Chariot

A two-wheeled cart pulled by horses. In ancient times, they were used mainly for war, but also for races and important processions by kings or other high officials. Usually two men rode in a chariot—a driver and a warrior. In some countries, a third man with a shield also rode along.

Joseph rode in Pharaoh’s second chariot in Egypt. When the people of Israel left Egypt, Pharaoh’s warriors went after them with chariots that became stuck in the mud at the bottom of the Red Sea. Sisera was the commander of the Canaanite army, which had nine hundred chariots. Chariots were not so useful in hilly areas. David and Solomon added chariots to their armies. The strangest chariot mentioned in the Bible was the chariot of fire that came to take Elijah to heaven.