Strong's Number: H5483
Original Word: sûs
Usage Notes: "horse." Cognates of this word appear in Ugaritic, Akkadian, Egyptian, and Syriac. It appears in biblical Hebrew about 138 times and in all periods.
The first biblical appearance of sûs is in Gen 47:17: "And they brought their cattle unto Joseph: and Joseph gave them bread in exchange for horses, and for the flocks, and for the cattle of the herds, and for the asses…." In the second quarter of the second millennium the chariot became a major military weapon and "horses" a very desirable commodity. This was the time of Joseph. It was not until the end of the second millennium that a rudimentary cavalry appeared on the battlefield. In the period of the eighth-century prophets and following, "horses" became a sign of luxury and apostasy (Isa 2:7; Amos 4:10) inasmuch as Israel's hope for freedom and security was to be the Lord: "But the [the king] shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to… multiply horses…" (Deut 17:16).
The "horses" of God are the storm clouds with which he treads upon the sea (Hab 3:15).
