Exodus 14:1-9 comments: Pharaoh begins his pursuit with 600 chariots

1 ¶  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 2  Speak unto the children of Israel, that they turn and encamp before Pihahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, over against Baalzephon: before it shall ye encamp by the sea. 3  For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, They are entangled in the land, the wilderness hath shut them in. 4  And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, that he shall follow after them; and I will be honoured upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host; that the Egyptians may know that I am the LORD. And they did so. 5  And it was told the king of Egypt that the people fled: and the heart of Pharaoh and of his servants was turned against the people, and they said, Why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us? 6  And he made ready his chariot, and took his people with him: 7  And he took six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, and captains over every one of them. 8  And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued after the children of Israel: and the children of Israel went out with an high hand. 9  But the Egyptians pursued after them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, and his horsemen, and his army, and overtook them encamping by the sea, beside Pihahiroth, before Baalzephon.

From Etham the Hebrews are directed to go set up camp at Pihahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, over against Baalzephon: before it shall ye encamp by the sea. Now, from their starting point at Rameses they have traveled to Succoth and Etham and are now told to encamp here. These are traditionally locations to the west of the Gulf of Suez, an arm of the Red Sea.

The Hebrews are now between Migdol and the Red Sea. Again, God hardens Pharaoh’s disobedient heart and encourages him to chase after the Hebrews in regret over letting his slaves go. He takes 600 chariots, and it says all the chariots of Egypt. Chariots will play a very important part in places in the Old Testament and be a source of contention. One thing missing in scholarship and Bible exposition is the common sense understanding of chariot warfare. A chariot was a mobile fighting platform as well as a ceremonial vehicle whose weak link was also how it was delivered to the forefront of the battle so quickly; its horses. Logic tells us, logic and common sense, that the horses would be what the infantry would go after first. Kill the horses and the chariot cannot move and respond to the battle. So, with chariots there needed to be a string of horses and horsemen to accompany them. Like the pit crew at a NASCAR event these teams needed to be able to replace dead and injured horses or, in a fierce battle, the chariot would have been rendered useless and even helpless quite quickly, as the driver would not be able to remove to safety in the event of being overwhelmed, with dead horses.

1Kings 4:26  And Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen.

2Chronicles 9:25  And Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen; whom he bestowed in the chariot cities, and with the king at Jerusalem.

So, in these two verses which have been the source of much disagreement it is very obvious to me that Solomon had 40,000 stalls for chariot horses and 4,000 stalls that were big enough for the chariot and the horse team that drew it. This would be necessary for maintenance and preparation before training and battle. This also implies a string of 10 horses per chariot as the primary team and backup. These backup teams would have not only needed protection by cavalry but perhaps were a capable fighting force all their own. There is no contradiction, just common sense and reading comprehension needed here.

What is about to happen will explain this verse in Numbers.

Numbers 14:9  Only rebel not ye against the LORD, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defence is departed from them, and the LORD is with us: fear them not.

The Amarna Letters tell us of Canaanite kings pleading for military help against the Hebrews, military help that was not forthcoming because the Egyptian army was destroyed.

Historical records are very incomplete and traditional dating in Egyptology is conflicting and unreliable. It is difficult to put the events we know from the Bible in perfect order with what we think we know from the scant historical records. A pharaoh named Thutmose III was called the Napoleon of Egypt and he conquered the area of Canaan. His eldest son died. Skip a couple of generations and another pharaoh’s eldest son died and a pharaoh came to the throne and tried to institute the worship of one god but failed. Somewhere in all of this swirl of uncertain history, guesswork, and conclusions drawn from scant information is the pharaoh of the Exodus and his successors.