Exodus 14:7
in Exodus 14He took 600 of the best chariots, and all the other chariots of Egypt, with officers over all of them.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and he took six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, and captains over all of them.
KJV
And he took six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, and captains over every one of them.
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This verse in Exodus 14
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Six hundred chosen chariots - The Egyptian army comprised large numbers of chariots, each drawn by two horses, with two men, one bearing the shield and driving, the other fully armed. The horses were thoroughbred, renowned for strength and spirit. Chariots are first represented on the monuments of the 18th dynasty. By “all the chariots of Egypt” we are to understand all that were stationed in Lower Egypt, most of them probably at Rameses and other frontier garrisons near the headquarters of Pharaoh. Captains - The word שׁלישׁ shâlı̂ysh, literally “third or thirtieth,” may represent an Egyptian title.
This site's exposition
And it was told the king of Egypt
on Exodus 14:5-7
Pharaoh's own words name what he counts as lost, that we have let Israel go from serving us, and the Hebrew root behind serving is the one Exodus 1:13 and 1:14 used five times over for the bondage. He had said go, serve the LORD at 12:31, and within days he reckons the cost in labour. Six hundred chosen chariots and all the chariots of Egypt go out after people who left with kneading troughs on their shoulders.
This site's exposition
600 of the best chariots
Each of Pharaoh's chariots carried two men behind two horses, as Albert Barnes describes the Egyptian army, a driver with the shield and an armed fighter. The Hebrew for officers is shalish, a third, which Barnes takes for an Egyptian title of rank. He places the other chariots at Rameses and the frontier forts.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And he took six hundred chosen chariots,....
It is easy to imagine what a rage Pharaoh was now in, roaring like a lion disappointed of his prey, how his proud heart aggravated the affront, swelled with indignation, scorned to be baffled, longed to be revenged: and now all the plagues are as if they had never been.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Six hundred chosen chariots, etc. - According to the most authentic accounts we have of war-chariots, they were frequently drawn by two or by four horses, and carried three persons: one was charioteer, whose business it was to guide the horses, but he seldom fought; the second chiefly defended the charioteer; and the third alone was properly the combatant. It appears that in this case Pharaoh had collected all the cavalry of Egypt; (see Exo 14:17); and though these might not have been very numerous, yet, humanly speaking, they might easily overcome the unarmed and encumbered Israelites, who could not be supposed to be able to make any resistance against cavalry and war-chariots.
The words behind it
11 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּקַּ֗ח | vaiyikach | and he took | H3947 → | 966 times |
| שֵׁשׁ־ | shesh- | six | H8337 → | 216 times |
| מֵא֥וֹת | meot | hundred<s> | H3967 → | 581 times |
| רֶ֙כֶב֙ | rekhev | chariot[s] | H7393 → | 119 times |
| בָּח֔וּר | bachur | chosen | H977 → | 171 times |
| וְכֹ֖ל | vekhol | and all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| רֶ֣כֶב | rekhev | [the] chariotry of | H7393 → | 119 times |
| מִצְרָ֑יִם | mitzrayim | Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
| וְשָׁלִשִׁ֖ם | veshalishim | and officers | H7991 → | |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | [were] over | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| כֻּלּֽוֹ׃ | kulo | all of it | H3605 → | 5413 times |
וַיִּקַּ֗חand he took
vaiyikachH3947 →966 times
שֵׁשׁ־six
shesh-H8337 →216 times
מֵא֥וֹתhundred<s>
meotH3967 →581 times
רֶ֙כֶב֙chariot[s]
rekhevH7393 →119 times
בָּח֔וּרchosen
bachurH977 →171 times
וְכֹ֖לand all
vekholH3605 →5413 times
רֶ֣כֶב[the] chariotry of
rekhevH7393 →119 times
מִצְרָ֑יִםEgypt
mitzrayimH4714 →641 times
וְשָׁלִשִׁ֖םand officers
veshalishimH7991 →
עַל־[were] over
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
כֻּלּֽוֹ׃all of it
kuloH3605 →5413 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 20:7Some trust in chariots and others in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.
it leads to
- Isaiah 31:1
Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in their abundance of chariots and in their multitude of horsemen. They do not look to the Holy…
- Jeremiah 17:5
This is what the LORD says: “Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind, who makes the flesh his strength and turns his heart from the LORD.
- Proverbs 21:31
A horse is prepared for the day of battle, but victory is of the LORD.
- Psalms 33:16–17
No king is saved by his vast army; no warrior is delivered by his great strength.
- 2 Chronicles 32:8
With him is only the arm of flesh, but with us is the LORD our God to help us and to fight our battles.” So the people were strengthened by the words of Hezekiah…
- Isaiah 31:1
Through
Psalms 68:17The chariots of God are tens of thousands— thousands of thousands are they; the Lord is in His sanctuary as He was at Sinai.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 33:2
He said: “The LORD came from Sinai and dawned upon us from Seir; He shone forth from Mount Paran and came with myriads of holy ones, with flaming fire at His right hand.
- Daniel 7:10
A river of fire was flowing, coming out from His presence. Thousands upon thousands attended Him, and myriads upon myriads stood before Him. The court was convened, and the books were opened.
- Revelation 5:11
Then I looked, and I heard the voices of many angels and living creatures and elders encircling the throne, and their number was myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands.
- Deuteronomy 33:2
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies4
About Exodus
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.