What is an Explorer? An explorer is a person who investigates something they are unfamiliar with. It is a term that does not carry with it the sense of academic achievement, public recognition, or formal accreditation. I believe it simply describes a person unsatisfied with their intellectual status quo. They are driven to seek out and comprehend the previously unknown. Therefore, I have chosen to use this term because I believe that, in one way or another, we can all be explorers.
I have always been one of those people who love adventure. Although I am not a blind-faith kind of guy, exploring the roots and rationale of Bible-related discoveries fascinates me. By removing the shrouds of tales and tradition, I found myself compelled to seek out truth wherever it could be found and tested.
I was raised in a home by Christian parents who took me to churches where I heard all of the standard Biblical stories. Time and time again, I was encouraged to “simply believe” everything I was being shown and taught. As I grew into my teenage years, I found myself needing to test many of these foundational declarations coming from these spiritual mentors. As you can imagine, many saw me as confused and perhaps even a little bit contentious. Nevertheless, I strongly felt that if something is worth believing with your whole heart, it needs to be more than untestable stories.
My family and I moved from New York State to Portsmouth, England, in 1992. While living there, my favorite place to visit was the British Museum. Seeing and even touching real antiquity was amazing to me. Being there made me feel connected to history in a way that books or videos could never satisfy.
By this time, I had heard of the 1984 adventures of Ron Wyatt and his declaration that he had found the real Mount Sinai in Saudi Arabia.
I was also excited by the investigative work David Rohl did in his book “A Test of Time” published in 1995. In 2001 came “The Exodus Case” by Dr. Lennart Möller, and by then, I was still enthusiastic but now completely confused. It seemed that the more I researched the findings of these experts, the more uncertain I became of ever satisfying my desire to see clear evidence that tracked with the Biblical narrative of the Exodus. I kept coming back to the constant in true archeology, which was that findings and conclusions needed to be independently verified.
Most of the controversy seemed to center around the location of the crossing from Egypt to Mount Sinai. From the Reed Sea in upper Egypt to the Gulf of Aqaba, many different theories have been proposed, but none of them had the power to convincingly settle in as the final solution. In every case, the problem was independent, unbiased verification.
In 2001, my wife and family lived with me in England as expats from the United States. In early August, my wife and I returned to our former home in Upstate New York to fix it so we could sell it. While we were there, our good friend Chris Corlett gave us a copy of the book “In Search for the Mountain of God” by Bob Cornuke and David Halbrook. By mid-September, we were preparing to return to our home in England when a terrorist attack brought down the Twin Towers in New York City, and we were all grounded.
While waiting for our return flight to the UK the following week, we read Bob’s book about how he and Larry Williams explored the reports of the real Mount Sinai being in the northwestern corner of Saudi Arabia in 1988. It was a riveting experience as we read about their adventures and discoveries.
In 2002, Bob Cornuke joined Chuck Missler, Dave Hunt, Roger Oakland, and others for a conference we sponsored in Portsmouth, England. As you can imagine, I took every opportunity to extract as much information as possible about his exploration methods and objectives. By this time, an inextinguishable question raged in my mind concerning the possibility that some of the events recorded in the Bible could actually have residual evidence available for me to explore in my lifetime.
Since reading Bob Cornuke’s book, “Mountain of God,” I have been exploring and examining every bit of information, articles, or pictures I could find concerning the evidence for the Biblical Exodus account. With the assistance of published materials and internet searches, I collected hundreds of pieces of evidence to fit into the broader puzzle that would ultimately reveal the Biblical narrative of the Exodus account.
The Trouble with Tradition
There are certain key events that are recorded in Scripture that provide the fundamentals for our faith in the Biblical narrative. The early Church pointed to the Cross and the Resurrection as irrefutable proof that Jesus Christ was the only one that provided our salvation.0F1 For the Jews, their “salvation” experience happened when they departed Egypt, crossed the Red Sea, and arrived at the foot of Mount Sinai. Here, the Nation of Israel was born. Here, the Nation of Israel was given the Laws of God. Here, the Nation of Israel would be given their instructions on what they were to do as a people ruled by God.
When you consider the traditional sites associated with the Biblical account of the Exodus in the Sinai Peninsula, you quickly realize that there is very little verifiable evidence of these. Therefore, you can understand why most modern Children of Israel do not take the Biblical account of the Exodus seriously.
This is aided by the fact that many internationally recognized experts dispute the historicity of these stories. Dr. Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities and Director of the Giza Pyramids Excavation, wrote,
“Archaeologists who have worked here have never turned up evidence to support the account in the Bible.”1F2
This skepticism continues with contemporary Jewish religious leaders. David Wolpe, Rabbi of Sinai Temple in Los Angeles, CA; Assistant to the Chancellor at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in New York who was named “one of the 500 Most Influential People in Los Angeles in 2016 and again in 2017”, “The Most Influential Rabbi in America” by Newsweek Magazine and “One of the 50 Most Influential Jews in the World” by The Jerusalem Post says,
“The truth is that virtually every modern archeologist who has investigated the story of the Exodus, with very few exceptions, agrees that the way the Bible describes the Exodus is not the way it happened, if it happened at all.”2F3
To compound the confusion, most modern Bibles with maps in the back show the Exodus sites with a question mark next to them. Why? The answer is simple. The publishers cannot, in good conscience, point to a place with little or no credibility. After all, any inaccuracies printed alongside the Holy Scriptures would cause the whole document to be subject to suspicion.
These disturbing statements challenged me to dig deeper into this paradigm event in the history of the nation and the people of Israel. After my research over the past 18 years, I was convinced that I could only take this quest so far without actually investigating the archeological sites themselves.
Evidence-Based Exploration
What is Evidence?
Evidence is the available body of facts or information indicating whether a belief or proposition is true or valid. There are two categories of evidence admissible in a court of law: Direct Evidence, which is an eyewitness account, and Circumstantial Evidence, which is proof that relies on an inference to connect it to a conclusion of fact.
Understanding the Evidence
With these two types of evidence in hand, we then utilize various tools of interpretation. Our investigative toolbox can include the following:
- Corroborating Evidence tends to confirm a proposition that is already supported by some other initial evidence.
- Compound Circumstantial Evidence involves employing the technique of determining the compound probability of a series of events occurring to form a credible theory that leads to a conclusion of fact. As the evidence mounts, it should be like the proverbial “elephant in the room” that cannot be discounted through all avoidance behavior.
- Chain of Evidence is a process and record that shows who obtained the evidence; where and when the evidence was obtained; who secured the evidence; and who had control or possession of the evidence. This element of investigation is crucial to the integrity of the case.
The Crushable of Cross-Examination
Every full and fair exploration must contain the counterbalance of testing to determine the complete truth. Therefore, there are two more elements of our investigation that must be included if we are to arrive at a reasonable conclusion.
- Exculpatory Evidence tends to contradict a proposition that is otherwise supported by the current theory. In criminal law, the investigator must reveal all exculpatory evidence before the accused enters a plea. If this is not revealed, it naturally calls into question the accuracy of the declared finding.
- Independent Verification is key to establishing a non-biased conclusion. It invites critical review and comment. It can prevent the downward spiral of confirmation bias, which can result in viable alternative understandings. Although this is never a pleasant experience, the benefit of credibility will outweigh the pain of criticism.
How do we investigate ancient evidence?
In 2019, I was introduced to the Israeli archaeologist and academic Dr. Yosef Garfinkel. He is a professor of prehistoric archaeology and archaeology of the Biblical period at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He is the author of 34 books and over 180 articles on a wide variety of topics related to archeology. He has become a personal friend and has assisted me many times with his experience and insights into the world of modern archaeological practices.
According to Dr. Garfinkel, credible research requires three elements of investigation. First, there is the discovered item itself. This is the WHAT of archeology. The next is the WHERE, which refers to geographical location. This is when the explorer begins to knit the finding with the location. And finally, there is the WHEN. Establishing the time frame for the item found is the final piece of the puzzle that gives the whole discovery its context. There are many scientific methods for approximating the age of individual items, so we are fortunate to have advanced tools that assist archeologists in their pursuit of understanding.
Ultimately, all archeological declarations are based on some degree of uncertainty. Conclusions are achieved by combining Circumstantial Evidence (What can be assumed), Corroborating Evidence (That which supports the assumptions), and a clear Chain of Evidence (Which protects the items from outside corruption). When you add the benefit of corrective input from Exculpatory Evidence (Which may contradict the assumptions) and Independent Verification (Which can offer a different perspective), you have the full picture that can give helpful insight into the locations and events of antiquity.
Feet on the Ground
Therefore, my approach to this investigation into the evidence for the Exodus was simple. I started with the Biblical text as a compass that would point me in the direction to explore. I then began to collect every document or report I could find in the hope that one day, I would be able to explore and verify the data I had been collecting independently.
In September 2019, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) officially opened its doors to tourists. Previously, travel to the Kingdom was almost entirely restricted to expatriate workers, those with business visas, and religious pilgrims visiting the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. As soon as I heard of this new development, I jumped onto the KSA Visitor’s website and made my application to travel to this previously forbidden destination.
On February 21, 2020, Bob Cornuke, Jim Schmidt, my son Ben, and I began a journey that would take us to a place where, quite possibly, God made Himself known to Moses and the Children of Israel. From the moment we arrived in Saudi Arabia, we all sensed that this would be an amazing experience. Armed with cameras, microphones, drones, hiking gear, and lots of water, we were ready to seek out all the places that I had only visited through the lens of someone else’s camera.
My Conclusion
We began our exploration at the mouth of the Red Sea as it entered the Gulf of Aqaba. If we can draw any conclusions from the Compound Circumstantial Evidence that we presented, then it seems likely that the sum of these parts constructs a compelling story that flows with the Biblical narrative recorded in the Book of Exodus.
We are told that after crossing the Red Sea, the Children of Israel made a 3-day journey to the Bitter Springs (Exodus 15:22). They then came to the Wells of Elim where there were 12 wells + 70 Palms (Exodus 15:27). From there they traveled through the Wilderness of Sin (Exodus 16:1) to the Camp at Rephidim (Exodus 17:1) where Moses struck the rock and water came out (Exodus 17:6). Here they would build an altar to worship their God after they defeated the Amalekites (Exodus 17:15,16). From there, they would travel and camp at the Base of Mt. Sinai (Exodus 19:2). God would tell Moses to provide Boundary Markers (Exodus 19:12,13) to mark off the area that the people should not enter lest they die. The top of the mountain was surrounded with smoke and fire (Exodus 19:18). Moses was instructed by God to construct an Altar for the sacrifices (Exodus 20:24,25) around which he would place Twelve Pillars representing the 12 Tribes of Israel (Exodus 24:4). While Moses in up on the mountain, Aaron listens to the cries of the people an builds a Golden Calf Altar (Exodus 32:3,4). A Wild Party follows (Exodus 32:5,6), which results in 3,000 people being executed and buried in a Mass Grave Site near Mt Sinai (Exodus 32:25-28). Many years later, the prophet Elijah will flee the wrath of Queen Jezebel and make a journey where he will take up lodgings in a cave on the Mountain of God. (1 Kings 19:8,9)
During our 2020 trip to Median in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, we were able to validate that there are sites in chronological order that fit with the Biblical narrative laid out in the Book of Exodus. I believe that no place on earth better fits that narrative than these sites in the northwestern region of Saudi Arabia. There is still much exploration to be done and findings to be validated, but I hope that this simple personal journal will assist you on your journey to the truth.
