2 Samuel 8:4
New International Version
David captured a thousand of his chariots, seven thousand charioteers and twenty thousand foot soldiers. He hamstrung all but a hundred of the chariot horses.

New Living Translation
David captured 1,000 chariots, 7,000 charioteers, and 20,000 foot soldiers. He crippled all the chariot horses except enough for 100 chariots.

English Standard Version
And David took from him 1,700 horsemen, and 20,000 foot soldiers. And David hamstrung all the chariot horses but left enough for 100 chariots.

Berean Standard Bible
David 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 James Bible
And David took from him a thousand chariots, and seven hundred horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen: and David houghed all the chariot horses, but reserved of them for an hundred chariots.

New King James Version
David took from him one thousand chariots, seven hundred horsemen, and twenty thousand foot soldiers. Also David hamstrung all the chariot horses, except that he spared enough of them for one hundred chariots.

New American Standard Bible
And David captured from him 1,700 horsemen and twenty thousand foot soldiers; and David hamstrung almost all the chariot horses, but left enough of them for a hundred chariots.

NASB 1995
David captured from him 1,700 horsemen and 20,000 foot soldiers; and David hamstrung the chariot horses, but reserved enough of them for 100 chariots.

NASB 1977
And David captured from him 1,700 horsemen and 20,000 foot soldiers; and David hamstrung the chariot horses, but reserved enough of them for 100 chariots.

Legacy Standard Bible
And David captured from him 1,700 horsemen and 20,000 foot soldiers; and David hamstrung all the chariot horses, but left enough of them for 100 chariots.

Amplified Bible
David captured from him 1,700 horsemen and 20,000 foot soldiers. David also hamstrung all the chariot horses (making them lame), but reserved enough of them for a hundred chariots.

Christian Standard Bible
David captured seventeen hundred horsemen and twenty thousand foot soldiers from him, and he hamstrung all the horses and kept a hundred chariots.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
David captured 1,700 horsemen and 20,000 foot soldiers from him, and he hamstrung all the horses and kept 100 chariots.

American Standard Version
And David took from him a thousand and seven hundred horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen: and David hocked all the chariot horses, but reserved of them for a hundred chariots.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And David destroyed from him a thousand and seven hundred chariots and twenty thousand infantry warriors, and David overthrew all the chariots and he left of them one hundred chariots

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And David took a thousand of his chariots, and seven thousand horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen: and David houghed all his chariot horses, and he reserved to himself a hundred chariots.

Contemporary English Version
In the battle, David captured 1,700 cavalry and 20,000 foot soldiers. He also captured war chariots, but he destroyed all but 100 of them.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And David took from him a thousand and seven hundred horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen, and houghed all the chariot horses: and only reserved of them for one hundred chariots.

English Revised Version
And David took from him a thousand and seven hundred horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen: and David houghed all the chariot horses, but reserved of them for an hundred chariots.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
David took 1,700 horsemen and 20,000 foot soldiers from him. David also disabled all but 100 of their horses so that they couldn't pull chariots.

Good News Translation
David captured seventeen hundred of his cavalry and twenty thousand of his foot soldiers. He kept enough horses for a hundred chariots and crippled all the rest.

International Standard Version
David captured 1,000 of his chariots, 1,700 horsemen, and 20,000 foot soldiers. David hamstrung all the chariot horses except for enough to supply 100 chariots.

JPS Tanakh 1917
And David took from him a thousand and seven hundred horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen; and David houghed all the chariot horses, but reserved of them for a hundred chariots.

Literal Standard Version
and David captures from him one thousand and seven hundred horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen, and David utterly destroys the whole of the charioteers; he leaves only one hundred of their charioteers.

Majority Standard Bible
David 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.

New American Bible
David captured from him one thousand seven hundred horsemen and twenty thousand foot soldiers. David hamstrung all the chariot horses, but left one hundred for his chariots.

NET Bible
David seized from him 1,700 charioteers and 20,000 infantrymen. David cut the hamstrings of all but a hundred of the chariot horses.

New Revised Standard Version
David took from him one thousand seven hundred horsemen, and twenty thousand foot soldiers. David hamstrung all the chariot horses, but left enough for a hundred chariots.

New Heart English Bible
And David took from him a thousand of his chariots, and seven thousand horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen: and David hamstrung all the chariot horses, but reserved of them for one hundred chariots.

Webster's Bible Translation
And David took from him a thousand chariots, and seven hundred horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen: and David houghed all the chariot-horses, but reserved of them for a hundred chariots.

World English Bible
David took from him one thousand seven hundred horsemen and twenty thousand footmen. David hamstrung the chariot horses, but reserved enough of them for one hundred chariots.

Young's Literal Translation
and David captureth from him a thousand and seven hundred horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen, and David destroyeth utterly the whole of the charioteers, only he leaveth of them a hundred charioteers.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
David's Triumphs
3David also defeated Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of Zobah, who had marched out to restore his dominion along the Euphrates River. 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. 5When the Arameans of Damascus came to help King Hadadezer of Zobah, David struck down twenty-two thousand men.…

Cross References
Genesis 49:6
May I never enter their council; may I never join their assembly. For they kill men in their anger, and hamstring oxen on a whim.

Joshua 11:6
Then 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."

Joshua 11:9
Joshua treated them as the LORD had told him; he hamstrung their horses and burned up their chariots.


Treasury of Scripture

And David took from him a thousand chariots, and seven hundred horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen: and David hamstrung all the chariot horses, but reserved of them for an hundred chariots.

from him.

1 Chronicles 18:4
And David took from him a thousand chariots, and seven thousand horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen: David also houghed all the chariot horses, but reserved of them an hundred chariots.

David houghed

Deuteronomy 17:16
But he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he should multiply horses: forasmuch as the LORD hath said unto you, Ye shall henceforth return no more that way.

Joshua 11:6,9
And the LORD said unto Joshua, Be not afraid because of them: for to morrow about this time will I deliver them up all slain before Israel: thou shalt hough their horses, and burn their chariots with fire…

Psalm 20:7
Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God.

reserved

1 Kings 10:26
And Solomon gathered together chariots and horsemen: and he had a thousand and four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, whom he bestowed in the cities for chariots, and with the king at Jerusalem.

Jump to Previous
Captured Captureth Chariot Charioteers Chariot-Horses Chariots Cut David Destroyeth Enough Foot Footmen Hamstrung Hocked Horsemen Horses Houghed Hundred Keeping Reserved s Seven Soldiers Thousand Twenty Utterly War-Carriages
Jump to Next
Captured Captureth Chariot Charioteers Chariot-Horses Chariots Cut David Destroyeth Enough Foot Footmen Hamstrung Hocked Horsemen Horses Houghed Hundred Keeping Reserved s Seven Soldiers Thousand Twenty Utterly War-Carriages
2 Samuel 8
1. David subdues the Philistines and the Moabites
3. He smites Hadadezer, and the Syrians
9. Toi sends Joram with presents to bless him
11. David dedicates the presents and the spoil to God
14. He puts garrisons in Edom
16. David's officers














(4) A thousand chariots.--The word chariots has evidently dropped out of the text here, but is rightly inserted, following the LXX. and 1 Chron.; 700 horsemen should also be changed to 7,000, in accordance with 1 Chron., this being a more fitting proportion to 20,000 infantry in the plains of Syria, and the difference being only in two dots over the letter marking the numeral in Hebrew.

Houghed, i.e., hamstrung, to render them incapable of use in war. (Comp. Joshua 11:6; Joshua 11:9.) This is meant to apply not only to the chariot horses, but to all those of the cavalry. Whether David's reservation of the number needed for 100 chariots was wrong or not, is not said. David probably felt the need of these horses as a means of more rapid communication with the distant parts of his increasing empire; yet this act may have been the entering wedge for Solomon's direct violation of Deuteronomy 17:16, by sending to Egypt to "multiply horses to himself."

Verse 4. - David took from him a thousand chariots, and seven hundred horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen. The word "chariots" is inserted in the Authorized Version after "thousand," from the parallel place in 1 Chronicles 18:4, where also it is said that David captured seven thousand horsemen. The numbers of the Chronicler are more in proportion to one another than those mentioned here, provided we assume that the word "chariots" ought to be supplied, which, as it is not the only difference, is uncertain. Until the Arabs invented our present system of notation, the ancient methods of representing numbers were so liable to error that little dependence can be placed upon them. The Hebrews used their letters for numerals, but after 400 their system breaks down. Any number higher than 400 can be represented only by long sums in arithmetic, or by an intricate system of points above and below, which were sure to get into confusion. David houghed all the chariot horses. There is good reason for concluding that the word used here, recheb, is a collective, and signifies animals used either for riding or driving. What David reserved was not a hundred chariots, but a hundred riding horses, which would be useful to him for rapid communication, and could scarcely be regarded as a violation of the command in Deuteronomy 17:16. Both the Authorized and Revised Versions are wrong, but the Authorized Version at least makes the word recheb have the same meaning in both clauses, whereas the Revised Version makes it signify chariot horses in the first clause, and the chariots themselves in the second. The defeat by David, with infantry only, of an army provided with so powerful a force of cavalry and chariots, proves his great military skill, and their capture hears even more emphatic testimony to his generalship. In the Psalms we find horses often referred to as objects regarded with terror, and which gave a great advantage to their enemies (Psalm 20:7; Psalm 33:17; Psalm 76:6; Psalm 147:10), but over which they had triumphed by Jehovah's aid. This method, however, of rendering them useless, though practised by Joshua (Joshua 11:6), was most cruel; as the poor things, unable to move about with the sinews of their hind legs severed, would perish of hunger.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
David
דָּוִ֜ד (dā·wiḏ)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 1732: David -- perhaps 'beloved one', a son of Jesse

captured
וַיִּלְכֹּ֨ד (way·yil·kōḏ)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 3920: To catch, to capture, occupy, to choose, to cohere

from him
מִמֶּ֗נּוּ (mim·men·nū)
Preposition | third person masculine singular
Strong's 4480: A part of, from, out of

a thousand [chariots],
אֶ֤לֶף (’e·lep̄)
Number - masculine singular
Strong's 505: A thousand

seven
וּשְׁבַע־ (ū·šə·ḇa‘-)
Conjunctive waw | Number - feminine singular construct
Strong's 7651: Seven, seven times, a week, an indefinite number

thousand
מֵאוֹת֙ (mê·’ō·wṯ)
Number - feminine plural
Strong's 3967: A hundred

charioteers,
פָּרָשִׁ֔ים (pā·rā·šîm)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 6571: A steed, a driver, cavalry

and twenty
וְעֶשְׂרִ֥ים (wə·‘eś·rîm)
Conjunctive waw | Number - common plural
Strong's 6242: Twenty, twentieth

thousand
אֶ֖לֶף (’e·lep̄)
Number - masculine singular
Strong's 505: A thousand

foot soldiers,
אִ֣ישׁ (’îš)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 376: A man as an individual, a male person

and he
דָּוִד֙ (dā·wiḏ)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 1732: David -- perhaps 'beloved one', a son of Jesse

hamstrung
וַיְעַקֵּ֤ר (way·‘aq·qêr)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Piel - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 6131: To pluck up, to hamstring, to exterminate

all
כָּל־ (kāl-)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 3605: The whole, all, any, every

the horses
הָרֶ֔כֶב (hā·re·ḵeḇ)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 7393: A vehicle, a team, cavalry, a rider, the upper millstone

except a hundred
מֵ֥אָה (mê·’āh)
Number - feminine singular
Strong's 3967: A hundred

he kept
וַיּוֹתֵ֥ר (way·yō·w·ṯêr)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 3498: To jut over, exceed, to excel, to remain, be left, to leave, cause to abound, preserve

for the chariots.
רָֽכֶב׃ (rā·ḵeḇ)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 7393: A vehicle, a team, cavalry, a rider, the upper millstone


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OT History: 2 Samuel 8:4 David took from him one thousand seven (2Sa iiSam 2 Sam ii sam)
2 Samuel 8:3
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