CROSSING THE SEA OF WHAT??????

Even though I am not a bible scholar nor, for that matter, a bible reader, I still have a great fondness for some of the old bible stories I grew up with. And while I never was a church attender who believed that every word of the King James Bible translation was accurate or, for that matter inerrant, the fact is that I do like to believe in retelling the stories the way they were portrayed in that version.

Now two Friday nights ago, Jer and I were sitting in the Riverside Temple Beth El at the Shabbat service. We had gone specifically to see a female rabbi conduct the service. I, of course, haven’t seen many rabbis conduct services but since Jerry had, it was more his curiosity than mine that took us there. And we both agreed afterwards that she was certainly a good leader and teacher. So his curiosity was satisfied. However, mine was piqued.

First of all, to my surprise she actually gave her “sermon” based on a story in the Old Testament. Why this surprised me is that I had to learn early on in my introduction to Reform Judaism, which is what Jerry affiliates with, that at least in the temples he went to, Rabbinic sermons were never based on what I would consider “religious” teachings but instead most always were given in the manner of a book report, or a political commentary, or a non-religious ethical position. This, of course, was amazing to me because in my many years of church going, there was rarely a sermon in which the ending was other than an altar call to come to Jesus and be saved. (Now of course I didn’t expect that in a Jewish temple but I must admit I did expect a “religious” sermon.)

So Rabbi Singer did preach out of the bible. But what piqued my interest most was that in relating the story of Moses and the parting of the Red Sea, she called it the “Sea of Reeds.” I could hardly wait to get home and see what I could find on the internet about the Sea of Reeds.

Sure enough, on both Christian and Jewish websites, I found something akin to this:

The problem is that the biblical account never refers to the Red Sea by name. In fact, nowhere in the entire Old Testament Hebrew text is the body of water associated with the exodus ever called the "Red Sea." Instead in the Hebrew text the reference is to the yam suph. The word yam in Hebrew is the ordinary word for "sea," although in Hebrew it is used for any large body of water whether fresh or salt. The word suph is the word for "reeds" or "rushes," the word used in Ex. 2:3, 5 to describe where Moses' basket was placed in the Nile. So, the biblical reference throughout the Old Testament is to the "sea of reeds" (e.g., Num 14:25, Deut 1:40, Josh 4:23, Psa 106:7. etc.).

Now the simple fact is, we do not know exactly what body of water is referenced by yam suph in Scripture, which is the origin of much of the debate. The translation "Red Sea" is simply a traditional translation introduced into English by the King James Version through the second century BC Greek Septuagint and the later Latin Vulgate. It then became a traditional translation of the Hebrew terms. However, many modern translations either translate yam suph as "Sea of Reeds" or use the traditional translation and add a footnote for the Hebrew meaning.

And of course this understanding would give rise to questions about Moses crossing the Red Sea, where God parted the waters and allowed the Israelites to escape out of Egypt. Apparently it didn’t happen the way it is pictured, not only in my mind but in all the pictures I have ever seen illustrating this event.

When Jerry and I went to Israel and Egypt in 1980, we came home with a large silkscreen print done in a naïf style of this parting of the Red Sea. It hung on our den wall for over 17 years and was a great picture. The cute little Israelites were all nearing safety, and the artist showed the parting waves beginning to crash over all the little Egyptian horses and chariots and soldiers that were hard on the heels of Moses’ charges. When we sold our house prior to moving to Turkey and knowing that when we returned we would be downsizing, we donated much of our collected artwork to Temple Beth Israel in Pomona, which was the Temple Jerry belonged to. Moses and the Red Sea was one of those. We assume that picture is still hanging there, even though it tells the story wrongly. At least we gave it in good faith!

I suppose if a person lives long enough, there are lots of illusions you must give up. And this is one of them, although I am loathe to do so. The image of the Sea of Reeds just doesn’t do it for me! Sorry.

Aside from that, I must share with you the most amazing website, from whence the picture at the top of the blog came from. (Prior to using the picture, I tried to contact the holder of the copyright for permission to use it, but I had no response.) http://www.thebricktestament.com/index.html

I think you all will enjoy seeing this fellow’s work, just as I did. And I have to admit, that when it comes right down to it, his image of Moses crossing the Red Sea is now stuck in my mind too. And I think I just won’t worry about the Sea of Reeds.