80. Second Chariot Call for Prostration

From: Manners and Customs of the Bible By: James M. Freeman

• 1 min. read • grade level: 10

Genesis 41:43⁴³And he made him to ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried before him, Bow the knee: and he made him ruler over all the land of Egypt. (Genesis 41:43). He made him to ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried before him, Bow the knee.

1. The “second chariot” was either the one which followed immediately after the king’s in state processions, or it was an extra chariot used by the king as a reserve in case of emergency. See 2 Chronicles 35:24²⁴His servants therefore took him out of that chariot, and put him in the second chariot that he had; and they brought him to Jerusalem, and he died, and was buried in one of the sepulchres of his fathers. And all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah. (2 Chronicles 35:24).

2. The streets of modern Egyptian cities are so narrow that when an ordinary carriage passes through them it is customary to have an usher run before it to warn the people to get out of the way. In the case of Joseph, the command was to prostrate themselves, as they would do in the presence of royalty itself.

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