2 Samuel 8:4

4 And when a thousand and seven hundred horsemen of his part were taken, and twenty thousand of footmen, David hocked all [the] drawing beasts in chariots; but David left of those an hundred chariots, that is, the horses of an hundred chariots. (And David took from him, or captured, a thousand and seven hundred horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen, and he hocked all the drawing beasts for the chariots; but he left unharmed the horses for a hundred chariots.)

2 Samuel 8:4 Meaning and Commentary

2 Samuel 8:4

And David took from him a thousand [chariots], and seven
hundred horsemen
"Chariots" are not in the text here, it is only 1700 "horsemen"; but it is supplied from ( 1 Chronicles 18:4 ) ; where the word is expressly mentioned, and there the horsemen are said to be seven thousand as in the Septuagint version here, and in Josephus ^F13; which may be reconciled by observing, with Kimchi and Abarbinel, that here the chief officers are meant, there all the chariots and horsemen that were under their command are mentioned, which together made up that large number; or else here are meant the ranks and companies of horse David took, which were seven hundred; and these having ten in a company or rank, made seven thousand; and there the complement of soldiers in those companies and ranks are intended:

and twenty thousand footmen;
the same as in ( 1 Chronicles 18:4 ) ; and so in Josephus ^F14:

and David houghed all the chariot [horses];
or hamstrung them, as Joshua was ordered to do with respect to the Canaanites, ( Joshua 11:6 ) ; he did not kill them, which might seem cruel and unmerciful to the brute creatures, but hamstrung them, that they might be useless for war; and the reason of it was, that horses might not be multiplied in Israel for that purpose, that so their trust and confidence might not be placed in them; see ( Deuteronomy 17:16 ) ;

but reserved of them [for] an hundred chariots;
for his own use, not for war, but for grandeur; which accounts in some measure for the number of chariots and horses Solomon had, ( 1 Kings 4:26 ) ( 2 Chronicles 1:14 ) ; the number of horses reserved is supposed to be four hundred, four horses being used in a chariot, which Jarchi gathers from ( 2 Chronicles 1:17 ) .

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FOOTNOTES:

F13 Ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 7. c. 5. sect. 1.)
F14 Ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 7. c. 5. sect. 1.)

2 Samuel 8:4 In-Context

2 And David smote Moab, and meted them with a cord, and he made them even to the earth; forsooth he meted (them by) two cords, one to slay, and one to quicken. And Moab served David under tribute. (And David struck the Moabites, and he made his captives to lie on the ground, and had them measured with a cord; and for every two cord lengths of men that he killed, one cord length was allowed to live. And then the Moabites paid tribute, or taxes, to David.)

3 And David smote Hadadezer, the son of Rehob, king of Zobah, when he went forth to be lord over the flood Euphrates. (And then David struck Hadadezer, the son of Rehob, the king of Zobah, as he went to recover his land by the Euphrates River.)

4 And when a thousand and seven hundred horsemen of his part were taken, and twenty thousand of footmen, David hocked all [the] drawing beasts in chariots; but David left of those an hundred chariots, that is, the horses of an hundred chariots. (And David took from him, or captured, a thousand and seven hundred horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen, and he hocked all the drawing beasts for the chariots; but he left unharmed the horses for a hundred chariots.)

5 Also Syrians of Damascus came, that it should bear help to Hadadezer, king of Zobah; and David smote of (the) Syrians two and twenty thousand of men. (And the Syrians of Damascus came to help Hadadezer; and David struck down twenty-two thousand of the men of Syria.)

6 And David setted a stronghold in Syria of Damascus, and Syria was made serving David under tribute. And the Lord kept David in all things, to whatever things he went forth. (And David set up strongholds in Syria of Damascus, and the Syrians were made to serve David, and to pay tribute, or taxes, to him. And the Lord gave victory to David in all his battles, wherever he went.)