The Discovery of Sinai

The Discovery of (The Real) Mount Sinai

Jonathan Gray shares with us the incredible story of the discovery of Jebal El Lawz, The Mountain of the Law.

In The Red Sea Exodus crossing story we reconstructed the escape route of the Hebrews, with the Egyptian army in pursuit.

If this event did occur, and if, after 3,400 years, any remains have survived, I believed we should find traces of the lost Egyptian army down on the floor of the Gulf of Aqaba, opposite Nuweiba. And we did!

This discovery can be seen on video.

It was after the Hebrews crossed this sea that they came to Mount Sinai. This can only be in Arabia.(Galatians 4v25).

The Bible furnishes us with a checklist of artifacts that were left behind along the trail.

We enter a forbidden desert in Arabia to learn the truth.

Forbidden land

Just try to get a visa to enter Saudi Arabia. Ask your travel agent. No way... unless some Saudi citizen sponsors you for a job. Rich in oil, Saudi Arabia neither needs nor wants tourists - especially non-Moslems.
When Ron Wyatt and his two sons went in looking for Mount Sinai, they were arrested as Israeli spies and locked up for 78 days (after betrayal by an American "friend" - See the story in The Forbidden Desert. They could have been executed.
Even Jim Irwin's team members Bob Cornuke and Larry Williams couldn't get a visa. They "sneaked in" eventually and what they found proved Ron Wyatt was telling the truth.
Don't try it - unless you thrive on danger.

TOURISTS... go to the wrong country - in search of a sacred site

Traditional Sinai: A Fake Tourist Site?

Every year excited tourists climb the slopes of the so-called Mountain of God, photographing Elijah's cave and the monastery of St. Catherine - totally unaware that the REAL Mount Sinai lies across the Gulf of Aqaba in the ancient land of Midian! How could this be?

Only Since Constantine

Unknown to most, the REASON to this location was selected rests solely with the opinions of one man - the Roman emperor Constantine (c. 280-337 AD)! During a fit of depression, he sent his mother Helena to the Middle East to discover some spots he had seen in visions. The Sinai peninsula was one such place she visited. And 200 years later (in AD 527) the present Monastery of St. Catherine was erected there.
When Queen Helena chose this mountain in the Sinai peninsula as the biblical Mount Sinai, the Christian world blindly assumed this to be true. Instead of relying on visions of demons, Constantine should have consulted the pages of the Bible for clues to determine the TRUE SITE of Mount Sinai!

Traditional Site Untenable

Over the years many historians and scholars have realised the TRADITIONAL site of Mount Sinai in the peninsula between the two gulfs of the Red Sea is MISPLACED and UNTENABLE.
Von Haven, a member of the Danish Expedition of 1761-1767, quickly realised the IMPOSSIBILITY of the site:

"I have observed earlier that we could not possibly be a t Mount Sinai. The monastery was situated in a NARROW VALLEY, which was NOT EVEN LARGE ENOUGH FOR A MEDIUM-SIZED ARMY to be able to camp in, LET ALONE THE 600,000 MEN THAT MOSES HAD WITH HIM, who, together with their wives and children, must have come to OVER 3,000,000." (Arabia Felix: The Danish Expedition of 1761-1767, by Thorkild Hansen. Harper & Ros, N.Y., 1964, p.181).

Also the Sinai peninsula lay within the jurisdiction of Egypt and therefore the fugitive Israelites would AVOID it. James Montgomery notes that "...the land west of a line from the Wady of Egypt to the Elanitic Gulf (Gulf of Aqaba) has always belonged to the Egyptian political sphere, and actually that is the present boundary of Egypt.... the South Arabians called the same region Msr, i.e. Misraim, Egypt." (Arabia and the Bible, p.31) As we have noted, the traditional location in the so-called Sinai peninsula didn't "come into being" until almost 2,000 years after the Exodus. The so-called Sinai (Jebel Musa) is simply a MODERN FORGERY.

Are There Clues To The True Mt. Sinai?

In the biblical account Mount Sinai is CLOSELY CONNECTED WITH THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

Moses had fled from Egypt to MIDIAN. Here he came to the MOUNTAIN OF GOD, "even to HOREB" (Ex.3:1). It was here, at the burning bush, that God told Moses, "When you have brought forth the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God upon this mountain" (v.12)

Later, the Israelites were brought to Horeb, Midian, and the mount of God (Ex.17:6; 18:1,5). It's the same place.

Where is Midian?

The location of Midian is pretty much accepted as being in Saudi Arabia:

"Midian, a son of Abraham and Keturah (Gen.xxv:2; I Chr. I:32); progenitor of the Midianites, or Arabians dwelling principally in the desert north of the peninsula of Arabia. Southwards, they extended along the eastern shore of the Gulf of Eyleh (Gulf of Aqaba)." (Smith's Bible Dictionary, art.: "Midian")

The explorer Charles Doughty passed through an area of northwest Arabia called the MEDAIN, "north of MEDIANA." So the ancient name has stuck.

Mount Sinai In Arabia

In Galatians 4:25 Paul identifies the location. How could we have missed that for so long? Peake's Commentary on the Bible noticed it. Referring to Paul's passage here, it is stated:

"Their mothers likewise represent the two dispensations. Hagar represents that given on Mt. Sinai, and, Paul notes in passing the appropriateness of the fact that Mt. Sinai is in Arabia, the land to which Hagar took her son."

The Name "Horeb" Survives

If you examine a detailed map of this area, the WADI HOREB (or Hurab) can be seen to extend directly to the foothills of Jebel el Lawz, the highest mountain in the entire region.

Local Traditions of Moses and Jethro in the Area

Importantly, the few explorers who have been through the NW area of Arabia found this area (Midian) to have a vast array of local traditions about Moses and Jethro in the area.

"From here my guide and I climbed up the cliff to visit the 'circles of Jethro' on the summit of Musalla ridge, from which we climbed down quite easily to our camp on the far side.... A cairn marked the spot where Jethro is supposed to have prayed, and all around it are numerous circles. " (H. St. John Philby, The Land of Midian, p. 222)

Explorer Charles Doughtery writes of...

"...a tradition amongst their (the inhabitants of this NW Arabian region) ancestors that 'very anciently they occupied all that country about Maan, Jethro the Prophet." (Travels in Arabia Deserta)

But Which Mountain Was Sinai?

Can we now pinpoint the REAL Mt. Sinai - with exactitude?
Here is another clue:

"The Lord spoke to us in Horeb, saying, You have dwelt long enough IN this mount. (Deut.1:6)

The description indicates that the people were in a mountain range - I.E. protected within its borders.

After the discovery of the chariot parts in the Gulf of Aqaba, Ron Wyatt went looking for a mountain on the eastern side of the gulf which would fit this description. There was only one candidate, in his opinion - Jebel el Lawz. An aerial map showed this mountain to be in an almost semicircular shape, enclosing an area of 5,000 acres - certainly quite large enough to accommodate 2 million people and their herds. IT WAS ONCE A VOLCANO

It was also separated from the mountainous region which paralleled the Red Sea, by a desert, or plain area - which could be the desert of Sin(ai). Jebel el Lawz was the perfect candidate.
At 8,000 feet (2.600 m) it is also the tallest mountain in the region. Those who have looked up at its massive granite slopes are awed by its sheer ruggedness and size. Philby punctuates his book with superlatives such as

"the GREAT MASSIF of Jabal Lauz" and " the Lauz MASSIF".

The site is located some 144 km by road from Tabuk towards Hagl. Then, soon after crossing a bridge, a dry wadi is followed west for 48.7 km.
Upon questioning a bedouin in the area, if this was indeed Jabel el Lawz, Ron's escort Ibrahim Salem Frich responded with "nahm, Jabel Musa henna!" ("YES, THE MOUNTAIN OF MOSES IS HERE!").

Located fairly nearby is a single, large oasis, which could have been the home of Moses' father-in-law Jethro. The town of Al-Bad is here. And between this spot and the mountain is a desert area - and valleys in the mountain range through which Moses could have led his flocks, taking him to the "backside of the desert". Ron was convinced this mountain had to be the one.

The Burnt Top

The entire top of the mountain is blackened as if charred by some tremendous heat. It looks like it is made of coal. It looks exactly as if the very top portion of the entire top of the Lawz mountain had been evenly scorched. (NOT volcanic!)
Notice the biblical account:

"And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire."

Is this burnt top the result of the consuming fire of God's own presence? We think so.

Elijah's Cave

Among other features of the site is a cave just below one peak.

"And he - Elijah - ...went...unto Horeb the mountain of God. And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there." 1 Kings.

Solitary Tree

On one of the peaks (above the cave) there are 2 extremely large boulders with a solitary tree growing between them. This strange tree which seemingly is growing out of the granite, is one of the first things Ron noticed when he first saw this mountain. It is this tree which positively identifies the mountain. In an area with kilometres and kilometres of mountains, there is no mistaking this particular site. When you see the tree, you know you are there.

There is a reference to a tree on Sinai, in a book written about 650 AD, by a man who lived in and knew western Saudi Arabia. We know that Mohammed, who wrote the Koran, visited this area at least once. The speaker in this passage of the Koran is supposed to be God, or Allah, who refers to himself in the plural as he states:

"We produced for you... a tree issuing from the Mount of Sinai that bears oil and seasoning." (The Koran, translated by Arthur J. Arberry, chapter (Sura) "The Believers", para.20)

The Ancient Brook

On the face of the mountain, there extends evidence of an ancient stream that originated high in the mountain. The waters spilled down through the southern part of the holy precinct, turning east and flowing to the edge of the boundary markers (which we'll discuss soon), then turning and flowing north. The path is still visible today. See the video and be encouraged!

The biblical account tells us that when Moses destroyed and powdered up the golden calf, he "cast the dust thereof into the brook that descended out of the mount." (Deut.9:21)
Again, as we read the Koran, it appears that the peoples of this area knew the site of Mt. Sinai and this brook very well.

"Moses...said....'I observe a fire....When he came to it, a voice came form the right bank of the watercourse, in the sacred hollow, coming from the tree: Moses, I am God." (Ibid, Chapter "The Story", para.29,30)

This is an amazing description of a scene which perfectly fits the evidence from the site! The "sacred hollow" describes the area at the foot of the blackened mountain, which is protected on three sides by the mountains. The tree is certainly to the right of the river and again fits.

The "Bounds" Set By Moses

The Bible story relates that God instructed Moses to "set bounds unto the people" (Ex.19:12) - a barrier so that the people would not approach the mountain.
The area of the "holy precinct", this section at the foot of the mountain, is enclosed by huge 18-foot-diameter round columns. These cannot be seen except upon close examination, because over the intervening 3,400 years, soil and rock has accumulated around them, raising the ground level.
Today, only the tops of a few can be seen, sticking up through the ground just a few inches. It was one of the columns that was partly excavated when Ron Wyatt and Dave Fasold were there.
Their construction is as follows:
the outer wall, constructed of brick-sized rocks, is 18 feet (5 1/2 m) diameter; and the construction is similar to the large Egyptian columns. Within this enclosed outer wall is another interior wall, several feet smaller. In between these 2 walls, other stones of the same size are placed vertically. Their location can be seen quite easily, as the soil covering them drops off about 20 feet (6 m) along their entire course. The evidence shows that they extended across form north to south in a fairly direct line, then turned and followed the dry river bed that cuts through. (This riverbed begins high up in the mountain, comes down the side, and extends out eastward. "The brook that descended out of the mount" - Deut.9:21) The boundary columns then began again along the southern edge of the riverbed, went east, turned south and then westward, where they extended all the way to the southern side of the mountain.
Along this boundary erected by Moses, the Saudis have now placed a fence.

The Altar For The Golden Calf

A dramatic event occurred while Moses was up the mountain receiving the tablets of the mountain receiving the tablets of the Ten Commandments. The people built an altar for the worship of an Egyptian golden calf. "And Moses turned and went down from the mount, and the two tables of the testimony were in his hand; the tables were written on both their sides.... And when Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said unto Moses, There is a noise of war in the camp. And he said, it is not the voice of them that shout for mastery, neither is it the voice of them that cry for being overcome; but the noise of them that sing do I hear. And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the calf, and the dancing: and Moses' anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and brake them beneath the mount. And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and strawed it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it. (Ex.32:15-20)

We can visualise Moses and Joshua looking out over the area from the plateau (partway down the mount), getting ready to begin their final descent. They look out over the uninhabited holy precinct, and just beyond the boundary columns, the people are in a great commotion, singing and dancing. And just beyond, nestled close to a small hill, is the golden calf altar. As they walk through the holy precinct, closer to the barrier, they can clearly see the golden calf high upon the altar. Moses throws down the Tables of Stone just inside the Holy Precinct, but in the sight of the people. He keeps walking straight ahead, directly to Aaron and the altar. Taking the golden calf, he has it hurled into the fire, and ultimately it is melted down into a formless blob (showing what a "powerful god" it really is). Now he climbs on to the altar Aaron built and grinds the gold blob down into dust. He then takes a large pile of gold dust to the stream which flows from the mountain and strews it in the water at the place where the stream flows out of the Holy Precinct. Since no one can venture beyond the barrier, no one who drinks the water can escape the pollution of the gold in it - and the entire camp probably experienced tremendous stomach problems from the gold.

Thus far, the evidence at Jebel el Lawz fits the biblical description perfectly! Just outside the Holy Precinct, perhaps a mile or more from the base of the mountain, is an ancient altar, with 12 petroglyphs of cows and bulls. There is little doubt that this was the altar to the golden calf which Aaron had constructed, since it was obvious that the stones had been arranged.

But there was another exciting evidence: When Ron climbed upon the altar, and looked over the top of it, something red and glimmering caught his eye. He saw that there was a slight puddle of water form the light, early morning shower, on the rock and it looked almost like a puddle of blood. Carefully examining this, he saw that this part of the rock had a slight depression in it, which looked as if something had worn or ground it down.

Then he looked even closer, he saw that the "blood red" colour reflected in the water was the result of tiny flecks of gold embedded in the entire worn area (6' x 4') of the top of the rock. Was this where Moses had ground down the golden calf into gold powder, before making the people drink it? (Ex.32:20)

When Ron showed the archaeologist from Riyadh university, he was very excited. He said this ancient Egyptian style of petroglyph was found nowhere else in Saudi that he knew of. The horns of the cows and bulls were drawn in the Egyptian style, representing the gods Hathor and Apis. Ron was congratulated on the discovery and the area promptly closed off. All photographs were confiscated.

A later visit by members of Jim Irwin's "High Flight" team verified that the Saudis had enclosed the area with a 12 foot high, chain link fence and barbed wire, with a large blue and white 4 foot by 8 foot sign in Arabic and English, that it was a protected site of historical importance. The same type fence encircles two entire mountains.

The cost involved in the fencing alone shows that the Saudis are taking this site very seriously.

Re: the gold of the calf incident: Significantly, there were also very strong readings of the mineral gold registered at this site.

Altar at Foot of Mountain

Outside the camp, under the mount, is an area of a foundation. Could this be the site to which Moses removed the worship tent after the golden calf incident?

Adjacent to it is an altar made of uncut stones. The Scripture mentions this altar of "unhewn" stone, "under the hill". (Ex.20:25; 33:7)

The 12 Pillars

The Bible records: "And Moses... builded an altar under the hill, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel." (Ex. 24:4)

The Hebrew word used is "matstsebah". Could this be the origin of the word "massebah", which denotes a one-piece, standing stone pillar? (cf. Josh.4:8)

Discovered: In the Holy Precinct, to the far right and near the front (looking westward into the area) there is a semi-circle of 12 large granite boulders, about 6 feet wide and 9 feet tall. (This is an estimate based on the drop in ground level.) These are, like the 18 foot boundery markers, covered by alluvial soil, washed into the area by seasonal showers - and only the tops are visible.

Ron saw these white pilars lying close to ground level, as the sun reflected off the white stone.

White Marble Shrine

Near the altar at the base of the mountain, are the remains of some type of shrine built of pure white, polished marble. It is round, with sets of double columns at even intervals. Its roof: a polished dome. The piece of the columns are about 21 inches in diameter, with one measurement taken as 20.6 inches - the royal Egyptian cubit.

When Ron and Dave were exploring the region, each separated by the interrogation team, Ron found a piece of white marble with an inscription on it in archaic Hebrew, which he committed to memory and buried, not telling the Saudis about it. He believes that section will prove that Solomon had the shrine built, if he can ever get back out there and retrieve it, or have it safely retrieved.

The Bedouins themselves told Ron and Dave that there had been a marble building there, but that it had been dismantled and used in a mosque in Hagi.

Circular Dwelling

There are thousands of circular dwelling remains of the multitude's stay at Sinai and Rephidim.

The Rock in Horeb

Tracking Israel's route from the Red Sea to Sinai in Arabia, we find ourselves in a place which fits the description of Rephidim. Here, in the desert, Moses was told to go to "the rock in Horeb" (undoubtedly, a well-known, prominent rock) and strike it. He was promised that out would come water for the people to drink.

Here stands the most amazing monument on this planet!

On the western side of the Horeb range (the encampment at Mt. Sinai was on the east), in the midst of the plain, is a hill about 110 feet (34 m) high. Atop this hill towers a mighty rock, about the size of a 5 storey building. The total height, then, of this object, is about 16 stories. This giant rock is split through the middle. The split is large enough for a man to walk through.

Now, here is the remarkable part: Water erosion channels come from the TOP of the hill - OUT OF THE ROCK! This rock displays the pattern of water erosion, with evidence that numerous streams came forth in several directions.

Today, there is no water in the region anywhere. For this reason, it has remained uninhabited all these years. But it is evident that great streams of water once came form this split in the rock in several directions. The erosion channels continue out into the plain below.

Another Altar

About 200 metres from this rock, is another altar, similar in construction to the one in the Holy Precinct. The Scripture says that Moses built an altar at Rephidim. And that altar is still there.

How Have All These Remains Managed To Survive?

Fortunately the remoteness and the desert conditions have preserved these remains, just where they were left 3,400 years ago. I believe a divine hand has kept these from discovery until now - the age when they were needed for a sceptical world - kept them from being discovered and looted.