1 Kings 4:26

_AND SOLOMON HAD FORTY THOUSAND STALLS OF HORSES FOR HIS CHARIOTS, AND TWELVE THOUSAND HORSEMEN._ Forty thousand stalls, х_ 'URWOT_ (H723)] - perhaps pairs of horses for the royal mews (see the notes at 2 Chronicles 1:14; 2 Chronicles 9:25). The word, according to Gesenius, denotes a certain number; which usually stood in one stall, or were harnessed to one vehicle-probably two. [The Hebrews applied _ CUWCIYM_ (H5483) to chariot horses, and _ PAARAASHIYM_ (H6571) to riding horses: so that the passage is rendered by the great lexicographer, 'And Solomon had 40,000 pairs of horses for his chariots, and 12,000 steeds' - i:e., for

20-28 Never did the crown of Israel shine so bright, as when Solomon wore it. He had peace on all sides. Herein, his kingdom was a type of the Messiah's; for to Him it is promised that he shall have the heathen for his inheritance, and that princes shall worship him. The spiritual peace, and joy, and holy security, of all the faithful subjects of the Lord Jesus, were typified by that of Israel. The kingdom of God is not, as Solomon's was, meat and drink, but, what is infinitely better, righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. The vast number of his attendants, and the great resort to him, are shown by the provision daily made. Herein Christ far outdoes Solomon, that he feeds all his subjects, not with the bread that perishes, but with that which endures to eternal life....

Verse 1 Kings 4:26. _SOLOMON HAD FORTY THOUSAND STALLS OF HORSES - AND TWELVE_ _THOUSAND HORSEMEN._] In 2 Chronicles 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 1 Kings 10:26 it is said he had _one thousand four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand_ _horsemen_; and this is the reading in 2 Chronicles 1:14. In...

In 2 Chronicles 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; 2 Chronicles 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...

EXPOSITION SOLOMON'S RULE, STATE, AND WISDOM.—The remainder of this chapter, which de-scribes to us the extent and character of Solomon's sway (1 Kings 4:20, 1 Kings 4:21, 1 Kings 4:24, 1 Kings 4:25), the pomp and provision of his household (1 Kings 4:22, 1 Kings 4:23, 1 Kings 4:26-11),

AND SOLOMON HAD FORTY THOUSAND STALLS FOR HORSES,.... In 2 Chronicles 9:25; it is only four thousand; and therefore some think that here is a mistake of the copier, of "arbaim", forty, for "arbah", four; which it is thought might be through divine permission, in such lesser matters, without any prejudice to the authority of the Scriptures in matters of faith and practice; but without supposing this, a reconciliation may be made, by observing, that here the writer, as Ben Gersom notes, gives the number of the horses that were in the stables, which were forty thousand, there the stables themselves, which were four thousand, ten horses in a stable; or here he numbers the stalls, which were forty thousand, and there the stables, which were four thousand, there being ten stalls in each; and the word there has the letter "yod" in it more than here, which is the numerical letter for "ten",

3. SOLOMON'S PRINCES AND OFFICERS THE PROSPEROUS KINGDOM AND THE KING'S GREAT WISDOM CHAPTER 4 _ 1. The Princes (1 Kings 4:1)_ 2. The Officers (1 Kings 4:7) 3. The prosperous kingdom (1 Kings 4:20) 4. Solomon's great wisdom (1 Kings 4:29) “So King Solomon was king over all Israel.” A list of the princes and the twelve officers is given first. Their names fit in perfectly with the character of the kingdom, foreshadowing the coming and better kingdom of our Lord. We give the names of the princes with their meaning. Azariah, “Jehovah is help”; Elihoreph, “my God is reward”; Ahiah, “Brother of Jeho

1 KINGS 3:1 TO 1 KINGS 4:34. EARLY DAYS, REIGN, AND WISDOM OF SOLOMON. The sources of this section are various, and the arrangement of the narrative in the LXX should be noticed. There are (_a_) a statistical account of Solomon s reign, referred to, apparently in 1 Kings 11:41, as the book of the acts of Solomon; (_b_) a number of narratives about this reign; (_c_) several Deuteronomic additions_ e.g._ 1 Kings 3:6; 1 Kings 3:14, etc.: and (_d_) some very late passages, possibly originally explanatory notes. The history of Solomon's reign

FORTY THOUSAND. In 2 Chronicles 9:25 it Isaiah 4, which is much more likely to be correct. The 12,000 are the same in both places. The ancient Hebrew characters were Phoenician, and may be seen on the Moabite Stone. These were in current use till about 140 B. C, and were gradually replaced by the modern Hebrew "square" characters. Mistakes in copying occurred through the similarity of certain letters. See notes on 2 Samuel 24:10; Jeremiah 3:8; Ezekiel 6:4; Ezekiel 22:20.

_horses for his chariots_ This is one of the passages which make clear the meaning of the Hebrew _sus_, a horse to go in a chariot, and _parash_, a saddle-horse. In 2 Chronicles 9:25 the number of stalls is 4000 instead of 40000 as here....