Page 31 - Advanced Biblical Backgrounds Student Textbook

The journey and the location:

The Sinai Peninsula is shaped like a wedge which has
53
been driven between Africa and Arabia. There are
two gulfs that separate it on either side—the Gulf of
Suez, which separates it from the African mainland
and the Gulf of Aqaba, which separates it from
54
Arabia. It is a rugged region yet there are striking
and beautiful features that characterize the region.
55
There are three regions within the region: the high
mountains of the south, the a-Tih Plateau in the
center (about 60 percent of the total), and the
northern plain along the Mediterranean.
56

Mount Sinai, where Moses received the law, has
historically been thought to be a peak now known as
Jebul Musa (the mountain of Moses). Other locations,
however, have been suggested for its location. The
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Israelites could have taken multiple routes to get to
Sinai. One potential route would have been along the
Sea. Another route would have been across central
Sinai. 5859 The map to the right shows both the route
of Abraham as he came from Ur to Canaan as well as
the traditional route of the Jews from Egypt back to
Canaan.

53 Ibid., 85.
54 Ibid., 83.
55 Ibid.
56 Ibid.
57 Ibid.
58 Ibid.
59 Clark, Samuel, and George Grove. “THE CHIEF PLACES MENTIONED IN THE HISTORY OF THE PATRIARCHS AND OF
THE EXODUS. Plate III., Nos. 6, 7, 8.” The Bible Atlas of Maps and Plans. London: Society for Promoting
Christian Knowledge, 1868. 14.

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