Albert Barnes Commentary Exodus 13:18

"but God led the people about, by the way of the wilderness by the Red Sea: and the children of Israel went up armed out of the land of Egypt." — Exodus 13:18 (ASV)

Harnessed — More probably, “marshalled” or “in orderly array.” There is not the least indication that the Israelites had been disarmed by the Egyptians, and as occupying a frontier district frequently assailed by the nomads of the desert they would of necessity be accustomed to the use of arms. Compare Exodus 1:10.