Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Oun Kwon" <kwonbbl AT gmail.com>]

Here is a typical English translation of Exo 14:7

"And he took six hundred chosen chariots
and all the chariots of EGYPT and captains over all of them."

I have some confusion about what the text says:

First 4 question are related each other:

1. How can his CHOSEN chariots be all the chariots of Egypt?
2. What does it mean '600 chariots' AND all the OTHER chariots (ESV,
NETfn)? Sounds like redundant expression. Does Pharaoh need all the
chariots from all over the Egypt?
3. Can the chosen 600 chariots be appositive with all the chariots?
(YLT reads 'even all the chariots'). Then, CHOSEN ones and ALL the
ones are contradictory each other.
4. Is it possible to take the text saying '600 chariots chosen from
all the chariots' (smoothest rendering)?

Next:

5. Does 'captains over all of them' mean a (few) commander over 600 +
chariots as in DRB (the captains of the whole army) or as in CEV (He
commanded his officers in charge of his six hundred best chariots and
all his other chariots to start after the Israelites)?    NWT
rendering 'warriors upon every one of them' and KJV 'over every one of
them' are quite different. Which one is the text saying?

In short, the rendering by GNB  (He set out with all his chariots,
including the six hundred finest, commanded by their officers) seems
the best (i.e. correct without ambiguity).

Oun Kwon