The sea which divides Africa from Arabia, and always an
important trade route. Solomon kept a naval force at Eziongeber
(1 Kgs. 9: 26–8; 10: 11, 22) more successfully than Jehoshaphat
(1 Kgs. 22: 48), whose ships were wrecked there. The ‘Red Sea’
which the Israelites crossed after leaving Egypt is properly
translated ‘Sea, or Lake, of Reeds’ and may refer to the marshes
of Lake Timsah which are now part of the Suez Canal (Exod. 14:
18). See exodus.