Pi-hahiroth
Pi-hahiroth is a mountain mentioned in 4 verses. Its most likely location is within 1 km of Baal-zephon. The name means “the mouth; the pass of Hiroth.”
Where is Pi-hahiroth?
Approx. 30.8606, 32.1714 · OpenStreetMap · Google Maps
Possible modern locations
| Identification | Type | Confidence |
|---|---|---|
| within 1 km of Baal-zephon | natural area | Low |
| plain near Jabal Jinayfah | natural area | Low |
| another name for Pelusium | settlement | Low |
| Tell Defenneh | settlement | Low |
| Al Qantarah | settlement | Low |
| Jebel Abu Hasa | mountain | Low |
Pi-hahiroth in the Bible dictionary
Place where the reeds grow (LXX. and Copt. read “farmstead”), the name of a place in Egypt where the children of Israel encamped (Ex. 14:2, 9), how long is uncertain. Some have identified it with Ajrud, a fortress between Etham and Suez. The condition of the Isthmus of Suez at the time of the Exodus is not exactly known, and hence this, with the other places mentioned as encampments of Israel in Egypt, cannot be definitely ascertained. The isthmus has been formed by the Nile deposits. This increase of deposit still goes on, and so rapidly that within the last fifty years the mouth of the Nile has advanced northward about four geographical miles. In the maps of Ptolemy (of the second and third centuries A.D.) the mouths of the Nile are forty miles further south than at present.
Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897), public domain. Full dictionary entry →
Verses that mention Pi-hahiroth
- Exodus 14:2
Speak unto the children of Israel, that they turn and encamp before Pi–hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, over against Baal–zephon: before it shall ye encamp by the sea.
- Exodus 14:9
But the Egyptians pursued after them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, and his horsemen, and his army, and overtook them encamping by the sea, beside Pi–hahiroth, before Baal–zephon.
- Numbers 33:7
And they removed from Etham, and turned again unto Pi–hahiroth, which is before Baal–zephon: and they pitched before Migdol.
- Numbers 33:8
And they departed from before Pi–hahiroth, and passed through the midst of the sea into the wilderness, and went three days’ journey in the wilderness of Etham, and pitched in Marah.