Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
2 Chronicles 1:14 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 14. 14And Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen: and he had a thousand and four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, which he placed in the chariot cities, and with the king at Jerusalem.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
This verse opens the thought unit and establishes its first action or speech: “And Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen: and he had a thousand and four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand….” Its responsible meaning belongs to the complete movement “Chariots, horses, and trade display royal abundance.”
Chariots and horses arrive in the same chapter as the wisdom gift
This verse is one part of that explanation in 2 Chronicles 1:14–17. The complete section carries the connected meaning and how it should shape life.
Read It With
- 2 Chronicles 1:14–17
Read 2 Chronicles 1:14 with 1:14–17. The selected wording supplies one opening in the thought unit and establishes its first action or speech; the surrounding verses supply the causes, responses, and outcome summarized here: Solomon accumulates chariots and horsemen, concentrates them in royal centers, and participates in Egypt-linked trade serving other kings.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Within “Chariots, horses, and trade display royal abundance,” 2 Chronicles 1:14 opens the thought unit and establishes its first action or speech through the wording “And Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen: and he had a thousand and four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand….” Its placement is governed by this reviewed relationship: The wealth notice complicates the wisdom gift by placing military and commercial accumulation beside Israel's royal law traditions. Royal abundance follows the wisdom request but also activates Torah's warning about multiplying horses, Egypt, silver, and gold, so prosperity cannot serve as a simple moral verdict.
Read 2 Chronicles 1:14–17 together
Why these verses belong together: 2 Chronicles 1:14–17 forms the complete movement “Chariots, horses, and trade display royal abundance”: Solomon accumulates chariots and horsemen, concentrates them in royal centers, and participates in Egypt-linked trade serving other kings.
Verse 14. 14 And Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen: and he had a thousand and four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, which he placed in the chariot cities, and with the king at Jerusalem.
Verse 15. 15 And the king made silver and gold at Jerusalem as plenteous as stones, and cedar trees made he as the sycomore trees that are in the vale for abundance.
Verse 16. 16 And Solomon had horses brought out of Egypt, and linen yarn: the king’s merchants received the linen yarn at a price.
Verse 17. 17 And they fetched up, and brought forth out of Egypt a chariot for six hundred shekels of silver, and an horse for an hundred and fifty: and so brought they out horses for all the kings of the Hittites, and for the kings of Syria, by their means.
Follow the Context
- Solomon accumulates chariots and horsemen, concentrates them in royal centers, and participates in Egypt-linked trade serving other kings.
- The wealth notice complicates the wisdom gift by placing military and commercial accumulation beside Israel's royal law traditions.
What This Verse Is Not Saying
2 Chronicles 1:14 does not permit the wording “And Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen: and he had a thousand and four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand…” to be read apart from the selected verse's context. Abundance does not prove moral excellence, bless arms dealing, or cancel the warnings associated with multiplying horses and wealth.
What Remains True
Worship and wisdom remain accountable to covenant, labor, outsiders, resources, and God's freedom; sacred scale never makes royal power or a building immune from review. This unit tests that truth through the narrated movement: Solomon accumulates chariots and horsemen, concentrates them in royal centers, and participates in Egypt-linked trade serving other kings. In 2 Chronicles 1:14, the concrete line “And Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen: and he had a thousand and four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand…” keeps that truth accountable to the narrated evidence.
Teach It Back
Explain why 2 Chronicles 1:14 introduces concentrated chariot and cavalry power after the wisdom gift. Use 1:14–17, paraphrase “And Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen: and he had a thousand and four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand…,” state one source or reconstruction limit, identify one person or group power can obscure, and reject one conclusion this verse does not authorize.
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Continue in Context
Read the complete section for the connected explanation and how it should shape life. This verse is a doorway into that passage, not a saying that stands alone.
Read 2 Chronicles 1:14–17 — Chariots, horses, and trade display royal abundanceSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
Where care is needed
The KJV's 'linen yarn' reflects a difficult trade term; price, route, and commodity details should not be harmonized beyond the Hebrew and translation notes.
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact KJV wording, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage for this thought unit.
Exact location: 2 Chronicles 1:14–17, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: 2 Chronicles
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Hebrew wording, morphology, names, clauses, regnal formulas, temple vocabulary, older-English controls, and translation limits.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/2Chr.xml, Masoretic words and morphology for 1:14–17
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible Full Notes: 2 Chronicles
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press; STEP Bible presentation, 2019 edition; current web presentation
Supports: Unit-bounded translation comparisons and only those lexical, textual, grammatical, numerical, historical, and parallel-passage notes attached to these verses.
Exact location: STEP Bible NET2full, 2 Chronicles 1:14–17, verse-attached translation and translator notes
Open source ↗