In 2 Chron. 9:25 the number is given as “four thousand.”

 The difference may be explained as a copyist’s error, the Hebrew words for “four” and “forty” being very similar. The multiplication of horses and horsemen—forbidden to the future king in Deut. 17:16, but foretold by Samuel at Saul’s inauguration (1 Sam. 8:11, 12)—is an indication of the growth of the empire by the use of military force. At the time of the conquest by Joshua, horses and chariots captured from the enemy were destroyed (Joshua 11:9).