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  • From: Peter Kirk <peter AT qaya.org>
  • To: "Read, James C" <K0434995 AT kingston.ac.uk>
  • Cc: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] Oxen & Oxcarts in the Exodus
  • Date: Sat, 31 Dec 2005 18:15:59 +0000

On 31/12/2005 14:44, Read, James C wrote:


I'd have to largely agree with Peter on this one. The miracles of
the exodus account are charateristically recorded and so there is
no need to read more miracles into the story than those already
recorded for our benefit.

Anyway, who said the path through the Red Sea was muddy? I thought
the whole miracle was that Yah parted the waters and left and left
dry terrain to cross.


Perhaps the point is that the path seems to have been muddy, or soft sand, enough for the Egyptian chariots to get stuck. Of course that could have been a separate miracle, but the simplest explanation is that the path across the bottom of the sea was suitable for foot traffic but not for wheeled traffic - and if not for the Egyptians' light chariots, certainly not for heavy oxcarts.

We may also need to consider the speed of oxcarts. The Exodus account tells us roughly how far the Israelites travelled per day, from the Reed Sea to Sinai. Could oxcarts have travelled fast enough, especially across rough and sometimes soft terrain?

--
Peter Kirk
peter AT qaya.org (personal)
peterkirk AT qaya.org (work)
http://www.qaya.org/





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