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1. Etham is one of the most interesting and most important locations for determining the exodus route and the crossing of the Red Sea.
2. Pharaoh said: "They are wandering aimlessly in the land; the wilderness has shut them in." Ex 14:3
3. The mountains that trapped Israel are 300 meters high. These mountains "shut them in" and are the end of the 200 mile coastal plain, "on the edge of the wilderness" (Ex 13:20). God told them to "turn back" the direction they came and camp in front of the Migdol "military watch tower" (Ex 14:2, Num 33:7)
4. Etham, where they camped has an area of 70 sq. km..
5. Scripture says that Israel came to a dead end at Etham, then God told them to turn back and retrace their steps and camp directly beside the "Migdol" in order for pharaoh to say, "Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, "Tell the sons of Israel to turn back and camp before Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea; you shall camp in front of Baal-zephon, opposite it, by the sea. "For Pharaoh will say of the sons of Israel, 'They are wandering aimlessly in the land; the wilderness has shut them in.' "Thus I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and he will chase after them; and I will be honored through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord." And they did so." Exodus 14:1-4
6. The location of Etham requires the exodus route to take Israel past the Migdol (military watchtower), come to a dead end because the "wilderness of shut them in", then turn back and retrace their steps and camp beside the sea under the nose of the Egyptians watching in the Migdol. This key point is what disqualifies all other Red Sea crossing points except for the Straits of Tiran. No other proposed crossing point works. The Straits of Tiran fit perfectly... because it is really where Israel crossed!
7. The "Wilderness of Etham" doesn't exist, not in original text of the Bible in the Septuagint. It is only found in one passage: Num 33:8. Etham is not in the LXX at Num 33:8. Instead, the Septuagint has the word, "they" which is spelled almost the same, with the vowels removed. This is a gloss that has crept into out Bibles. The wilderness they went three days into is the wilderness of Shur. Therefore, the Wilderness of Etham is identical to the Wilderness of Shur.

1. "Then they set out from Succoth and camped in Etham on the edge of the wilderness." Exodus 13:20
2. "They journeyed from Succoth and camped in Etham, which is on the edge of the wilderness. They journeyed from Etham and turned back to Pi-hahiroth, which faces Baal-zephon, and they camped before Migdol. They journeyed from before Hahiroth and passed through the midst of the sea into the wilderness; and they went three days' journey in the wilderness of Etham and camped at Marah." Numbers 33:6-8

1. Immediately before the crossing of the Red Sea is "Etham, which is on the edge of the wilderness." Numbers 33:6. Traditional thinking interprets this as the starting edge of the wilderness on the west side of the Bitter Lakes before they entered what is traditionally called the Sinai Peninsula.
2. When you cross a wilderness there are always "two edges". The near edge at the start of the wilderness crossing and the far edge as you leave the wilderness.
3. The correct interpretation is that Etham was on the far and outer edge of the wilderness after they had traveled through it to reach the Red sea.
4. We know this is correct, because most people ignore the fact that the Bible says Israel crossed a wilderness before coming to the Red Sea. They leave Goshen, travel through the wilderness and after they have crossed this wilderness, they arrive at Etham and the Red Sea and cross it". (Exodus 13:18; Judges 11:16)

1. Exodus 14:2 :"Tell the sons of Israel to turn back and camp before Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea; you shall camp in front of Baal-zephon, opposite it, by the sea.
2. Numbers 33:7: They journeyed from Etham and turned back to Pi-hahiroth, which faces Baal-zephon, and they camped before Migdol.
3. Pi-hahiroth means a "mouth of water" in Hebrew. Notice that "Pi-hahiroth faces Baal-zephon" in Num 33:7. If you look at the "mouth" it indeed faces Baal-zephon!

 D. Photos:

Excluded Exodus Routes: Nuweiba Beech, Bitter lakes, Gulf of Suez, Mt. Musa, Mt. Karkom, Ein el-Qudeirat.

1. In the traditional exodus route, Etham would be somewhere past the actual Red Sea crossing point. It is important to remember that they went past the Migdol to Etham, then back tracked to camp at the Red Sea. For the Bitter lakes, such is impossible, for the Bitter lakes are so small, that anywhere past, would be on the other side of the Bitter lakes!
2. The Port of Suez crossing is also a disaster when you try to fit Etham into the route. If you go past the actual crossing point, you come to a huge open plain with no where to have the "wilderness shut them in".

By Steve Rudd: Contact the author for comments, input or corrections.

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