From near the summit a wild ravine runs down the front of the mountain, conveying a winter torrent into Kr-Iiahah. Up this ravine the ascent may l)e made fri>ni tlie plain; it is rugged and steep, but an active mountaineer, such as Moses was, could easily accom- plish it.
There can scarcely be a doubt that Ras es-Sufsi\feh is Sinai, " the mount of the Lord."' Every requirement of the sacred narrative is supplied and every inciiient illustrated by the features of the surrounding district. Here is a ]ilain sufficient to contain the Israelitish camp, and so close to the mountain's base that barriers could be erected to prevent the rash or the heedless from touching it. Here is a mountain-top where the clouds that enshrined the Lord when he descended upon it would be visible to the vast multitude, even when in fear they would withdraw from the base and retire to a distance. From this peak the thunderings and the voice of Jehovah would resound with terrific effect through the ]ilain, antl away among the cliffs and glens of the surrounding mountains. AVlien descending through the clouds that shrouded it, Moses could hear also the songs and shouts of the infatuated people as they danced round the golden calf; and in "the brook that descends out of the mount" (I)eut. ix, 21), through the ravine into Er-Kahah, he could cast the dust of the destroyed idol. In fact, the mountain, the plain, the streamlet, and the whole topography correspond in every respect to the historical account given by jNIoses. The words of dean Stanley are equally graphic and convincing: "No one who has approached the Kas Sufsafeh through that noble plain, or who has looked down iqion the plain from that majestic height, will willingly part with the belief that these are the two es- sential features of the view of the Israelitish camp. That such a plain should exist at all in front of such a cliff is so remarkable a coincidence with the sacred narrative as to furnish a strong internal argument, not merely of its identity with the scene, but of the scene itself hav- ing been described by an eye-witness. The awful and lengthened ajiproach, as to some natural sanctuary, would have been the fittest preparation for the coming scene. The low line of alluvial mounds at the foot of the cliff exactly answers to the 'bounds' which were to keep the people off from 'touching the mount.' The plain itself is not broken and uneven, and narrowly shut in, like almost all others in the range, but presents a long retiring sweep, against which the people could 'remove and stand afar off.' The cliff, rising like a huge altar, in front of the whole congregation, and vis- ible against the sky in lonely grandeur from end to end of the whole plain, is the very image of 'the mount
lias es-SufM'ifeh from the 1
fEi-Uahah.
SIXAI
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SIXAI
that might be touched,' and from which the voice of (iod might be heard far and wide over the stilhiess of the plain below, widened at that part to its utmost ex- tent by the confluence of all the contiguous valleys. Here, beyond all other parts of the peninsula, is the adytum, withdrawn, as if in the 'end of the world,' from all the stir and confusion of earthly things"' (p. 42, 4o).
The remarks of Mr. Beamont. a recent and observant traveller, are of some importance, as showing that some traces of the ancient Scripture names still linger around Mount Sinai: "Two or tliree facts seem to me well worthy of observation. Immediately above Wady es- SheiUh rises Jebel Fureia, the front of this is named Jebel Seneh. Of this name our sheik from Tor knew nothing, hut our guide on Ras es-Sufsafeh needed no prompting to give it its designation. This cluster of Fureia, or Zipporah, is nearly parallel with the cluster of Jebel Musa, and extends northward from it to the head of the central Sinaitic cluster. Separated from the same central cluster of Jebel Musa on the left by Wad)' Leja, runs another parallel range of Sinaitic rocks. To one of these, and separated from Jebel Fureia b^' tlie broad Er-Rahah, the name Urrehheh is given. This name also, as well as the name of the other group, was spontaneously assigned to it by our guide Mohammed. I was rather sceptical on the point, and made him re- peat his designation three or four times, that there might be no mistake. Jly orthography is intended to express, as nearly as I can, the sound of his utterance, for it would have been vain to ask him to ^w\\ the word. Supposing, then, that his nomenclature was cor- rect, we have a cluster bearing the name of Seneli (Si- imi; comp. Stanley, p. 42) on the right of Jebel Musa, and one bearing the name Urrebbeh {Horcb') on the left ; the central cluster itself has no local appellative, and is called after the prophet IMoses. May we not, then, sup- pose that this central cluster bore the name Sinai or Horeb indiscriminately, serving as the nucleus to which the ranges of Sinai and Horeb trended; and that, after the delivery of the law from the peak of Ras es-Sufsa- feh, this bore the special name of 'Jlountain of jMoses,' and that subsequently the local designations were re- stricted to the ridges on the right and left V" {Cairo to Sinai, p. 81, 82). The name Wady er-Rahah, which is given to the upland plain in front of Ras es-Sufsafeh, is also suggestive. It signities "the vale of rest" — rest after labor, as that enjoyed by beasts of burden at the close of the dav. This is very expressive as applied to the long encampment of the Israelites in this plain, after the toilsome march from Egypt. The monks, as has been stated, give the name of Jebel jNIiisa to the south- ern peak of the central ridge, identifying it with Sinai; but they identifv Ras es-Sufsafeh witli Ilorel). There are several tradiiional sites pointed out in AA'ady er-Ra- hah along the base of Sufsafeh, but they are so mani- festly apocryphal as to be scarcely worth notice — such as the hill on which Aaron stood, the mould in which the golden calf was formed, and the pit of Korah (Por- ter, Handbook, p. 35). It is worthy of note that no oth- er district in the whole peninsula, with the exception of a small portion of Wady Feiran, possesses such sup- plies of water and pasture as that around Mount Sinai. When the springs and wells are drj' elsewhere, the IJedawin resort hither. On Sinai itself, on Jebel Ka- therln, in Wadv Leja, in the convent, and in the plain of Rahah are perennial sources. The pastures, too, among the rocks and in the glens and little upland jilains, are comparatively abundant (see Olin, Travels, i, 386, 41.5).