Many locations have been proposed for the biblical Mount Sinai. One of the latest sites is Jebel Madhbah near Petra, and while this and the classical site for Mount Sinai are all possibilities, there exists a radical new alternative which is more logical, evidential and far more provocative. The rugged desert mountains previously suggested would not get Indiana Jones reaching for his hat and whip, and rushing out of the door – but the latest evidence presented, just might.
Encampment of the Aulad-Sa’id at Mount Sinai. Is this Sinai? ( Wellcome Images / CC BY-SA 4.0 )
Why should this mountain be so important to the three Judaic religions, and how did its location become forgotten? The answer to the first question is relatively easy to answer: Mount Sinai was the location where Moses spoke to god. Indeed, it was rumored that the Israelite god actually lived inside this mountain, which would indeed make it special. However, the second question is more difficult to answer. Here is the most sacred mountain of the Israelites, the home of their all-powerful god, and someone simply forgot where it was! Why does Judaeo-Christianity always loose its most important characters and locations? Abraham, Moses, Joseph, King David, King Solomon, Jesus, Mary, and Saul, plus the route of the Exodus, King David’s palace and Jesus’ tomb – they have all gone missing from the historical and archaeological record for some reason. Are these religions simply forgetful, or are they withholding secrets?
Israelites Are Hyksos
If the latter is the case, then what were the Israelite leadership trying to hide? The answer is contained in Ellis’ books Tempest & Exodus (2002) and Eden in Egypt , (2004) where it is explained that the Israelites were actually the Hyksos pharaohs of Egypt . And yet this radical proposal is not without merit, for it was originally suggested by Josephus Flavius, Judaism’s greatest historian. But if Josephus was correct – and the evidence suggests that he was – then the Israelite Exodus out of Egypt must have been the Hyksos Exodus out of Egypt, just as Josephus claims. This also implies that the original beliefs of Judaism must have had a distinctly Egyptian bias. The Hyksos people venerated nearly the full pantheon of Egyptian gods, and so early Judaism must have been substantially polytheistic before the reforms of Pharaoh Akhenaten took effect.
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Ralph Ellis was trained in surveying and computer science. He has been touring the Mediterranean and researching Egyptian and biblical history for over 40 years, and his comparisons between the two have greatly assisted our understanding of biblical history. He has written 13 books, including Tempest and Exodus
Top Image : Moses on Mount Sinai by Jean-Léon Gérôme (1824–1904) ( Public Domain )
By Ralph Ellis
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