Reference: Horse
Easton
always referred to in the Bible in connection with warlike operations, except Isa 28:28. The war-horse is described Job 39:19-25. For a long period after their settlement in Canaan the Israelites made no use of horses, according to the prohibition, De 17:16. David was the first to form a force of cavalry (2Sa 8:4). But Solomon, from his connection with Egypt, greatly multiplied their number (1Ki 4:26; 10:26,29). After this, horses were freely used in Israel (1Ki 22:4; 2Ki 3:7; 9:21,33; 11:16). The furniture of the horse consisted simply of a bridle (Isa 30:28) and a curb (Ps 32:9).
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And he is not to get together a great army of horses for himself, or make the people go back to Egypt to get horses for him: because the Lord has said, You will never again go back that way.
And David took from him one thousand, seven hundred horsemen and twenty thousand footmen: and David had the leg-muscles of the horses cut, only keeping enough of them for a hundred war-carriages.
And Solomon had four thousand boxed-off spaces for horses for his carriages, and twelve thousand horsemen.
And Solomon got together war-carriages and horsemen; he had one thousand, four hundred carriages and twelve thousand horsemen, whom he kept, some in the carriage-towns and some with the king at Jerusalem.
A war-carriage might be got from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty; they got them at the same rate for all the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Aram.
And he said to Jehoshaphat, Will you go with me to Ramoth-gilead to make war? And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, I am as you are: my people as your people, my horses as your horses.
Do you give strength to the horse? is it by your hand that his neck is clothed with power? Is it through you that he is shaking like a locust, in the pride of his loud-sounding breath? read more. He is stamping with joy in the valley; he makes sport of fear. In his strength he goes out against the arms of war, turning not away from the sword. The bow is sounding against him; he sees the shining point of spear and arrow. Shaking with passion, he is biting the earth; he is not able to keep quiet at the sound of the horn; When it comes to his ears he says, Aha! He is smelling the fight from far off, and hearing the thunder of the captains, and the war-cries.
Do not be like the horse or the ass, without sense; ...
Is the grain for bread crushed? He does not go on crushing it for ever, but he lets his cart-wheels and his horses go over it without crushing it.
And his breath is as an overflowing stream, coming up even to the neck, shaking the nations for their destruction, like the shaking of grain in a basket: and he will put a cord in the mouths of the people, turning them out of their way.
Fausets
In Scripture used for war-like purposes, not agriculture (except in treading out grain for threshing, Isa 28:28, where for "horsemen" translated "horses".) Job's magnificent description refers to the war horse (Isa 39:8), "hast thou clothed his neck with thunder?" i.e. with the power of inspiring terror. Rather "with majesty" (Umbreit), "with quivering mane" (Maurer). The Greek connection between mane (fobee) and terror (fobos) favors A.V. which is more poetic. "Canst thou make him afraid (rather 'make him spring') as a grasshopper?" So in Joe 2:4 war horses are compared to locusts. Their heads are so like that the Italian for "locust" is cavaletta, "little horse." "The glory of his nostrils is terrible: he paweth in the valley and rejoiceth in strength, he goeth on," etc.; "he swalloweth the ground with fierceness," i.e. draws it in fierce impatience toward him with his hoof, as if he would "swallow" it.
Neither believeth he (for joy) that it is the sound of the trumpet, rather "he will not stand still at the sound." "He saith among the trumpets, Ha, ha!" his mettlesome neighing expressing his eagerness for battle, which "he smelleth," snuffeth, i.e. discerneth, "the thunder (i.e. thundering voice) of the captains." (See CHARIOT.) The donkey is the emblem of peace. The bride is compared to "a company of horses in Pharaoh's chariots" (Song 1:9), namely, in ardor and beauty (Song 1:4, "run"; Song 1:5, "comely"), and in forming "a company" militant, orderly, and numerous (Re 19:7,14). The qualities which seemed preeminent in the enemy Pharaoh's hosts at the Red Sea really belonged to Israel. Maurer translated "I compare thee to my mare in chariots of (i.e. received from) Pharaoh," but the plural "chariots" requires the collective sense "a company of horses."
The "cutting off of the horse from Jerusalem" prophetically symbolizes the cessation of war (Zec 9:10). Not the horse's speed or utility but his "strength" is his characteristic in Scripture (Ps 33:17). Two names are used in Hebrew, both Persian in origin: sus from Susa, and parash from Pares. The sus was of stronger make, used for the war chariot; the parash more for riding. Perhaps in Ex 14:9 "horsemen" mean "chariot riders." Certainly no Egyptian monument represents horsemen. Translated in 1Ki 4:26, "forty (rather 'four,' a copyist's error, as 2Ch 9:25 proves. Also 1400 chariots suit 4000 horses, two horses for each chariot and a reserve horse: 2Ch 1:14; 1Ki 10:26) thousand chariot horses and twelve thousand riding (i.e. cavalry) horses"; Eze 27:14, "with (chariot) horses and riding horses" (KJV "horsemen".)
Isa 21:7, "a chariot with a couple of horsemen"; rather "a cavalcade of horsemen riding in pairs." In 1Ki 4:28; Es 8:14; Mic 1:13, rekesh "dromedary"; rather "a courser," a "racehorse," for such purposes as the royal post. In 1Ki 10:28-29, the sense seems that the Egyptians regularly brought horses to a mart in S. Palestine (Septuagint and Vulgate name the mart in their translation), of the Hebrew Koa. In A. V. Mi-Kveh is translated "linen yarn") and handed them to the king's dealers at a fixed price, 150 shekels for one horse, 600 for a chariot, including its two draught horses and one reserve horse. In Ge 12:15 horses are not mentioned among the possessions which Abram acquired during his sojourn in Egypt. But in Ge 47:17 they stand foremost among the Egyptians' possessions. In later times, the greater contact of Egypt with Canaanite and Arab nomads' accounts for the introduction of horses.
The camel, one of Abram's possessions in Egypt, is not mentioned in Joseph's time nor on the Egyptian monuments. Their early possession of the desert of Sinai makes it certain they knew and must have used the camel there, "the ship of the desert," but they avoid mentioning it as being unclean. Saddles were not used until a late period. Horses' hoofs hard "as flint" were a good point in days when shoeing was unknown (Isa 5:28). White horses were emblematic of victory (Re 6:2; 19:11,14). Horses were consecrated to the sun, since that luminary was supposed to drive a fiery chariot through the sky (2Ki 23:11). They were driven in procession to meet the rising sun.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And Pharaoh's great men, having seen her, said words in praise of her to Pharaoh, and she was taken into Pharaoh's house.
So they took their cattle to Joseph and he gave them bread in exchange for their horses and flocks and herds and asses, so all that year he gave them food in exchange for their cattle.
But the Egyptians went after them, all the horses and carriages of Pharaoh, and his horsemen, and his army, and overtook them in their tents by the sea, by Pihahiroth, before Baal-zephon.
And Solomon had four thousand boxed-off spaces for horses for his carriages, and twelve thousand horsemen.
And they took grain and dry grass for the horses and the carriage-horses, to the right place, every man as he was ordered.
And Solomon's horses came from Egypt and from Kue; the king's traders got them at a price from Kue. A war-carriage might be got from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty; they got them at the same rate for all the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Aram.
And he took away the horses which the kings of Judah had given to the sun, at the way into the house of the Lord, by the room of Nathan-melech, the unsexed servant, which was in the outer part of the building, and the carriages of the sun he put on fire.
And Solomon got together war-carriages and horsemen; he had one thousand, four hundred carriages and twelve thousand horsemen, which he kept, some in the carriage-towns and some with the king at Jerusalem.
Solomon had four thousand buildings for his horses and his war-carriages, and twelve thousand horsemen whom he kept, some in the carriage-towns and some with the king in Jerusalem.
So the men went out on the quick-running horses used on the king's business, wasting no time and forced on by the king's order; and the order was given out in Shushan, the king's town.
A horse is a false hope; his great power will not make any man free from danger.
Take me to you, and we will go after you: the king has taken me into his house. We will be glad and full of joy in you, we will give more thought to your love than to wine: rightly are they your lovers. I am dark, but fair of form, O daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon.
I have made a comparison of you, O my love, to a horse in Pharaoh's carriages.
Their arrows are sharp, and every bow is bent: the feet of their horses are like rock, and their wheels are like a rushing storm.
And when he sees war-carriages, horsemen by twos, war-carriages with asses, war-carriages with camels, let him give special attention.
Is the grain for bread crushed? He does not go on crushing it for ever, but he lets his cart-wheels and his horses go over it without crushing it.
Then said Hezekiah to Isaiah, Good is the word of the Lord which you have said. And he said in his heart, There will be peace and quiet in my days.
The people of Togarmah gave horses and war-horses and transport beasts for your goods.
Their form is like the form of horses, and they are running like war-horses.
Let the war-carriage be yoked to the quick-running horse, you who are living in Lachish: she was the first cause of sin to the daughter of Zion; for the wrongdoings of Israel were seen in you.
And he will have the war-carriage cut off from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the bow of war will be cut off: and he will say words of peace to the nations: and his rule will be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.
And I saw a white horse, and he who was seated on it had a bow; and there was given to him a crown: and he went out with power to overcome.
Let us be glad with delight, and let us give glory to him: because the time is come for the Lamb to be married, and his wife has made herself ready.
And the heaven was open; and I saw a white horse, and he who was seated on it was named Certain and True; and he is judging and making war in righteousness.
And the armies which are in heaven went after him on white horses, clothed in delicate linen, white and clean.
And the armies which are in heaven went after him on white horses, clothed in delicate linen, white and clean.
Hastings
The Israelites must have been acquainted with horses in Egypt (Ge 47:17), and it is evident, too, from the Tell el-Amarna correspondence that horses were familiar animals in Palestine at an early period; but it would appear that the children of Israel were slow in adopting them. Throughout the OT up to the Exile they appear only as war-horses; the ass, the mule, and the camel were the beasts for riding and burden-bearing. Even for warlike purposes horses were only slowly adopted, the mountainous regions held by the Israelites being unsuitable for chariot warfare. David commenced acquiring chariots (2Sa 8:4), and Solomon greatly added to their numbers, obtaining horses for them from Musri [not Mizraim, 'Egypt'] in N. Syria and Kue, in Cilicia (1Ki 10:28; 2Ch 1:16 [amending the text]). Horses were obtained also from Egypt (31/1/type/bbe'>Isa 31:1,3; Eze 17:15). Some of the references may be to hired horsemen. The kings of Israel were warned against multiplying horses (De 17:16). Trust in horses is put in antithesis to trust in the Lord (Isa 30:16; Ps 20:7; 33:17). Before the reforms of Josiah, horses sacred to the sun were kept in the Temple (2Ki 23:11; cf. 2Ki 11:16). The appearance of the war-horse seems to have made a deep impression (Job 39:19-25; Jer 47:3; Na 3:2 etc.). After the Exile horses were much more common: the returning Jews brought 736 horses with them (Ne 7:68). Horses were fed on barley and tibn (chopped straw) in Solomon's time as in Palestine to-day (1Ki 4:28). Although the breeding of horses has become so intimately associated with our ideas of the Arabs, it would seem that during the whole OT period horses were unknown, or at least scarce, in Arabia. The equipment of horses is mentioned in the Bible
See Verses Found in Dictionary
So they took their cattle to Joseph and he gave them bread in exchange for their horses and flocks and herds and asses, so all that year he gave them food in exchange for their cattle.
And he is not to get together a great army of horses for himself, or make the people go back to Egypt to get horses for him: because the Lord has said, You will never again go back that way.
And David took from him one thousand, seven hundred horsemen and twenty thousand footmen: and David had the leg-muscles of the horses cut, only keeping enough of them for a hundred war-carriages.
And they took grain and dry grass for the horses and the carriage-horses, to the right place, every man as he was ordered.
And Solomon's horses came from Egypt and from Kue; the king's traders got them at a price from Kue.
So they put their hands on her, and she went to the king's house by the doorway of the horses, and there she was put to death.
And he took away the horses which the kings of Judah had given to the sun, at the way into the house of the Lord, by the room of Nathan-melech, the unsexed servant, which was in the outer part of the building, and the carriages of the sun he put on fire.
They had seven hundred and thirty-six horses, two hundred and forty-five transport beasts;
Do you give strength to the horse? is it by your hand that his neck is clothed with power? Is it through you that he is shaking like a locust, in the pride of his loud-sounding breath? read more. He is stamping with joy in the valley; he makes sport of fear. In his strength he goes out against the arms of war, turning not away from the sword. The bow is sounding against him; he sees the shining point of spear and arrow. Shaking with passion, he is biting the earth; he is not able to keep quiet at the sound of the horn; When it comes to his ears he says, Aha! He is smelling the fight from far off, and hearing the thunder of the captains, and the war-cries.
Some put their faith in carriages and some in horses; but we will be strong in the name of the Lord our God.
Do not be like the horse or the ass, without sense; ...
A horse is a false hope; his great power will not make any man free from danger.
A whip for the horse, a mouth-bit for the ass, and a rod for the back of the foolish.
Their arrows are sharp, and every bow is bent: the feet of their horses are like rock, and their wheels are like a rushing storm.
Saying, No, for we will go in flight on horses; so you will certainly go in flight: and, We will go on the backs of quick-running beasts; so those who go after you will be quick-footed.
Cursed are those who go down to Egypt for help, and who put their faith in horses; looking to war-carriages for salvation, because of their numbers; and to horsemen, because they are very strong; but they are not looking to the Holy One of Israel, or turning their hearts to the Lord;
For the Egyptians are men, and not God; and their horses are flesh, and not spirit: and when the Lord's hand is stretched out, the helper and he who is helped will come down together.
At the noise of the stamping of the feet of his war-horses, at the rushing of his carriages and the thunder of his wheels, fathers will give no thought to their children, because their hands are feeble;
But he went against his authority in sending representatives to Egypt to get from them horses and a great army. Will he do well? will he be safe who does such things? if the agreement is broken will he be safe?
Dedan did trade with you in cloths for the backs of horses.
The noise of the whip, and the noise of thundering wheels; horses rushing and war-carriages jumping,
On that day all the bells of the horses will be holy to the Lord, and the pots in the Lord's house will be like the basins before the altar.
Morish
The horse was used among the Israelites only for war, either in chariots or for what is now called cavalry; but its use betokened failure in confidence on the Lord: see Ho 14:3. They had been forbidden to multiply horses, De 17:16; and at first they hamstrung the horses, and burnt the chariots of the Canaanites. Jos 11:6,9. David, however, after the defeat of Hadadezer, reserved 100 horses for chariots. 2Sa 8:4. (See a description of the war-horse in Job 39:19-25.) Solomon had 40,000 stalls of horses for his chariots and 12,000 horsemen. 1Ki 4:26.
Symbolically the horse represents careering imperial power, in general providentially controlled. In the early part of Zechariah the prophet had visions of horses of different colours, they are called spirits of the heavens, and as such they acted in the four great Gentile empires described by Daniel. When these are further spoken of, the red horses are not named, for the Chaldean empire had passed away when Zechariah saw the vision. Zec 1:8; 6:1-7.
In the Revelation also there are horses and riders thereon, representing the powers engaged in the providential course of God's dealings. Re 6:1-8; cf. 9/7/type/bbe'>Re 9:7,9,17. In Rev. 19 the Lord Jesus, the Faithful and True, comes forth on a white horse, to make war in righteousness. Re 19:11-21. See REVELATION.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And he is not to get together a great army of horses for himself, or make the people go back to Egypt to get horses for him: because the Lord has said, You will never again go back that way.
And the Lord said to Joshua, Have no fear of them: for tomorrow at this time I will give them all up dead before Israel; you are to have the leg-muscles of their horses cut and their war-carriages burned with fire.
And Joshua did to them as the Lord had said to him; he had the leg-muscles of their horses cut and their war-carriages burned with fire.
And David took from him one thousand, seven hundred horsemen and twenty thousand footmen: and David had the leg-muscles of the horses cut, only keeping enough of them for a hundred war-carriages.
And Solomon had four thousand boxed-off spaces for horses for his carriages, and twelve thousand horsemen.
Do you give strength to the horse? is it by your hand that his neck is clothed with power? Is it through you that he is shaking like a locust, in the pride of his loud-sounding breath? read more. He is stamping with joy in the valley; he makes sport of fear. In his strength he goes out against the arms of war, turning not away from the sword. The bow is sounding against him; he sees the shining point of spear and arrow. Shaking with passion, he is biting the earth; he is not able to keep quiet at the sound of the horn; When it comes to his ears he says, Aha! He is smelling the fight from far off, and hearing the thunder of the captains, and the war-cries.
Assyria will not be our salvation; we will not go on horses; we will not again say to the work of our hands, You are our gods; for in you there is mercy for the child who has no father.
I saw in the night a man on a red horse, between the mountains in the valley, and at his back were horses, red, black, white, and of mixed colours.
And again lifting up my eyes I saw four war-carriages coming out from between the two mountains; and the mountains were mountains of brass. In the first war-carriage were red horses; and in the second, black horses; read more. And in the third, white horses; and in the fourth, horses of mixed colour. And I made answer and said to the angel who was talking to me, What are these, my lord? And the angel, answering, said to me, These go out to the four winds of heaven from their place before the Lord of all the earth. The carriage in which are the black horses goes in the direction of the north country; the white go to the west; and those of mixed colour go in the direction of the south country. And the red ones go to the east; and they made request that they might go up and down through the earth: and he said, Go up and down through the earth. So they went up and down through the earth.
And I saw when the Lamb undid one of the stamps, and the voice of one of the four beasts came to my ears, saying as with a voice of thunder, Come and see. And I saw a white horse, and he who was seated on it had a bow; and there was given to him a crown: and he went out with power to overcome. read more. And when the second stamp was undone, the voice of the second beast came to my ears, saying, Come and see. And another horse came out, a red horse; and it was given to him who was seated on it to take peace from the earth, so that people might put one another to death: and there was given to him a great sword. And when the third stamp was undone, the voice of the third beast came to my ears, saying, Come and see. And I saw a black horse; and he who was seated on it had scales in his hand. And a voice came to my ears, from the middle of the four beasts, saying, A measure of grain for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny: and see that you do no damage to the oil and the wine. And when the fourth stamp was undone, the voice of the fourth beast came to my ears, saying, Come and see. And I saw a grey horse, and the name of him who was seated on it was Death; and Hell came after him. And there was given to them authority over the fourth part of the earth, to put to destruction by the sword, and by taking away their food, and by death, and by the beasts of the earth.
And the forms of the locusts were like horses made ready for war; and on their heads they had crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men.
And they had breastplates like iron, and the sound of their wings was as the sound of carriages, like an army of horses rushing to the fight.
And so I saw the horses in the vision, and those who were seated on them, having breastplates of fire and glass and of burning stone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths came fire and smoke and a smell of burning.
And the heaven was open; and I saw a white horse, and he who was seated on it was named Certain and True; and he is judging and making war in righteousness. And his eyes are a flame of fire, and crowns are on his head; and he has a name in writing, of which no man has knowledge but himself. read more. And he is clothed in a robe washed with blood: and his name is The Word of God. And the armies which are in heaven went after him on white horses, clothed in delicate linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth comes a sharp sword, with which he overcomes the nations: and he has rule over them with a rod of iron: and he is crushing with his feet the grapes of the strong wrath of God the Ruler of all. And on his robe and on his leg is a name, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. And I saw an angel taking his place in the sun; and he was crying with a loud voice, saying to all the birds in flight in the heavens, Come together to the great feast of God; So that you may take for your food the flesh of kings, and of captains, and of strong men, and of horses and of those who are seated on them, and the flesh of all men, free and unfree, small and great. And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, come together to make war against him who was seated on the horse and against his army. And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet who did the signs before him, by which they were turned from the true way who had the mark of the beast, and who gave worship to his image: these two were put living into the sea of ever-burning fire. And the rest were put to death with the sword of him who was on the horse, even the sword which came out of his mouth: and all the birds were made full with their flesh.
Smith
Horse.
The most striking feature in the biblical notices of the horse is the exclusive application of it to warlike operations; in no instance is that useful animal employed for the purposes of ordinary locomotion or agriculture, if we except
The animated description of the horse in
applies solely to the war-horse. The Hebrews in the patriarchal age, as a pastoral race, did not stand in need of the services Of the horse, and for a long period after their settlement in Canaan they dispensed with it, partly in consequence of the hilly nature of the country, which only admitted of the use of chariots in certain localities,
and partly in consequence to the prohibition in
De 17:16
which would be held to apply at all periods. David first established a force of cavalry and chariots,
but the great supply of horses was subsequently effected by Solomon through his connection with Egypt.
Solomon also established a very active trade in horses, which were brought by dealers out of Egypt and resold, at a profit, to the Hittites. With regard to the trappings and management of the horse we have little information. The bridle was placed over the horse's nose,
and a bit or curb is also mentioned.
2Ki 19:28; Ps 32:9; Pr 26:3; Isa 37:29
In the Authorized Version it is incorrectly given "bridle," with the exception of
... Saddles were not used until a late period. The horses were not shod, and therefore hoofs are hard "as flint,"
were regarded as a great merit. The chariot-horses were covered with embroidered trappings
Horses and chariots were used also in idolatrous processions, as noticed in regard to the sun.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And he is not to get together a great army of horses for himself, or make the people go back to Egypt to get horses for him: because the Lord has said, You will never again go back that way.
And the Lord was with Judah; and he took the hill-country for his heritage; but he was unable to make the people of the valley go out, for they had war-carriages of iron.
And David took from him one thousand, seven hundred horsemen and twenty thousand footmen: and David had the leg-muscles of the horses cut, only keeping enough of them for a hundred war-carriages.
And Solomon had four thousand boxed-off spaces for horses for his carriages, and twelve thousand horsemen.
Because your wrath against me and your words of pride have come up to my ears, I will put my hook in your nose and my cord in your lips, and I will make you go back by the way you came.
And he took away the horses which the kings of Judah had given to the sun, at the way into the house of the Lord, by the room of Nathan-melech, the unsexed servant, which was in the outer part of the building, and the carriages of the sun he put on fire.
Do you give strength to the horse? is it by your hand that his neck is clothed with power? Is it through you that he is shaking like a locust, in the pride of his loud-sounding breath? read more. He is stamping with joy in the valley; he makes sport of fear. In his strength he goes out against the arms of war, turning not away from the sword. The bow is sounding against him; he sees the shining point of spear and arrow. Shaking with passion, he is biting the earth; he is not able to keep quiet at the sound of the horn; When it comes to his ears he says, Aha! He is smelling the fight from far off, and hearing the thunder of the captains, and the war-cries.
Do not be like the horse or the ass, without sense; ...
A whip for the horse, a mouth-bit for the ass, and a rod for the back of the foolish.
Their arrows are sharp, and every bow is bent: the feet of their horses are like rock, and their wheels are like a rushing storm.
Is the grain for bread crushed? He does not go on crushing it for ever, but he lets his cart-wheels and his horses go over it without crushing it.
And his breath is as an overflowing stream, coming up even to the neck, shaking the nations for their destruction, like the shaking of grain in a basket: and he will put a cord in the mouths of the people, turning them out of their way.
Because your wrath against me and your pride have come to my ears, I will put my hook in your nose and my cord in your lips, and I will make you go back by the way you came.
Dedan did trade with you in cloths for the backs of horses.
Watsons
HORSE, ???. Horses were very rare among the Hebrews in the early ages. The patriarchs had none; and after the departure of the Israelites from Egypt, God expressly forbade their ruler to procure them: "He shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he should multiply horses: forasmuch as the Lord hath said, Ye shall henceforth return no more that way," De 17:16. As horses appear to have been generally furnished by Egypt, God prohibits these,
1. Lest there should be such commerce with Egypt as might lead to idolatry.
2. Lest the people might depend on a well appointed cavalry, as a means of security, and so cease from trusting in the promised aid and protection of Jehovah.
3. That they might not be tempted to extend their dominion by means of cavalry, and so get scattered among the surrounding idolatrous nations, and thus cease in process of time, to be that distinct and separate people which God intended they should be, and without which the prophecies relative to the Messiah could not be known to have their due and full accomplishment. In the time of the Judges we find horses and war chariots among the Canaanites, but still the Israelites had none; and hence they were generally too timid to venture down into the plains, confining their conquests to the mountainous parts of the country. In the reign of Saul, it would appear, that horse breeding had not yet been introduced into Arabia; for, in a war with some of the Arabian nations, the Israelites got plunder in camels, sheep, and asses, but no horses. David's enemies brought against him a strong force of cavalry into the field; and in the book of Psalms the horse commonly appears only on the side of the enemies of the people of God; and so entirely unaccustomed to the management of this animal had the Israelites still continued, that, after a battle, in which they took a considerable body of cavalry prisoners, 2Sa 8:4, David caused most of the horses to be cut down, because he did not know what use to make of them. Solomon was the first who established a cavalry force. Under these circumstances, it is not wonderful that the Mosaic law should take no notice of an animal which we hold in such high estimation. To Moses, educated as he was in Egypt, and, with his people, at last chased out by Pharaoh's cavalry, the use of the horse for war and for travelling was well known; but as it was his object to establish a nation of husbandmen, and not of soldiers for the conquest of foreign lands, and as Palestine, from its situation, required not the defence of cavalry, he might very well decline introducing among his people the yet unusual art of horse breeding. Solomon, having married a daughter of Pharaoh, procured a breed of horses from Egypt; and so greatly did he multiply them, that he had four hundred stables, forty thousand stalls, and twelve thousand horsemen, 1Ki 4:26; 2Ch 9:25. It seems that the Egyptian horses were in high repute, and were much used in war. When the Israelites were disposed to place too implicit confidence in the assistance of cavalry, the prophet remonstrated in these terms: "The Egyptians are men, and not God, and their horses are flesh, not spirit," Isa 31:3.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And he is not to get together a great army of horses for himself, or make the people go back to Egypt to get horses for him: because the Lord has said, You will never again go back that way.
And David took from him one thousand, seven hundred horsemen and twenty thousand footmen: and David had the leg-muscles of the horses cut, only keeping enough of them for a hundred war-carriages.
And Solomon had four thousand boxed-off spaces for horses for his carriages, and twelve thousand horsemen.
For the Egyptians are men, and not God; and their horses are flesh, and not spirit: and when the Lord's hand is stretched out, the helper and he who is helped will come down together.