Drive and / or Ride in O.T

Abstract

1. The Bible translator will often be in doubt, whether he should translate the verb rkb by 'ride' or 'drive'. This is not surprising as its basic meaning is 'mount', and it is used both about (mounting and) riding upon a (or on any other animal) and of (mounting and) driving a chariot. The substantive ratkab, however, means vehicle and corresponds to the German 'Fahrzeug'. It is as a rule used collectively = chariotry, chariot park, but can also be used of a single chariot 1), which is normally called mrerkabd2). In the collective sense rekaeb can implicitly include the horses belonging to the chariotry; this is evidently the case in 2 Sam. viii 4, x 18. As a classical example of the ambiguity of the root and the difficulties of the translator we may mention Ex. xv 1,21, where AV translates sus werikbo horse and its rider, which may also be the opinion of MT. As, however, we now know that the Egyptians at that time had no cavalry, but used war chariots drawn by horses, one is strongly inclined to vocalize rikbo or read raka,b instead of rokebo, and translate: 'horse(s) and its (their) chariot(s)'. This single instance suffices to show that the question can only be settled against the background of 'archaeology', i.e., in the context of the history of civilization in the ancient East. Now J. WIESNER has written an excellent study on the question: Fahren und Reiten in Alteuropa und im alten Orient ( = Der Alte Orient 38, 2-4, Leipzig 1939). Accordingly, we start with a short expose of the results which he has reached, as far as they are relevant to our problem. It is unnecessary to deal here with origins and prehistorical times. WIESNER himself summarizes his results as follows: