Did the Biblical Exodus ever happen?

Greeting from the n00b(ewest guy) of this forum After reading the whole thread I just feel that I have to say something too. First I want to thank jar and everyone else, as I learned a lot of interesting things from this thread (yes, I'm a history nerd), as this region and time are not that familiar to me. But, one thing did suprise me. Despite the argument over some pieces of coral, the mistranslaton of YHWH's name, no-one mentioned the mistranslation of the Red Sea. And a mistranslation it is. Infact, I found this after a short searh: The Yam Suph: "Red Sea" or "Sea of Reeds"?I also find it very odd that such a numerous people would no trace of their existance, at all. The number of people alone baffels me (~2 million?!), and then you have to think of the number of animals they would need, for transportation and food (not just meat, but eggs, milk, etc.). Now, if these people did live in one place for 40 years, most likely we would find atleast a massive ammount of animal bones etc, even if the human reamains had been removed to someplace (as far as I know, such a thing was never implied in the bible).Now, I have a faint memory from my elementary school theology classes (yes, in Finland religion is considered as an independent subject) that the Israelites did not go to the "Promised land" until those 40 years later because of the Golden Caff incident. THis was because god demanded that the people belonging to that generation should first die off (Moses included) before they could arrive into the "Promised land". That's how I remeber it being taught to us anyway...Also, I apologize for any grammar and spelling errors (they were unintentional, honest!). I think my english has gotten a little better after spending so much time on forums where the main language is english, but I still have a long way to go before I can say that my english is "fluent"....Anyway, I think I will lurk around for a little while (a bad habit...) and see what else this forum has to offer. So, see you around (maybe )