Exodus 14:7

7 he took 600 of the best chariots and all the rest of the chariots of Egypt, with officers in each one.

Exodus 14:7 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 14:7

And he took six hundred chosen chariots
The chief and best he had, war chariots, chariots of iron; perhaps such as had iron scythes to them, to cut down men as they drove along; these were taken partly for quickness of dispatch, that they might be able the sooner to overtake the Israelites, who had got several days' marches before them; and partly for their strength and the annoyance of their enemies with them:

and all the chariots of Egypt:
as many as could in so short a time be got together: for the words are not to be taken in the utmost latitude, but to signify a great number, and all that could be conveniently come at: the Greek version is, "all the horse", the cavalry, which better distinguishes them from the former:

and captains over everyone of them:
over everyone of the chariots, so that they must each of them have many in them, to have captains over them: and perhaps the infantry, or foot soldiers, for, quickness of expedition, were put into them; for, besides these, there were horsemen: Josephus F16 makes the whole number of his army to be 50,000 horse, and 200,000 foot, and the same number is given by a Jewish chronologer F17: but Patricides, an Arabic writer, says F18 it consisted of 600,000, and Ezekiel F19, the tragic poet, has made it amount to a million of horse and foot: should it be asked where horses could be had to draw the chariots, and horses for the horsemen after mentioned, when all were destroyed by the hail, ( Exodus 9:25 ) it may be replied, that only those in the field were killed, not such as were in stables, where chariot horses and horses for war may be supposed to be: besides, as the Targum of Jonathan intimates, these might belong to these servants of Pharaoh who feared the word of the Lord, and took their cattle home, ( Exodus 9:20 ) .


FOOTNOTES:

F16 Antiqu. l. 2. c. 15. sect. 3.
F17 Shalshalet Hakabala, fol. 77. 4.
F18 Apud Hottinger. Smegma, p. 464.
F19 Apud Euseb. ut supra. (Praepar. Evangel. c. 27. p. 436.)

Exodus 14:7 In-Context

5 When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about the people and said: "What have we done? We have released Israel from serving us."
6 So he got his chariot ready and took his troops with him;
7 he took 600 of the best chariots and all the rest of the chariots of Egypt, with officers in each one.
8 The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the Israelites, who were going out triumphantly.
9 The Egyptians-all Pharaoh's horses and chariots, his horsemen, and his army-chased after them and caught up with them as they camped by the sea beside Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon.
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