Deuteronomy 17:16
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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.’
Commentaries
Excerpts gathered from published commentaries to ground the reading.
Not only did the inclination to nature-worship, such as the setting up of the idols of Ashera and Baal, belong to the crimes which merited punishment, but also a manifest transgression of the laws concerning the worship of Jehovah, such as the offering of an ox or sheep that had some fault, which was an abomination in the sight of Jehovah (see at Lev 22:20.). "Any evil thing," i.e., any of the faults enumerated in Lev 22:22-24.
Open source ↗The charge of this chapter is, I. Concerning the purity and perfection of all those animals that were offered in sacrifice (Deu 17:1). II. Concerning the punishment of those that worshipped idols (Deu 17:2-7). III. Concerning appeals from the inferior courts to the great sanhedrim (Deu 17:8-13). IV. Concerning the choice and duty of a king (Deu 17:14, etc.).
Open source ↗17:16 never return to Egypt: Going there would show a king’s lack of dependence on God, who had redeemed Israel from bondage to Egypt. The best horses were found in Egypt (see 1 Kgs 10:28-29).
Open source ↗Original language
The Hebrew and Greek words behind this passage, with Strong's numbers — from openscriptures (CC BY-SA).
Cross-references
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The LORD will return you to Egypt in ships by a route that I said you should never see again. There you will sell yourselves to your enemies as male and female slaves, but no one will buy you.”
But this king rebelled against Babylon by sending his envoys to Egypt to ask for horses and a large army. Will he flourish? Will the one who does such things escape? Can he break a covenant and yet escape?’
Will they not return to the land of Egypt and be ruled by Assyria because they refused to repent?
Some trust in chariots and others in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.
Solomon had 4,000 stalls for his chariot horses and 12,000 horses.
When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them along the road through the land of the Philistines, though it was shorter. For God said, “If the people face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.”
But Moses told the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the LORD’s salvation, which He will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians you see today, you will never see again.
At that time Adonijah, David’s son by Haggith, began to exalt himself, saying, “I will be king!” And he acquired chariots and horsemen and fifty men to run ahead of him.
He said, “This will be the manner of the king who will reign over you: He will take your sons and appoint them to his own chariots and horses, to run in front of his chariots.
David captured from him a thousand chariots, seven thousand charioteers, and twenty thousand foot soldiers, and he hamstrung all the horses except a hundred he kept for the chariots.