Mount Sinai

Mount Sinai was where Moses received the Law of God. Today the exact location of the once sacred mountain remains a mystery as does every artifact or relic that is mentioned in holy Scripture seeing that man would always draw attention to it rather than the Word of God and faith. It is difficult for scholars to locate the exact location for many reasons, one of which is that the Bible alludes to Mount Sinai by various names such as "the mountain," the mountain of God," and "Mount Horeb." Scholars have suggested maybe a dozen different mountains, both in the Sinai desert and Arabia. It is interesting that many try to locate volcanic activity in these areas to link them somehow to the thunderings, earthquakes, and smokes of fire mentioned in the Bible.

Exod 19:17-18 And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. Now Mount Sinai was completely in smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire. Its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly.

It is also interesting that the route of the Exodus has never been confirmed, so no mountain can be identified with certainty.

Nevertheless, since the 4th cent. AD the traditional location of Mount Sinai has been Jebel Musa, a jagged granite mountain situated on the southern end of the Sinai Peninsula. On the northwest side is the Monastery of Saint Catherine. The question will probably remain unanswered as strange as that may seem but the Lord in His wisdom has chosen to keep Biblical relics and many locations a mystery, and His Word as the way of approach in faith.