Where is Mount Sinai?

The name “Mount Sinai” comes from the Bible and the Bible shall be the primary source in identifying its location. When such a place is identified, it should fit ALL descriptions in the Scriptures and geographical characteristics as depicted in the Old Testament.

Horeb and Sinai are the same mountain, as stated in

．Exodus 17:6;
．Deuteronomy 1:2,6; 4:10-14; 5:2; 9:8-21; 18:16; 29:1;
．1 Kings 8:9; 19:8;
．2 Chronicles 5:10;
．Psalms 106:19;
．Malachi 4:4.

Biblical History

In the Bible, “Sinai” (Hebrew סִינַי) means thorny or bushy. It appears in the whole Bible approximately 36-40 times, depending on the translation. “Horeb” appears about 17 times, also depending on the translation.

Mt Sinai is where God appeared to Moses, calling him to bring the Israelites out of Egypt under the bondage of the Pharoah; and where Moses received the Ten Commandments from God. Exodus in the Old Testament has all the account of this event which took place at 1,446BC.

Exodus 2 described the birth, upbringing and maturity of Moses. He killed an Egyptian when he saw his brethren being beaten. ‘When Pharaoh heard about this matter, he tried to kill Moses. But Moses fled from the presence of Pharaoh and settled in the land of Midian, and he sat down by a well.’ (Exodus 2:15). At the time of the Exodus, as in most Bible maps, there were 4 regions to the east of the Jordan River, from north to south: Bashan, Ammon, Moab and Edom. Further south to these areas, in Arabia, was Midian in the east of the Gulf of Aqaba. Therefore, Moses had indeed gone to Arabia in his flee from the Pharaoh.

Moses settled in Midian and married Zipporah, the daughter of Reuel (Jethro) the Midian priest. When Moses was 80 years old (Exodus 2:15), one day, 'Moses was pasturing the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; and he led the flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.' (Exodus 3:1) God appeared to Moses in the burning bush and asked him to bring His people out of Egypt.: ’Assuredly I will be with you, and this shall be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God at this mountain.’ (Exodus 3:12) God asked Moses to return to Mt Horeb after bringing His people out of Egypt.

There are several passages in the Scriptures indicating where Mount Sinai is:

1. Deut 33:2 'He said, “The Lord came from Sinai, And dawned on them from Seir; He shone from Mount Paran, And He came from the midst of myriads of holy ones; At His right hand there was flashing lightning for them.' God came down to Mt Sinai to appear to Moses and delivered the Ten Commandments. Seir, apparently also called Mount Seir, refers to the land of Edom, south of the Dead Sea. Paran means the place of caverns. It’s the wilderness area bounded on the north the Palestiine, on the west by the wilderness of Etham, on the south by the desert of Sinai, and on the east by the valley of Arabah, the exodus was through this area and probably all the 18 stops in the area.
2. Acts 7:29-30 'At this remark, Moses fled and became a stranger in the land of Midian, where he fathered two sons. “After forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in the flame of a burning thorn bush.'
   Luke in the New Testament clearly stated that Mt Sinai is in Midian the Arabia.
3. Gal 4:24-25 'This is speaking allegorically, for these women are two covenants: one coming from Mount Sinai giving birth to children who are to be slaves; she is Hagar. Now this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is enslaved with her children. '
   The Apostle Paul also clearly stated that Mt Sinai is in Arabia.

1. Tourist or Traditional Mount Sinai: Jabal Musa (The Mountain of Moses) This site is located in the southern part of the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt, near the town of St. Katherine. It is the most commonly visited location identified with Mount Sinai in Christian tradition. The site features a monastery, Saint Katherine's Monastery, which dates back to the 6th century, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The mountain's proximity to this historical monastery has made it a popular pilgrimage destination.
   This is the site chosen by Emperor Constantine's mother, Helena, in the 4th century AD. It has been the accepted location for over 1,500 years by Christian, Jewish, and Muslim traditions.
   Evidence comes only from long-standing tradition: The Monastery of St. Katherine, built at its foot in the 6th century, is one of the oldest continuously inhabited Christian monasteries in the world. But the route to Jabal Musa doesn't perfectly align with certain geographical descriptions in the Bible (e.g., the crossing point of the Red Sea). The physical landscape around this mountain also differed from the biblical narrative that allowed the encampment of over 2 million Israelites.
2. Biblical Mount Sinai: Jabal al-Lawz (The Mountain of Almonds, in Fig. 5) Recent scholars and researchers indicated that the true Mount Sinai is in the northwestern part of Saudi Arabia, near the Jordanian border above the Gulf of Aqaba, identified as Jabal al-Lawz ranges.

Since 1978, Christian biblical archaeologists and authors including Ron Wyatt, Bob Cornuke, Lennart Möller, Jim & Penny Caldwell located the true Red Sea crossing of the Hebrews in the Gulf of Aqaba at Nuweiba in the Sinai Peninsula and theorized from the biblical account the true site of Mount Sinai (Mount Horeb, Exodus 3.1) and the surrounding mountains of Midian in Saudi Arabia. They identified Jabal al Lawz, a mountain long known by its residents to be the site of God's presence and Israel's encampment. The evidence at Jebel al Lawz fits the biblical description perfectly.

The mountain is blackened at the top, probably because God descended in fire to the mountain top (Exodus 19:18). A nearby split rock shows signs of water flow and erosion. There are also ancient archaeological stone altars and rock art at the base, including depictions of cattle, which some link to the golden calf incident.

For the last few decades, the Saudi government strictly controlled access to the site, making independent archaeological verification nearly impossible. Saudi Arabia opened Jabal al-Lawz to tourists when it launched its new electronic visa regime in September 2019 as part of a broader effort to diversify its economy and attract international visitors.

In December 21-31, 2025, Dr SETO Wing Hong will lead a group of over 30 brothers and sisters to visit Mount Sinai in Saudi Arabia. We’ll have the opportunity to personally observe the mountain and the areas around and compare with what the Bible says. Hopefully, we’ll report this expedition in a more objective angle!