The Red Sea

The Red Sea is the body of water divided by God to allow Israel's passage and then collapsed upon the pursuing Egyptian army - the most dramatic act of deliverance in the entire Exodus narrative. Jasher 81 and Jubilees 48 describe the event from complementary angles: Jasher provides the tactical drama of Pharaoh's pursuit and the waters crashing at dawn, while Jubilees reveals the cosmic dimension with Mastema being bound during the crossing. The sea becomes Israel's defining memory - proof that God fights for the covenant people. Within the broader geographical and theological framework of these three ancient texts, The Red Sea serves as more than a mere physical location - it functions as a site where divine purpose intersects with human history. The pseudepigraphal traditions preserved in Enoch, Jubilees, and Jasher provide perspectives on this place that illuminate its spiritual significance beyond what other ancient sources record. Each visit, encounter, or event that occurs here contributes to the larger pattern of covenant geography that these texts trace from the primordial garden through the patriarchal wanderings to the settlement of the promised land.

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Region: Earth

Strongest connections in Ancient Text

The Book of Jasher 81 The Book of Jubilees 48

Key Chapters

The Book of Jasher 81 The Departure of the Israelites from Egypt with Great Riches and Flocks and Herds. After the Egyptians bury their First-born, many of them go after th... 11 min read The Book of Jubilees 48 The Plagues and the Exodus 5 min read

Key Passages

Crossing in Jasher

The Book of Jasher 81:30-40

And Moses said to them, Fear not, for as you have seen the Egyptians this day, so shall you see them no more for ever....

A³⁰nd Moses said to them, Fear not, for as you have seen the Egyptians this day, so shall you see them no more for ever.

³¹ The third division was of the children of Judah and Joseph, and they resolved to go to meet the Egyptians to fight with them. ³² And Moses said to them, Stand in your places, for the Lord will fight for you, and you shall remain silent. ³³ And the fourth division was of the children of Levi, Gad, and Asher, and they resolved to go into the midst of the Egyptians to confound them, and Moses said to them, Remain in your stations and fear not, only call unto the Lord that he may save you out of their hands. ³⁴ After this Moses rose up from amidst the people, and he prayed to the Lord and said, ³⁵ O Lord God of the whole earth, save now thy people whom thou didst bring forth from Egypt, and let not the Egyptians boast that power and might are theirs. ³⁶ So the Lord said to Moses, Why dost thou cry unto me? speak to the children of Israel that they shall proceed, and do thou stretch out thy rod upon the sea and divide it, and the children of Israel shall pass through it. ³⁷ And Moses did so, and he lifted up his rod upon the sea and divided it. ³⁸ And the waters of the sea were divided into twelve parts, and the children of Israel passed through on foot, with shoes, as a man would pass through a prepared road. ³⁹ And the Lord manifested to the children of Israel his wonders in Egypt and in the sea by the hand of Moses and Aaron. ⁴⁰ And when the children of Israel had entered the sea, the Egyptians came after them, and the waters of the sea resumed upon them, and they all sank in the water, and not one man was left excepting Pharaoh, who gave thanks to the Lord and believed in him, therefore the Lord did not cause him to perish at that time with the Egyptians.

In Jubilees

The Book of Jubilees 48:12-19

And notwithstanding all (these) signs and wonders the prince Mastêmâ was not put to shame because he took co...

A¹²nd notwithstanding all (these) signs and wonders the prince Mastêmâ was not put to shame because he took courage and cried to the Egyptians to pursue after thee with all the powers of the Egyptians, with their chariots, and with their horses, and with all the hosts of the peoples of Egypt.

¹³ And I stood between the Egyptians and Israel, and we delivered Israel out of his hand, and out of the hand of his people, and the Lord brought them through the midst of the sea as if it were dry land. ¹⁴ And all the peoples whom he brought to pursue after Israel, the Lord our God cast them into the midst of the sea, into the depths of the abyss beneath the children of Israel, even as the people of Egypt had cast their children into the river He took vengeance on 1,000,000 of them, and one thousand strong and energetic men were destroyed on account of one suckling of the children of thy people which they had thrown into the river. ¹⁵ And on the fourteenth day and on the fifteenth and on the sixteenth and on the seventeenth and on the eighteenth the prince Mastêmâ was bound and imprisoned behind the children of Israel that he might not accuse them. ¹⁶ And on the nineteenth we let them loose that they might help the Egyptians and pursue the children of Israel. ¹⁷ And he hardened their hearts and made them stubborn, and the device was devised by the Lord our God that He might smite the Egyptians and cast them into the sea. ¹⁸ And on the fourteenth we bound him that he might not accuse the children of Israel on the day when they asked the Egyptians for vessels and garments, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and vessels of bronze, in order to despoil the Egyptians in return for the bondage in which they had forced them to serve. ¹⁹ And we did not lead forth the children of Israel from Egypt empty handed.

Did You Know?

Jubilees states Mastema was bound during the crossing - spiritual warfare in real time.

The waters stand as walls on both sides, and Israel walks on dry ground.

Not a single Egyptian soldier survives, including the entire chariot corps.

The event becomes Israel's foundational identity narrative.

The crossing inverts the flood: water destroys enemies while saving the righteous.