Horses in the Bible

• Job: the horse paws the valley, rejoices in his strength and charges into battleJob 39:19–21
  The verses

  Job 39:19–21Do you give strength to the horse or adorn his neck with a mane? Do you make him leap like a locust, striking terror with his proud snorting? He paws in the valley and rejoices in his strength; he charges into battle.
• He laughs at fear and does not turn back from the swordJob 39:22–23
  The verses

  Job 39:22–23He laughs at fear, frightened of nothing; he does not turn back from the sword. A quiver rattles at his side, along with a flashing spear and lance.
• At the ram’s horn he cannot stand still; he catches the scent of battleJob 39:24–25
  The verses

  Job 39:24–25Trembling with excitement, he devours the distance; he cannot stand still when the ram’s horn sounds. At the blast of the horn, he snorts with fervor. He catches the scent of battle from afar— the shouts of captains and the cry of war.
• The snorting and neighing of warhorses could be heard from far awayJer 8:16
  The verses

  Jer 8:16The snorting of enemy horses is heard from Dan. At the sound of the neighing of mighty steeds, the whole land quakes. They come to devour the land and everything in it, the city and all who dwell in it.
• Bits in their mouths let riders guide the whole animalJas 3:3
  The verses

  Jas 3:3When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can guide the whole animal.
• Horses and mules must be controlled with bit and bridlePs 32:9
  The verses

  Ps 32:9Do not be like the horse or mule, which have no understanding; they must be controlled with bit and bridle to make them come to you.
• Barley and straw were brought for the chariot horses1 Kgs 4:28
  The verses

  1 Kgs 4:28Each one also brought to the required place their quotas of barley and straw for the chariot horses and other horses.
• Cart wheels and horses rolled over grain without crushing itIsa 28:28
  The verses

  Isa 28:28Grain for bread must be ground, but it is not endlessly threshed. Though the wheels of the cart roll over it, the horses do not crush it.

In war

• Pharaoh’s horses and chariots pursued Israel to the seaExod 14:9, Exod 15:19
  The verses

  Exod 14:9The Egyptians—all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots, horsemen and troops—pursued the Israelites and overtook them as they camped by the sea near Pi-hahiroth, opposite Baal-zephon.

  Exod 15:19For when Pharaoh’s horses, chariots, and horsemen went into the sea, the LORD brought the waters of the sea back over them. But the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground.
• Joshua hamstrung the enemy’s horses and burned their chariotsJosh 11:6, Josh 11:9
  The verses

  Josh 11:6Then the LORD said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them, for by this time tomorrow I will deliver all of them slain before Israel. You are to hamstring their horses and burn up their chariots.”

  Josh 11:9Joshua treated them as the LORD had told him; he hamstrung their horses and burned up their chariots.
• David hamstrung all the chariot horses except a hundred2 Sam 8:4
  The verses

  2 Sam 8:4David captured from him a thousand chariots, seven thousand charioteers, and twenty thousand foot soldiers, and he hamstrung all the horses except a hundred he kept for the chariots.
• King Jehoshaphat to Ahab: “My horses are your horses”1 Kgs 22:4
  The verses

  1 Kgs 22:4So he asked Jehoshaphat, “Will you go with me to fight against Ramoth-gilead?” Jehoshaphat answered the king of Israel, “I am like you, my people are your people, and my horses are your horses.”
• The Assyrian taunt: two thousand horses, if you can put riders on them2 Kgs 18:23
  The verses

  2 Kgs 18:23Now, therefore, make a bargain with my master, the king of Assyria. I will give you two thousand horses—if you can put riders on them!
• Scouts in Samaria took two chariots with horses to follow the Arameans2 Kgs 7:13–14
  The verses

  2 Kgs 7:13–14But one of his servants replied, “Please, have scouts take five of the horses that remain in the city. Their plight will be no worse than all the Israelites who are left here. You can see that all the Israelites here are doomed. So let us send them and find out.” Then the scouts took two chariots with horses, and the king sent them after the Aramean army, saying, “Go and see.”
• “Harness the horses; mount the steeds; take your positions with helmets on!”Jer 46:4
  The verses

  Jer 46:4Harness the horses; mount the steeds; take your positions with helmets on! Polish your spears; put on armor!
• Hooves of galloping stallions and the rumble of chariotsJer 47:3
  The verses

  Jer 47:3at the sound of the galloping hooves of stallions, the rumbling of chariots, and the clatter of their wheels. The fathers will not turn back for their sons; their hands will hang limp.

Kings and trade

• The law: a king must not acquire many horsesDeut 17:16
  The verses

  Deut 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 again.’
• Solomon’s stalls for his chariot horses, and his horsemen1 Kgs 4:26, 2 Chr 9:25
  The verses

  1 Kgs 4:26Solomon had 4,000 stalls for his chariot horses and 12,000 horses.

  2 Chr 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.
• A horse from Egypt cost 150 shekels of silver, a chariot 6001 Kgs 10:28–29
  The verses

  1 Kgs 10:28–29Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and Kue; the royal merchants purchased them from Kue. A chariot could be imported from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty. Likewise, they exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and to the kings of Aram.
• Solomon’s horses came from Egypt, Kue and other lands1 Kgs 10:28, 2 Chr 9:28
  The verses

  1 Kgs 10:28Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and Kue; the royal merchants purchased them from Kue.

  2 Chr 9:28Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and from all the lands.
• Beth-togarmah traded horses, war horses and mules with TyreEzek 27:14
  The verses

  Ezek 27:14The men of Beth-togarmah exchanged horses, war horses, and mules for your wares.
• Those who returned from Babylon had 736 horses and 245 mulesEzra 2:66
  The verses

  Ezra 2:66They had 736 horses, 245 mules,
• Some in Judah went to Egypt to rely on its horses and chariotsIsa 31:1
  The verses

  Isa 31:1Woe 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 One of Israel; they do not seek the LORD.
• Josiah removed the horses the kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun2 Kgs 23:11
  The verses

  2 Kgs 23:11And he removed from the entrance to the house of the LORD the horses that the kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun. They were in the court near the chamber of an official named Nathan-melech. And Josiah burned up the chariots of the sun.
• Mordecai was paraded through the city on the king’s own horseEsth 6:8–11
  The verses

  Esth 6:8–11have them bring a royal robe that the king himself has worn and a horse on which the king himself has ridden—one with a royal crest placed on its head. Let the robe and the horse be entrusted to one of the king’s most noble princes. Let them array the man the king wants to honor and parade him on the horse through the city square, proclaiming before him, ‘This is what is done for the man whom the king is delighted to honor!’” “Hurry,” said the king to Haman, “and do just as you proposed. Take the robe and the horse to Mordecai the Jew, who is sitting at the king’s gate. Do not neglect anything that you have suggested.” So Haman took the robe and the horse, arrayed Mordecai, and paraded him through the city square, crying out before him, “This is what is done for the man whom the king is delighted to honor!”
• Elijah was parted from Elisha by a chariot of fire with horses of fire2 Kgs 2:11
  The verses

  2 Kgs 2:11As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire with horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up into heaven in a whirlwind.

Sayings

• “His horses are swifter than eagles”Jer 4:13
  The verses

  Jer 4:13Behold, he advances like the clouds, his chariots like the whirlwind. His horses are swifter than eagles. Woe to us, for we are ruined!
• “Their horses are swifter than leopards, fiercer than wolves of the night”Hab 1:8
  The verses

  Hab 1:8Their horses are swifter than leopards, fiercer than wolves of the night. Their horsemen charge ahead, and their cavalry comes from afar. They fly like a vulture, swooping down to devour.
• “A horse is prepared for the day of battle”Prov 21:31
  The verses

  Prov 21:31A horse is prepared for the day of battle, but victory is of the LORD.
• A psalm: even a horse’s great strength cannot savePs 33:17
  The verses

  Ps 33:17A horse is a vain hope for salvation; even its great strength cannot save.
• “A whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey”Prov 26:3
  The verses

  Prov 26:3A whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey, and a rod for the backs of fools!
• “Do horses gallop on the cliffs?”Amos 6:12
  The verses

  Amos 6:12“Do horses gallop on the cliffs? Does one plow the sea with oxen? But you have turned justice into poison and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood—
• “If you have raced with men on foot … how can you compete with horses?”Jer 12:5
  The verses

  Jer 12:5“If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses? If you stumble in a peaceful land, how will you do in the thickets of the Jordan?