1 Kings 10:28

And Solomon had horses brought out of Egypt The first clause of the verse ends here according to the Hebrew punctuation, and this appears to be a general statement, of which the particulars are given in what follows. But the literal rendering is -and the export of horses which was to Solomon (was) from Egypt;" and this the R.V. represents by And the horses which Solomon had were brought out of Egypt.

and linen yarn The word (מקוה) mikvehso translated, is derived from a verb which implies -a stringing together," and a kindred noun (תקוה) tikvah, is used (Joshua 2:18) for the lineof scarlet cord which Rahab was ordered to bind in her window. From this connexion the rendering of the A.V. is derived. But the word in the text is used for gathering together in other senses, and here seems to be intended for -a stringof horses," which sense the R.V. has represented by -a drove." The word occurs twice over and must have the same sense in both places of the same verse. The whole is rendered in R.V. and the king's merchants received them in droves, each drove at a price. The Hebrew pointing represents the word מקוה in a form which may be considered in construction, though it need not necessarily be so. Hence some have given a double meaning to the word, referringit in the first place to the caravan of merchants, and only in the second place to the string of horses. The rendering then would be -And a company of the king's merchants received a (each) drove of horses at a price." But it appears harsh to give two senses to the same word in the same verse.

What appears to be meant is that the king's representatives dealt wholesale with the Egyptian breeders, contracting to take so many horses for a stipulated sum; afterwards they brought the droves away, and disposed of them, as retailers, and hence secured for king Solomon a considerable revenue by the profits.

The Vulgate takes the word -Mikveh" -a drove" as being a proper name preceded by a preposition, and renders -and from Coa." The LXX. has done something of the same kind, but has taken the word as -Tekoa" καὶ ἐκ Θεκουέ.