The Biblical story about the parting of the Red Sea may really have happened - with a little help from some freak weather conditions, say researchers.But the likely location of the "miracle" was not the Red Sea itself, but an area of the Nile Delta region nearby.
According to the Old Testament, the Israelites became trapped between the advancing Pharaoh's army and the "Sea of Reeds", but after a mighty east wind blew all night the waters parted, allowing them to escape.
Once the Israelites had crossed, the walls of water fell back into place, drowning the Pharaoh's men as they attempted to follow them.
US Scientists have pinpointed a spot where the event could have occurred, just south of the Mediterranean Sea where an ancient branch of the Nile flowed into a coastal lagoon.
A computer was used to simulate the impact of a strong overnight wind on the six-foot high waters.
The researchers found an east wind of 63mph blowing for 12 hours would have driven the shallow waters back, both into the lake and the river channel.
A "land bridge" two miles long and three miles wide would have been created by the retreating waters and it would have lasted for four hours - enough time for the Israelites to cross safely.
Lead researcher Carl Drews, from the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, said: "People have always been fascinated by this Exodus story, wondering if it comes from historical facts.
"What this study shows is that the description of the waters parting indeed has a basis in physical laws."
Several other theories have been put forward by scientists, including tsunamis and hurricane-strength winds, but this is the first simulation that seems to completely fit with the description in the Bible story.
This whole "Sea of Reeds" thing is just silly-it was the Red Sea, in the Gulf of Aqaba-the route has been discovered, a raised path that sits about 10-15 feet below the surface, though dropping to over 100 feet on either side. There have even been horse hooves and chariot wheels found there.
Yes, it "completely fits" - except for the part about it not being in the Red Sea, and not involving a Pillar of Fire, and the crossing is much too small to have caused the drowning death of the entire Pharaoh's army when the water came back. Nice try, though.
OR, It just never happened to begin with. Start thinking logically.