Trailer for the documentary Finding the Mountain of Moses TRAILER/ Ryan Mauro
To this day, historians and biblical scholars try to decipher where the biblical Mount Sinai is, the place where Moses received the Ten Commandments from God. Quite a few proposals were on the agenda, such as Mount Crocus in the Negev or Jabal Musa in the Sinai Peninsula, another hypothesis, which has already been raised in the past and rejected by many experts, claimed that the Israelites crossed Sinai and the Red Sea and continued from there to Jabal al-Lawz, located in northeastern Saudi Arabia, near the border with Jordan. Jabal al-Lawz was previously proposed as a candidate to be the biblical Mount Sinai, but this claim has been criticized by other historians, who have pointed out that any identification of Mount Sinai in ancient Midian (Saudi Arabia) does not match the Bible at all. Now, new findings show that the theory needs to be re-examined – because there is a situation in which it is actually the right one. Last week, the St. Thomas Research Foundation unveiled the first images of what appear to be ancient Hebrew inscriptions found in Jabal al-Lawz dating back to the Exodus period. The foundation, which produced the viral film "Finding Mount Moses" last year, believes the Hebrew inscriptions are proof that the Israelites were present in the area of Mount Jabal al-Lawz when they received the Ten Commandments.
The carved inscriptions were found on rocks at the summit of the mountain, two and a half kilometers high, located in northeastern Saudi Arabia, near the border with Jordan. DTRF scholars claim that the inscriptions deal with, among other things, God and the Amalekites who fought the Israelites. In addition, they say that they found the oldest carving of the menorah, which God revealed to Moses, and carvings of footprints that the Israelites marked to determine territory when they left Egypt.
Inscriptions in ancient Hebrew found in Jabal al-Lawz, Saudi Arabia (Photo: official website, DTRF)
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The researchers believe that the presence of the Hebrew inscriptions proves that at the time there were people present in the area who spoke ancient Hebrew, and according to them, it can be determined that the inscriptions date from the time of the Exodus from Egypt (between the 15th and 13th centuries BCE). Scholars link the footprint carvings to God's words to the Israelites, as quoted in the Bible: "The whole place where you set foot will be." Experts at the St. Thomas Research Foundation also claim that among the evidence gathered around Jabal al-Lawz are cave paintings of calves - which correspond to the biblical story of the sin of the calf. It was also claimed that near the mountain there is an "ancient cemetery" where all those who worshipped the calf were buried.
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Ancient carvings of the menorah (photo: official website, DTRF)
Fences have been erected around the mountain by Saudi authorities marking it as an archaeological site, although they themselves have dismissed claims that Jabal al-Lawz is Mount Sinai. DTRF experts set up the Sinai Project in Saudi Arabia to encourage local authorities to preserve the sites for further investigation.
It should be remembered that historians, archaeologists, and Egyptologists have come to a fairly consensus that the Exodus event did not occur as described in the Bible, since there was never any proof that the Israelites were enslaved in ancient Egypt. In addition, they wonder whether the image of Moses even existed.
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Has the place where the biblical golden calf was built been exposed?
Biblical scholars believe they also found the site where Moses smashed the Tablets of the Law after noticing the Israelites celebrating around the golden calf. Experts from the St. Thomas Research Foundation (DTRF) have presented evidence that they claim points to the site of the biblical event, with their new findings adding to ongoing research into the true location of the biblical Mount Sinai. In their study, the researchers claim to have found evidence that Mount Sinai is Jabal al-Lawz and are now reinforcing the claims, with a site near the foot of the mountain looking like the perfect place to build the golden calf - and if that wasn't enough, drawings of calf bows were found on several rocks there.
According to the biblical story in Exodus chapter 32, Moses ascended Mount Sinai for 40 days after receiving the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai to receive the Torah and the tablets of testimony from God. When he returned to the camp, he found his people celebrating and worshipping the golden calf. Or as it is written, "And the people feared that at six o'clock Moses came down from the mountain, and the people came upon Aaron, and they said to him, Arise, do unto us, O God, who shall go before us, for this is Moses, the man whom we brought up from the land of Egypt, we did not know what he had. And the Lord of Aaron said, Unload the golden seeds that are in the ears of your wives, your sons and your sons, and bring them to me. And all the people shall break apart the golden Nazmi in their ears and bring to Aaron. And he took from their hands, and made with him a stylus, and they made a calf a mask, and they said, 'These are the God of Israel, who ascended from the land of Egypt.' And Aaron saw an altar before him, and Aaron called out and said, Feast to the Lord tomorrow. And they will wake up the next day and go up and come whole and the people will sit down to eat and drink and get up to laugh."
While Moses was on the mountain receiving the tablets of the covenant, God sent him down from the mountain to the people: "Go down, for you have swam with you" (Exodus 32:7). When Moses came down from the mountain, he found the people celebrating and worshiping the golden calf. In his rage, he broke the tablets of the covenant at the bottom of the mountain, after which God thanked him for it, then the punishment for the calf-worshippers began, Moses burned the calf and ground it, scattered its ashes on the surface of the water, and watered the Israelites with this water. In addition, he gathered to him the sons of Levi, who did not worship the calf, and ordered them to kill all those who did worship the calf. The death toll was 3,000, with an unknown number also dying from the plague, as well as by drinking water.
Experts claim to have found the potential site in Saudi Arabia and it matches the biblical story. Ryan Mauro and his researchers said they found evidence of the "high platform" on which the golden calf was placed. It appears to be a rectangular rock located on an elevated platform near the site and artificially constructed - probably by men - and consistent with descriptions of the objects of sacrifice from the same time period, placed at an angle to allow "blood to drain from the side".
Is this where the Golden Calf was placed? (Screenshot, DTRF)
Mauro and his team also found numerous engravings of bulls at the site around the suspicious area. They wrote: "What is significant about this site is its size, remote location and almost unique focus on the bull. The structure is tall and visually impressive. Obviously, there is a strong affinity for bulls on the site. However, the petroglyphs (paintings engraved on the rock) are limited to this remote site."
It was also claimed that the engravings of the bulls also included horns similar to those of the Egyptian bull god Apis. The team argues that this hints at the influence of ancient Egypt on those who lived in the area at the time. There are about a dozen groups of bull carvings. In one of the pictures, Mauro can be seen in the background of one of the groups - with what appears to be a man worshiping one of the bulls.
Drawings of bull hieroglyphs (Photo: screenshot, DTRF)
However, the team acknowledges that they have not yet found evidence of gold at the site, although the group noted that there is a strong local tradition that gold was buried at the site in the past. They write: "There is no definitive proof of gold at this time, but the equipment needed to find it has not been brought to the site since the 26s." They added: "Local Saudi tradition holds that gold is buried under the Golden Calf worship site – and closer to the foot of the mountain. There is a deep pit with a ladder at the bottom of the mountain, where local Saudis claim government officials hid gold. The tradition is so strong that locals say police patrol the area on suspicion that visitors are coming there in search of gold and treasure."
* First published on 11.2019.<>
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