There’s increasing evidence that Mount Sinai where Moses received the Ten Commandments, is actually in Saudi Arabia and not Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula of Egypt as commonly accepted for centuries.
Biblical researcher, author and teacher Joel Richardson is so convinced the Biblical mountain is in Saudi Arabia, he persuaded the often secretive Saudi kingdom to allow him to take tourists to the site in 2019.
The Saudis have also permitted further research into the compelling claim.
Mr. Richardson told the No Longer Nomads podcast that Jabal al-Lawz, also known as the Almond Mountain, in northwest Saudi Arabia, matches the Biblical description of Mount Sinai better than the Saint Catherine’s Monastery site in Egypt, near the Israel border.
The traditional site was actually commissioned by Helena, mother of Emperor Constantine back in the 3rd Century before the monastery was built in the 6th Century close to where most people at the time believed Moses saw the burning bush.
WHAT IS THE EVIDENCE THAT MOUNT SINAI IS IN SAUDI ARABIA?
In recent years, archaeologists and Biblical scholars have found more and more evidence that the mountain in Saudi Arabia more closely aligns with the Biblical account of Mount Sinai.
They believe it’s in what was the Biblical region of Midian.
It includes a large, split rock with signs of water erosion, despite being in the middle of a desert.
Some say this distinct landmark could be the rock that God commanded Moses to strike, from which enough water gushed to support thousands.
As well, there appears to be an altar near the base of the mountain which Moses could have built from uncut stones.
Ancient petroglyphs or rock carvings of a golden calf have also been unearthed.
So has a graveyard where worshippers of the idol could have been buried after being struck down by Moses for idolatry.
Remnants of an ancient 12-pillar structure, where animal sacrifices took place, also indicate a possible link to the Israelites and Moses’s wilderness experience.
NOT EVERYONE’S CONVINCED
Many Biblical scholars, both Jewish and Christian, are still not convinced by all this new evidence.
Others believe Mount Sinai could be in Israel’s Negev Desert, or other locations near the Holy Land.
The actual site of Mount Sinai may never be confirmed unless some irrefutable proof is uncovered.
But those who want to get up close to the Saudi Arabian mountain and see it for themselves can do so on special tours to the location.
