(Ex. 13:18) Did the Jews cross the “Red Sea” or the “Reed Sea”?

CLAIM: Some naturalistic scholars argue that the Jews passed through the Reed Sea –not the Red Sea. The Reed Sea is a shallow body of water, which could dry up, allowing the Jews to pass through unhindered.

RESPONSE: While this would explain how the Jews crossed the Red Sea, it would not explain how Pharaoh’s army could drown in six inches of water (Ex. 14:28)! Moreover, the text states that as the Jews crossed the sea, the “waters were like a wall to them on their right hand and on their left” (Ex. 14:22). Elsewhere, in 1 Kings 9:26, we read that Solomon built a fleet of ships on the shore of the Red Sea, which is the same Hebrew expression. This doesn’t fit with a low level of water. If there is an all-powerful God, miracles are possible. While miracles like this seem difficult to imagine, these would be easy for an omnipotent being to accomplish. If the Christian God exists, moving the waters of the Red Sea would be no more difficult than moving the waters in a bath tub.