Exodus 14:25

Exo 14:25. They drave heavily — They had driven furiously, but they now found themselves embarrassed at every step; the way grew deep, their hearts grew sad, their wheels dropped off, and the axle-trees failed. They had been flying upon the back of Israel as the hawk on the dove; but now they cried, Let us flee from the face of Israel.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

14:25 He twisted their chariot wheels: The ancient versions differ on the translation of this phrase. Perhaps there was deep sand where the water had been, and this broke the light wheels of the chariots. At any rate, the Egyptian charge through the sea failed, and they became terrified. • The Lord is fighting for them: Certainly by this time everyone in Egypt was aware of the special relationship between the Lord and his people.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Or, heavily.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

25. removed. The marg. bound (Sam. LXX. Pesh.; ויאסר for ויסר), i.e. clogged,—presumably by their sinking in the wet sand,—is probably to be preferred (so Di. Bä.).

and made them to drive (them) heavily. The marg. is preferable, for grammatical reasons.

and Egypt said, Let me flee. The same idiomatic and forcible singular as in v. 10. So frequently, as Num_20:18-19, Deu_2:27-29, Jos_17:14 f., 17 f., besides often in the prophets (cf. LOT. p. 390).

fighteth] as v. 14.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And took off their chariot wheels,.... The Targum of Jonathan renders it "cut" or "sawed them off"; perhaps they might be broken off by the hailstones. Milton (s) seems to have a notion of Pharaoh's chariot wheels being broken, when he says, "and craze" (i.e. break) "their chariot wheels"; or, as Jarchi suggests, he burnt them, through the force of the fire or lightning:

that they drave them heavily; the wheels being off, the chariots must be dragged along by the horses by mere force, which must be heavy work; or, "and made them to go, or led them heavily", or "with heaviness" (t); and so to be ascribed to the Lord, who looked at the Egyptians, took off the wheels of their chariots, and stopped them in the fury of their career, that they could not pursue with the swiftness they had:

so that the Egyptians said, let us flee from the face of Israel; for by this battery and flashes of fire on them, they concluded that Israel, who they thought were fleeing before them, had turned and were facing them, and the Lord at the head of them; and therefore it was high time for them to flee, as follows:

for the Lord fighteth for them against the Egyptians; for they rightly took the thunder and lightning, the fire and hailstones, to be the artillery of heaven turned against them, and in favour of the Israelites. Jarchi interprets it, the Lord fights for them in Egypt, even in Egypt itself; but so he had done many a time before, of which they were not insensible.

(s) Paradise Lost, B. 12. ver. 210. (t) "et deduxit eos graviter", Vatablus; "et duxit eos cum gravitate", Drusius; so Ainsworth.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Lord. thus they reluctantly confess his might, and are forced to glory Him in their destruction. Their change is only the effect of fear and temporal danger, ver. 18. (Haydock)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Took off their chariot wheels; either burning them with lightning, or tearing them in pieces with thunder-bolts, or loosening them, and making them to fall off.

That they drave them heavily; Heb. and he made him, or them, the singular number for the plural, i.e. the Egyptians, or their chariots, to go heavily, hardly and slowly, either for want of wheels, or for breaches in them, or because the rain had softened the bottom of the sea, or because the lightnings and thunders affrighted and dispirited their horses.

For the Lord fighteth for them. Prodigious stupidity! They did not understand and consider this, though it was notorious, to them especially, by many great and fresh instances, till it was too late to prevent it; therein being a type of most sinners, who will not be convinced, nor repent, till they be past all benefit by it.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

25. Took off their chariot wheels — Their chariots were entangled with each other, bemired, broken, and overturned in the awful confusion that ensued from the pouring rains, blinding lightnings, and appalling thunders. Yet this was but a premonition of what awaited them when the sea returned to his strength.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And took off their chariot wheels. The Sept. has clogged the axles of their chariots; " but this is from a reading not at present found in the Hebrew MSS. Most modern commentators, however, prefer the reading, which gives a good sense; whereas the existing text is unintelligible. As Kalisch observes, if the wheels of the chariots had been broken off, the chariots would not have moved at all. " That they drove them heavily. The marginal rendering, and made them go heavily," is preferable. The wheels no doubt sank into the sand up to the axles, and were with difficulty extricated, again to sink a few yards further on.

Progress was thus greatly retarded. So that the Egyptians said, Let us flee. " Literally, And Egypt said, "I will flee. The Lord fighteth for them. Compare the promise of Moses (ver. 14). The Egyptians were convinced, by the various obstacles which they encountered, that Jehovah was lending his people active aid, and miraculously obstructing their advance. If this were so, it was of no use to persevere, and accordingly they began their retreat.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

They had driven furiously, but now they drove heavily, and found themselves embarrassed at every step; the way grew deep, their hearts grew sad, their wheels dropt off, and the axle-trees failed. They had been flying upon the back of Israel as the hawk upon the dove; but now they cried, Let us flee from the face of Israel.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

"And (Jehovah) made the wheels of his (the Egyptian's) chariots give way, and made, that he (the Egyptian) drove in difficulty." נהג ".ytlucif to drive a chariot (Sa2 6:3, cf. Kg2 9:20).

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

‎ויסר את אפן מרכבותיו AND HE REMOVED THEIR CHARIOT WHEELS — Through the power of the fire of the pillar of fire the wheels were burnt and the chariots were thus dragged along and those who were sitting in them were thrown about and their limbs were all put out of joint (cf. Mekhilta).

וינהגהו בכבדות signifies: And He treated them with a treatment that was hard and harsh to them. In the measure that they (the Egyptians) had meted out to the Israelites was it meted out to them, for (9:34) “He hardened his heart, he and his servants”, and therefore here: “He treated them (the Egyptians) in a hard manner” (cf. Mekhilta).

נלחם להם במצרים FIGHTETH FOR THEM במצריים — means against the Egyptians. Another explanation of במצרים is: in the land of Egypt, for just as these were smitten at the Sea so, too, were smitten those who remained in Egypt (cf. Mekhilta).

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.