The Israelites were in their homes when the Passover occurred.

" And ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread; for in this selfsame day have I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt: therefore shall ye observe this day in your generations by an ordinance for ever."  
.......Exodus 12:17

" And the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand on foot that were men, beside children."  
.......Exodus 12:37

When word came to the people that they were allowed to leave, just after the "angel of death" visited Egypt, they all left their homes in Rameses, or Goshen, and proceeded to leave Egypt "proper."

How was this possible? - that they were able to be out of Egypt so quickly?

The answer is that Egypt is extremely long, but its east/west boundaries are very narrow. They left Rameses and assembled in Succoth, which was very near, but at the same time, outside of the boundary of Egypt "proper".

The following are quoted from "Life in Ancient Egypt" by Adolf Erman:

"The isthmus of Suez was of the greatest consequence also from a military point of view - it was doubtless fortified in very early times. Probably here stood the great fortress of T'aru, often spoken of as the starting-point for the expeditions into Syria,..."-p.28

"The line of fortifications which was intended to keep back these Beduins of the Delta, is met with as early as the time of the Middle Empire, and is still standing. It consisted of a wall strengthened by small towers...this formed an obstruction which the slaves who tried to escape from Egypt, and the Beduins who wanted to pasture their cattle on the fields of the delta, found difficult to pass. At this time we also meet with a defensive work of another kind, namely a broad canal, which presumably connected the lakes of the isthmus together.  At the point where a bridge crossed this canal were strong fortresses on both sides... The great fortress which defended this bridge was the fortress of T'aru', which is so often mentioned as the starting point of the military expeditions." - p.537

Where one would leave Egypt proper and go into the Sinai desert, there was a fortress and a bridge. Inscriptions tell us that this fortress was called Tharu (or one of the various spellings). It is located near the Delta, or "Rameses," where the Israelites were living, and was where the Egyptian army assembled in preparation for their military expeditions to the north.

Armies consisted of a great deal of men, horses and chariots; and they required a large area to assemble properly. Moses well knew Tharu which is believed to be the Biblical "Succoth" and it seems that it was from here that he organized the people for their journey. They had left Egypt proper once they crossed this line of fortification, just as the Lord had promised.

"...and the children of Israel went up harnessed out of the land of Egypt." 
.......Exodus 13:18

Josephus writes about this in his "Antiquities of the Jews," Book II, Chapter X. As a military man, once again, Moses knew "Tharu", and it was here that he organized his largest "army" ever for travel. And from here, they traveled to Etham.

" And they took their journey from Succoth, and encamped in Etham, in the edge of the wilderness." 
.......Exodus 13:20

Etham was in the "edge of the wilderness." What wilderness was this? The answer is in the Exodus account:

" But God led the people about, through the way of the wilderness of the Red sea..." 
.......Exodus 13:18

It was the Wilderness of the Red Sea - the mountainous land of the mid and southern Sinai Peninsula. This was along a route that was commonly taken in those days by both caravans and the army, and it was called "the southern route." This route was taken because it was safer than traveling along the coast, where the Philistines were.

Etham is not believed to be a singular location. It was a designation of the land that lay around the mid-northern edge of the Gulf of Aqaba. We know this because once they cross the sea, they are still in an area called Etham:

" And they departed from before Pihahiroth, and passed through the midst of the sea into the wilderness, and went three days' journey in the wilderness of Etham, and pitched in Marah."
.......Numbers 33:8

It was while they were at Etham on the western side of the sea that God told Moses:

" Speak unto the children of Israel, that they turn and encamp before Pihahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, over against Baalzephon: before it shall ye encamp by the sea. For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, They are entangled in the land, the wilderness hath shut them in." 
.......Exodus 14:2-3

In order for them to be "entangled in the land," they would have to be traveling through an area of wadis (canyons) with high mountains all around, which would seem to hem them in. This takes place prior to crossing the sea. Knowing this, Ron looked for an area which would terminate on a beach or shore of the sea; and which was large enough to hold perhaps 2 or 3 million people, as well as their flocks. He found a beach of tremendous size on the Gulf of Aqaba at Nuweiba, and the only passage to it is through an 18 mile long wadi system.

From "Etham in the edge of the wilderness", they changed their direction of travel from a northerly direction, (which would have soon taken them around the northern tip of the sea,) and went south, through a wadi system that must have appeared like an endless maze to them. Hemmed in to the left and right, they could only travel in one direction - and the only path through that wadi leads to a tremendous beach.

"They also seized upon the passages by which they imagined the Hebrews might fly, shutting them up between the inaccessible precipices and the sea; for there was [on their roughness, and obstructed their flight; wherefore they there pressed upon the Hebrews with their army, where [the ridges of] the mountains were closed with the sea..."

When Ron Wyatt first visited the site of Nuweiba in 1978, these mountains could be seen on the south end of the beach area which terminated at the sea - no passage would have been possible to the south. (See color photo below of this area, where the mountains meet the sea on the south end.)

Ron found the chariot parts when diving on the southern end of the beach. This implied that the multitude traveled to this section of the beach.

Pharaoh's army entered from the same wadi, which is the only entrance onto the beach.

This wadi is located midway of the beach, and once the army entered the area, the multitude's only means of escape would have been to the south. But the mountains to the south extend all the way to the sea - they had no way of escape, or so it seemed.

On the north end of the beach area, there are the remains of an ancient Egyptian fortress, which would have prevented their going north when they entered the area. This fortress was another evidence that Egyptian territory extended all the way through the Sinai peninsula.

It is historically documented that they flashed messages from watch-tower to watch-tower using reflected sunlight by day and fire by night. In fact, that may well be how pharaoh knew exactly where Moses and the people had gone.

On the opposite shore, in Saudi Arabia, exactly across from where they entered the sea, is another ancient structure. All alone on the beach, it may have been a Midianite fortress, dedicated to Baal; we believe this was Baalzephon. The phrase "over against" seems to mean "opposite of" in respect to being across a body of water

The question has been asked: "Isn't this site for the crossing too far? Wouldn't it have taken them a long time to get there?" Well, in 1967, Moshe Dyan marched his troops from Nuweiba (the crossing site) to Suez City (near ancient Tharu/Succoth) in six days. And they camped at night.

The Israelites were told to use only unleavened bread for seven days - indicating that they would be traveling quite briskly without time to camp for seven days.

" Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, and in the seventh day shall be a feast to the LORD. And thou shalt shew thy son in that day, saying, This is done because of that which the LORD did unto me when I came forth out of Egypt." 
.....Exodus 13: 6,8

The Israelites didn't stop and encamp every night, as Moshe Dyan's troops did - they traveled both day and night:

" And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night:" 
.....Exodus 13:21

With the Divine assistance of the Lord, this massive wave of people traveled in an orderly fashion both day and night, with great speed:

" Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself."
.....Exodus 19:4      

In scripture the eagle is used to denote speed:

Based on an inscription, later found on a matching column on the other side of the crossing, Ron believed that King Solomon had erected these columns in honor of Yahweh and dedicated them to the miracle of the crossing of the sea.

This "wilderness" was the land between the two arms of the Red Sea. Now, we will go to a scripture concerning Solomon's navy:

"And king Solomon made a navy of ships in Eziongeber, which is beside Eloth, on the shore of the Red sea, in the land of Edom." 
.......1 Kings 9:26

This reference is definitively speaking of the Gulf of Aqaba, because we know where Eloth (Eilat) was. And this is the same Red Sea that Moses led the great multitude across. The Red Sea of Moses' day was the same Red Sea we know today - the main body of the lower Red Sea, the Gulf of Suez and the Gulf of Aqaba.

The Chariot Wheels

"...in the morning watch the LORD looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and troubled the host of the Egyptians, And took off their chariot wheels, that they drave them heavily..." 
.......Exodus 14:24,25

When Ron asked him how he knew this so readily, Mr. Hassan explained that the 8-spoked wheel was only used during the 18th Dynasty.

"Egyptian literary references to chariots occur as early as the reigns of Kamose, the 17th Dynasty king who took the first steps in freeing Egypt from the Hyksos, and Ahmose, the founder of the 18th Dynasty. Pictorial representations, however, do not appear until slightly later in the 18th Dynasty...." (From "Observations on the Evolving Chariot Wheel in the 18th Dynasty" by James K. Hoffmeier, JARCE #13, 1976)

For more information on the chariots of the Egyptian army, let's go to the Biblical account, when Pharaoh and his army go after the multitude:

"And he made ready his chariot, and took his people with him: And he took six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, and captains over every one of them."
.......Exodus 14:6,7

This verse makes it quite clear that the Pharaoh took every chariot in Egypt - his own, his generals (or "Captains") and a group called his "chosen" chariots, which seem to be in addition to his regular army ("all the chariots of Egypt").

Research: The Red Sea Crossing Site

We have continued extensive research on this subject and obtained some new data which indicates that the site of the crossing of the Red Sea was actually broader and shallower than earlier data indicated. New interest in the Gulf of Aqaba has been generated due to the new cooperation between Jordan, Egypt and Israel in promoting tourism in the region. (The gulf is bound by Egypt on the west, Israel and Jordan on the north, and Saudi Arabia on the east.)

Tension in the region between the Saudis, Jordanians, Egyptians and Israelis has resulted in a very limited knowledge of the sea floor of the Gulf.  Of particular interest is the fact that they are planning an extensive program of scientific research in the gulf, because, "...we still lack basic oceanographic information about the Gulf", Limnological Research Institute". 

"Soundings" and measurements taken to date have been admittedly inaccurate because of many factors - but foremost is the fact that it is deep but narrow (30 km. at the widest point.)

Wyatt Archaeological Research contacted every oceanographic institute which could be found, seeking the most recent and accurate information. Data was provided from the ETOP05 data base which is supposed to be the most accurate available. However, it isn’t as detailed as we would eventually like. (Refer to "Data announcement 88-MGG-02, Digital relief of the Surface of the Earth. NOAA, National Geophysical Data Center, Boulder, Colorado.)

What it DOES show is a swatch of sea floor from Nuweiba across to the Saudi shore, which is much shallower than the sea on either side of the underwater land bridge. This swatch of sea floor is roughly between 7 and 10 miles wide. On either side, large cracks in the earth extend down to almost 3,000 feet to the north, and 5,000 to the south. This new information is quite exciting, because it shows a consistent pathway across the gulf to the other shore that, with the water removed, could have easily been traveled. When the digital data was fed to a topographical mapping program, it revealed a 3-D model of the sea floor in the Gulf. That digital model can be seen below.