 During this time, these scholars would have understood the Red Sea not merely as the body of water known today, but also extending down to the Indian Ocean.General scholarly opinion is that the Exodus story combines a number of traditions, one of them at the "Reed Sea" (Lake Timsah, with the Egyptians defeated when the wheels of their chariots become clogged) and another at the far deeper Red Sea, allowing the more dramatic telling of events.Reeds tolerant of salt water flourish in the shallow string of lakes extending from Suez north to the Mediterranean Sea.