The term “horsepower” originated in the late 18th century with James Watt, the pioneering engineer who improved the steam engine (patented in 1769, produced in 1775). In order to market his engines to skeptical buyers, Watt needed a way to make their power understandable and relatable. He observed working horses in coal mines and estimated that a single horse could turn a mill wheel at a certain rate, ultimately defining one horsepower as 550 foot-pounds per second (coined around 1784). This wasn’t a precise biological measurement but rather a practical, slightly conservative benchmark that made it easier for customers to compare steam engines to the familiar labor of draft horses. The term stuck because it translated abstract mechanical output into something intuitive and concrete.

As the automotive industry emerged in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, manufacturers adopted horsepower as a standard measure to describe engine performance. Early car buyers, still accustomed to horse-drawn transport, immediately understood the comparison, making it an effective marketing and engineering metric. For example, the first car, the Benz Patent-Motorwagen (1886), produced less than 1 horsepower (around 0.75 hp) from a single-cylinder engine, while the Ford Model T (1908) reached 20 hp from a 4-cylinder engine.

Over time, horsepower became deeply embedded in automotive culture, symbolizing not just functional capability but also speed, status, and innovation. Even as more precise units like kilowatts are used in engineering and global markets today, horsepower remains the dominant term in consumer-facing contexts, especially in performance discussions, where it continues to evoke the raw, visceral power that first defined the age of mechanized transport.

Below are some modern-day examples:

One of the defining features of the Egyptian Empire during the time of the Exodus was literally their horsepower. Their horsedrawn chariots made the Egyptians the mightiest military power of their time, extending their political and military presence well beyond their natural borders. It helped them enslave millions of Jews and was the terror of the ancient near east.

The seventh day of Passover commemorates the miraculous defeat of the entire Egyptian armed forces at the Splitting of the Sea. In the Book of Exodus (chapters 13–15), the Jewish nation has  just been given permission by Pharaoh to leave Egypt after the devastation the Egyptians suffered from the Ten Plagues. However, Pharaoh then has a change of heart, regrets freeing them and pursues them with his entire armed forces.

The Jews, after having marched out of Egypt, suddenly find themselves trapped, with Pharaoh’s army closing in behind them and the sea in front of them. There is understandably great fear. God commands Moses to lift his staff and split the sea. A strong wind blows the entire night while a miraculous column of fire separates the Egyptian army from the Jews. Then the waters split, and the Jews walk through on dry land, with the sea on either side of them. The Egyptians follow them, but while the Jews successfully cross the sea, the sea returns to its natural state and drowns all the pursuing Egyptians.

Incredibly grateful, Moses and the entire Jewish nation break into song, what is known as “The Song of the Sea” and it to this day, it is an epic poem recited every morning as part of the prayer service. The Song of the Sea is recited with special intensity on the seventh day of Passover as well as being read from the Torah.

In practice, it’s a full Yom Tov (practically, a day of no labor allowed, similar to the Sabbath) in Israel (and two days outside of Israel). There are still all the regular Passover restrictions, namely no leavened products, and there are festive meals, but there’s no Seder like on the first night.

It’s a day that symbolizes complete redemption. The first day of Passover is when we started the journey out of Egypt. The seventh day is when we were completely free from their physical clutches and witnessed firsthand massive divine intervention and the complete destruction of our enemy’s military might.

May we witness it again, soon.