1 Kings 10:28
in 1 Kings 10Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and Kue; the royal merchants purchased them from Kue.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the horses which Solomon had were brought out of Egypt; and the king’s merchants received them in droves, each drove at a price.
KJV
And Solomon had horses brought out of Egypt, and linen yarn: the king’s merchants received the linen yarn at a price.
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This verse in 1 Kings 10
Commentary
5 notes on this verseHorses brought out of Egypt - It is thought that the first people who used horses in war were the Egyptians; and it is well known that the nations who knew the use of this creature in battle had greatly the advantage of those who did not. God had absolutely prohibited horses to be imported or used; but in many things Solomon paid little attention to the Divine command. And linen yarn - The original word, מקוה mikveh, is hard to be understood, if it be not indeed a corruption.
This site's exposition
horses brought out of Egypt
on 1 Kings 10:28-29
Deut 17:16 forbids Israel's king three things by name, multiplying horses, wives, and silver and gold, and forbids returning to Egypt to get them; this verse records Solomon doing exactly that, horses out of Egypt at a fixed price, and chapter 11 will record the other two clauses broken in turn. The narrator never cites Deuteronomy or comments on the violation; the law and the deed simply stand side by side for the reader to hold together, the same method 1 Sam 8 used for the manner of the king. Egypt's horses and chariots reach north as far as the Hittites and Syria through Solomon's own merchants, so the trade the law forbade the king becomes an export business for the kingdom.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
The custom to be paid to the king of Egypt for exported chariots and horses out of Egypt was very high, but (as bishop Patrick understands it) Solomon, having married his daughter, got him to compound for the customs, so that he could bring them up cheaper than his neighbours, which obliged them to buy them of him, which he was wise enough no doubt to make his advantage of.
And Solomon had horses brought out of Egypt,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The word translated “linen yarn” is thought now by Hebraists to mean “a troop” or “company.” If the present reading is retained, they would translate the passage - “As for the bringing up of Solomon’s horses out of Egypt, a band of the king’s merchants fetched a band (or troop) of horses at a price.” But the reading is very uncertain. The Septuagint had before them a different one, which they render “and from Tekoa.” Tekoa, the home of Amos Amo 1:1, was a small town on the route from Egypt to Jerusalem, through which the horses would have naturally passed. The monuments of the 18th and of later dynasties make it clear that the horse, though introduced from abroad, became very abundant in Egypt. During the whole period of Egyptian prosperity the corps of chariots constituted a large and effective portion of the army. That horses were abundant in Egypt at the time of the Exodus is evident from Exo 9:3; Exo 14:9, Exo 14:23, Exo 14:28; Deu 17:16. That they continued numerous in later times appears from frequent allusions, both in the Historical Books of Scripture and in the prophets, as 2Ki 7:6; 2Ki 18:24; Isa 36:9; Eze 17:15, etc. The monuments show that the horse was employed by the Egyptians in peace no less than in war, private persons being often represented as paying visits to their friends in chariots.
The words behind it
11 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּמוֹצָ֧א | umotza' | and [the] export of | H4161 → | |
| הַסּוּסִ֛ים | hasusim | the horses | H5483 → | 140 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| לִשְׁלֹמֹ֖ה | lishlomoh | [belonged] to Solomon | H8010 → | 291 times |
| מִמִּצְרָ֑יִם | mimitzrayim | [was] from Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
| וּמִקְוֵ֕ה | umikveh | and from Que | H4723 → | |
| סֹחֲרֵ֣י | socharei | [the] traders of | H5503 → | |
| הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| יִקְח֥וּ | yikchu | they took [them] | H3947 → | 966 times |
| מִקְוֵ֖ה | mikveh | from Que | H4723 → | |
| בִּמְחִֽיר׃ | bimchir | for a price | H4242 → |
וּמוֹצָ֧אand [the] export of
umotza'H4161 →
הַסּוּסִ֛יםthe horses
hasusimH5483 →140 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
לִשְׁלֹמֹ֖ה[belonged] to Solomon
lishlomohH8010 →291 times
מִמִּצְרָ֑יִם[was] from Egypt
mimitzrayimH4714 →641 times
וּמִקְוֵ֕הand from Que
umikvehH4723 →
סֹחֲרֵ֣י[the] traders of
sochareiH5503 →
הַמֶּ֔לֶךְthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
יִקְח֥וּthey took [them]
yikchuH3947 →966 times
מִקְוֵ֖הfrom Que
mikvehH4723 →
בִּמְחִֽיר׃for a price
bimchirH4242 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Deuteronomy 17:16But the king must not acquire many horses for himself or send the people back to Egypt to acquire more horses, for the LORD has said, ‘You are never to go back that way…
it leads to
- Isaiah 31:1–3
Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in their abundance of chariots and in their multitude of horsemen. They do not look to the Holy…
- Deuteronomy 28:68
The LORD will return you to Egypt in ships by a route that I said you should never see again. There you will sell yourselves to your enemies as male and female slaves, but…
- Ezekiel 17:15
But this king rebelled against Babylon by sending his envoys to Egypt to ask for horses and a large army. Will he flourish? Will the one who does such things escape? Can he break…
- Psalms 20:7
Some trust in chariots and others in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.
- Hosea 11:5
Will they not return to the land of Egypt and be ruled by Assyria because they refused to repent?
- Isaiah 31:1–3
Through
2 Chronicles 9:28Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and from all the lands.
it leads to
- 2 Chronicles 1:16
Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and Kue; the royal merchants purchased them from Kue.
- 2 Chronicles 1:16
Through
Isaiah 36:9For how can you repel a single officer among the least of my master’s servants when you depend on Egypt for chariots and horsemen?
it leads to
- Isaiah 10:8
“Are not all my commanders kings?” he says.
- Isaiah 20:5
Those who made Cush their hope and Egypt their boast will be dismayed and ashamed.
- Isaiah 10:8
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About 1 Kings
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil, The Books of the Kings and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.