea not only what is known by this name today, but also the Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf. The Red Sea of modern geographers is about 2,400 km long and about 240 km wide. It is bordered to the north by the Gulfs of Ikaba and Suez, bathing the Sinai Peninsula on its two coasts. The Gulf of í Kaba, to the east, is about 160 km long and 24 km wide. At its northern end is the modern Israelite port of Elat and the ruins of Ezión-geber, as well as the Jordanian port of í kaba. The Gulf of Suez to the west of the peninsula is 290 km long and 32 km wide. In ancient times it extended some 50 km further north, covering Lake Timsah and Lake Amargos. The banks of these two lakes are covered with reeds, which explains the Heb. “sea of reeds”. The Hebrew term “Yam sûph” designates the sea to the east of Egypt (Ex. 19:19); the Israelites camped near the “sea of reeds,” not far from Sinai (Num. 33:10, 11). By taking the route of Yam sûph, that is, by heading towards the gulf of í kaba, Israel surrounded the territory of Edom (Num. 21:4). Ezion-geber, in the country of Edom, was on this sea (1 Kings 9:26). The people, led by Moses, crossed the Yam suph, where the Egyptian armies launched in pursuit of Israel disappeared. According to repeated statements in the Scriptures, the Israelites are thought to have crossed this sea at the height of the Gulf of Suez, by the height of the present Bitter Lakes. Sailing in the Red Sea always presents certain risks. The winds change direction abruptly, often reaching extraordinary strength. In ancient times, travel from one end of the Red Sea to the other was extremely difficult due to this fact. In the northern part of this sea, the wind blows in a southerly direction for nine months of the year. In the southern part, the wind blows north during the same period. Coral reefs and small islands that exist in numerous places constitute another danger.
Source: New Illustrated Bible Dictionary
Body of water that separates the NE. of Africa from the Arabian Peninsula, and comprises the two arms known as the Gulf of Suez and the Gulf of `Aqaba. According to the modern use of the term, the Red Sea is about 2,250 km long, its maximum width is about 354 km and its average depth is approximately 610 m. It is part of a major geological fault known as ‘the great rift’. Due to its rapid rate of evaporation, the waters of this sea are quite salty. The strong winds, their rapid changes in direction and the presence of large reefs make navigation in the Red Sea dangerous. Along the eastern coast are high mountain ranges, while the western coast is characterized by rocky plateaus and low-lying hills.
There are justified reasons to understand that the expressions of the original language that are rendered †œRed Sea† apply to the Red Sea in general or to any of its two northern arms. (Ex 10:19; 13:18; Nu 33:10, 11; Jg 11:16; Ac 7:36) Jehovah miraculously parted the waters of the Red Sea to let the Israelites pass on dry land, but then drowned in them Pharaoh and his military forces, who were pursuing them. (Ex 14:21–15:22; De 11:4; Jos 2:10; 4:23; 24:6; Ne 9:9; Ps 106:7, 9, 22; 136:13, 15) Biblical passages dealing with this incident use the Hebrew expression yam (sea) or yam-súf (sea of reeds, reeds, or cattails). Based on the literal meaning of yam-súf, some scholars have argued that the Israelites simply crossed a swampy place, such as the Bitter Lakes region, not the Red Sea (or its western arm, the Gulf of Suez, which according to other opinions is the part that probably crossed). However, it should be noted that there was enough water to cover Pharaoh’s military forces. (Ex 14:28, 29) This would have been impossible if only marshy ground had been involved. Moreover, Acts 7:36 and Hebrews 11:29 rule out that possibility, mentioning the same incident and using the Greek expression e·ry·thrá thá·las·sa, meaning “Erythrean sea…