Kommentar zu Schemot 14:7

בחור means CHOSEN. The word בחור is singular number — the idea is: each and every chariot in that number was a selected one.

וכל רכב מצרים, the chariots of average quality of which there were many.

רכב בחור. armoured vehicles of the best category.

ויקח שש מאות רכב, “He took 600 chariots.” Rashi, basing himself on the Mechilta, in answering the question where Pharaoh took the horses from which pulled these chariots, seeing that all the livestock supposedly had been killed by the fifth plague of pestilence, points out that the Torah had reported that the livestock of the farmers who had heeded Moses’ warning, took their animals indoors, so that they survived that plague. This prompted Rabbi Shimon in Tanchuma Beshalach 8 to coin the phrase that טוב שבגויים הרוג, “that the only good gentile is a dead one.” The Jerusalem Talmud limits the applicability of this proverb to periods when the gentiles are at war with us. The version there is that “the gentiles are considered as irrelevant.” According to this approach, when Rashi commented on our verse (9,20) that “the people who heeded G’d’s warning took their animals indoors,” this is not an appropriate comment, as any animals which at the time had not been outdoors for any reason were also saved, without their owners being rewarded for heeding G’d’s warning. Horses and mules, which are used for transporting humans, are generally kept in stables indoors so as to be at hand when their owners need them, so that the whole question of whence these animals came from appears superfluous.

ויקח שש מאות רכב, “He took six hundred chariots, etc.” Rashi queries where these chariots, or better their horses came from seeing that the Torah had told us in 9,3-6 that all the domestic beasts of Egypt died during the plague of pestilence. Moreover, the Israelites had said that they would take all their livestock with them (10,26) so that Pharaoh could not have requisitioned animals belonging to the Israelites. Rashi, i.e. Mechilta, concludes that these animals must have belonged to the people described in 9,20 as having feared the word of G’d, i.e. the warning preceding the plague, and who had therefore taken their livestock indoors. This would demonstrate that G’d-fearing Egyptians could become a source of trouble for the Jews. It teaches the truth of what Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai is quoted as saying in Massechet Sofrim chapter 15 that the best of the Egyptians were killed at the Sea and that the best of the snakes ought still to have their heads smashed. The statement is traced to our verse here. The meaning of the statement is that only in time of war is it permissible to kill such Egyptians seeing that by making war against you they have revealed their true attitude. Under such conditions we may apply the advice or instruction of Sanhedrin 72 that when someone signals that he is going to kill us we may take preemptive action and kill him first. During times of peace, however, it is not permissible to kill such people. We know this because even the seven Canaanite nations concerning whom the Torah demanded that we exterminate males, females and children (Deut. 20,16) unless they vacate the land of Canaan, were given an offer to emigrate before the Jewish people went to war against them.
On the other hand, when the hostility of such nations or individuals is directed against G’d Himself, such as the hostility of the Egyptians, it is permitted to kill such people even in times of peace (with the Jewish people) as this is considered a holy war, a war on behalf of G’d. Once the Egyptians had observed the killing of the firstborn, a punishment performed by G’d personally, not by agents of His who operate within nature all the time, their intent in pursuing the Jewish people was clearly directed against G’d. This is what prompted G’d to say to Moses (14,14): “G’d will fight on your behalf, you just remain silent.” G’d had become obligated to drown those people.

Selected. . . Rashi is answering the question: Why does it not say בחורים (plural form)? The answer is: Had it said בחורים we would think [it meant “young men,”] as in Devarim (32:25), “The young man ( בחור ) and the young woman ( בתולה )” — and it comes to exclude the elderly. Therefore it says בחור (singular form), which means “selected” — to convey that all the 600 chariots were select. And since בחור in fact refers to the 600, which is plural, Rashi writes [ נבחרים ] in the plural form.

V. 7. בחור ist überall die auserlesene Kriegsmannschaft. So:מאה ושמנים אלף בחור (Kön. I. 12, 21 und sonst). — וכל רכב מצרים, die ersten waren Kriegswagen; diese waren Transportwagen. Es galt vor allem, Israel so rasch als möglich wieder einzuholen, bevor es etwa aus der verzweifelten Lage, in welcher er es glaubte, wieder entkommen sein mochte. Er suchte daher so viel als nur immer möglich das ganze Heer auf Wagen zu transportieren.

וכל רכב מצרים signifies AND with these were ALL THE other CHARIOTS OF EGYPT. And whence came all these animals required for the chariots? If you say that they were from the cattle of the Egyptians — but you know it is stated, (Exodus 9:6) “And all the cattle of the Egyptians died”. And if you say that they were from the Israelites’ cattle — but is it not stated, (Exodus 10:26) “Our cattle, also, shall go with us”! Then whose were they? They were of those “who feared the word of the Lord” and saved their cattle by bringing them into their stables (Exodus 9:20). Deriving it from here (on account of this fact) R. Simeon said: The best amongst the Egyptians — kill him (otherwise he will afterwards devise evil against you); the best amongst the serpents — crush its brains (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 14:7:1).

ושלישים על כלו, Pharaoh appointed experienced officers even for the chariots of this second cadre. שלישים are officers who have battle experience to their credit. The aggressive ability of any army depends on its officer corps and the intelligence of the generals to devise schemes and battle plans which will lead to victory.

ושלשים, high ranking officers. We know this from the description of who was drowned in Moses’ song of thanks ומבחר שלישיו טובעו בים סוף, “and the pick of his officers are drowned in the Sea of Reeds.” (Exodus 15,4)

כל סוס רכב פרעה, “all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh.” Ibn Ezra says that the point made by the verse is that all these chariots traveled as a unit, not each one separately.

ושלישים על כלו, “with captains on all of them.” As per Onkelos, i.e. skilled warriors on each chariot. An alternative meaning could be that Pharaoh divided his army into three groups; this would account for the fact that we read about three separate parts of Pharaoh’s army drowning. The Torah mentions separately: “all the army of Pharaoh who had entered the Sea behind the Israelites” (14,28); in 15,4 the Torah speaks of the chariots being drowned in the Sea; in 15,19 the Torah adds that Pharaoh’s horse and its riders with its chariots had entered the Sea, etc.

And along with them, all the remaining chariots. Rashi is answering the question: First it is written that Pharaoh took only 600 chariots. Why then is it written afterward, “All the chariots of Egypt”? Furthermore, once it is written, “All the chariots of Egypt,” why does it need to say, “600 chariots”? Thus Rashi explains, “Along with them.” In other words, Pharaoh took only 600. But those 600 [chariot commanders] had servants [with their own chariots,] and they also went along with Pharaoh, of their own accord.

ושלשים על כלו means army-captains, as the Targum has it.