The children of Israel cried to Yahweh: for he had nine hundred chariots of iron; and twenty years he mightily oppressed the children of Israel.
The Canaanites’ 900 iron war chariots gave them complete control of the flatter and dryer portions of this area. The Israelites had to live in the hills. These chariots were state-of-the-art weapons at this time. Compare Pharaoh’s chariots in the Exodus account. Chapter 5 also recalls the Exodus.