Biblical Parting Of The Red Sea Possible According To Physical Law

An article appearing on MSNBC's website reports that "Mother Earth could have parted the Red Sea, hatching the great escape described in the biblical book of Exodus, a new study finds. A strong east wind, blowing overnight, could have swept water off a bend where an ancient river is believed to have merged with a coastal lagoon along the Mediterranean Sea, said study team member Carl Drews of the National Center for Atmospheric Research. While archaeologists and Egyptologists have found little evidence that any events described in Exodus actually happened, the study outlines a perfect storm that could have led to the 3,000-year-old escape... Drew and his colleagues used models that showed that a wind of 63 mph (101 kph), lasting for 12 hours, would have pushed back waters estimated to be 6 feet (1.8 meters) deep. This would have exposed mud flats for four hours, creating a dry passage about 2 to 2.5 miles (3.2 to 4 kilometers) long and 3 miles (4.8 km) wide. To match the account in the Bible, the water would have to be pushed back into both the lake and the channel of the river, creating barriers of water on both sides of newly exposed mud flats, which is exactly what the models show could have happened. As soon as the winds stopped, the waters would come rushing back. Anyone still on the mud flats would be at risk of drowning. As the Bible story goes, Moses and the fleeing Israelites were trapped between the Pharaoh's advancing chariots and a body of water that has been variously translated as the Red Sea or the Sea of Reeds. In a divine miracle, a mighty east wind blew all night, splitting the waters and leaving a passage of dry land with walls of water on both sides. The Israelites were able to flee to the other shore. But when the Pharaoh's army attempted to pursue them in the morning, the waters rushed back and drowned the soldiers... A similar phenomenon is found on Lake Erie near Toledo, Ohio, where water will recede several feet when a strong wind blows through, Drews told OurAmazingPlanet. The research shows how strong and persistent winds can affect water depths, and will also help with understanding storm surges, Drews said. By pinpointing a possible site south of the Mediterranean Sea for the crossing, about 75 miles (121 km) north of the Suez reef, where other groups have focused, it also could be of benefit to experts seeking to research whether such an event ever took place. The study is detailed in the online journal PLoS ONE."

What the aforementioned fails to notice is what the Bible itself precisely says about the parting of the Red Sea. Exodus 14:21 explicitly states, "And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the Lord led the sea with the strong east wind all night, and He made the sea into dry land and the waters split." A strong eastern wind as described in the new study is exactly in line with scripture. This finding, therefore, actually serves as evidence for the veracity of scripture. How would ancient human authors know precisely what would be needed physically to split a sea and be sure to include that in the Pentateuch? The fact that the Bible so long ago itself provides an account in line with how a physical parting of the sea would take place lends credence to the idea that such a parting did in fact take place, and that the author of the Exodus may not have been just an ancient Hebrew alone.
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