Wind Could Have Parted Red Sea for Moses: Report

[lino]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Moses might not have parted the Red Sea, but a strong east wind that blew through the night could have pushed the waters back in the way described in biblical writings and the Koran, U.S. researchers reported on Tuesday.


(An illustration showing how a strong wind could push back waters from two ancient basins--a lagoon (left) and a river (right)--to create a temporary land bridge. REUTERS/Illustration by Nicolle Rager Fuller/University Corporation for Atmospheric Research)

Computer simulations, part of a larger study on how winds affect water, show wind could push water back at a point where a river bent to merge with a coastal lagoon, the team at the National Center for Atmospheric Research and the University of Colorado at Boulder said.

"The simulations match fairly closely with the account in Exodus," Carl Drews of NCAR, who led the study, said in a statement.

"The parting of the waters can be understood through fluid dynamics. The wind moves the water in a way that's in accordance with physical laws, creating a safe passage with water on two sides and then abruptly allowing the water to rush back in."

Religious texts differ a little in the tale, but all describe Moses leading the Israelites out of Egypt ahead of a pharaoh's armies around 3,000 years ago. The Red Sea parts to let Moses and his followers pass safely, then crashes back onto the pursuers, drowning them.

Drews and colleagues are studying how Pacific Ocean typhoons can drive storm surges and other effects of strong and sustained winds on deep water.

His team pinpointed a possible site south of the Mediterranean Sea for the legendary crossing, and modeled different land formations that could have existed then and perhaps led to the accounts of the sea appearing to part.

The model requires a U-shaped formation of the Nile River and a shallow lagoon along the shoreline. It shows that a wind of 63 miles per hour, blowing steadily for 12 hours, could have pushed back waters 6 feet deep.

"This land bridge is 3-4 km (2 to 2.5 miles) long and 5 km (3 miles) wide, and it remains open for 4 hours," they wrote in the Public Library of Science journal PLoS ONE.

"People have always been fascinated by this Exodus story, wondering if it comes from historical facts," Drews said. "What this study shows is that the description of the waters parting indeed has a basis in physical laws."

Details of the model described can be seen at https://www2.ucar.edu/news/parting-wate ... cape-route and
http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Ad ... ne.0012481.

[tigersharkdude]

[AppleBonker]

Isn't this a religious topic? Just saying.

But I'm glad scientists are taking interest in proving out old stories and such. I'm still waiting for the explanation on Hey Diddle Diddle. For the life of me I just can't figure out how that crazy cow jumped over the moon...

[Encryptshun]

Isn't this a religious topic? Just saying.

But I'm glad scientists are taking interest in proving out old stories and such. I'm still waiting for the explanation on Hey Diddle Diddle. For the life of me I just can't figure out how that crazy cow jumped over the moon...

[OriginalWheelman]

"The model requires a U-shaped formation of the Nile River and a shallow lagoon along the shoreline. It shows that a wind of 63 miles per hour, blowing steadily for 12 hours, could have pushed back waters 6 feet deep."


Anyone bother to stop and think how the hell they would have walked in 63 mph wind?

[Dittoz7]

Like a boss.

[Dattebayo]

This is really old news. This theory has been in place for more then 20 years...

[Encryptshun]

Yeah, I'm with Dave on this one. Maybe there have been some new developments in modeling or whatever, but I remember hearing about this on one of those "Mysteries of the Bible Revealed" shows back in the 80s. This, the great flood, the location of the garden of eden, the shroud of turin etc etc.

[IBCoupe]

It's not like a mighty wind would have been inconsistent with God helping Moses and the Jews escape Egypt... so why leave it out of the story?

In other news, this isn't inconsistent with God, either:

[AppleBonker]

Simply epic movie ^

[Encryptshun]

Christoper Guest is the only person awesome enough to make a documentary about Chuck Norris.

[RCA]

Why is this news?

[dusred]

What about the part where they walked on dry ground?

[Encryptshun]

What about the part where they walked on dry ground?

Poetic license. Here are some other examples:

Garden of Eden -- Eve's Chia Pet. Adam bought it for her as an anniversary gift. Her gift to him? A rotten apple. What do you want, it was an arranged marriage.

Moses and the Burning Bush -- He had a thing for redheads, who knew?

Jesus feeding the masses with 5 loaves and two fishes -- Turns out it was "endless loaf and fish night" at Olive Garden

Jesus walking on water -- Well, even back then they had euphemisms for "f*ck I gotta pee"

Salome and the head of John the Baptist -- Not "of" so much as "from".

[AppleBonker]

[AZhitman]

This is really old news. This theory has been in place for more then 20 years...

Try 30 or more. Doesn't make it any less interesting.

There's actually a LOT of these "scientific" explanations of Biblical phenomena, and I think they're awesome.

At the risk of bumping up against our prohibition on such topics, whenever someone points to these theories as a way to "counter" my faith, I remind them:

Who made the wind?

EDIT: I see IBC beat me to the point. Nice work.

In other news, anyone who believes in the shroud's authenticity is a moron. My 7-year-old figured it out with some chocolate syrup and a paper towel. Think.... See?

[s0m3th1ngAZ]

Who made the wind?

Really? That's what your counter-counter argument is?

Also, well done Encryptshun.

[scotty-2-forty]

[Dattebayo]

Who made the wind?

The moon, along with convection currents and the spin of the earth (also theorized to be the moon's doing).

[scotty-2-forty]

Who made the wind?

The moon, along with convection currents and the spin of the earth (also theorized to be the moon's doing).

Well then, who broke it?

[Encryptshun]

I did.

[Dattebayo]

See, the current theory that has everyone going nuts is that there used to be three planets of around the same size located between Earth and Mars' current orbits. Mars stayed the same, but one of the other two planets had a glancing blow into the larger one and the molten core of that smaller planet (they're calling it Orpheus, I think) combined with the larger body to make the Earth. The moon was formed slowly out of the leftover parts that were slung out into orbit around earth, and that's how our spin was started.

It also explains why moon rocks have the same type and amount of radioactive isotopes as Earth.

The spin was at first very fast, but the gravity of the moon has tugged Earth's spin down much slower over the last 3 billion years or so to today's speed.

[AZhitman]

Really? That's what your counter-counter argument is?

Did I stutter or use big words?

Dave - Interesting stuff. Astronomy makes my head hurt, but I like reading about stuff like that.

[IBCoupe]

Of course, Greg, one could, as I did, use that same fact as an argument against the thing - being that it wasn't detrimental to any key plot point, and being that it's a pretty notable thing to remember in the retelling... how'd it get left out?

I'd relate a similar anecdote about Jesus and Jews, but I think that would cross the line.

[Alfador]

Big frakin deal.

I think even most reasonable people believe these days that the old testament is wrapped in layer upon layer of metaphors and parables.

If you want to argue against the whole "hand of god" thing, that's fine, but the notion that the wind pushed the red sea apart long enough for a bunch of people to cross, happened to occur at just the right time, and happened to stop at just the right time, is just way too coincidental to be believable.

People try to apply science to creepy old testament stuff all the time, and more often than not they're just overdoing it. If you're trying to argue against it, the occams razor solution is that it simply didn't happen, it was exaggerated, or it was changed so many times over the years in a damn ridiculous game of "telephone."

[Koshin]

people who take the bible "literally" term for term are morons

stories to yeach a lesson of some sort....thats all

[HashiriyaS14]

At the risk of bumping up against our prohibition on such topics, whenever someone points to these theories as a way to "counter" my faith, I remind them:

Who made the wind?

^^
+1


My religious convictions really aren't at all effected by whether or not certain Biblical stories are true, as I generally accept them as illustrative fables from the get-go.

[AZhitman]

^^ That.

[Urabus GodofTraction]

I'm down with religion. Trying to use science to prove or disprove it though, futile. Faith, by it's very nature runs counter to science. Not a bad thing, if you're into that. But stuff like this trying to "make it work"? No bueno.

[Encryptshun]

Faith is what makes you believe your Versa's fuel consumption changes when moving the gearshift from N to 1 even though you haven't released the clutch?