A horse (as leaping); also a swallow (from its rapid flight )
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The Hebrew noun sus ordinarily names a horse. In biblical narratives and poetry, horses carry riders, draw chariots, speed messengers, display royal wealth, and embody the mobility and striking power of an army.
Reader summary
Full entry for סוּס (H5483) · Open the biblical lexicon
The Hebrew noun sus ordinarily names a horse. In biblical narratives and poetry, horses carry riders, draw chariots, speed messengers, display royal wealth, and embody the mobility and striking power of an army.
The BSB source-word alignment has 139 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include horses (42), the horses (7), The horse (6), of horses (5), with horses (5).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Genesis 47:17. Its strongest book concentrations include 2 Kings (20), Jeremiah (16), Zechariah (14), 1 Kings (13).
The Hebrew noun sus ordinarily names a horse. In biblical narratives and poetry, horses carry riders, draw chariots, speed messengers, display royal wealth, and embody the mobility and striking power of an army. That practical strength makes the horse a recurring test of trust. Israel's king must not multiply horses or send people back to Egypt to acquire them.
Worshipers contrast confidence in horses and chariots with remembrance of the Lord's name. Prophets reject the hope that foreign cavalry will save, and wisdom affirms that a horse may be prepared for battle while victory belongs to the Lord. The animal itself is not evil, and the word sometimes occurs in ordinary transport, royal ceremony, or vivid imagery. The warning concerns misplaced security, accumulation, and coercive force.
Two poetic witnesses use the same written code for a swift bird comparison, so those rare contexts should not be forced into the military pattern.
Sus most often names the horse as transport, royal resource, and instrument of war, while law, poetry, wisdom, and prophecy repeatedly deny that mounted strength can replace trust in God.
But the king must not acquire many horses for himself or send the people back to Egypt to acquire more horses, for the Lord has said, ‘You are never to go back that way again.’
Israel's future king is forbidden to multiply horses or return people to Egypt for military acquisition and royal accumulation.
When you go out to war against your enemies and see horses, chariots, and an army larger than yours, do not be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, is with you.
Israel is told not to fear an enemy's larger force of horses, chariots, and troops because the Lord is with them.
Some trust in chariots and others in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.
The psalm contrasts reliance on chariots and horses with remembering the name of the Lord our God.
Assyria will not save us, nor will we ride on horses. We will never again say, ‘Our gods!’ to the work of our own hands. For in You the fatherless find compassion.”
Repentant Israel renounces Assyrian rescue, mounted power, and self-made gods while seeking mercy from the Lord.
A horse is prepared for the day of battle, but victory is of the Lord.
The proverb allows the horse to be prepared for battle but assigns deliverance to the Lord rather than the equipment.
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders ItA compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
Hebrew word. Horse: symbol of military power and human strength, notably absent from Israel's ideal covenant life
Horse: symbol of military power and human strength, notably absent from Israel's ideal covenant life
a horse (as leaping); also a swallow (from its rapid flight) BDB: horse Usage: crane, horse (-back, -hoof). Compare 6571.
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Showing 1 selected witness from 141 lexical occurrence verses.
Symbol of military reliance.Hosea 14:1-3
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
Sus brings the attraction of visible strength into sharp focus. Horses increase speed, reach, prestige, and battlefield power, so rulers naturally count them as security. Yet Deuteronomy limits royal accumulation and links the horse trade with a forbidden return toward Egypt. The battle law speaks directly to fear when an enemy's horses and forces appear larger.
Psalm 20 and Hosea turn that military vocabulary into a confession that neither cavalry nor foreign alliance can save as God does. Proverbs avoids a false choice: the horse can be prepared, but deliverance still belongs to the Lord. Biblical faith therefore does not require carelessness or denial of practical means. It refuses to make force ultimate, to sacrifice people for accumulation, or to call superior equipment a guarantee of righteousness.
Readers should distinguish an animal from the systems that deploy it and distinguish prudent preparation from worshipful dependence. The lexeme trains communities to ask where confidence finally rests and whom the pursuit of security may burden.
Ps.20.7
Sus is a common Hebrew noun for horse, appearing in singular, plural, and construct forms. Context may emphasize cavalry, chariot teams, royal transport, livestock, speed, or ceremonial display. Isaiah 38:14 and Jeremiah 8:7 preserve a rare bird comparison under the same governed code, which should remain contextually distinct.
The New Testament continues to resist boasting in visible power and presents God's saving work through the crucified and risen Christ rather than superior force. Revelation's horse imagery must be read within each vision, not treated as a single fixed code for every biblical horse.