Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and Kue; the royal merchants purchased them from Kue.
Parallel translations
- WEB The horses which Solomon had were brought out of Egypt. The king’s merchants received them in droves, each drove at a price.
- KJV And Solomon had horses brought out of Egypt, and linen yarn: the king’s merchants received the linen yarn at a price.
- NKJV Also Solomon had horses imported from Egypt and Keveh; the king’s merchants bought them in Keveh at the current price.
- NASB Also Solomon’s import of horses was from Egypt and Kue, and the king’s merchants acquired them from Kue for a price.
- NLT Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and from Cilicia; the king’s traders acquired them from Cilicia at the standard price.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Solomon imported horses from Egypt through his merchants. It notes another aspect of his trade that ran counter to the law's warning.
Overview
His large-scale horse trade with Egypt, while economically lucrative, stood in tension with Deuteronomy 17:16, which forbade the king to send to Egypt to multiply horses. The detail is recorded plainly, but it reveals Solomon increasingly testing the boundaries God had set for Israel's kings. These small compromises in commerce and military strength prepare the way for the greater compromise of his heart in chapter 11.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- 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.’
- 2 Chr 9:28Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and from all the lands.
- Isa 31:1–3Woe 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.
- Isa 36:9For how can you repel a single officer among the least of my master’s servants when you depend on Egypt for chariots and horsemen?
- Prov 7:16I have decked my bed with coverings, with colored linen from Egypt.
- 2 Chr 1:16–17Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and Kue; the royal merchants purchased them from Kue.
- Ezek 27:7Of embroidered fine linen from Egypt they made your sail, which served as your banner. Of blue and purple from the coasts of Elishah they made your awning.
- Isa 19:9The workers in flax will be dismayed, and the weavers of fine linen will turn pale.
- Gen 41:42Then Pharaoh removed the signet ring from his finger, put it on Joseph’s finger, clothed him in garments of fine linen, and placed a gold chain around his neck.
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Christ at the center
Solomon's glory, wisdom, and temple where God's presence dwells are a shadow of the greater Son of David — 'one greater than Solomon is here' — and of the true Temple, Christ himself.
How 1 Kings 10:28 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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