And I brought your fathers out of Egypt: and ye came unto the sea; and the Egyptians pursued after your fathers with chariots and horsemen unto the Red sea.

JOSHUA 24:6KJV
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Joshua 24:6 (KJV)

What does Joshua 24:6 mean?

Joshua 24:6 recalls how God brought the Israelites’ ancestors out of Egypt and led them to the sea, while the Egyptians chased after them with chariots and horsemen all the way to the Red Sea. The verse highlights God’s role in rescuing the Israelites from their pursuers during the Exodus.

In this verse, Joshua is speaking to the gathered tribes of Israel, reminding them of their history and God’s actions on their behalf. The setting is a covenant renewal ceremony at Shechem, where Joshua is recounting key moments in Israel’s journey from slavery to freedom. The verse emphasizes the danger the Israelites faced and God’s direct intervention in their deliverance.

The Hebrew behind Joshua 24:6

  • "Brought" (הוֹצֵאתִי, hotse'ti) means to bring out or lead out. This word underlines God’s active role in freeing the Israelites from Egypt, not just allowing them to leave but personally leading them out.
  • "Red" (סוּף, suf) in "Red Sea" is often understood as "reed," which may refer to a body of water with reeds rather than the modern Red Sea. This detail helps clarify the geography and the nature of the crossing described in the Exodus story.

Why Joshua 24:6 matters

  • Joshua 24:6 reminds the Israelites that their freedom was not achieved by their own strength but by God’s intervention, reinforcing the theme of dependence on God.
  • The verse connects the people’s present to their past, grounding their identity in God’s saving acts and setting up the call for loyalty that follows in the chapter.
  • By mentioning the Egyptians’ pursuit with chariots and horsemen, Joshua stresses the real and immediate danger the Israelites faced, making God’s deliverance even more dramatic and memorable.

Where else these words appear

“Red” Hebrew H5488 · used in 28 verses

  • Exodus 2:3 And when she could not longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein; and she laid it in the flags by the river's brink.
  • Numbers 33:10 And they removed from Elim, and encamped by the Red sea.
  • Nehemiah 9:9 And didst see the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, and heardest their cry by the Red sea;

“horsemen” Hebrew H6571 · used in 54 verses

  • Genesis 50:9 And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen: and it was a very great company.
  • 1 Kings 10:26 And Solomon gathered together chariots and horsemen: and he had a thousand and four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, whom he bestowed in the cities for chariots, and with the king at Jerusalem.
  • Isaiah 22:6 And Elam bare the quiver with chariots of men and horsemen, and Kir uncovered the shield.

“chariots” Hebrew H7393 · used in 104 verses

  • Genesis 50:9 And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen: and it was a very great company.
  • 1 Kings 16:9 And his servant Zimri, captain of half his chariots, conspired against him, as he was in Tirzah, drinking himself drunk in the house of Arza steward of his house in Tirzah.
  • 2 Chronicles 12:3 With twelve hundred chariots, and threescore thousand horsemen: and the people were without number that came with him out of Egypt; the Lubims, the Sukkiims, and the Ethiopians.

“pursued” Hebrew H7291 · used in 135 verses

  • Genesis 14:14 And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained servants, born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them unto Dan.
  • Judges 8:5 And he said unto the men of Succoth, Give, I pray you, loaves of bread unto the people that follow me; for they be faint, and I am pursuing after Zebah and Zalmunna, kings of Midian.
  • Psalms 69:26 For they persecute him whom thou hast smitten; and they talk to the grief of those whom thou hast wounded.