the sycomore trees that are in the lowland, for abundance. 16And the horses which Solomon had were brought out of Egypt; the king's merchants received them in droves, each drove at a price. 17And they fetched up, and brought out of Egypt a chariot for six hundred shekels of silver, and an horse for an hundred and fifty: and so for all the kings of the Hittites, and the kings of Syria, did they bring them out by their means.
the sycomore trees] See 1 Chr. xxvii. 28, note.
lowland] Lit. the Shephelah; i.e. essentially the stretch of low hills separating the maritime plain from the hill country of Judah, yet perhaps also including the Philistine plain. See Hastings, D. B. III. 893—894.
16. And the horses which Solomon had were brought out of Egypt] Egypt is an agricultural not a pastoral country; it lacks the broad plains suitable for the rearing of large numbers of horses. But the Arabs of the Sinai peninsula stood in close political and mercantile relations with Egypt, and it may be that though the horses were raised in Arabia and Central Asia they passed through Egyptian hands (Barnes on 1 Kin. x. 28). It is possible, however, that the reading Egypt is a mistake—see the following note.
in droves, each drove at a price] The word "droves" is incorrectly translated "linen yarn" in the A.V. The rendering droves is just possible; but it is probable that, on the basis of some versions, we should read from Ku'i (or Kuë) at a price. Kuë is a district mentioned in Assyrian inscriptions and generally identified with Cilicia. It is further proposed that, instead of Egypt (Heb. Miṣraim), we should read Muṣri, a name applied (1) to Egypt, and (2) extended beyond it to the area south of Palestine, and (3) also denoting a district in N. Syria, south of the Taurus, and named in Assyrian inscriptions. In this case, in connection with Kuë, we should identify it with the last mentioned.
17. out of Egypt] Heb. Miṣraim. If the suggestion mentioned in the previous note be adopted, then here also read Muṣri, the N. Syrian district.
and so . . . by their means] i.e. by means of Solomon's merchants horses were exported for the kings of the Hittites and of Syria.
Hittites] Settlements of Hittites seem to have existed here and there in Canaan, but in the regions north-east of Syria they formed a powerful state, able for many centuries to contend on equal terms with the Assyrians and Egyptians. Their chief cities were Carchemish on the Euphrates and Kadesh on the Orontes. They were subdued in the eighth century by the Assyrians.
