My teacher claims that the parting of the Red Sea was the result of an extremely low tide followed by an extremely high tide. Is there evidence?

“And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and Jehovah caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all the night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left” (Exodus 14:21-22).

There have been many theories as to what may have “naturally” caused the parting of the Red Sea, but none can be factually proven or disproven. Yet, the Bible itself contradicts your teacher’s views. Exodus 15:8 says, “By the blast of your nostrils the waters piled up. The surging waters stood firm like a wall; the deep waters congealed in the heart of the sea.” (NIV Version). Also, in Psalm 78:13, the Bible says, “He divided the sea and led them through; he made the water stand firm like a wall.” (NIV Version). This does not sound like the ordinary ebb and flow of a tide.

I do believe God can use natural phenomena to further plans, and this may have been a natural occurrence. Physicist Colin Humphreys believes the natural cause of the parting of the Red Sea could have been a “wind set-down”. This is a strong, continual wind that can cause the water level to drop on the windward side and can push up water into a wall on the leeward side of a lengthy body of water. If the wind blows across the length of the sea, a gap can actually expose the sea floor. Obviously, this wind would have to have blown for a long time to allow the land to have become dry and then to allow 600,000 people to cross the dry land. In addition, the end of the wind would have to have perfectly coincided with the crossing of Pharoah’s army. Any way you look at this, the timing could only have been orchestrated by God.

Other theories include the belief that a tsunami with a huge tidal wave at the time caused by the erupting of a volcano was the source of the parting of the Red Sea. Yet, it seems implausible that 600,000 people could have crossed between the withdrawal of the water and then re-arrival of the water caused by the tsunami.

Finally, some people speculate that Red Sea was actually the Sea of Reeds. The problem with this theory is that although it may have dried up for Moses and the Israelites to cross, its normally ankle-deep waters could hardly have “flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen—the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived.” Exodus 14:28. The Sea of Reeds is just too shallow to have caused the demise of Pharaoh’s army.

Again, God can use the nature He created to further His Will. Whether extremely high and low tide, tsunami, “wind-set down”, or unnatural occurrence in the Sea of Reeds, God used the sea to accomplish His purposes in an extraordinary and miraculous way.

-Bruce and Nancy Young