The Parting of the Red Sea - Miracle or Exaggeration?
The story of Moses is a familiar story, probably even among those who are not entirely familiar with the Bible. A most memorable scene is the one in which Moses, through God, parts the Red Sea and delivers Israel from Pharaoh's rule. Many questions still stand, however, concerning the credibility of this account. Did Moses really part the sea so that the Israelites could walk on the dry seabed? Or was it some sort of event that could be explained through science that has been blown out of proportion? There is insufficient evidence to prove whether the parting of the Red Sea is indeed a miracle, or simply an exaggeration on a story or a legend. Both sides of the argument provide convincing evidence to support their suppositions. This paper will serve as an introduction to these enquiries by taking a brief look at the argument from both sides.Probably one of the most obvious difficulties that can lead to confusion is the fact that the Bible is open to much interpretation considering the vast difficulties concerning translation. The Hebrew words "yam suph" are sometimes translated as "Red Sea", sometimes "Reed Sea". Some sources say that the translation could mean either "Red Sea" or "Reed Sea" (Keller), while others say that "Red
Strange and unexplainable occurrences can happen, and do happen, but classifying them as miracles right away may or may not be jumping to conclusions. However, if such a wind really did exist, how is it that human beings were able to walk into it without being blown away? The situation would just be impossible. when waters filled with reeds are blown a certain way, [one] can walk over it" (Boyd). It is interesting that Jamieson, Fausset and Brown point out "some intelligent writers can maintain there is no evidence of the destruction of Pharaoh himself. Given that such an event has not happened again in recorded history also can lend some credibility to this event's classification as a miracle. Another point to take into consideration is the fact that these people were indeed God's people, so there must be a pretty good chance that God had a hand in the escape. For the purpose of this essay, the "sea" will be referred to as the Red Sea. If a person believes it is a miracle, why can it not be so?. The parting of the Red Sea is certainly no exception. It may sounds like an extreme case, but it could have some plausibility to it. If there were interesting or prominent details, they became the new focus, and the smaller or negative points were probably minimized or left out altogether. But the question that arises is "how is this possible?" Jamieson, Faussett and Brown provide a few thoughts on this. It is a common tendency for humans to sway the account of a situation in their own favour - especially after a victory. Oral storytelling is one of the most common ways to pass down stories and traditions, but it is highly susceptible to misinformation, distortion and biases.
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Acceptance Essays
