Solomon accumulated 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsesThis phrase highlights Solomon's wealth and military strength, reflecting the fulfillment of God's promise to make him a prosperous king. The accumulation of chariots and horses was a sign of power and prestige in the ancient Near East. Chariots were the advanced military technology of the time, often used in warfare and as a symbol of royal authority. The number 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horses indicates a significant military force, suggesting Solomon's kingdom was well-defended and influential. This accumulation, however, also hints at a potential disobedience to
Deuteronomy 17:16, where kings of Israel were advised not to multiply horses, especially from Egypt, to prevent reliance on military might over God.
which he stationed in the chariot cities
Chariot cities were strategic locations where Solomon stationed his chariots and horses. These cities served as military bases and storage facilities, ensuring rapid deployment of forces when needed. Archaeological evidence suggests that these cities were fortified and equipped to support large numbers of horses and chariots. The mention of chariot cities indicates Solomon's strategic planning and administrative skills in maintaining his kingdom's security. It also reflects the influence of Egyptian practices, as Egypt was known for its chariotry and military organization.
and also with him in Jerusalem
Jerusalem, as the capital city, was the political and spiritual center of Israel. By stationing chariots and horses in Jerusalem, Solomon ensured the protection of the city and his palace. This decision underscores the importance of Jerusalem not only as a religious hub but also as a military stronghold. The presence of such a force in Jerusalem symbolizes the consolidation of power and the centralization of authority under Solomon's reign. It also foreshadows the eventual challenges of maintaining such wealth and power, as seen in the later division of the kingdom after Solomon's death.
Persons / Places / Events
1.
SolomonThe son of King David and Bathsheba, Solomon was the third king of Israel, known for his wisdom, wealth, and building projects, including the Temple in Jerusalem.
2.
Chariots and HorsesSymbols of military strength and power in ancient times. Solomon's accumulation of these indicates his wealth and the expansion of his kingdom's military capabilities.
3.
Chariot CitiesStrategic locations where Solomon stationed his chariots and horses. These cities served as military outposts to protect the kingdom and maintain control over trade routes.
4.
JerusalemThe capital city of Israel, where Solomon also stationed some of his chariots and horses. It was the political and spiritual center of the kingdom.
5.
Military ExpansionThe event of Solomon accumulating chariots and horses signifies a period of military expansion and consolidation of power during his reign.
Teaching Points
Wisdom and WealthSolomon's wisdom led to great wealth, but it also brought challenges. Believers should seek wisdom from God, but remain vigilant about the potential pitfalls of wealth and power.
Obedience to God's CommandsSolomon's accumulation of horses may reflect a departure from God's commands. Christians are reminded to prioritize obedience to God's Word over worldly success.
Trust in God Over Military MightWhile military strength is important, ultimate trust should be placed in God. Believers are encouraged to rely on God's power rather than human resources.
Strategic StewardshipSolomon's use of chariot cities shows strategic thinking. Christians are called to be wise stewards of their resources, using them for God's glory and kingdom purposes.
Bible Study Questions and Answers
1.What is the meaning of 2 Chronicles 1:14?
2.How does Solomon's wealth in 2 Chronicles 1:14 reflect God's blessings on obedience?
3.What can we learn about stewardship from Solomon's accumulation of chariots and horses?
4.How does Solomon's wealth compare to God's promises in Deuteronomy 17:16-17?
5.In what ways can we prioritize God's will over material wealth today?
6.How can Solomon's example guide our understanding of God's provision and priorities?
7.How does 2 Chronicles 1:14 reflect Solomon's wealth and power in ancient Israel?
8.What does Solomon's accumulation of chariots and horses signify in 2 Chronicles 1:14?
9.How does 2 Chronicles 1:14 align with God's instructions in Deuteronomy 17:16?
10.What are the top 10 Lessons from 2 Chronicles 1?
11.2 Chronicles 1:14 – Are there reliable extra-biblical sources confirming Solomon’s vast numbers of chariots and horses?
12.2 Chronicles 1:16-17 - Does the mention of imported chariots and horses align with known trade routes and historical trade practices of that era?
13.Why do the numbers listed in 2 Chronicles 9:25 about Solomon's horses and chariots differ from related passages like 1 Kings 4:26?
14.How does the peaceful ten years of Asa's reign (2 Chronicles 14:1) align with other accounts of constant warfare in the region?What Does 2 Chronicles 1:14 Mean
Solomon accumulated 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horses• These precise numbers underline real, tangible prosperity—evidence that the request Solomon made for wisdom (2 Chronicles 1:7-12) was already bearing fruit.
•1 Kings 4:26 and 10:26 echo the same figures, showing the historian’s consistency and emphasizing how large-scale the royal stables truly were.
• The sheer size of this cavalry speaks to military strength, trade connections, and technological advance in Israel. YetDeuteronomy 17:16 had cautioned Israel’s kings not to multiply horses. By recording the totals, the writer lets us feel both the blessing of abundance and the subtle warning that comes with it.
which he stationed in the chariot cities• Solomon didn’t keep all the horses in one place. He built or fortified “chariot cities” (1 Kings 9:19;2 Chronicles 9:25) across the land.
• Strategically, spreading out the chariots:
– protected trade routes,
– deterred neighboring powers,
– provided rapid response points if threats arose.
• Economically, these cities created local jobs—grooms, blacksmiths, wheelwrights—allowing the prosperity of the throne to ripple into the countryside (2 Chronicles 8:6).
• Spiritually, the arrangement quietly raises the question of reliance: were the chariot cities a wise use of God-given resources, or were they edging toward trust in human might?
and also with him in Jerusalem• Solomon retained a select force in the capital. This served:
– ceremonial display during royal processions (1 Kings 10:26),
– immediate defense of the palace and temple mount,
– a visual reminder to the populace of the king’s God-given authority.
• The next verse notes that silver and gold in Jerusalem “were as plentiful as stones” (2 Chronicles 1:15). Housing part of the cavalry there reinforced the city’s status as the heart of Israel’s political and spiritual life.
• Keeping some chariots “with him” points to personal stewardship. These horses weren’t merely numbers on a ledger; Solomon personally oversaw them, showcasing both organizational skill and the temptation to take pride in visible power (Psalm 20:7).
summary2 Chronicles 1:14 paints a picture of a king whose wisdom quickly translated into vast resources and strategic organization. God granted Solomon unparalleled success, seen in thousands of horses, specialized cities, and a well-supplied capital. The verse affirms God’s faithfulness to bless while gently hinting at the danger of a heart drifting toward confidence in earthly power.
(14-17) Solomon's "riches, and wealth, and honour" illustrated (comp.
1Kings 10:26-29). In the parallel passage of Kings, this short section closes the account of Solomon's wealth and glory.
2Chronicles 9:25-28 is very similar; a fact which will not surprise those who bear in mind that the chronicler is careless of repetition.
(14)And Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen.--Word for word as in1Kings 10:26; see the Notes there.
Which he placed.--And he placed, orbestowed them (wayyanhihem) (2Chronicles 9:25). Kings50100 reads, "and he brought them into the chariot cities" (wayyanhem). The difference turns on the pointing only, and the versions there support our text; LXX., "he put; "Vulg.,disposuit; Targum,'ashrinn?n, "he lodged them;" Syriac, "he left them." Thechariots (rekeb; see1Chronicles 18:4;1Chronicles 19:6)and horsemen were, of course, military. The "chariot cities" probably lay in the south towards Egypt. The Simeonite Beth-marcaboth (house of chariots), and Hazar-susim (court of horses) may have been included amongst them. (See1Chronicles 4:31.) . . .
Verses 14-17. - The
attraction to Jerusalem of the signs of wealth - chariots, horses, etc. - on the part of Solomon. The excitement attending the great sacrifices at Gibeon, and before the ark in Jerusalem, had now subsided. And we obtain just a glimpse of the range of thought and purpose present to the mind of the reigning king. The largo expenditure of money would infer without fail the show of brilliant prosperity in the grand city for the time. Whether this would last, and whether it would not infer oppressive taxation somewhere or other (
1 Kings 9:15, 21, 22;
1 Kings 10:25) among the people, time would show. Had this expenditure been all to record, none could suppose the commencing of the practical part of the king's reign either sound or auspicious. But, of course, it is to be qualified by other things that were transpiring, with which the parallel acquaints us (e.g.
1 Kings 3:16-28), only in different order. We now, however, begin a rapid and self-contained sketch of the reign of Solomon to his very death (ch. 9.) - the sketch one of marked characteristics, and in consistent keeping with the presumable objects of this work. For it is very much monopolized by the account of the temple.
Verse 14. - The contents of this and the following three verses are identical with the parrallel
1 Kings 10:26-29, except that the words, "and gold," of our ver. 15 (
2 Chronicles 9:20) are not found there. The position of these four verses in the parallel, towards the close of the account of Solomon, would seem more natural than their position here, which has somewhat the appearance of a fragment interpolated, as on the other hand the account of the harlot-mothers there.
Solomon gathered chariots andhorsemen. The chariot was no institution of Israel (so
Deuteronomy 20:1), neither of their earliest ancestors, nor of those more proximate. The earliest occasions of the mention of it (
Genesis 41:43;
Genesis 46:29;
Genesis 50:9) are in connection with Egypt, and almost all subsequent occasions for a long stretch of time show it in connection with some foreign nation, till we read (
2 Samuel 8:4;
1 Chronicles 18:4) of David "reserving horses" unhoughed "for a hundred chariots," apparently also "reserved" out of the very much larger number which he had taken in battle from Hadadezer King of Zobah. The very genius of the character of God's people, a
pilgrim-genius, as well as their long-time pilgrim
-life, quite accounts for the "chariot," though it be a war-chariot, having never ranked among their treasures (
Deuteronomy 17:16;
1 Samuel 8:11). Now, however, Solomon thinks it the time to make it a feature of the nation's power and splendour. He gives the large order for fourteen hundred chariots apparently to Egypt (ver. 17; also ch. 9:28), the appropriate number of horses to which would be probably four thousand (
2 Chronicles 9:25; comp.
1 Kings 4:26, where note the corrupt numeral forty thousand, 10:26). Solomon's fourteen hundred chariots were probably intended to exceed the numbers of the Egyptian king (
2 Chronicles 12:3; comp.
2 Chronicles 14:6), of Hadadezer's (
2 Samuel 8:4;
1 Chronicles 18:4), and of the Syrians (
2 Samuel 10:18). But, on the other hand, see
1 Samuel 13:5 and
1 Chronicles 19:7, unless, as seems very probable, the numerals in these places are again incorrect. Dr. Smith's 'Dictionary of the Bible' contains an interesting article on the chariot (vol. 1:295). For significant allusions to the
horsemen, reference may be made to
1 Samuel 8:11;
1 Kings 20:20;
2 Kings 2:12;
Isaiah 21:7. Twelve thousand horsemen. These probably purport what we should call
horse-soldiers, or cavalry. And. it is likely that they come to designate these in virtue of the Hebrew word here used (
פָרָשִׁים) meaning horses of the cavalry sort (see Gesenius, 'Lexicon,'
subvoce). The chariot cities. In
2 Chronicles 8:5, 6 we are expressly told that Solomon "built" purposely these cities, for the chariots and for the horsemen, just as he built the "store" cities (see also
1 Kings 9:17-19; Xenoph., 'Anab.,' 1:4. § 10).
Parallel Commentaries ...
Hebrew
Solomonשְׁלֹמֹה֮(šə·lō·mōh)Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 8010:Solomon -- David's son and successor to his throneaccumulatedוַיֶּאֱסֹ֣ף(way·ye·’ĕ·sōp̄)Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 622:To gather for, any purpose, to receive, take away, remove1,400אֶ֤לֶף(’e·lep̄)Number - masculine singular
Strong's 505:A thousandchariotsרֶ֣כֶב(re·ḵeḇ)Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 7393:A vehicle, a team, cavalry, a rider, the upper millstoneand 12,000וּשְׁנֵים־(ū·šə·nêm-)Conjunctive waw | Number - md
Strong's 8147:Two (a cardinal number)horses,וּפָרָשִׁים֒(ū·p̄ā·rā·šîm)Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 6571:A steed, a driver, cavalrywhich he stationedוַֽיְהִי־(way·hî-)Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 1961:To fall out, come to pass, become, bein the chariotרֶ֔כֶב(re·ḵeḇ)Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 7393:A vehicle, a team, cavalry, a rider, the upper millstonecitiesבְּעָרֵ֣י(bə·‘ā·rê)Preposition-b | Noun - feminine plural construct
Strong's 5892:Excitementand also withוְעִם־(wə·‘im-)Conjunctive waw | Preposition
Strong's 5973:With, equally with[him]הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ(ham·me·leḵ)Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 4428:A kingin Jerusalem.בִּירֽוּשָׁלִָֽם׃(bî·rū·šā·lim)Preposition-b | Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 3389:Jerusalem -- probably 'foundation of peace', capital city of all Israel
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OT History: 2 Chronicles 1:14 Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen: and he (2 Chron. 2Ch iiCh ii ch 2 chr 2chr) 
