1 Kings 4:26
in 1 Kings 4Solomon had 4,000 stalls for his chariot horses and 12,000 horses.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen.
KJV
And Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen.
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This verse in 1 Kings 4
Commentary
8 notes on this verseSolomon had forty thousand stalls of horses - and twelve thousand horsemen - In 2Ch 9:25, instead of forty thousand stalls, we read four thousand; and even this number might be quite sufficient to hold horses for twelve thousand horsemen; for stalls and stables may be here synonymous. In 1Ki 10:26 it is said he had one thousand four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen; and this is the reading in 2Ch 1:
This site's exposition
forty thousand stalls of horses
on 1 Kings 4:26-28
Forty thousand stalls of horses stands beside four thousand at 2 Chronicles 9:25, a number the bench treats as a copyist's difference between the Hebrew letters for forty and four rather than two separate counts, and the manuscripts divide on which figure is original. The horses are the first clause of the three the law of the king forbade at Deuteronomy 17:16, multiplying horses, and the narrator states the number here without comment, saving the sharper report of horses fetched from Egypt for chapter ten. The same twelve officers who supplied the king's table in verses 22 and 23 also carried barley and straw to every stall, one administration feeding both the court and the stud.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
But it is not exactly the same Hebrew word which is here and there, though we translate both stalls; and therefore there may well be allowed some difference in the signification, the one signifying properly stables, of which there were four thousand, the other stalls or partitions for each horse, which were forty thousand.
God had commanded that their king should not multiply horses ( Deut. xvii. 16 ), nor, according to the account here given, considering the extent and wealth of Solomon's kingdom, did he multiply horses in proportion to his neighbours; for we find even the Philistines bringing into the field 30,000 chariots ( 1 Sam. xiii.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
And Solomon had forty thousand stalls for horses,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
We will read a few verses first, and at the close of them you will find the text. The last words are the text for this occasion. From the whole passage you will see that the kingdom of Israel under the sway of Solomon was a fair type of the reign of our Lord Jesus Christ. Perhaps it most exactly describes His future dominion, in the long-expected Glory of the latter days. The present state of the Church may be compared to the reign of David, splendid with victories, but disturbed with battles. But there are better days to come, days in which the kingdom shall be extended and become more manifest—and then the Lord Jesus Christ shall be even more conspicuously seen as the Solomon of the kingdom, "who shall have dominion from sea to sea." Yet even now, as "we that have believed do enter into rest," so do we also enter into the richest provision which is made in the Covenant of Grace, even at this present time. And I may say of all who have come under the sway of Christ, that we dwell in a region of peace, seated, every man, under his vine and fig tree and none making us afraid. "There is, therefore, now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus," and, "therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." "The peace of God which passes all understanding" does keep our heart and mind by Jesus Christ. Israel under Solomon had abundance as well as peace. What says the historian? They were "as the sand which is by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking and making merry." It is said that there was such plenty in the land in Solomon's time that gold was of no more value than silver and silver became of little more value than iron! And as for the other metals, they were little accounted of.
We will read a few verses first, and at the close of them you will find the text. The last words are the text for this occasion. From the whole passage you will see that the kingdom of Israel under the sway of Solomon was a fair type of the reign of our Lord Jesus Christ. Perhaps it most exactly describes His future dominion, in the long-expected Glory of the latter days. The present state of the Church may be compared to the reign of David, splendid with victories, but disturbed with battles.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
In 2Ch 9:25, the number of stalls for Solomon’s chariot horses is stated at 4,000, instead of 40,000. The number in the present passage is probably a corruption. Solomon’s chariots were but 1,400 1Ki 10:26; 2Ch 1:14, for which 40,000 horses could not possibly be required. The Assyrian chariots had at most three horses apiece, while some had only two. 4,000 horses would supply the full team of three to 1,200, and the smaller team of two to 200 chariots. The number 4,000 is in due proportion to the 12,000 horses for cavalry, and is in accordance with all that we know of the military establishments of the time and country. Compare 2Ch 12:3; 2Sa 8:4.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיְהִ֣י | vayhi | and it belonged | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| לִשְׁלֹמֹ֗ה | lishlomoh | to Solomon | H8010 → | 291 times |
| אַרְבָּעִ֥ים | ʾarbaim | forty | H705 → | 136 times |
| אֶ֛לֶף | ʾelef | thousand | H505 → | 505 times |
| אֻרְוֹ֥ת | ʾurvot | stalls of | H723 → | |
| סוּסִ֖ים | susim | horses | H5483 → | 140 times |
| לְמֶרְכָּב֑וֹ | lemerkavo | for chariotry his | H4817 → | |
| וּשְׁנֵים־ | usheneim- | and two [plus] | H8147 → | 768 times |
| עָשָׂ֥ר | ʾasar | ten | H6240 → | 338 times |
| אֶ֖לֶף | ʾelef | thousand | H505 → | 505 times |
| פָּרָשִֽׁים׃ | parashim | horsemen | H6571 → | 57 times |
וַיְהִ֣יand it belonged
vayhiH1961 →3559 times
לִשְׁלֹמֹ֗הto Solomon
lishlomohH8010 →291 times
אַרְבָּעִ֥יםforty
ʾarbaimH705 →136 times
אֶ֛לֶףthousand
ʾelefH505 →505 times
אֻרְוֹ֥תstalls of
ʾurvotH723 →
סוּסִ֖יםhorses
susimH5483 →140 times
לְמֶרְכָּב֑וֹfor chariotry his
lemerkavoH4817 →
וּשְׁנֵים־and two [plus]
usheneim-H8147 →768 times
עָשָׂ֥רten
ʾasarH6240 →338 times
אֶ֖לֶףthousand
ʾelefH505 →505 times
פָּרָשִֽׁים׃horsemen
parashimH6571 →57 times
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
Psalms 20:7Some trust in chariots and others in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.
it leads to
- Isaiah 31:1
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…
- Jeremiah 17:5
This is what the LORD says: “Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind, who makes the flesh his strength and turns his heart from the LORD.
- Proverbs 21:31
A horse is prepared for the day of battle, but victory is of the LORD.
- Psalms 33:16–17
No king is saved by his vast army; no warrior is delivered by his great strength.
- 2 Chronicles 32:8
With him is only the arm of flesh, but with us is the LORD our God to help us and to fight our battles.” So the people were strengthened by the words of Hezekiah…
- Isaiah 31:1
Through
2 Chronicles 9:25Solomon had 4,000 stalls for horses and chariots, and 12,000 horses, which he stationed in the chariot cities and also with him in Jerusalem.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 17:16
But 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…
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- 1 Kings 10:26
Solomon accumulated 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horses, which he stationed in the chariot cities and also with him in Jerusalem.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Deuteronomy 17:16
Through
2 Chronicles 1:14Solomon accumulated 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horses, which he stationed in the chariot cities and also with him in Jerusalem.
it leads to
- 1 Kings 10:26–29
Solomon accumulated 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horses, which he stationed in the chariot cities and also with him in Jerusalem.
- 1 Kings 10:26–29
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); Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 1504: “The Swift Camels” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil, The Books of the Kings and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.