The location of Mount Sinai

There are many proposed locations for Mount Sinai. The Bible does not unequivocally state its location but does give many characteristics of the location, which was well known up to the time of Elijah nearly 600 years later. Several criteria must be met to be a good candidate for Mount Sinai.

When Moses first fled Egypt, he most probably took the southern Route from Suez, through the Mitlah pass, directly across the Sinai peninsula to Nekhel and then through the pass at Ayla in order to escape from Egypt to Midian. This is substantiated by the discovery of the later Ramsey III inscriptions marking the southern route to Nekhel in the Sinai Peninsula, then the Roded wadi in Israel and in April of 2025 east of Ayla in Jordan. Another is found near Tayma in Saudi Arabia. Tayma is noted for the well of Haddaj, which was in use at the time of Moses, along with many other wells in this area and could have been where Moses in his initial flight from Egypt, met Zipporah his wife, who was the daughter of Jethro priest of Midian.

The Roded Wadi would be one of the three channels of Pi Hahiroth the others being the Araba wadi and the Itum Wadi which mark the crossing site of the Red Sea of the Exodus. “Miracles of the Exodus” Colin Humphries.

Moses, having married Zipporah, pastured his father-in-law’s flocks in the wilderness behind or to the west Exodus 3:1 ESV, where he encountered the Angel of the LORD on Mount Sinai. Directions in Hebrew are often given from the observer looking east so behind is west.

To find Mount Sinai we must therefore locate the western pastureland of Midian. The exact location of Midian is debated, but Abraham sent all his descendants, except Isaac, but including Midian, eastward of the Arabah, which is the Dead Sea transform. Genesis 25:6. Evidence of Abraham’s relatives and descendants are found in the numerous petroglyphs from Amman Jordan (Hobab) to the area of al-Ula, where there are references to Dedan. Dedan was the son of Jokshan, who was Midian’s brother both of whom were sons of Abraham. North of al-Ula we find Tayma, which is biblical Tema a descendant of Ishmael Genesis 25:15. Ishmaelites apparently intermarried with Midianites Genesis 27:38, so Tayma being close to al-Ula is a good choice for one location of Midian. A petroglyph near Tayma mentions Midian by name, supporting Tayma as at least one part of Midian. OCIANA Oxford Corpus of Taymanitic inscriptions page 172.

Many scholars believe Mount Sinai was a volcano due to the biblical description of Sinai having a burning bush, which was not consumed, Exodus 3:2 and having smoke, fire like a furnace, lightning, tremors, noise, and melting of the rocks, at the time of the Exodus. Judges 5:5 KJV Exodus 19:16-20.

Volcanism In Arabia is found in the mountain range east of the Dead Sea transform, which extends from Turkiye to Uganda. None is found in the Sinai peninsula, where the traditional site of Sinai is found.

Charles Beke in 1873 proposed the volcano Hala ‘l-Badr, some 85 miles west of Tayma to be a good candidate for Mount Sinai. Its current name is Jebel Tedhra جبال تذرع which means the mount of Invocation. Among other attributes, it has a large elevated reservoir of water just west of the volcanic cone, which would have been the source of water miraculously provided to the Israelites at Horeb. This sand filled reservoir is large and white and flat on its surface, which in the hot afternoon may have had a mirage. The elders noted a paved work of sapphire stone clear as the very heaven, while the volcanic cone on the east end of the reservoir would have been pouring lava. Exodus 24:10. The elders then may have been seeing the heavens refracted from the flat surface and the eternal power and Divine nature of God demonstrated by the active volcano, as God literally melted נזלו mount Sinai before their very eyes. That should have satisfied even the most skeptical elder as well as ourselves, unless one insists upon supernatural signs for faith. Romans 1:20, Matthew 16:4 Vulcanism was 
known at this time, Job 28:5 so the elders had to have seen beyond the geology and perceived God’s spiritual presence.

One characteristic, which is questioned about this candidate for Mount Sinai is the requirement that it be located 11 days journey to the Mount Seir to Kadesh Barnea trail, TANACH. Alois Musil an early explorer to Mount Tedhra was able to average 45 km per day on camels, which places this trail within 11 days travel. He was told by a local guide that the spring on Tedhra had been blocked by a land slide, which explains why the Horeb spring is not seen today. “The Northern Hegaz” Alois Musil 1926”.

Multiple structures, which are thought to be places of animal sacrifice are found in this region. At least two such structures are seen on Tedhra comprised of a central altar and twelve stones in a circle described in Exodus 24:4. Moses may have learned this practice from Jethro and since the name of God was not known until the events of the Exodus, and then primarily to the Israelites, it makes sense that to date, only the names of local deities have been found inscribed on the rocks in northwest Arabia.

What remains to be done is to more precisely date the eruptions of this volcano and to review the petroglyphs around Tedhra for further evidence of the Exodus in order to settle the question of the true location of Mount Sinai.