1 Kings 4:26

26 And Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve* thousand horsemen.

1 Kings 4:26 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 4:26

And Solomon had forty thousand stalls for horses
In ( 2 Chronicles 9:25 ) ; it is only four thousand; and therefore some think that here is a mistake of the copier, of "arbaim", forty, for "arbah", four; which it is thought might be through divine permission, in such lesser matters, without any prejudice to the authority of the Scriptures in matters of faith and practice; but without supposing this, a reconciliation may be made, by observing, that here the writer, as Ben Gersom notes, gives the number of the horses that were in the stables, which were forty thousand, there the stables themselves, which were four thousand, ten horses in a stable; or here he numbers the stalls, which were forty thousand, and there the stables, which were four thousand, there being ten stalls in each; and the word there has the letter "yod" in it more than here, which is the numerical letter for "ten", and may point thereunto; or here the writer speaks of all the stalls for horses Solomon had throughout the kingdom, there of those only he had in Jerusalem. Benjamin of Tudela F7 affirms, that these stalls, or stables, which Solomon built very strong of large stones, are still in being in Jerusalem, and that there is no building to be seen like it any where; but no other writer speaks of them; nor is it at all probable that they should remain:

for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen;
some of the said stalls of horses were for his chariots, to draw in them for various uses, of which had 1400, ( 1 Kings 10:26 ) ; and others to mount twelve thousand horsemen, who were placed in various parts, to defend kingdom.


FOOTNOTES:

F7 Itinerar. p. 43.

1 Kings 4:26 In-Context

24 For he had dominion over all the region on this side the river, from Tiphsah even to Azzah, over all the kings on this side the river: and he had peace on all sides round about him.
25 And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every man under his vine and under his fig tree, from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon.
26 And Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen.
27 And those officers provided victual for king Solomon, and for all that came unto king Solomon's table, every man in his month: they lacked nothing.
28 Barley also and straw for the horses and dromedaries brought they unto the place where the officers were, every man according to his charge.
The King James Version is in the public domain.