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).
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Only he shall not multiply. to himself horses, and he shall not turn back the people to Egypt in order to multiply the horse: and Jehovah said to you, Ye shall no more add to turn back that way.
And David will take from him a thousand, and seven hundred horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen; and David will destroy all the chariots, and he will leave from them a hundred chariots.
And there will be to Solomon forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen.
And Solomon will gather together chariots and horsemen: and there will be to him a thousand and four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen; and he will set them down in the cities of chariots and with the king in Jerusalem.
And a chariot will go up and come forth out of Egypt with six hundred of silver, and a horse at fifty and a hundred: and thus for all the kings of the Hittites and for the kings of Aram, by their hand they will bring forth.
And he will say to Jehoshaphat, Go with me to battle to Ramoth-Gilead. And Jehoshaphat will say to the king of Israel, As me, as thee; as my people, as thy people; as my horses, as thy horses.
Wilt thou give strength to the horse? wilt thou clothe his neck with thunder? Wilt thou cause him to tremble as the locust? the glory of his snorting is terror. read more. They will dig in the valley, and he will rejoice in strength: he will go forth to the meeting of the weapon. He will laugh at fear, and he will not be dismayed; and he will not turn back from the face of the sword. The quiver will give forth a whizzing against him, the flame of the spear and the javelin. With leaping and rage he will swallow the earth; and he will not believe that it is the voice of the trumpet He will say according to the multitude of the trumpet, Aha! and he will smell the battle from far off, the thunder of the chiefs, and the war cry.
Ye shall not be as the horse, as the mule, not understanding: with bit and curb to stop his youth, not drawing near to thee.
Bread shall be beaten small; for threshing, he will not forever thresh it; and the wheel of his wagon he put in motion and his horsemen shall not beat it small.
And his spirit as the torrent overflowing, shall divide even to the neck, to shake the nations in the sieve of ruin: and a curb upon the cheeks of the people, causing to err.
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.
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And Pharaoh's rulers will see her, and will praise her to Pharaoh, and the woman shall be taken into Pharaoh's house.
And they will bring their cattle to Joseph, and Joseph will give to them bread for horses, and for the possession of the sheep, and for the possession of the cattle, and for the asses; and he will feed them with bread, for all their cattle for that year.
And the Egyptians will pursue after them, and they will enclose them, having encamped by the sea; all the horse, the chariots of Pharaoh, and his horsemen and his army, by the mouth of Hahiroth, before Baal-Zephon.
And there will be to Solomon forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen.
And the barley and the straw for horses, and for coursers, they will bring to the place where a man will be there according to his judgment
And a going forth of horses out of Egypt to Solomon, and a caravan of the king's merchants will take the caravan at a price. And a chariot will go up and come forth out of Egypt with six hundred of silver, and a horse at fifty and a hundred: and thus for all the kings of the Hittites and for the kings of Aram, by their hand they will bring forth.
And he will take away the horses which the kings of Judah gave to the sun at the going in of the house of Jehovah into the chamber the king gave the eunuch which was in the open portico, and he burnt the chariots of the sun in fire.
And Solomon will gather together chariots and horsemen: and there will be to him a thousand and four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen; and he will deposit them in the cities of the chariots, and with the king in Jerusalem.
And there will be to Solomon font thousand stalls of horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen; and he will place them in the chariot cities, and with the king in Jerusalem.
The runners riding the courser, the mules, went forth, being hastened and impelled by the word of the king. And the edict was given in Shushan the fortress.
The horse was false to salvation, and he shall not deliver by the multitude of his strength.
Draw me, we will run after thee: the king brought me to his chambers: we will exult and rejoice in thee, we will remember thy breasts above wine: the upright loved thee. I am black and beautiful, O daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon.
Whose arrows were sharpened, and all their bows bent, the hoofs of their horses were reckoned as the rock, and their wheels as the whirlwind.
He will see a chariot, a pair of horse men, the rider of an ass, the rider of a camel; and listening, he listened with much attention.
Bread shall be beaten small; for threshing, he will not forever thresh it; and the wheel of his wagon he put in motion and his horsemen shall not beat it small.
And Hezekiah will say to Isaiah, Good the word of Jehovah which thou spakest And he will say, That there shall be peace and truth in my days.
From the house of Togarmah, horses and horsemen and mules they gave thy markets
His appearance as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen so shall they run.
Make fast the chariot to the steed, thou inhabitress of the smitten: she the beginning of sin to the daughter of Zion: for in thee were found the transgressions of Israel.
And I cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the bow of war was cut off: and he spake peace to the nations: and his dominion from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the end of the earth.
And I saw and behold a white horse: and he sitting upon him having a bow; and a crown was given to him: and he went forth conquering, and that he might conquer.
Let us rejoice, and be transported with joy, and let us give glory to him: for the marriage of the Lamb came, and his wife prepared herself.
And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he sitting upon him called Faithful and True, and in justice he judges and makes war.
And the armies in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.
And the armies in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine 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/juliasmith'>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
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And they will bring their cattle to Joseph, and Joseph will give to them bread for horses, and for the possession of the sheep, and for the possession of the cattle, and for the asses; and he will feed them with bread, for all their cattle for that year.
Only he shall not multiply. to himself horses, and he shall not turn back the people to Egypt in order to multiply the horse: and Jehovah said to you, Ye shall no more add to turn back that way.
And David will take from him a thousand, and seven hundred horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen; and David will destroy all the chariots, and he will leave from them a hundred chariots.
And the barley and the straw for horses, and for coursers, they will bring to the place where a man will be there according to his judgment
And a going forth of horses out of Egypt to Solomon, and a caravan of the king's merchants will take the caravan at a price.
And they will put their hands upon her; and she will go the way of the entrance of the, horses of the king's house: and she will die there.
And he will take away the horses which the kings of Judah gave to the sun at the going in of the house of Jehovah into the chamber the king gave the eunuch which was in the open portico, and he burnt the chariots of the sun in fire.
Their horses, seven hundred thirty and six: their mules two hundred forty and five:
Wilt thou give strength to the horse? wilt thou clothe his neck with thunder? Wilt thou cause him to tremble as the locust? the glory of his snorting is terror. read more. They will dig in the valley, and he will rejoice in strength: he will go forth to the meeting of the weapon. He will laugh at fear, and he will not be dismayed; and he will not turn back from the face of the sword. The quiver will give forth a whizzing against him, the flame of the spear and the javelin. With leaping and rage he will swallow the earth; and he will not believe that it is the voice of the trumpet He will say according to the multitude of the trumpet, Aha! and he will smell the battle from far off, the thunder of the chiefs, and the war cry.
These in chariots, and these in horses: and in the name of Jehovah our God will we remember.
Ye shall not be as the horse, as the mule, not understanding: with bit and curb to stop his youth, not drawing near to thee.
The horse was false to salvation, and he shall not deliver by the multitude of his strength.
A whip for the horse, the curb for the ass, and the rod for the back of the foolish.
Whose arrows were sharpened, and all their bows bent, the hoofs of their horses were reckoned as the rock, and their wheels as the whirlwind.
And ye will say, No; for upon horses we will flee: for this ye shall flee: and upon the swift will we ride; for this they pursuing you shall be swift.
Wo to those going down to Egypt for help; and they will look upon horses, and trust upon chariots, because they are many; and upon horsemen because they were strong greatly; and they looked not upon the Holy One of Israel, and sought not Jehovah.
And the Egyptians, men and not God; and their horses, flesh and not spirit And Jehovah will stretch forth his hand, and he helping became weak, and he being helped, fell, and together shall they all be finished.
From the voice of the stamping of the hoofs of his strong ones, from the bounding of his chariot, the noise of his wheels, the fathers turned not back to the sons from slackness of hands;
And he will rebel against him to send his messengers to Egypt, to give to him horses and much people. Shall he prosper? shall he doing these, escape? and breaking the covenant, and escaping?
Dedan thy merchant, garments of spreading out for the chariot
The voice of the whip and the voice of the shaking of the wheel, and the horse moving swiftly, and the chariot bounding.
In that day shall be upon the bells of the horse, Holiness to Jehovah; and it was the pots in the house of Jehovah as vases before the face of 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/juliasmith'>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.
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Only he shall not multiply. to himself horses, and he shall not turn back the people to Egypt in order to multiply the horse: and Jehovah said to you, Ye shall no more add to turn back that way.
And Jehovah will say to Joshua, Thou shalt not be afraid of their face: for to-morrow about this time I gave them all wounded before Israel: thou shalt hamstring their horses and their chariots thou shalt burn in fire.
And Joshua will do to them as Jehovah said to him: he hamstrung their horses, and burnt their chariots in fire.
And David will take from him a thousand, and seven hundred horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen; and David will destroy all the chariots, and he will leave from them a hundred chariots.
And there will be to Solomon forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen.
Wilt thou give strength to the horse? wilt thou clothe his neck with thunder? Wilt thou cause him to tremble as the locust? the glory of his snorting is terror. read more. They will dig in the valley, and he will rejoice in strength: he will go forth to the meeting of the weapon. He will laugh at fear, and he will not be dismayed; and he will not turn back from the face of the sword. The quiver will give forth a whizzing against him, the flame of the spear and the javelin. With leaping and rage he will swallow the earth; and he will not believe that it is the voice of the trumpet He will say according to the multitude of the trumpet, Aha! and he will smell the battle from far off, the thunder of the chiefs, and the war cry.
Assur will not save us; we will not ride upon a horse, and we will no more say, Our God, to the work of our hands, for in thee the orphan shall be compassionated.
I saw by night, and behold a man riding upon a red horse, and he stood beween the myrtles which were in shady place; and after him red horses, bay, and white.
And I shall turn back and lift up mine eyes and see, and behold, four chariots going forth from between two mountains; and the mountains, mountains of brass. In the first chariot, red horses; and in the second chariot, black horses; read more. And in the third chariot, white horses and in the fourth chariot, horses sprinkled with spots, and fleet And I shall answer and say to the messenger speaking with me, What are these, my lord? And the messenger will answer and say to me, These the four spirits of the heavens going forth from standing before the Lord of all the earth. The black horses which are in it, going forth into the land of the north; and the white went forth after them; and the sprinkled with spots went forth to the land of the south. And the fleet went forth and they will seek to go in order to go to and fro in the earth: and he will say, Go; go to and fro in the earth. And they will go to and fro in the earth.
And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying, as the voice of thunder, Come and see. And I saw and behold a white horse: and he sitting upon him having a bow; and a crown was given to him: and he went forth conquering, and that he might conquer. read more. And when he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, Come and see. And another horse came forth fiery red: and it was given to him sitting upon him to take peace from the earth, and that they should slaughter one another: and a great sword was given to him. And when he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying, Come and see. And I saw, and behold a black horse, and he sitting upon him having a balance in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, A measure of wheat for a drachma, and three measures of barley for a drachma; and thou shouldest not injure the oil and the wine. And when he opened the fourth seal, I heard a voice of the fourth living creature saying, Come and see. And I saw, and behold a pale horse: and he sitting above him the name to him Death, and Hades follows with him. And power was given to them to kill upon the fourth of the earth, with sword, and by famine, and by death, and by wild beasts of the earth.
And the likenesses of the locusts like horses prepared for war; and upon their heads as crowns like gold, and their faces as men's faces.
And they had coats-of-mail, as coats-of-mail of iron; and the voice of their wings as the voice of chariots of many horses running to war.
And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them sitting upon them, having fiery coats-of-mail, and of deep purple, and sulphurous: and the horses' heads as lions' heads; and out of their mouths went forth fire and smoke and sulphur.
And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he sitting upon him called Faithful and True, and in justice he judges and makes war. And his eyes as a flame of fire, and upon his head many diadems; having a name written, which no one knows, except himself. read more. And surrounded with a garment dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth went forth a sharp sword, that with it he might strike the nations: and he shall rule them with an iron rod: and he treads the winepress of the wine of the wrath and anger of God, the Omnipotent Ruler. And he has upon the garment and upon his thigh the name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. And I saw one angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a great voice, saying to all the birds flying in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves to the supper of the great God; That ye might eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains of thousands, and the flesh of the strong, and the flesh of horses, and of them sitting upon them, and the flesh of all, free and servants, and of small and great. And I saw the wild beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to war with him sitting upon the horse, and with his army. And the wild beast was seized, and with him the false prophet having done signs before him, with which he deceived them having received the stamp of the wild beast, and them worshipping his image. Living, were they two cast into the lake of fire burning with sulphur. And the rest were killed by the sword of him sitting upon the horse, coming out of his mouth: and all birds were satiated from 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.
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Only he shall not multiply. to himself horses, and he shall not turn back the people to Egypt in order to multiply the horse: and Jehovah said to you, Ye shall no more add to turn back that way.
And Jehovah will be with Judah; and be will inherit the mountain because there was no driving out the inhabitants of the valley, for to them the chariot of iron.
And David will take from him a thousand, and seven hundred horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen; and David will destroy all the chariots, and he will leave from them a hundred chariots.
And there will be to Solomon forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen.
Because thy wrath against me, and thine arrogance came up into mine ears, and I put my hook in thy nose and my bit into thy lips, and I turned thee back in the way which thou camest in it
And he will take away the horses which the kings of Judah gave to the sun at the going in of the house of Jehovah into the chamber the king gave the eunuch which was in the open portico, and he burnt the chariots of the sun in fire.
Wilt thou give strength to the horse? wilt thou clothe his neck with thunder? Wilt thou cause him to tremble as the locust? the glory of his snorting is terror. read more. They will dig in the valley, and he will rejoice in strength: he will go forth to the meeting of the weapon. He will laugh at fear, and he will not be dismayed; and he will not turn back from the face of the sword. The quiver will give forth a whizzing against him, the flame of the spear and the javelin. With leaping and rage he will swallow the earth; and he will not believe that it is the voice of the trumpet He will say according to the multitude of the trumpet, Aha! and he will smell the battle from far off, the thunder of the chiefs, and the war cry.
Ye shall not be as the horse, as the mule, not understanding: with bit and curb to stop his youth, not drawing near to thee.
A whip for the horse, the curb for the ass, and the rod for the back of the foolish.
Whose arrows were sharpened, and all their bows bent, the hoofs of their horses were reckoned as the rock, and their wheels as the whirlwind.
Bread shall be beaten small; for threshing, he will not forever thresh it; and the wheel of his wagon he put in motion and his horsemen shall not beat it small.
And his spirit as the torrent overflowing, shall divide even to the neck, to shake the nations in the sieve of ruin: and a curb upon the cheeks of the people, causing to err.
Because thine anger against me and thine arrogance came up into mine ear, and I put my hook in thy nose and my curb in thy lips, and I turned thee back in the way which thou camest in it
Dedan thy merchant, garments of spreading out for the chariot
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.
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Only he shall not multiply. to himself horses, and he shall not turn back the people to Egypt in order to multiply the horse: and Jehovah said to you, Ye shall no more add to turn back that way.
And David will take from him a thousand, and seven hundred horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen; and David will destroy all the chariots, and he will leave from them a hundred chariots.
And there will be to Solomon forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen.
And the Egyptians, men and not God; and their horses, flesh and not spirit And Jehovah will stretch forth his hand, and he helping became weak, and he being helped, fell, and together shall they all be finished.