68 Comments

1. Tom Dwayne:

This is absolute garbage.

Aug 14, 2009 - 1:09 am 2. Delia:

WOW! Thank you for sharing this. Fascinating.

Aug 14, 2009 - 1:20 am 3. Daniel:

The author is mistaken. Judaism is quite content to not have access to these sites.

Aug 14, 2009 - 1:21 am 4. Chileno:

Though at times this sounds like a conspiracy theorist’s attempt to peddle his latest book, it does tweak the imagination!

The video made reference to, “The Search for the Real Mt. Sinai,” is on Google Video (45 minutes):

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4305370740783955461

Pretty interesting if you have the time.

Aug 14, 2009 - 2:04 am 5. Ruvy:

Years ago, I read the book, The Gold of Exodus, about the treasure hunt that Cornuke and his partner went on in Arabia – seeking to find the gold that the Children of Israel were commanded to drop at their feet at Horev. It was this book that convinced me finally of the truth of the Exodus from Egypt – and of the truth of the Torah.

Aug 14, 2009 - 3:47 am 6. Michelle:

Fascinating! I’ll have to visit the bookstore this weekend.
Imagine sneaking into Saudi Arabia to make these discoveries. Harrowing! That took a lot of courage.

Aug 14, 2009 - 4:30 am 7. Old Soldier:

Over and over historians and archaeologists have used the Bible to find important finds. Regardless of your religious beliefs, the Bible / Torah is the world’s most valuable historical document.

Aug 14, 2009 - 4:37 am 8. rbell:

Skeptical – Not of the Biblical account but of modern day archeologists out to make a buck. It could be a serious scientific effort with real discoveries or it could be a hoax.

For the Believer all the evidence necessary is found in Scripture. For the non-believer, raising someone from the dead would not be enough evidence. In the end the doomed are willfully ignorant.

Aug 14, 2009 - 4:51 am 9. Jeff Dunetz:

The beginning of your premise, that the Hebrews crossed the red sea is wrong. If you read the story in the original Hebrew it says “Yam Suf” Sea of Reeds. That makes the crossing point on the other side of the the country, near the delta. Which makes sense, because in slavery, The Children of Israel were building the store cities of Ramses and Pithus which were in the Delta area.

Aug 14, 2009 - 5:00 am 10. Tolbert:

Is that Eric Von Daniken hiding behind the burning bush?

These type of unsubstantiated claims have no business being promoted on this site.

Aug 14, 2009 - 5:24 am 11. Rick:

Read the book some time ago-very interesting!Once again, archaeology may support the Bible.What is the matter, TD? Your conscience giving you a jab?

Aug 14, 2009 - 5:25 am 12. Popcorn:

Perhaps you think this is all hogwash

Yes, pretty much. Put me down for little of historical value before the Book of Judges.

Aug 14, 2009 - 5:38 am 13. Leigh T:

The Bible’s historical accuracies is often its basis of “truth” After all, if you can prove at least some of the places, peoples and events in the Bible have historical basis, then believing the rest is easier. I have no doubt that the Old Testament is derived from historical events.. theyve just been reinterpreted over the milenia.

I have to be very skeptical about a number of the claims being made about this site, however, esp. the altar. The matches are too exact. However, the claims are worth investigating further. I agree that the Saudis would not want anything like this. The last thing people want is to be reminded of how their arch-enemy is really their brother.

I dont think Israel or any Jewish organization will fight for access. Kingdoms come and go and they know that… The mountain will still be there.

Aug 14, 2009 - 5:45 am 14. Tolber:

Yay! My comment got deleted just because I expressed the view that the book’s authors’ scholarship may be lacking.

Aug 14, 2009 - 5:57 am 15. AThinkingPerson:

I’m with Michelle, this is fascinating stuff and I am interested to read more about it. My interest is definitely piqued!

As a sidenote…My hat is off to PJM for not only bringing us intriguing articles on the politics of the day but also articles like this. PJM never fails to enlighten and educate me. Thanks for all you do daily.

Aug 14, 2009 - 6:36 am 16. Pelaut:

Neat stuff! They have Oliver Stone and Michael Moore, why can’t we have our guys?

BTW, Muslims think they are descendants of Abraham and venerate The Book, if not quite so with the people of The Book. Can’t see them destroying archealogical evidence validating the Torah.

Aug 14, 2009 - 6:38 am 17. Harry:

Don’t mis-judge the Saudis. I think they are capable of separating current politics from spiritual truth. This find would make them keepers of a site revered by three great religions, a role the Arabs have honored since the 7th Century when the vast majority of Christians lived under Arab-Muslim rule.

Aug 14, 2009 - 7:45 am 18. Ed Butt:

The slight problem here is that while the Jews did not keep any written records until about 1400 years after the alleged exodus, the Egyptians were a nation of bureaucrats and documented everything. And they simply do not mention the nation of Israel being held as slaves in Egypt.

At the time the Pyramids were being built the Israelites were primitive, semi nomadic tribes. Most likely what they mean by saying their nation was held in slavery by Egypt was that the Egyptian empire ruled the area where the israelites lived.

Read The book Of Enoch which should be the first book of The Bible. It was replaced by the nonsense of Genesis and Exodus because it gives away far too much about the real origins of the Jewish religion.

Aug 14, 2009 - 8:23 am 19. Michael:

It does erk some people how often the accounts in the Bible are verified by archeology. Whether this is one I don’t know but the last two centuries have far too many instances for this claim to be rejected out of hand.

Aug 14, 2009 - 8:32 am 20. scott:

Ed you just go ahead and believe whatever you want to believe. Textual Criticism be danged.

Aug 14, 2009 - 8:42 am 21. arhooley:

Until someone comes up with an archeological explanation for a rock in the middle of the desert gushing water, I’ll vote hogwash.

Aug 14, 2009 - 8:53 am 22. Dave II:

“The finds are extremely significant and have the potential to change the dynamics of the Middle East.”

I agree with the first part…the second…not so much.

You’d think it might, but really? The problems there are much deeper rooted than a significant find in Saudi Arabia can affect.

I’d say that Israel’s effort to rebuild the Temple at the Dome of the Rock site have a much
greater chance to “change the dynamics” than this does.

Aug 14, 2009 - 8:55 am 23. flying squirrel:

This post smacks of cheesy proselytization or brazen ware hawking. Exodus has always (if not universally) has been understood as having some historical basis. The effort to find the real Sinai (or Arahat) is not new. The evidence (eg) of a black mountain like the one in the story could be interesting Biblical Archeology…until it is used to suggest the truth of the miracle story of how it got to be that way! (See “How the Elephant got its nose”) This is possibly unconscious, but certainly unconscionable, leap of apologetic faith; it vitiates whatever scientific value the source materials have. This is not up to Pajama’s standards.

Aug 14, 2009 - 9:33 am 24. MD:

In the New Testament when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, many were praising His name. Others shouted for them to stop. Jesus said, if these people did not praise my name the rocks themselves would shout out in praise. With finds like the one described above, the real Mt Sinai the “rocks” are starting to cry out! Do not believe if you must but soon the answer will be known. Will YOU BE KNOWN BY THE ONE COMING???? And no, I’m not talking about Obama either….

Aug 14, 2009 - 9:54 am 25. Ted Volckhausen:

Many scholars have long thought that the Mt. Sinai where tourists go in the Sinai Penisula isn’t the mountain that the Book of Exodus is referring to. Some have long thought that the real Mt. Sinai is in Midian proper, that is, northern Saudi Arabia.

The case that the crossing of the sea on dry land took place out of instead of into the Sinai Penisula, however, is very weak, as earlier commentors have said.

The Exodus, if it did take place, probably took place around 1400-1300 B.C. The Israelites almost certainly had written records by 1000 B.C., when the monarchy began, perhaps earlier. Of course, we have virtually nothing from that period, so we can’t be sure what they said.

I also would not get excited about this. Most probably further investigation will make it look silly.

Aug 14, 2009 - 9:55 am 26. Marc Malone:

For non-believers, this is annoying. For believers, it is tittilating. This will take years to play out. Many years.

Aug 14, 2009 - 10:04 am 27. bibio44:

Fascinating article!!! And, btw, I have a few slivers of the True Cross that are available for sale….

Aug 14, 2009 - 10:18 am 28. bob:

Keep an open mind, but open at both ends, like your food pipe.

The Bible is internally, poetically, metaphorically consistent. This sort of stuff implies an approach to truth which the Bible itself does not really recognize.

If we were to find a transcript of the trial of Jesus before Pilate that was on target with the Gospel accounts, what would that prove? Not much, it would just have shifted the debate a bit, shifting the criterion of truth. It still wouldn’t tell you that Jesus was the Messiah. You’d still have to think about that yourself.

Remember Doubting Thomas. He wanted proof, but was told he’d be better off without it.

But, keep an open mind. At both ends.

Ed at #18 may be onto something, but maybe not. It may be the Egyptians thought so little of such an episode they didn’t mention it. Or it may have happened during that period of time when foreigners ruled Egypt temporarily. Or, Ed at #18 may be onto something.

Aug 14, 2009 - 10:24 am 29. Kipling:

#18 Ed Butt – The Egyptians were a nation of bureaucrats who selctively documented events to fit their preconceived notions and agenda. Regarding their military records, many of the battles they lost are not mentioned or changed so that the Egyptians appear to be the winners. The pharoah was a god so events had to be managed in such a way to protect his divinity.

Aug 14, 2009 - 10:29 am 30. Ratatosk:

Oh not this crank again! He also “discovered” the anchors from St Pauls wrecked ship and Noah’s Ark…

He has no degree in archeology… no degree at all in fact except for an unaccredited college degree in Theology I think. This guy has made relatively absurd claims several times and generally is considered a con artist by most archeologists. PJMedia must be desperate if they’re carrying this sort of article.

Aug 14, 2009 - 10:32 am 31. ron:

For those that don’t believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God, please read this post no further.

For those that do, please read Galations 4:25, which tells us where the Mountain of God really is.

Thanks,

ron

Aug 14, 2009 - 10:34 am 32. Ratatosk:

http://www.tentmaker.org/articles/cornuke-mt-sinai.html

I think this sums it up nicely.

Aug 14, 2009 - 10:34 am 33. paul_unalaska:

arhooley – do you really believe underneath sand.. is more sand?

You do realize underneath the surface, tectonic plates shift, reform, shift again, constantly – right? Saudi Arabia, as well as every country on Earth continually changes, sometimes drastically

http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/200202/art.rocks.in.saudi.arabia.htm

Believe it or not, the greatest amount of volcanic activity takes place on the ocean floor..

Instead of making poor attempts at wry comments, it’d be better if you research the subject, in this case archaeology, instead of coming off as silly.

Aug 14, 2009 - 10:48 am 34. Jamie W.:

Whether the Sinai claim is true or not, the RoP is known for usurping Jewish holy sites. This is a cool claim, but nothing new really. If war has not erupted over the Temple, it won’t erupt over this.

Aug 14, 2009 - 10:58 am 35. Paul of Alexandria:

Ed Butt(18):

The slight problem here is that while the Jews did not keep any written records until about 1400 years after the alleged exodus, the Egyptians were a nation of bureaucrats and documented everything. And they simply do not mention the nation of Israel being held as slaves in Egypt.

First of all, the Jews were literate far before the exodus. There’s no reason to not accept that the Torah was written by Moses as stated. As for Egyption records, don’t forget that they have an acknowledged history of erasing people from the records that weren’t liked by the current Pharoah.

At the time the Pyramids were being built the Israelites were primitive, semi nomadic tribes. Most likely what they mean by saying their nation was held in slavery by Egypt was that the Egyptian empire ruled the area where the israelites lived.

The Isrealites had nothing to do with the pyramids. They built Pithom and Rameses in Northern Egypt.

Aug 14, 2009 - 11:21 am 36. M. Report:

Why is the Site always in an area
inaccessible to confirming visits ?

A coral encrusted bone or artifact
is not that hard to find; A rock
showing heat damage not replicable
using modern technology, now…

Aug 14, 2009 - 11:21 am 37. Lynn:

I was so excited when I read of a discovery written about in “The Gate beneath the Golden Gate”, thinking it was such a revelation and seemed to point to a connection between the “Dome of the Spirits” and the true location of the Temple during the time of Jesus. The story faded quickly and I could never find more information or whether further excavations were possible.

The fact that the authorities chose to cover the discovery up was proof to me that they do not necessarily want any ‘new’ archaeological discoveries made that might point to the ancient presence of Israel and the Jewish People in the Middle East.

Whether there is truth to this story or not, it seems tragic that there are possibilities of fakery or cover-up.

Aug 14, 2009 - 11:37 am 38. Ratatosk:

Lynn,

Unfortunately the area was fenced in and concreted over. If there was anything under the Beautiful Gate, its been reburied.

Its quite a shame as such finds could tell us a lot about the people living in the Jerusalem area at the time. It seems unlikely that the exact picture portrayed in the Bible is correct (maybe a bit of historical exaggeration etc), but it would be nice to find the details that it might have been based on.

Aug 14, 2009 - 1:04 pm 39. M. Miller:

This is actually old news. “The Exodus Revealed: Searching for the Red Sea Crossing (2001)” has been broadcast several times on TBN (Trinity Broadcasting Network – http://www.tbn.org). The evidence presented in this documentary is very compelling though. As I recall, the only thing new seems to be that the archeologists snuck onto the mountain. The rock samples and the gold at the base of the (supposed) altar are interesting finds.

As for the mountain being off limits, I don’t think that’s entirely true. Saudi law forbids non-Muslims from doing research at the site. But, any Muslim wishing to do any research at the site needs authorization from the powers that be. So the site may effectively be off limits.

Aug 14, 2009 - 3:17 pm 40. D'oh!:

Archaeological evidence from the Middle East – especially evidence that allows biblical inferences – is always a fascinating historical/religious Rorschach test, if nothing else.

Aug 14, 2009 - 3:25 pm 41. Bonnie:

I don’t see this as a cover-up. I see this as a caculated ‘tease’. It has been the ambition of Islam, since the prophet tortured and killed Jews, to be THE new-jew. They claim Islam was written by a jew. Torture and interrogation go together. It could be he got some of the information he wanted and freely used it. They have a history of taking what is not theirs. It is a sorry attempt to aquire more control over the infidel. Some people may go for this three dollar bill, but most won’t.

Aug 14, 2009 - 3:36 pm 42. Steven:

All I can say is, this would be a lot more credible if the author realized that “snuck” is not a word.

Sheesh.

Aug 14, 2009 - 3:43 pm 43. Patrick Of Atlantis:

#18 Ed Butt,
In those days, the Jews in Egypt were called “wetbacks”, because they had to wade across water and wetlands to find work there, . So when you are reading those hieroglyphs, key in on symbols that suggest people wading.

Aug 14, 2009 - 3:44 pm 44. John Gardner:

Gee, what are the Israelis going to do with all that oil …

Aug 14, 2009 - 4:17 pm 45. Chris M:

What a total crock. I read the first part…. Christianity doesn’t even have any ‘holy sites’ much less a connection with Mt Sinai. It just kept going downhill so soon I gave up. I doubt these people even visited Saudi Arabia, just cooked this steamer up in their heads. Controversy is easy to create and it sells.

Aug 14, 2009 - 4:55 pm 46. lexhamfox:

Well…. the Red Sea crossing is a myth anyway. The King James version has a translation error. The actual text refers to a ’sea of reeds.’ I suspect they are hoping to discover $$$$ rather than contribute to science or history.

Aug 14, 2009 - 6:20 pm 47. M. Miller:

45. Chris M

It depends on how opened minded you’re willing to be. Paul said, “nor did I go up to Jerusalem to the apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia…” (LITV Gal 1:17). Pastor Perry Stone posits that Paul was referring to going to Mt. Sinai where he received an epiphany from the Lord. Paul had great insight into Christianity and eschatology and this verse is the only hint as to how/where he received such great understanding.

Aug 14, 2009 - 6:23 pm 48. arhooley:

paul_unalaska:

No, SILLY, I don’t think there’s more sand under the sand. As I clearly said, I want an archaeological explanation for THAT site. Evidence of THE underground water supply, an accounting of why water flowed from THAT particular rock, a study of the erosion in the area, etc.

Aug 14, 2009 - 6:28 pm 49. Paul:

In addition to #32 above, check out:

http://www.biblearchaeology.org/post/2007/10/Mount-Sinai-is-NOT-Jebel-al-Lawz-in-Saudi-Arabia.aspx
http://www.biblearchaeology.org/post/2008/06/Is-Mount-Sinai-in-Saudi-Arabia.aspx

Via a friend at a fool.com discussion board.

Aug 14, 2009 - 6:56 pm 50. amazed:

Bob Cornuke and Ron Wyatt are disgraced archaeological frauds. This is old junk from one of Wyatt’s goofy tapes that he used to milk money from churches.
Wyatt was not an archaeologist, merely a guy who traveled with a camera and had a massive imagination. There is more of his ‘work’ to be found, just view it as entertainment. The MSM would love to paint all Christians as Ron Wyatt.
Very surprised to see this kind of junk on PJMedia.

Aug 14, 2009 - 7:30 pm 51. alex:

This is like the books about the Rapture…another way to use fear and hope and faith to make a quick buck.

I went to the website and watched the videos and “evidence” which turned out to be a crock. Scholars are not archeologists or geologists, they are trying to make orange juice out of apples.

The post here referring to the Book or Enoch is exactly correct, the origins and truth regarding the Bible have been hidden over the ages, what most people accept as the bible are carefully assembled fables.

The dead giveaway was the ” interviews” with people that watched the movie…pitiful and badly crafted. This movie and premise only work if people are ignorant of truth, and too lazy to crack open a few books.

Aug 14, 2009 - 8:06 pm 52. Peter Montbriand:

The apostle Paul encourages us to see if things hold water before we buy it. I for one am ever a skeptic. I’d like to buy what Ryan’s selling, but I will need to see more. It’s all too cute. Jesus calls himself the truth, and that is what I seek after, not things that are now unverifiable, due to a gov. guarding the sites.

Aug 15, 2009 - 3:54 am 53. John:

The theory is nonsense and it is not a new theory – its a renewed theory. “Biblical geographer Har-El of Tel Aviv University was evidently the first to develop this disproof of Sinai-in-Arabia notion in his critique of Charles Beke’s theory, which goes back to the 19th century. Williams and Cornuke got their theory from still another adventurer Ron Wyatt,4 but they make no mention of the theory’s origin in modern scholarly theories…” See the link for a better understanding of why Arabia is not where Mt Sinai is located. In truth, no one knows where it is or if it even truly existed.

How anyone can be convinced of the “truth of the Torah” by this very poorly written book is beyond me.

Aug 15, 2009 - 4:25 am 54. Lynn:

#Ratotosk

Well, it is fascinating that the gate was covered up and blocked to prevent the Jewish Messiah from passing through, yet others believe it was blocked through the Will of G_d because the Messiah already passed through. It gives new meaning to the words cornerstone and capstone.

It is truly amazing the tug of war that goes on concerning the Temple Mount. One group wants to discover another wants to cover up.

Aug 15, 2009 - 6:17 am 55. Pelaut:

21 Arhooley: not too surprising after all. The dry wadis around the Dead Sea gush water once a year. That’s why they’re called ‘dry’ instead of just ‘wadi’. But sneaking onto Mt. Sinai, hanging around and digging, doing extensive surveys, going all the way in and out without anyone taking notice …

Aug 15, 2009 - 9:03 am 56. David WL:

To 42. Steven:

According to my computer dictionary (New Oxford American) “snuck… is now generally regarded as a standard alternative to sneaked,” esp. in the US.

Of course, that leaves open the question of the validity of archeology, but at least the grammar appears to be accurate.

Aug 15, 2009 - 11:53 am 57. newscaper:

I love glimpses of what might be called lost or hidden history.

And the atheists who insist the Bible is purely made up and ahistorical, are every bit as foolish as the Christians who insist on taking Genesis literally.

I find the speculation and intriguing findings by Ballard (of Titanic fame) about the local flooding of the Black Sea’s then-lower coastline at the end of the Ice Age as a possible historic basis for the Flood to be a fascinating intersection of geology, archaeology and hints we get thru ancient history.

But the work described in this PJ article sounds like charlatans (however much some snippets might have some real significance) and PJ should be embarassed for swallowing it.

Aug 15, 2009 - 2:53 pm 58. Chileno:

Interesting article!

Aug 15, 2009 - 4:42 pm 59. Revnant Dream:

Its funny reading all the arguments. Some very good, others pretty lame. If your a Bible believer this hardly comes as news. Jews & Christians have known this for thousands of years, it was the Emporer Constintines Mother who has mudded the whole thing by being conned 1,700 years ago. Into thinking the Saini site was the real one. Makes you wonder how many other shrines are bogus if she relied on these folks.
Anyway heres the verses. Galatians 4

24Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar.

25For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children.
There it was all the time.

Aug 15, 2009 - 7:32 pm 60. marlene:

It would just mean that, biblically, even part of saudi arabia belongs to Israel and the Jews. Hahahaha.

Aug 15, 2009 - 8:47 pm 61. Jim V:

True or not I don’t know.
However, much of this was in a book a number of years ago (maybe 10). The underwater land bridge, the chariot remains, the blackened mountain top, sneeking under a fence. I have no idea now who wrote it.

The whole thing seemed very plausible then, but there was no follow-up that I ever saw.

I’ll be looking for this book myself.

Aug 15, 2009 - 11:15 pm 62. vivo:

Congratulations!

Now the Arabs are going to be holding hands with the Jews and the Xtians.

That was easy.

* * *

censorship = fear

fear = ignorance

Aug 16, 2009 - 3:24 am 63. Anonymous:

Revnant Dream:

The Arabia of Paul’s day is not the same thing as Saudi Arabia today.

Aug 17, 2009 - 7:05 am 64. njcommuter:

The bad news is that if this even seems to be true, the Wahabists are likely to start destroying the archeological evidence, as other Moslems have everywhere from Afghanistan to the Holy Mount.

Aug 17, 2009 - 2:41 pm 65. Sharpshooter:

“For those that don’t believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God, please read this post no further.”

I read to the part about slaughtering all the women and children.

If that’s your god, you can have him and his psychosis.

Aug 17, 2009 - 5:47 pm 66. Michael Lonie:

Actually the miracle about Moses hitting a rock with his staff to get water is the easiest of the Exodus miracles to explain and the only one we can be pretty sure actually happened. According to the Bible Moses lived for many years among the nomads of the Sinai, so would have been familiar with the water resources of the area. There is an aquifer in the Sinai that is made of friable rock. The modern day bedouins break it up with hammers and get a temporary flow of water from it. It’s quite conceivable that in the Bronze Age nomads also knew of this aquifer and got water from it the same way. Now filter that scene through the eyes of somebody with a Bronze Age mind who spent all his life beside the Nile and is incredibly thirsty in the middle of this deathly desert. Suddenly Moses is able to get water out of rocks. The Bronze Age mind would remember it as a miracle.

Aug 17, 2009 - 10:02 pm 67. Joyson:

People those who dont believe,please open your mind read the bible. The bible was written hundreds of years ago and each and every little thing mentioned is accurate .
And about this discovery its true this is no myth or story like the one in Hinduism.
GOD himself had descended on this mountain and are Saudi’s mad that they have fenced the entire mountain.?
And mecca and medina is also a place mentioned in the Bible were the angel of God opened the ground to provide water for the dying son of Hagar.
These are things of past there are even more greater things than these.

Oct 23, 2009 - 3:06 pm 68. Bean Dip:

I have Bob and Larry’s movie. No, not VeggieTales, I’m talking about the movie Mountain of Fire. The mountain being where the Bible says it is and surrounded by artifacts that can very easily be interpreted to be those implied in the Bible makes for a convincing and enjoyable movie. This discovery and the Sodom and Gomorrah sites, both discovered by Ron Wyatt turn out to be credible since I have seen additional evidence from a movie called Our Search for Sodom and Gomorrah by Simon Brown showing a partially destroyed building with windows among other things (like brimstone). I guess these would be unconvincing if you can not believe that G-d can do miracles though. But if there is a G-d, surely He can don’t you think?

Jan 24, 2010 - 12:01 am