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RED SEA

The large body of water which extends south from the Sinai Peninsula to the Strait of Bab el-Mandeb, separating northeastern Africa from the Arabian Peninsula. The term does not appear in the OT or the NT (cf. Isa. 11:15, “sea of Egypt”). In the LXX Gk. thálassa erythrá (“Red Sea”) translates Heb. yam sûp,“Reed Sea,” which refers to a body of water E of the Nile Delta. Herotodus (Hist. 2.158) and Strabo (Geog. 17.1.25-26) both use the term “Red Sea” to include the Gulf of Suez.

The basin of the sea was formed by the geological fault system extending north through the Jordan River Valley, Syria, and into Turkey. From the head of the Gulf of Suez to the strait is ca. 2175 km. (1350 mi.), and the widest point is 370 km. (230 mi.). In places the sea is more than 1830 m. (6000 ft.) deep. No rivers empty into the sea, but the depth is stabilized, despite severe evaporation, by water from the Gulf of Adan through the strait. Coral reefs parallel both shores, but with breaks to allow access to the harbors. The name Red Sea comes from the red algae bloom in the summer giving the sea a reddish-brown color.

Solomon conducted trade on the Red Sea with both south Arabia and Africa. The queen of Sheba visited Solomon and brought gifts of spices, gold, and precious stones (1 Kgs. 10:1-10, 13). From later discoveries it appears that south Arabia also exported incense and frankincense. Solomon’s ships also traded with Ophir in Africa, for gold, silver, ivory, apes, and baboons (1 Kgs. 10:11, 22).

Identification of the “Sea of Reeds” crossed by the Israelites as they left Egypt (e.g., Exod. 15:4, 22; Deut. 11:4; Josh. 4:23; 24:6; Ps. 136:13, 15) remains uncertain. Scholars have variously proposed the Bitter Lakes region, Lake Menzaleh, Lake Sorbonis, and the Gulf of Suez as possible sites.

Bibliography. M. S. Abu al-ʾIzz, Landforms of Egypt (Cairo, 1971); C. L. Drake and R. W. Girdler, “A Geophysical Study of the Red Sea,” Geophysical Journal 8 (1964): 473-95; Girdler, “The Relationship of the Red Sea to the East Africa Rift System,” Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society 114 (1958): 79-105; A. F. Mohamed, “The Egyptian Exploration of the Red Sea,” Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B/128 (1940): 306-16; W. Phillips, Qataban and Sheba (New York, 1955).

Lawrence A. Sinclair

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

RED SEA

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)