Did Joshua or Caleb cross the red sea first after moses parted it?

Answer 1

Controversy continues over whether Moses crossed the Reed Sea or the Red sea. Christians can believe the miraculous, while science often tries to explain miracles by rationalisation. There are numerous resources and much evidence to indicate that Moses crossed the Red Sea. See the answers by different contributors below.

Answer 1:

Moses is believed to have crossed the Reed Sea or "Sea of Reeds" which, over time, has been translated as the Red Sea. The original name for this part of the Red Sea was believed to be the Reed Sea. Lakes in the north of the Red Sea are particularly well populated with reeds, but this does not detract from the authenticity of the biblical story.

Encyclopaedia Judaica states "RED SEA (Heb. PBs My, yam suf; lit. "Sea of Reeds")" (see related link - 'Where is the Red Sea'). Whilst the "Reed Sea" may be considered to be different to the "Red Sea" now, in fact the two were one and the same. The Red Sea still remains clearly defined as the place of the Israelites' crossing. The miracle of the parting of the waters for the Israelites and the drowning of the Egyptians remains the same. Archaeological research has discovered ancient coral-encrusted chariot wheels and other evidence in what is now known as the Red Sea to suggest that the Biblical account of the crossing of the Sea is historical fact.

See the related weblinks below.

Answer 2:

Moses and the Israelites crossed the Red Sea, which is not a mistranslation. There have been attempts by some liberal or atheistic theologians to suggest they must have walked across a reedy waterway which more easily enabled them to cross. This minimises the miraculous and dramatic parting of a large body of water which The Bible makes clear God made. The passage describes walls of water towering over the Israelites - this was no shallow lake full of reeds! This crossing occurred at the narrow arm of the Red Sea and the Israelites subsequently crossed into Shur.

Answer 3:

If you follow the route of the exodus as given by the Torah it becomes clear that the Red Sea is the only possible crossing. The Hebrews traveled along the edge of the Sinai Peninsula heading south hemmed in by sea on one side and sheer cliffs on the other. Once they made it to the southernmost tip they headed north along the western coast of the Sinai until cliffs blocked their way North, and West leaving the South as the only open road with the Red Sea to the East. There is a perfectly straight coral reef connecting the Sinai to Saudi Arabia where the Hebrews crossed. Heading south along Arabia's coast they came upon the mountain of Jabal al-Lawz which is the real Mount Sinai.

Answer 2

Neither Joshua nor Caleb crossed the Red Sea after Moses parted it. It was actually Moses and the Israelites who crossed the Red Sea. Joshua and Caleb were spies who later explored the land of Canaan.

Answer 3

The Bible does say that Moses did cross the Red Sea, although some say that it was really a small lagoon known as the Reed Sea that Moses crossed.

However, over 90 per cent of scholars are reported to believe that the Exodus from Egypt never happened as described in the Bible. Without an Exodus, there was no parting of the Red Sea and probably no Moses.

Answer 2

Yes. And we are referring to the Sea of Reeds, not necessarily the same as the Red Sea.

First of all, Moses was a real person. This Jewish tradition has been handed down for over 3,300 years by the entire Jewish nation, and accepted by Christians and Muslims as well. Moses is mentioned many times in the Torah and Rabbinic literature. He is also mentioned by ancient non-Jewish writers going back over 2,300 years, including Hecataeus, Strabo, Alexander Polyhistor, Manetho, Apion, Chaeremon, Tacitus, and Porphyry. Non-religious ancient Jewish sources mention him too, such as Artapanus, Eupolemus, Josephus and Philo.

The Ipuwer papyrus describes Egypt's experiencing the Plagues: "Pestilence is throughout the land....the river is blood, death is not scarce...there is no food...neither fruit nor herbs can be found...barley has perished...all is ruin...the statues are burned" (Professor John van Seters, Journal of Egyptian Archaeology no. 50).

The plagues were also described by ancient historians, including Herodotus and Diodorus. The Exodus is mentioned by Strabo, Berosus, Artapanus, Numenius, Justin, and Tacitus.

But in any case, few nations are content to record embarrassing setbacks honestly. Even today, British and American textbooks describe the American Revolution in very different ways.

An example of the above principle:

The destruction of Sennacherib's army at the walls of Jerusalem was denied by secular theorists, because the Assyrians made no mention of it. But then it was found that Berosus and Herodotus both state that Sennacherib's military campaign in Judea ended in plague and defeat. It should not surprise us that the Assyrians themselves didn't record their own losses.

It is only the Hebrew Bible, because of its Divine origin, that exposes the faults of its own people and even magnifies them.

In no other religious text can one find such openness. None of the Israelites were immune to strong criticism: Abraham (Genesis 16:5), Reuben (Gen.ch.35), Simeon and Levi (Gen.ch.34 and 49), Judah (Gen.ch.38), Joseph's brothers (Gen.ch.37), Moses (Numbers ch.20), Aaron (Exodus 32:2-4), Samson (Judges 14:1-3), Eli's sons (1 Samuel 2:12), Samuel's sons (1 Samuel 8:1-3), Saul (1 Samuel ch.15), David (2 Samuel ch.11-12), Solomon (1 Kings ch.11), and many others.

Answer 4

The bible does not tell us if Joshua and Caleb were first, last or in the middle of the children of Israel when they crossed the Red Sea.

There are Jewish midrashim that say the Joshua was the first in the column, but these same midrashim say nothing about Caleb.

Answer 5

Yes. And we are referring to the Sea of Reeds, not necessarily the same as the Red Sea.

First of all, Moses was a real person. This Jewish tradition has been handed down for over 3,300 years by the entire Jewish nation, and accepted by Christians and Muslims as well. Moses is mentioned many times in the Torah and Rabbinic literature. He is also mentioned by ancient non-Jewish writers going back over 2,300 years, including Hecataeus, Strabo, Alexander Polyhistor, Manetho, Apion, Chaeremon, Tacitus, and Porphyry. Non-religious ancient Jewish sources mention him too, such as Artapanus, Eupolemus, Josephus and Philo.

The Ipuwer papyrus describes Egypt's experiencing the Plagues: "Pestilence is throughout the land....the river is blood, death is not scarce...there is no food...neither fruit nor herbs can be found...barley has perished...all is ruin...the statues are burned" (Professor John van Seters, Journal of Egyptian Archaeology no. 50).

• Link: More on the topic
  

The plagues were also described by ancient historians, including Herodotus and Diodorus. The Exodus is mentioned by Strabo, Berosus, Artapanus, Numenius, Justin, and Tacitus.

• Link: Evidence of the Exodus
  

But in any case, few nations are content to record embarrassing setbacks honestly. Even today, British and American textbooks describe the American Revolution in very different ways.

An example of the above principle:

The destruction of Sennacherib's army at the walls of Jerusalem was denied by secular theorists, because the Assyrians made no mention of it. But then it was found that Berosus and Herodotus both state that Sennacherib's military campaign in Judea ended in plague and defeat. It should not surprise us that the Assyrians themselves didn't record their own losses.

It is only the Hebrew Bible, because of its Divine origin, that exposes the faults of its own people and even magnifies them.

In no other religious text can one find such openness. None of the Israelites were immune to strong criticism: Abraham (Genesis 16:5), Reuben (Gen.ch.35), Simeon and Levi (Gen.ch.34 and 49), Judah (Gen.ch.38), Joseph's brothers (Gen.ch.37), Moses (Numbers ch.20), Aaron (Exodus 32:2-4), Samson (Judges 14:1-3), Eli's sons (1 Samuel 2:12), Samuel's sons (1 Samuel 8:1-3), Saul (1 Samuel ch.15), David (2 Samuel ch.11-12), Solomon (1 Kings ch.11), and many others.

See also the Related Links.

Link: Is the Hebrew Bible accurate?