לָא֖וֹפַנִּ֑ים לָהֶ֛ם קוֹרָ֥א הַגַּלְגַּ֖ל בְּאָזְנָֽי׃
Adapun roda-roda itu, kudengar dengan telingaku sendiri mereka dipanggil “Galgal”.
Rabbeinu Bahya
A scientific approach: “the word אופן is the same as גלגל, “wheel.” We find in Ezekiel 10,13 that the אופנים are equated with גלגלים. In that context neither אופן or גלגל is a physical wheel; it is a reference to celestial forces which cause the orbits of planets, etc., i.e. “the wheels which make the universe go round.” G’d removed one of such “wheels” [hence the singular, Ed] so that the Egyptians were stymied.
Targum Yonathan ben Uziel on Ezekiel 1,15 translates the word אופן in והנה אופן אחד בארץ, as “גלגלא,” wheel. The author quotes additional verses on the word אופן. The point that he makes is it that just as we have a rule (Shemot Rabbah 21,5) that G’d does not punish a nation here on earth until He has first dealt with its celestial representative, so here too, the physical chariots did not disintegrate until after G’d had dealt a blow to their celestial counterparts. Hence the Torah used the word אופן to describe His interference with the Egyptians’ celestial assistants. Immediately afterwards the wheels of their chariots on the terrestrial plane moved only “with extreme sluggishness.“ According to the Midrash the specific planet, i.e. its orbit, was the planet Mars under whose auspices wars are fought. The word אופן is spelled defective with the letter ו missing so that we have the word אפן. The numerical value of the three letters of אפן equals 131, i.e. the same as סמא'ל, Satan, the angel of death. In other words, removal of the letter ו from the Egyptians’ chariots spelled death for them. You will observe that the forces represented by the chariots, both terrestrial and celestial, are already alluded to in their respective names.
This is important so that we should not confuse the issue by thinking that the Egyptians’ mazzal, horoscope, had decreed this death upon them at that time. The Egyptians mazzal, i.e. the name of the celestial representative of Egypt is עזא as we have explained on a previous occasion (end of verse 10) when we discussed who was journeying in the lead behind the Israelites. There is a play on words there as the guardian angel or “celestial representative” of a nation is named similarly to the nation it represents as we know from Genesis 12,6 “והכנעני אז בארץ;” compare what we wrote there.
Targum Yonathan ben Uziel on Ezekiel 1,15 translates the word אופן in והנה אופן אחד בארץ, as “גלגלא,” wheel. The author quotes additional verses on the word אופן. The point that he makes is it that just as we have a rule (Shemot Rabbah 21,5) that G’d does not punish a nation here on earth until He has first dealt with its celestial representative, so here too, the physical chariots did not disintegrate until after G’d had dealt a blow to their celestial counterparts. Hence the Torah used the word אופן to describe His interference with the Egyptians’ celestial assistants. Immediately afterwards the wheels of their chariots on the terrestrial plane moved only “with extreme sluggishness.“ According to the Midrash the specific planet, i.e. its orbit, was the planet Mars under whose auspices wars are fought. The word אופן is spelled defective with the letter ו missing so that we have the word אפן. The numerical value of the three letters of אפן equals 131, i.e. the same as סמא'ל, Satan, the angel of death. In other words, removal of the letter ו from the Egyptians’ chariots spelled death for them. You will observe that the forces represented by the chariots, both terrestrial and celestial, are already alluded to in their respective names.
This is important so that we should not confuse the issue by thinking that the Egyptians’ mazzal, horoscope, had decreed this death upon them at that time. The Egyptians mazzal, i.e. the name of the celestial representative of Egypt is עזא as we have explained on a previous occasion (end of verse 10) when we discussed who was journeying in the lead behind the Israelites. There is a play on words there as the guardian angel or “celestial representative” of a nation is named similarly to the nation it represents as we know from Genesis 12,6 “והכנעני אז בארץ;” compare what we wrote there.