Suf's up, not the Red Sea

07 October 2010

Terry Moseley (Write Back, October 5) illustrates the problem of people who are committed to a literal reading of the Bible relying on translations when he writes: "A strong, continuous 63mph wind blowing from the east for 12 hours might, indeed, have parted the waters of a shallow lake or lagoon, but not the Red Sea."

The name of the body of water crossed by the Israelites in the original Hebrew is 'Yam Suf', which means 'Sea of Papyrus reeds'; the term 'Red Sea' is a mistranslation.

'Yam Suf' would more likely refer to the lagoons along the isthmus of Suez than the deeper waters of the actual sea further south.

MARTIN D STERN

Salford, Lancashire