H5483b H5483b
Horse — the domesticated animal used for war, transport, and royal display throughout biblical narrative.
The Hebrew sus appears across nearly every genre of Scripture, from patriarchal narrative (Gen 47:17) to apocalyptic vision (Zech 1:8). Horses in Israel's world were overwhelmingly associated with military power — Pharaoh's chariot horses drowning in the Sea (Exod 15:1, 21), Canaanite war chariots (Josh 11:4), and Solomon's controversial cavalry imports from Egypt (1 Kgs 10:28). The prophets repeatedly warned against trusting in horses rather than in the LORD (Isa 31:1; Ps 20:7). Every major translation language renders this with its standard equine term — caballo, cheval, Pferd, cavallo — reflecting the word's semantic transparency.
1. horse (the animal) — The domesticated horse as animal, overwhelmingly in military and royal contexts: chariot teams (Judg 5:22), cavalry mounts (2 Kgs 2:11), trade commodities (Gen 47:17), and prophetic symbols of earthly power opposed to divine trust (Isa 31:1; Mic 5:9). All 138 occurrences share this core zoological referent, rendered uniformly across languages — caballos, chevaux, Pferde — with no semantic ambiguity. 138×
AR["أَحْصِنَةٌ","الْخَيْلِ","خَيلًا","خَيْلاً","خَيْلًا","خَيْلٍ","سُوسِيم","فَرَسٍ","وَ-أَطْيَابًا"]·ben["ঘোড়া","ঘোড়াগুলি-","ঘোড়াদের","ঘোড়াদের-জন্য","ঘোড়ায়","ঘোড়ার"]·DE["Pferd","Pferde"]·EN["horses","if"]·FR["cheval","chevaux","סוסים"]·heb["סוּסִים","סוסים"]·HI["घोड़े","घोड़ों","घोड़ों-से","सूसीम"]·ID["Kuda-kuda","kuda","kuda-kuda","kuda-kuda,"]·IT["cavalli","cavallo"]·jav["Kapal-kapal","jaran","jaran-jaran","kapal","kuda","kuda-kuda","kuda.","saged-panjenengan"]·KO["말들","말들-과","말들과","말들로","말들에","말들을","말들의","말들이다","말을"]·PT["Cavalos","cavalos"]·RU["едущих","коней","кони","конями","конях","конях,","на-конях","юношей"]·ES["Caballos","caballos","de-caballos"]·SW["farasi","kwa-magari-yake"]·TR["at","atlar","atlarin","atların"]·urd["گھوڑوں","گھوڑوں-سے","گھوڑوں-پر","گھوڑوں-کا","گھوڑوں-کے","گھوڑے"]
Gen 49:17, Exod 15:1, Exod 15:21, Deut 17:16, Deut 17:16, Deut 20:1, Josh 11:4, 1 Kgs 4:26, 1 Kgs 10:25, 1 Kgs 10:29, 1 Kgs 18:5, 1 Kgs 20:20 (+38 more)
▼ 1 more sense below
Senses
2. sense 2 — A single anomalous occurrence at Neh 7:68, where the Masoretic text appears to contain a section marker or textual disruption rather than a genuine use of 'horse.' English renders it as a section break, Spanish as 'S,' and the verse is absent from some manuscript traditions entirely. Most modern critical editions treat this as a scribal artifact rather than a distinct lexical sense. 1×
AR["ס"]·ben["স"]·DE["Pferd"]·EN["[section]"]·FR["cheval"]·heb["סוס"]·HI["ס"]·ID["S"]·IT["cavallo"]·jav["(setunggal)"]·KO["[세투마]"]·PT["§"]·RU["[сетума]"]·ES["S"]·SW["S"]·TR["S"]
Related Senses
G3588 1. definite article (18298×)H0853 1. definite direct object marker (10915×)G2532 1. (8312×)H3068 1. YHWH (the divine name) (6522×)H0834a 1. relative pronoun (who/which/that) (4839×)H3588a 1. causal: because, for (3498×)G1161 1. and (2806×)H3478 1. Israel (proper name and nation) (2507×)G4771 1. you (plural address) (1853×)H1931 1. personal pronoun he/she/it (1431×)G3739 1. relative pronoun who/which/that (1149×)H1732 1. David (proper name) (1075×)H2088 1. this, this one (demonstrative) (1059×)G1063 1. (1047×)G3778 1. this thing, these things (1003×)H???? 2. (1002×)G2424 1. (924×)G3754 1. that (content clause) (881×)H2009 1. presentative particle: behold, look (881×)H0589 1. I (first person singular pronoun) (874×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
II. סוּס138 n.m. Ex 15:1 horse (NH סוּס, סוּסָה, Aramaic סוּסְיָא, ܣܽܘܣܝܳܐ, Mand. סוסיא, Sin. id., Lzb 328; Assyrian sisû (sîsû?) DlHWB 506; Tel Am. su-u[su] WklTA. 191, 24; prob. foreign word cf. NöM 147 Erman Ägypten 649; Eng. tr. 490);—ס׳ abs. 1 K 20:20 +; cstr. Ex 15:19 +; pl. סוּסִים Gn 47:17 +, סֻסִים 2 S 15:1; cstr. סוּסֵי 2 K 2:11; sf. סוּסַי 1 K 22:4; 2 K 3:7, סוּסֶיךָ Mi 5:9 + 4 times,…