What does רֶכֶב (rekeb) mean in the Bible?
H7393 names a vehicle, chariot corps, wagon, cavalry, or in one image the upper millstone. 6, Pharaoh prepares his chariot and army to pursue the people he had enslaved.
Hebrew · H7393
רֶכֶב
A vehicle ; by implication, a team ; by extension, cavalry ; by analogy a rider , i.e. the upper millstone
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רֶכֶבH7393
Pronunciationrekeb
What does רֶכֶב (rekeb) mean in the Bible?
H7393 names a vehicle, chariot corps, wagon, cavalry, or in one image the upper millstone. 6, Pharaoh prepares his chariot and army to pursue the people he had enslaved.
Reader summary
Full entry for רֶכֶב (H7393) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H7393?
The BSB source-word alignment has 120 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include Chariots (30), and chariots (12), the chariots (8), his chariot (5), his chariots (5).
Where does רֶכֶב (rekeb) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Genesis 50:9. Its strongest book concentrations include 2 Kings (20), 1 Kings (16), 2 Chronicles (14), Isaiah (11).
What This Word Actually Means
H7393 names a vehicle, chariot corps, wagon, cavalry, or in one image the upper millstone. In Exod. 14. 6, Pharaoh prepares his chariot and army to pursue the people he had enslaved. In 1Sam. 8. 12, Samuel warns that a king will conscript people to manufacture weapons and chariot equipment. In Ps. 20. 7, some trust in chariots and horses, but God's people remember the Lord's name.
H7393 opens teaching on military technology, conscription, state display, misplaced security, ordinary transport, and God breaking instruments of war. It does not forbid every vehicle, guarantee military defeat for believers' enemies, or make poor planning a form of faith.
How the Bible Uses It
H7393 ranges across war chariots, cavalry, wagons, royal processions, transport, and an upper millstone. Chariots can signify speed, prestige, coercive capacity, threat, or ordinary conveyance according to the scene.
- Exod.14.6
So Pharaoh prepared his chariot and took his army with him.
Pharaoh mobilizes chariot and army to recapture people leaving slavery, making the vehicle an instrument of imperial pursuit.
- 1Sam.8.12
He will appoint some for himself as commanders of thousands and of fifties, and others to plow his ground, to reap his harvest, and to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots.
Israel's requested king will conscript subjects to supply weapons and equipment for royal chariots.
- Ps.20.7
Some trust in chariots and others in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.
The psalm contrasts trust in military vehicles and horses with remembrance of the Lord's name.
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders ItChariots30×Genesis 50:9, Exodus 14:7, Exodus 14:23, Exodus 15:19
and chariots12×Exodus 14:9, Exodus 14:17, Deuteronomy 11:4, Joshua 11:4
the chariots8×Exodus 14:28, Judges 4:16, 2 Samuel 1:6, 2 Kings 2:12
his chariot5×Exodus 14:6, 2 Kings 8:21, 2 Kings 9:21, 2 Chronicles 18:30
his chariots5×Exodus 14:18, Judges 4:7, 1 Kings 16:9, 2 Kings 8:21
-3×Judges 4:13, 1 Kings 10:26, 2 Chronicles 1:14
in the chariot3×1 Kings 10:26, 2 Chronicles 1:14, 2 Chronicles 9:25
of chariots3×2 Kings 7:6, Isaiah 31:1, Jeremiah 47:3
When the chariot3×1 Kings 22:32, 1 Kings 22:33, 2 Chronicles 18:31
with chariots3×Joshua 24:6, Isaiah 22:6, Daniel 11:40
chariot2×1 Kings 22:31, 2 Chronicles 35:24
for chariots2×2 Kings 18:24, Isaiah 36:9
for his chariots2×1 Samuel 8:12, 1 Kings 9:19
for the chariots2×2 Samuel 8:4, 1 Chronicles 18:4
in his chariot2×2 Kings 9:24, 2 Kings 10:16
of his chariots2×1 Kings 9:22, 2 Chronicles 8:9
riders2×Isaiah 21:7
the chariot2×Jeremiah 51:21, Zechariah 9:10
the horses2×2 Samuel 8:4, 1 Chronicles 18:4
. . .1×2 Samuel 11:21
[for his] chariots1×2 Chronicles 8:6
[trust] in chariots1×Psalms 20:7
a chariot1×2 Kings 2:11
and chariot1×1 Kings 20:25
and rider1×Psalms 76:6
and riders1×Ezekiel 39:20
And the chariot1×1 Kings 22:38
And when the chariot1×2 Chronicles 18:32
charioteers1×2 Samuel 10:18
for chariot1×1 Kings 20:25
his charioteers1×Judges 4:15
in chariots1×Jeremiah 17:25
in his own chariot1×2 Kings 9:21
is his chariot1×Judges 5:28
millstone1×Judges 9:53
O chariots1×Jeremiah 46:9
of the chariot1×1 Kings 22:35
of the chariots1×Nahum 2:3
of their charioteers1×1 Chronicles 19:18
on chariots1×Jeremiah 22:4
or even an upper millstone1×Deuteronomy 24:6
the other chariots1×Exodus 14:7
the riders1×Isaiah 21:9
their chariots1×Exodus 14:26
With my many1×2 Kings 19:23
your chariots1×Nahum 2:13
Show sample aligned rows
Genesis 50:9רֶ֖כֶבtoChariotsNoun - masculine singularExodus 14:6רִכְבּ֑וֹtohis chariotNoun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singularExodus 14:7רֶ֙כֶב֙tochariotsNoun - masculine singularExodus 14:7רֶ֣כֶבtothe other chariotsNoun - masculine singular constructExodus 14:9רֶ֣כֶבtoand chariotsNoun - masculine singular constructExodus 14:17בְּרִכְבּ֖וֹtoand chariotsPreposition-b | Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singularExodus 14:18בְּרִכְבּ֖וֹtohis chariotsPreposition-b | Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singularExodus 14:23רִכְבּ֖וֹtochariotsNoun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singularExodus 14:26רִכְבּ֖וֹtotheir chariotsNoun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singularExodus 14:28הָרֶ֙כֶב֙tothe chariotsArticle | Noun - masculine singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowGenesis 50:9
Aligned rows120
Books represented19
Genesis1Exodus10Deuteronomy3Joshua4Judges91 Samuel22 Samuel51 Kings162 Kings201 Chronicles62 Chronicles14Psalms3Song Of Solomon1Isaiah11Jeremiah6Ezekiel4Daniel1Nahum3Zechariah1
Source forms
הָרֶ֔כֶב12xhā·re·ḵeḇ2 Samuel 8:4, 1 Kings 9:19, 1 Kings 10:26, 1 Kings 22:33
רֶ֣כֶב10xre·ḵeḇExodus 14:7, Exodus 14:9, Judges 4:13, 1 Kings 10:26
רֶ֔כֶב6xre·ḵeḇ2 Samuel 10:18, 1 Kings 10:26, 2 Kings 13:7, 1 Chronicles 19:18
רִכְבּ֖וֹ5xriḵ·bōwExodus 14:23, Exodus 14:26, Judges 4:7, 1 Kings 9:22
רֶ֖כֶב4xre·ḵeḇGenesis 50:9, Judges 9:53, 1 Chronicles 19:6, Jeremiah 51:21
רֶ֤כֶב4xre·ḵeḇJoshua 17:18, 2 Kings 2:12, Psalms 68:17, Ezekiel 23:24
הָרֶ֜כֶב3xhā·re·ḵeḇ1 Kings 22:32, 1 Kings 22:38, 2 Chronicles 18:31
הָרֶ֖כֶב3xhā·re·ḵeḇ2 Kings 8:21, 2 Chronicles 21:9, Nahum 2:3
Parsing patterns
Article | Noun - masculine singular29xExodus 14:28, Judges 4:15, Judges 4:16, 2 Samuel 1:6
Noun - masculine singular28xGenesis 50:9, Exodus 14:7, Judges 9:53, 1 Samuel 13:5
Noun - masculine singular construct14xExodus 14:7, Exodus 14:9, Joshua 17:18, Judges 1:19
Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular11xExodus 14:6, Exodus 14:23, Exodus 14:26, Judges 4:7
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular10xDeuteronomy 20:1, Deuteronomy 24:6, Joshua 11:4, 1 Kings 20:1
Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular6xExodus 14:17, Exodus 14:18, Exodus 15:19, 2 Kings 9:21
Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular3xJoshua 24:6, Isaiah 22:6, Daniel 11:40
Preposition-b, Article | Noun - masculine singular3xPsalms 20:7, Jeremiah 17:25, Jeremiah 22:4
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Do not identify a modern military, police force, or vehicle fleet as God's chariots from power or symbolism alone.
- Do not shame soldiers, veterans, victims of war, or people who need transportation by treating equipment itself as evil.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim that H7393 always symbolizes evil, empire, or divine judgment.
- Do not claim that reliance on God excuses unsafe vehicles, inadequate training, or negligent defense of vulnerable people.
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. Vehicle for riding or transport; primarily chariots; extends to cavalry forces and figuratively to grinding apparatus
Source Gloss
a vehicle ; by implication, a team ; by extension, cavalry ; by analogy a rider , i.e. the upper millstone
Extended definitionSource: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
Vehicle for riding or transport; primarily chariots; extends to cavalry forces and figuratively to grinding apparatus
a vehicle; by implication, a team; by extension, cavalry; by analogy a rider, i.e. the upper millstone BDB: chariotry Usage: chariot, (upper) millstone, multitude (from the margin), wagon.
Grammatical Forms
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
Selected Scripture Witness
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Biblical Witnesses
Military cavalry and war vehicles used in military invasion and warfare
Showing 1 selected witness from 120 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
רֶכֶב is built from this root:
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
For the Preacher and Teacher
H7393 represents concentrated mobility and power. Pharaoh's chariots pursue liberated slaves, showing technology placed at the service of an empire that refuses release. Samuel warns that monarchy will require workers, commanders, weapons, horses, and chariot equipment; military display has a labor and economic cost. Psalm 20 neither denies the reality of chariots nor praises tactical incompetence.
It refuses to make created capacity the object of ultimate trust. Prophets deepen that hope by envisioning chariots cut off and peace proclaimed to nations. Faithful application asks who builds powerful systems, who benefits, who is pursued, and what confidence the system creates. It uses transport for service and protection, resists coercive militarization, and trusts God without pretending that equipment, training, or prudent security are morally irrelevant.
Anchor passage
Ps.20.7
Doctrinal connections
- H7393: Pharaoh's chariots reveal military technology used to reverse liberation and restore slavery.
- H7393: royal chariot systems consume labor, resources, and people as Samuel warned.
- H7393: trust in the Lord relativizes military capacity without denying its material power.
- H7393: God can defeat superior equipment and expose the limits of imperial confidence.
- H7393: prophetic peace includes removal of chariots and the breaking of war's bow.
- H7393: vehicles and force receive moral meaning from purpose, stewardship, and effect on neighbors.
H7393 is a Hebrew noun for a vehicle or chariot, by extension a chariot force or riders, and by analogy an upper millstone. Number and military companions help distinguish an individual vehicle from cavalry or corps.
From Old to New Testament
Jesus enters Jerusalem on a donkey rather than a warhorse, fulfilling a prophecy that removes chariots and announces peace, while Revelation judges imperial military confidence under the Lamb. Jesus enters Jerusalem without a war chariot, embodying royal authority that does not depend on militarized spectacle.