Captains of Chariots

Captains Of Chariots (Ex 15:4) might be supposed to denote the officer or officers who had charge of the chariot forces, but the literal meaning is mounted third men (שָׁלַישַׁים). This passage seems obscure, but a picture from an Egyptian tomb (the Rameseium of Thebes), nearly or quite as ancient as the period to which the above-cited passage relates, furnishes a key to this otherwise difficult expression. It represents three men standing upon a chariot, two of whom are prepared for action, and the third manages the horses (compare the large cut above of the Assyrian chariot). They were probably selected for their valor, and perhaps formed by themselves a distinct division of the army, and each had its distinct officer (Ex 14:7). SEE CAPTAINS.