The Parting of the Sea: How Volcanoes, Earthquakes, and Plagues Shaped the Story of Exodus

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Barbara J. Sivertsen

The Parting of the Sea

How Volcanoes, Earthquakes, and Plagues Shaped the Story of Exodus

Barbara J. Sivertsen

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English

Princeton University Pres
25 July 2011

History; Middle Eastern history; Ancient history: to c 500 CE; Biblical archaeology

"For more than four decades, biblical experts have tried to place the story of Exodus into historical context--without success. What could explain the Nile turning to blood, insects swarming the land, and the sky falling to darkness? Integrating biblical accounts with substantive archaeological evidence, The Parting of the Sea looks at how natural phenomena shaped the stories of Exodus, the Sojourn in the Wilderness, and the Israelite conquest of Canaan. Barbara Sivertsen demonstrates that the Exodus was in fact two separate exoduses both triggered by volcanic eruptions--and provides scientific explanations for the ten plagues and the parting of the Red Sea. Over time, Israelite oral tradition combined these events into the Exodus narrative known today. Skillfully unifying textual and archaeological records with details of ancient geological events, Sivertsen shows how the first exodus followed a 1628 B.C.

E Minoan eruption that produced all but one of the first nine plagues.

The second exodus followed an eruption of a volcano off the Aegean island of Yali almost two centuries later, creating the tenth plague of darkness and a series of tsunamis that ""parted the sea"" and drowned the pursuing Egyptian army. Sivertsen's brilliant account explains inconsistencies in the biblical story, fits chronologically with the conquest of Jericho, and confirms that the Israelites were in Canaan before the end of the sixteenth century B.C.E. In examining oral traditions and how these practices absorb and process geological details through storytelling, The Parting of the Sea reveals how powerful historical narratives are transformed into myth."

By: Barbara J. Sivertsen
Imprint: Princeton University Pres
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 235mm, Width: 152mm, Spine: 24mm
Weight: 397g
ISBN: 9780691150215
ISBN 10: 0691150214
Pages: 264
Publication Date: 25 July 2011
Audience: College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , General/trade , Primary , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Barbara J. Sivertsen has been managing editor of the Journal of Geology for over twenty-five years. She is the author of Turtles, Wolves, and Bears: A Mohawk Family History and The Three Pillars: How Family Politics Shaped the Early Church and the Gospel of Mark .

Reviews for The Parting of the Sea: How Volcanoes, Earthquakes, and Plagues Shaped the Story of Exodus

[I]t is a well researched and at times scientific review of a biblical story. . . . This book, while it does not answer all the questions, does raise theories that can be tested in the future. -- Hannah Friedman, Journal of Archaeological Science