Deuteronomy 17:16

But he shall not multiply horses to himself,.... That he might not put his trust and confidence in outward things, as some are apt to trust in horses and chariots; and that he might not tyrannise

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.

He shall not multiply horses to himself, to wit, excessively, beyond what the state and majesty of his place required. Hereby God would prevent many sins and mischiefs, as, 1. Pride of heart, and contempt of his people. 2. Oppression and tyranny, and the imposition of unnecessary burdens upon his people. 3. Carnal confidence, which by this means would be promoted. See . 4. Much commerce with Egypt, as it here follows, which was famous for horses, as appears from ,28 9:28 ,3 Eze 17:15. Nor cause the people to return to Egypt; either for habitation, or for trade. This God forbade to prevent, 1. Their unthankfulness for their deliverance out of Egypt. 2. Their confederacies with the Egyptians, their trusting to them for aid, which they were very prone to, and their infection by the idolatry and other manifold wickednesses for which Egypt was infamous. 3. Their multiplication of horses, as it here follows. The Lord hath said: when or where? Answ. Either implicitly, when he showed his dislike of their return to Egypt, as ,4; or expressly at this time, The Lord hath now said it to me, and I in his name, and by his command, declare it to you. That way; in the way that leads to that place.

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.Ver. 16. He shall not multiply horses.] Lest he be held as our Henry III was, Regni dilapidator, the royal spendthrift. The Lord hath said.] Not in so many words, but by consequence, when he showed his displeasure against such as would have made them a captain to go back to Egypt.

Deuteronomy 17:14-20. THE LAW OF THE KINGDOM.(14) When thou art come unto the land.—These are not the words of a legislator who is already in the land. Those who say that this law dates from later times must be prepared to assert that this clause is expressly framed to suit the lips of Moses, and is thus far a deliberate forgery. And shalt possess it, and dwell therein—i.e., shalt complete the conquest and settle. It is not contemplated that the king would be desired immediately after the conquest. I will set a king over me, like as all the nations.—There is an evident allusion to this phrase in 1 Samuel 8:20, “That we also may be like all the nations.” It is noticeable that Moses in this place says nothing in disapproval of the design. In fact his words might easily have been cited by the people in support of their proposal. Moses said we should need a king; why should we not ask for on? Looked at this way, the citation of the words of Deuteronomy in Samuel is perfectly natural. The people confirm their request by presenting it in the very words of Moses. But if we suppose (with some modern writers) that the passage in Deuteronomy was constructed from that in Samuel, there are several difficulties—(1) Why is there no disapproval here of the plan, which Samuel so strongly disapproved? (2) How does the writer in Deuteronomy contrive to be so wholly unconscious either of the royal tribe, or of the royal family? Precisely the same unconsciousness of the locality of the place which Jehovah should choose in Palestine appears in every reference to it in this book. In Moses this is perfectly natural. But that any later writer should be so totally regardless of the claims of Judah, David, and Jerusalem, and say nothing either for or against them, is inconceivable. Samuel could hardly have written about the king without betraying disapproval of Israel’s desire for him. No later writer could have avoided some allusion to the choice of David’s family, and the promises to David’s son. (15) Whom the Lord thy God shall choose . . . from among thy brethren.—This precept seems almost needless from the standpoint of later history. As years passed by, the Israelites were less and less tempted to accept the supremacy of foreign princes.[4] But Moses can never have forgotten that for two-thirds of his own lifetime the Israelites had been subject to the kings of Egypt; and that even since the exodus they had proposed to make a captain to return thither; whom we know not, but very possibly an Egyptian. The chief thing dreaded by Moses was a return to Egypt, as appears by the next verse. [4] But see note on Deuteronomy 31:11 for an incident that illustrates the feeling. (16,17) He shall not multiply horses . . . wives . . . neither shall he greatly multiply . . .

Verse 16. He shall not multiply horses] As horses appear to have been generally furnished by Egypt, God prohibits these, 1. Lest there should be such commerce with Egypt as might lead to idolatry. 2. Lest the people might depend on a well-appointed cavalry as a means of security, and so cease from trusting in the strength and protection of God. And, 3. That they might not be tempted to extend their dominion by means of cavalry, and so get scattered among the surrounding idolatrous nations, and thus cease, in process of time, to be that distinct and separate people which God intended they should be, and without which the prophecies relative to the Messiah could not be known to have their due and full accomplishment.

16. Only] Heb. raḳ ?, see on Deuteronomy 10:15. he shall not multiply horses, etc.] On the horse in Israel, see Jerusalem i. 324 f. Horses came from N. to S. in W. Asia, probably from Asia Minor. Brought into Egypt by the Hyksos after 1800 b.c. they were never very common there, but the breed was excellent. (W. M. Müller, E.B. ‘Egypt,’ § 9.) By 1600 b.c. they were used in Palestine. Solomon seems to have introduced them into Israel; and they and the chariots for which they were first employed became symbolic of the strength of the N. Kingdom (2 Kings 2:12; 2 Kings 13:14). The prophets mention horses nearly always with war and foreign subsidies, in which the people were tempted to trust instead of in God. See Amos 4:10, Hosea 1:7; Hosea 14:3, Isaiah 2:7; Isaiah 31:1; Isaiah 31:3, Ezekiel 17:15, of which the last three passages and probably also (because of the parallel) Hosea 14:3, identify them with Israel’s irreligious confidence in an Egyptian alliance. Hence the clause nor cause the people to return to Egypt. This does not mean that individual Hebrews were bartered for Egyptian horses (Steuern.). Like the prophets D is hostile to an Egyptian alliance, of which the clearest token would be subsidies of horses. the Lord hath said, etc.] Not found in Exod.—Numb. ‘It is probable that as in other cases (cf. on Deuteronomy 1:22, Deuteronomy 10:1-3; Deuteronomy 10:9, Deuteronomy 17:2) the actual words were still read in some part of the narrative of JE, extant at the time when Deut. was composed’ (Driver).

The horse was not anciently used in the East for purposes of agriculture or traveling, but ordinarily for war only.

16. He shall not multiply horses to himself — Horses were chiefly used in the East in ancient times for military purposes. In many passages the horse is mentioned in connexion with warlike operations.