Difference between revisions of "Horse"

<p> In [[Scripture]] used for war-like purposes, not agriculture (except in treading out grain for threshing, &nbsp;Isaiah 28:28, where for "horsemen" translated "horses".) Job's magnificent description refers to the war horse (&nbsp;Isaiah 39:19-25), "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 &nbsp;Joel 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. </p> <p> "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" (&nbsp;Song of [[Solomon]] 1:9), namely, in ardor and beauty (&nbsp;Song of Solomon 1:4, "run"; &nbsp;Song of Solomon 1:5, "comely"), and in forming "a company" militant, orderly, and numerous (&nbsp;Revelation 19:7; &nbsp;Revelation 19:14). 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." </p> <p> The "cutting off of the horse from Jerusalem" prophetically symbolizes the cessation of war (&nbsp;Zechariah 9:10). Not the horse's speed or utility but his "strength" is his characteristic in Scripture (&nbsp;Psalms 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 &nbsp;Exodus 14:9 "horsemen" mean "chariot riders." [[Certainly]] no [[Egyptian]] monument represents horsemen. [[Translated]] in &nbsp;1 Kings 4:26, "forty (rather 'four,' a copyist's error, as &nbsp;2 Chronicles 9:25 proves. Also 1400 chariots suit 4000 horses, two horses for each chariot and a reserve horse: &nbsp;2 Chronicles 1:14; &nbsp;1 Kings 10:26) thousand chariot horses and twelve thousand riding (i.e. cavalry) horses"; &nbsp;Ezekiel 27:14, "with (chariot) horses and riding horses" (KJV "horsemen".) </p> <p> &nbsp;Isaiah 21:7, "a chariot with a couple of horsemen"; rather "a cavalcade of horsemen riding in pairs." In &nbsp;1 Kings 4:28; &nbsp;Esther 8:14; &nbsp;Micah 1:13, '''''Rekesh''''' "dromedary"; rather "a courser," a "racehorse," for such purposes as the royal post. In &nbsp;1 Kings 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 &nbsp;Genesis 12:15 horses are not mentioned among the possessions which [[Abram]] acquired during his sojourn in Egypt. But in &nbsp;Genesis 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. </p> <p> 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 (&nbsp;Isaiah 5:28). White horses were emblematic of victory (&nbsp;Revelation 6:2; &nbsp;Revelation 19:11; &nbsp;Revelation 19:14). [[Horses]] were consecrated to the sun, since that luminary was supposed to drive a fiery chariot through the sky (&nbsp;2 Kings 23:11). They were driven in procession to meet the rising sun. </p>

<p> 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 &nbsp;Hosea 14:3 . They had been forbidden to multiply horses, &nbsp;Deuteronomy 17:16; and at first they hamstrung the horses, and burnt the chariots of the Canaanites. &nbsp;Joshua 11:6,9 . David, however, after the defeat of Hadadezer, reserved 100 horses for chariots. &nbsp;2 Samuel 8:4 . (See a description of the war-horse in &nbsp;Job 39:19-25 .) Solomon had 40,000 stalls of horses for his chariots and 12,000 horsemen. &nbsp;1 Kings 4:26 . </p> <p> Symbolically the horse represents careering imperial <i> power, </i> 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. &nbsp;Zechariah 1:8; &nbsp;Zechariah 6:1-7 . </p> <p> In the Revelation also there are horses and riders thereon, representing the powers engaged in the providential course of God's dealings. &nbsp;Revelation 6:1-8; cf. &nbsp;Revelation 9:7,9,17 . In &nbsp;Revelation 19 the Lord Jesus, the [[Faithful]] and True, comes forth on a white horse, to make war in righteousness. &nbsp; Revelation 19:11-21 . See [[Revelation]] </p>

<p> <em> Sûs </em> ( '''''סוּס''''' , Strong'S #5483), “horse.” Cognates of this word appear in Ugaritic, Akkadian, Egyptian, and Syriac. It appears in biblical Hebrew about 138 times and in all periods. The first biblical appearance of <em> sûs </em> is in Gen. 47:17: “And they brought their cattle unto Joseph: and [[Joseph]] gave them bread in exchange for horses, and for the flocks, and for the cattle of the herds, and for the asses.…” In the second quarter of the second millennium the chariot became a major military weapon and “horses” a very desirable commodity. This was the time of Joseph. It was not until the end of the second millennium that a rudimentary cavalry appeared on the battlefield. In the period of the eighth-century prophets and following, “horses” became a sign of luxury and apostasy (Isa. 2:7; Amos 4:10) inasmuch as Israel’s hope for freedom and security was to be the Lord: “But he [the king] shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to … multiply horses …” (Deut. 17:16). </p> <p> The “horses” of God are the storm clouds with which he treads upon the sea (Hab. 3:15). </p>

<div> '''1: '''''Ἵππος''''' ''' (Strong'S #2462 — Noun Masculine — hippos — hip'-pos ) </div> <p> apart from the fifteen occurrences in the Apocalypse, occurs only in &nbsp;James 3:3; in the Apocalypse "horses" are seen in visions in &nbsp;Revelation 6:2,4,5,8; &nbsp;9:7,9,17 (twice); 14:20; 19:11,14,19,21; otherwise in &nbsp; Revelation 18:13; &nbsp;19:18 . </p>

<p> ''''' hôrs ''''' : </p> 1. [[Names]] <p> The common names are (1) סוּס , <i> ''''' ṣūṣ ''''' </i> , and (2) ἵππος , <i> ''''' hı́ppos ''''' </i> ̌ . (3) The word פרשׁ , <i> ''''' pārāsh ''''' </i> , "horseman," occurs often, and in several cases is translated "horse" or "warhorse" (&nbsp; Isaiah 28:28; &nbsp;Ezekiel 27:14; &nbsp;Joel 2:4 the Revised Version, margin); also in 2 Sam 16, where the "horsemen" of English [[Versions]] of the Bible is בּעלי הפרשׁים , <i> ''''' ba‛ălē ha ''''' </i> - <i> ''''' pārāshı̄m ''''' </i> , "owners of horses"; compare Arabic <i> ''''' fâris ''''' </i> , "horseman," and <i> ''''' faras ''''' </i> , "horse". (4) The feminine form סוּסה , <i> ''''' ṣūṣāh ''''' </i> , occurs in &nbsp;Song of Solomon 1:9 , and is rendered as follows: [[Septuagint]] ἡ ἵππος , <i> ''''' hē hı́ppos ''''' </i> ; Vulgate (Jerome's Latin Bible, 390-405 ad) <i> equitatum </i> ; the King James Version "company of horses," the Revised Version (British and American) "steed." It is not clear why English Versions of the Bible does not have "mare." (5) The word אבּרים , <i> ''''' 'abbirı̄m ''''' </i> , "strong ones," is used for horses in &nbsp;Judges 5:22; &nbsp;Jeremiah 8:16; &nbsp;Jeremiah 47:3; &nbsp;Jeremiah 50:11 (the King James Version "bulls"). In &nbsp; Psalm 22:12 the same word is translated "strong bulls" (of Bashan). (6) For רכשׁ , <i> ''''' rekhesh ''''' </i> (compare Arabic <i> ''''' rakaḍ ''''' </i> , "to run"), in &nbsp;1 Kings 4:28; &nbsp;Esther 8:10 , &nbsp;Esther 8:14; &nbsp;Micah 1:13 , the Revised Version (British and American) has "swift steeds," while the King James Version gives "dromedaries" in 1 Ki and "mules" in Est. (7) For כּרכּרות , <i> ''''' kirkārōth ''''' </i> (&nbsp;Isaiah 66:20 ), the King James Version and the English Revised Version have "swift beasts"; the English Revised Version margin and the American Standard Revised Version "dromedaries"; Septuagint σκιάδια , <i> ''''' skiádia ''''' </i> , perhaps "covered carriages." In &nbsp;Esther 8:10 , &nbsp;Esther 8:14 we find the doubtful words (8) אחשׁתּרנים , <i> ''''' 'ăḥashterānı̄m ''''' </i> , and (9) בּני הרמּכים , <i> ''''' benē hā ''''' </i> - <i> ''''' rammākhı̄m ''''' </i> , which have been variously translated. the King James Version has respectively "camels" and "young dromedaries," the Revised Version (British and American) "used in the king's service" and "bred of the stud," the Revised Version margin "mules" and "young dromedaries." See [[Camel]] . </p> 2. Origin <p> The Hebrew and Egyptian names for the horse are alike akin to the Assyrian. The Jews may have obtained horses from Egypt (&nbsp;Deuteronomy 17:16 ), but the [[Canaanites]] before them had horses (&nbsp;Joshua 17:16 ), and in looking toward the Northeast for the origin of the horse, philologists are in agreement with zoologists who consider that the plains of Central Asia, and also of Europe, were the original home of the horse. At least one species of wild horse is still found in Central Asia. </p> 3. Uses <p> The horses of the Bible are almost exclusively war-horses, or at least the property of kings and not of the common people. A doubtful reference to the use of horses in threshing grain is found in &nbsp;Isaiah 28:28 . Horses are among the property which the Egyptians gave to Joseph in exchange for grain (&nbsp;Genesis 47:17 ). In &nbsp;Deuteronomy 17:16 it is enjoined that the king "shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he may multiply horses." This and other injunctions failed to prevent the Jews from borrowing from the neighboring civilizations their customs, idolatries, and vices. Solomon's horses are enumerated in 1 Ki 4, and the <i> ''''' se‛ı̄rı̄m ''''' </i> and <i> ''''' tebhen ''''' </i> of &nbsp;1 Kings 4:28 (&nbsp; 1 Kings 5:8 ) are identical with the <i> ''''' sha‛ı̂r ''''' </i> ("barley") and <i> ''''' tibn ''''' </i> ("straw") with which the arab feeds his horse today. In war, horses were ridden and were driven in chariots (&nbsp;Exodus 14:9; &nbsp;Joshua 11:4; &nbsp;2 Samuel 15:1 , etc.). </p> 4. Figurative and Descriptive <p> The horse is referred to figuratively chiefly in Zechariah and Revelation. A chariot and horses of fire take [[Elijah]] up to heaven (&nbsp; 2 Kings 2:11 f). In &nbsp; Psalm 20:7; &nbsp;Psalm 33:17; and &nbsp;Psalm 76:6 , the great strength of the horse is recalled as a reminder of the greater strength of God. In &nbsp;James 3:3 , the small bridle by which the horse can be managed is compared to the tongue (compare &nbsp;Psalm 32:9 ). In &nbsp;Job 39:19-25 we have a magnificent description of a spirited war-horse. </p>