The Gold of Exodus: The Discovery of the True Mount Sinai

by Howard Blum

Mt Sinai. For many, it's the most sacred place on Earth--the site where god descended to give Moses the Ten Commandments. Yet for centuries, humankind has not known its exact location. In this heart-pounding true story, award-winning journalist & bestselling author Blum tells the enthralling account of two modern-day adventurers--Larry Williams, a two-time Republican candidate for the Senate from Montana & a self-made millionaire, & his friend Bob Cornuke, a retired policemen & former SWAT team member. Lured by the prospect of finding the fabled fortune in gold that the ancient Hebrews took with them when they fled from Egypt, the two men set out to find the true site of Mt Sinai-- with only the Old Testament as a guide. Eminent biblical scholars at Harvard & the Univ. of Pennsylvania have argued that Mt Sinai is not in the Sinai Peninsula at all, but rather in northwestern Saudi Arabia. However, they were never allowed into the kingdom to prove their argument. When Cornuke & Williams are also denied entry, they daringly sneak into Saudi Arabia. What they discover at the mountain known as Jabal al Lawz will astonish the world & inspire readers to rethink the role of the bible in history. They find the remains of the stone altar at which the Golden Calf was worshiped, the twelve pillars that Moses ordered to be erected, the cave where Moses slept, &, most sensationally, the unnaturally scorched spot on the mountaintop where god gave Moses the two stone tablets. They also explain the truth about the parting of the Red Sea waters. Not the least of their discoveries is the fact that one of the most sacred spots on earth is now a top secret Saudi military base. As these two adventurers follow in Moses' footsteps, they become pawns in a dangerous game of international power politics & intrigue, This action-packed tale--part high-tech treasure hunt, part modern-day spy thriller, part biblical detective story--is riveting & it's all true.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Christian, Religion, Adventure, Travel, Israel

368 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Howard Blum is the author of New York Times bestsellers including Dark Invasion, the Edgar Award–winner American Lightning, as well as Wanted!, The Gold Exodus, Gangland, and The Floor of Heaven. Blum is a contributing editor at Vanity Fair. While at the New York Times, he was twice nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting. He is the father of three children, and lives in Connecticut.

Get in touch!
Website: www.HowardBlum.com
Email: Howard@HowardBlum.com
Facebook: Like Howard Blum on Facebook
Twitter: @HowardBlum and @FloorOfHeaven

Reviews

[Rodman Marquez · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not two stars but not three stars either.

[Allen · Rating 1 out of 5]

A badly written "Christian" Hardy Boys. The book does an excellent job of persuading me of the true route of the Children of Israel out of Egypt and the most likely location of Mount Sinai/Horeb. However the overly hyped archaeology/spy story is far too thin. Too many things about the "true" adventures of Williams and Cornuke do not add up. However as someone (Mark Twain?) noted, fiction has to be plausible, truth does not. So maybe it happened the way it was written but I doubt it.
If you are truly interested in the archaeology of Mount Sinai and the journey of the Israelites out of Egypt, I would recommend something much more serious, academic and believable.

[Tori · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, I've had this on the very top of my to-read list for several years (since I started GoodReads?) And I'm finally going to read it! Just have to go pick it up at the library, it's waiting for me at the front desk. :D

~What's it been, five days later? anyway..~

Done! Quite done, and luckily too, for there was a moment when I wondered if I would be able to get it out of Dads hands. Thankfully I didn't need to worry, he had read it before and I easily got it from him the next morning.

It was a very good book. I see reviews for it that say its a page turner and intense, but I would disagree. It took a while to build up the back story. Not to say that's bad, just that I wouldn't go into it expecting a thriller.

The reason I took it down a star was because there was a large handful of language throughout the book, and it was annoying.

It's written with a half novel, half news article sort of feeling to it, which I found quite interesting and different.

I don't really want to dive in explaining it and give a bunch of stuff away. But it was very interesting and often you were wondering what was going to happen and what was behind what was happening.

So maybe 4.5 stars? Yes, that's better. If you're in the mood for a mild adventure book, with even a tad of government conspiracy thrown in (Not saying anything more than that), and an amazing story about the Exodus than I would suggest this book.

[Brian Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

History is at our feet but buried by the sands of time. In his book ‘The Gold of Exodus’, Howard Blum takes us on a journey to rediscover some of this history and uncover the buried treasures of Exodus—the gold of Egypt. The road map his characters follow is the biblical account of the Jews leaving Egypt for the Promised Land. Based on this account, Exodus 3 (in the Bible) places Mount Sinai (where the gold is buried) as being either in Midian or very close to it, as Moses was tending to his father-in-law’s flock near God’s Mountain’ and his father-in-law was a Midianite. This means then that the true Mount Sinai lies in Saudi Arabia as this includes the ancient area of Midian. It is likely then that the mountain called Jabal al Lawz, is as claimed Mount Sinai. Up to this point the story appears to be a plausible account, but to me this is shattered when spies, nuclear weapons and political agendas are embroiled into the plot.

While the authenticity of the bible continues to be vindicated as archaeology discoveries are made, this account of finding the gold and the adventure as described lacks credibility. The book is worth reading though is not easy to follow and I ended up reading it twice— something I would not normally do.

Brian Wilson NZ

[Debra · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was really, really good. I admit I loved the subject, but this guy has the ability to take facts and make them seem like a novel. Wish I would have read this back in the 90's when the book came out.

I had previously read American Lightning and really liked it. I don't know why I never bothered to see if the author had written any other books. The other day I again recommended American Lightning to a patron and this time thought to look up what other books he had written and ordered one.

[Angelia Phillips · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even with so many negative reviews to steer me off, glad they didn't. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

There are other books written of the same adventure, but this is the first one I've read and I thought Blum did a great job taking the reader on a quest with these two men and I appreciated the various perspectives the story was written from.

I have a more thorough review on my blog (femme's Desk) at flashnee.com.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book in a give away pile, and picked it up on a whim. It's a well-paced journey that keeps the reader intrigued while weaving in bits of the greater world picture. I'm very glad I picked it up.

[Velvetink · Rating 4 out of 5]

Contains B/W photos, maps, biblio.

[Kelly Atkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my all-time favorite books!

[T.L. Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

modern treasure hunting; a good read for adventure lovers

[Donna M Prada-Reid · Rating 4 out of 5]

So enjoyed reading this great adventure

Great adventure I give it a thumbs up
What can I say that hasn't already been said you have to read it for yourselves. Enjoyed it very much

[Ted Tabour · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story about Mount Sinai. Well written and flows well. I learned a lot about a subject I knew little about.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reads like a novel, but a true story about the search for the real Mt. Sinai. Fascinating and adverturous.

[Poppy Hochstetler · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was sitting outside a coffee shop where a friend and I were talking and the topic of the Old Testament came up and he said something to the effect of “I don’t know how much of the Old Testament is real and how much is story.” And that’s when it happened, I could see it happening like an out of body experience. The camera panned in closer to my left eye, and then closer still, just like you see in movies when a memory is being unlocked. That was what was happening to me. A memory, a younger me sitting with an older gentlemen from church talking about the Old Testament. He is all excited about this book he had read, “You have to read it!” He proclaims with the enthusiasm and excitement of a younger man. “It proves where Mount Sinia is!” Younger me has no interest in this but wants to be respectful, and through some careful determination, thought, and care I formulate the words to express my feelings of ‘I won’t be reading it but thanks for sharing.’ I do this by saying “Sure, I’ll read that!” Surprisingly he didn’t get the point and on our next visit when I have failed to purchase the book the old man finds the solution “Here is my copy!” This begins an extensive and intense level of not reading evasion: I lose the book, I order him another copy to replace his, he gifts me a copy, I find his, I move, I move xMany, ….he dies. I still have not read this book. BAM! We are back outside the coffee shop. And having someone ask “is the Old Testament real?” is how I got to (finally) “reading” The Gold of Exodus. (Audiobooks count as reading right?... Asking for a friend.)

Okay so after moving many times, I don’t know where either of my copies are located. However, I 10/10 recommend listening to this book vs reading it. I imagine if I had read it I would have gained the penance I justly deserve having waited until after the poor man died and then waiting another 10 years to read it. However, listening to it is equal to an A&E special! Which I can totally get behind. I really enjoyed the narration, I cannot say that enough. The down side is just like an A&E special I don’t know how convincing it would be to move someone from one side to another. Anytime you deal with Biblical topics you are up against people who believe what they believe. However I did do some intense research (I googled it) and there is bit of support for their idea. They cover a lot of how they came to this idea in the book and use the Bible as their reference. Some of the history I didn’t know too much about, so again through my research (google) it seemed many of the things they were saying were happening secretly did turn out to happen. I think using the Bible to find historical locations should be done more and we might find more success if we did that (which is probably why it’s not done).

I think this book will make you look into the topic of where Mount Siani could be or maybe question if it is true along with a little spark of adventure in what else is out there waiting to be discovered. I would say don’t wait 10+ years to read it and hope for your local library to have an audio version of it.

[Zaid Ismail · Rating 4 out of 5]

A surprisingly fascinating tale of how two researchers went in search of the real Mount Sinai and where they eventually discovered it. It's an ambivalent read for those that revere the Christian scriptures, but also recognise the convenient interpretations that were used to follow the trail, or to deduce the rationale of the ancient civilisation that made the journey across the Red Sea. Nonetheless, it contains some intriguing evidence by way of photographs of artefacts found on the sea bed that support their case for the conclusions that they arrive at. This book could easily pass as both an adventure novel and a non-fiction research aide for anyone interested in the subject of the great exodus of the Israelites as described in the Christian scriptures.

[Bruce Wasserman · Rating 5 out of 5]

A compelling narrator, Howard Blum has followed the story of two men as they seek to confirm the true location of Mount Sinai, the site of the giving of the 10 Commandments to Moses and the presumed location of a fantastic treasure buried by the Hebrews on their exodus from Egypt. Blum has done substantial research, correlated political events and a background of international spying, all of which adds substance to the story, but it is the simple narrative of two men in search of the truth that carries this book beyond the ordinary into the realm of a book you won’t put down till it’s done.

[Sean Helms · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't normally go for non-fiction reads, but this was fairly entertaining. The partners in archaeology traipse from Cali to London, Egypt to Saudi Arabia on their quest to find the lost gold of the Jews from their trek from Egypt to the Promised Land. In the process the team discovers the actual Mount Sinai of Midian (present day Saudi Arabia). The team have some harrowing adventures and scrapes, especially when they sham their way into the Kingdom.

[Tommy S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Książka trzymająca w napięciu. Z reguły nie lubię sensacji pomieszanej z nauką, jednakże w tym przypadku nie dało się inaczej. Autor na podstawie przygód dwójki odkrywców-amatorów potrafił dosyć przekonywająco udowodnić (nawet przy pomocy zdjęć), ze oryginalnie góra Synaj leżała w Arabii Saudyjskiej w kraju Madian. Wynika stąd, ze miliony Żydów, chrześcijan i muzułmanów po dzisiejszy dzień jest trzymanych w niewiedzy. Polecam każdemu!

[Mark Matzeder · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book was well-written and the story flowed well, but it really isn't my cup of tea.
Spoiler: there is no actual archeological evidence presented in favor of the "true Mount Sinai" claim and whether or not the two American adventurers who made the clandestine journey to Jabal al-Lawz proved anything about the Exodus account is a subjective matter.

[Sherry Hession · Rating 4 out of 5]

Williams and Cornuke go on a quest to walk in the footsteps of Moses and the Israelis fleeing Egypt and to recover the gold left at the foot of Mount Sinai. Turns out that getting into Saudi Arabia is a challenge in and of itself, but then when they find that the mountain is encased in barbed wire and sporting soldiers and weapons, the challenge becomes even greater.

[Steve Inman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great adventure story! It’s compounded by the fact that it’s true! Mount Sinai is NOT in Egypt’s peninsula, it is in Saudi Arabia. I highly recommend this book. It was written like a novel. Fast paced and fun.

[Rob Markley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Shame he had to try and write it like a conspiracy theory or a spy novel because I am convinced he is right and the mode of delivery only detracts from a serious subject

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

True story that reads like a movie script, starring George Clooney.

[Vince Waechter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book! A true story written like an adventure novel.

[Emanuel Kahana · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very well written story. The author has a talent to write about history like fiction. Highly recommended.

[kathy griffiths · Rating 4 out of 5]

slow in spots, but very interesting and educational!

[Grant Long · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tbh I’m not sure I understand the hate for this book. I can honestly say that I am more apt to believe now than ever that this is truly the real Mt. Sinai!

[Tim Bates · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing story and equally well written.

I have read Gangland and plan to read more of Blum’s books. I really stay awake at night reading because of his excellent style.

[Aburazeen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Buku ni membuatkan saya konfius, sebab fakta dan penceritaan hampir-hampir membuat saya percaya, peristiwa pelarian bani israel yang dipimpin oleh nabi Musa serta peristiwa nabi Musa melihat cahaya Allah SWT bukan berlaku di Jabal Tur Sinai di Mesir, tetapi ia di Jabal Lauz di Arab Saudi... Teknik penceritaan Howard Blum (yang didakwa dari kisah benar) yang melibatkan operasi ketenteraan arab saudi, serta campurtangan Mossad dalam usaha 2 orang Amerika untuk mencari harta peninggalan bani Israel membuatkan kita tertanya diri sendiri, mungkinkah fakta sejarah dipesongkan atas sebab political will dan tourism. Pun begitu penceritaan adalah berdasarkan jurnal dan tulisan dari bible. Ia tidakpun menafikan kejadian pengejaran pelarian bani Israel tetapi cuma menimbulkan persoalan tapak gunung tur sina yang sebenarnya.. InsyaAllah ia tidak menyinggung akidah muslim. cubalah baca!

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

A page turner. Intrigued by the possibility of finding a gold treasure on the route of the biblical Exodus, two American adventurers set out to find it. After all, the Jews on the trip sculpted a golden calf, so where did that gold come from? Further, might residues exist? After initial study, they found that the Exodus route extended into Saudi Arabia, a country that doesn’t readily grant visas. Yet various ruses permitted them to enter the country. Once inside it was a perilous game of hide and seek with Saudi patrols. Harried stealth permitted no time for a gold search but they did find the true Mt. Sinai and other evidences that affirmed the Exodus story.