In the Exodus narrative, Yam Suph or Red Sea, sometimes translated as Sea of Reeds, is the body of water which the Israelites are said to have crossed in the story of their exodus from Egypt. The same phrase appears in over 20 other places in the Hebrew Bible. This has traditionally been interpreted as referring to the Red Sea, following the Greek Septuagint's rendering of the phrase. However the appropriate translation of the phrase remains a matter of dispute; as does the exact location referred to. There are very many proposals for the location of the Yam Suph of Exodus. It may refer to Lake Timsah, which has since become part of the Suez Canal. Lake Timsah was in Lower Egypt, specifically in the Suez valley next to the Sinai Peninsula, and north of the Gulf of Suez. It could also be the Gulf of Aqaba, which is referred to as the yam suph in the Books of Kings (1 Kings 9:26). The Lake of Tanis, a former coastal lagoon fed by the Pelusiac branch of the Nile, has also been proposed as the place Moses parted the waters. Heinrich Karl Brugsch suggested that the Reed Sea is Lake Bardawil, a large lagoon on the north coast of the Sinai Peninsula. More recently, Manfred Bietak and James K. Hoffmeier have argued for an identification with the Ballah Lakes. Hoffmeier equates the yam suph with the Egyptian term pꜣ-ṯwfj "the papyrus marsh" from the Ramesside period, which refers to lakes in the eastern Nile Delta. He also describes references to pꜣ-ṯwfj in the context of the Island of Amun, considered modern Tell el-Balamun. Reeds tolerant of saltwater flourish in the shallow string of lakes extending from Suez north to the Mediterranean Sea, which Kenneth Kitchen argues are acceptable locations for yam suph.

Translation and location

The Hebrew word yam means 'sea', and the word suph by itself means 'reed', e.g. in ; hence, a literal translation of yam suph—with the two words combined in construct state—yields 'sea of reeds'. This was pointed out as early as the 11th century by Rashi, who nonetheless identified the yam suph mentioned in the locust plague as the saltwater inlet located between Africa and the Arabian Peninsula—known in English as the Red Sea. The term was rendered as 'Red Sea' in the King James Version, the most widely utilized English translation of the Bible. More recently, alternative understandings of the term have been proposed for passages in which it refers to the crossing the Red Sea as told in ; as such, yam suph is sometimes rendered as 'sea of reeds' or 'sea of seaweed' in modern translations, rather than as 'Red Sea'. If the vowel is placed differently "Soph" could be translated "Sof" which means 'end' and this passage has also been translated as "Sea at the End." There are many proposals for the location of the yam suph of Exodus. It may refer to Lake Timsah, which has since become part of the Suez Canal. Lake Timsah was in Lower Egypt, specifically in the Suez valley next to the Sinai Peninsula, and north of the Gulf of Suez. It could also be the Gulf of Aqaba, which is referred to as the yam suph in the Books of Kings. The Lake of Tanis, a former coastal lagoon fed by the Pelusiac branch of the Nile, has also been proposed as the place Moses parted the waters. Heinrich Karl Brugsch suggested that the Reed Sea is Lake Bardawil, a large lagoon on the north coast of the Sinai Peninsula. More recently, Manfred Bietak and James K. Hoffmeier have argued for an identification with the Ballah Lakes. Hoffmeier equates yam suf with the Egyptian term pa-tjufy (also written p3 ṯwfy) from the Ramesside period, which refers to lakes in the eastern Nile delta. He also describes references to p3 ṯwfy in the context of the Island of Amun, thought to be modern Tell el-Balamun. Reeds tolerant of salt water flourish in the shallow string of lakes extending from Suez north to the Mediterranean Sea, which Kenneth Kitchen argues are acceptable locations for yam suf. More conjecturally, it has also been suggested that suph may be related to the Hebrew suphah ("storm") or soph ("end"), referring to the events of the Reed/Red Sea escape itself: "The crossing of the sea signaled the end of the sojourn in Egypt and it certainly was the end of the Egyptian army that pursued the fleeing Hebrews (Ex 14:23-29; 15:4-5). After this event at Yam Suph, perhaps the verb Soph, meaning 'destroy' and 'come to an end,' originated (cf. Amos 3:15; Jer 8:13; Isa 66:17; Psa 73:19). Another possible development of this root is the word suphah, meaning 'storm-wind'...The meanings 'end' and 'storm-wind' would have constituted nice puns on the event that took place at the Yam Suph."

Occurrences

The occurrences of the term are as follows:

End of the eighth Plague of Egypt:

Prologue to The Exodus:

The Passage of the Red Sea. After the pursuing Egyptians have been drowned in "the waters" of "the sea":

The Exodus continues:

During God's further instruction to Moses after the Ten Commandments:

In the wilderness, before the conquest of Canaan: The New King James Version translates "the Way of the Red Sea" (capitalized) at each occurrence, suggesting that the Israelites may have used an ancient trade route, but this is not reflected in other English translations and the Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges argues that 'no definite road is meant'.

Just after the death of Aaron:

Continuing the wanderings in the Wilderness:

The opening verse of the book of Deuteronomy has an occurrence of Suph on its own. Some translations, including the Septuagint, have taken this as an abbreviation for the full form, others not:

Moses reviews the strategy after the initial failure to invade Canaan.

As above:

Looking back on the events of the Exodus:

Testimony of Rahab to Joshua's spies before the conquest of Jericho:

Joshua’s speech to the troops shortly before the conquest of Jericho:

In Joshua’s final speech to the Israelites:

King Solomon’s fleet:

Jeremiah bemoaned his own fate. Why had he been the one chosen to not only foretell the horrors of destruction but to witness them, and even to be at the mercy of the brethren he had tried to save? But there is no doubt that the exiled Jews in Babylon found strength in his prophecy that there would be redemption and glory seventy years after the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple. Jeremiah did not live to see his prophecy fulfilled, but many of those who had heard his prophecies were among the ones who returned with Ezra and Nehemiah to inaugurate the Second Temple.

God's presence and lovingkindness are always near; one need but have open eyes and an open heart to see them:

God's presence and lovingkindness are always near; one need but have open eyes and an open heart to see them:

A song of God's creation and rulership of the world in general and Israel in particular:

After the Second Temple was rebuilt (349 BCE), Nehemiah was one of the 120 members of the Men of the Great Assembly, a council which functioned over several generations and rejuvenated the Jewish Nation. They prayed successfully against Idolatry, composed the standard Jewish prayers and brought about the dramatic flowering of the Oral law, the primary repository of divine wisdom (see: Tanakh).