Captured Horsemen

[cyrus2020]

My Question is about 2 Samuel 8:4. There are differences is translations:

David captured a thousand of his chariots and a group of charioteers. what was the number of charioteers/horsemen?

7000:

New International Version

David captured a thousand of his chariots, seven thousand charioteers and twenty thousand foot soldiers. He hamstrung all but a hundred of the chariot horses.

New Living Translation

David captured 1,000 chariots, 7,000 charioteers, and 20,000 foot soldiers. He crippled all the chariot horses except enough for 100 chariots.

New Heart English Bible

And David took from him a thousand of his chariots, and seven thousand horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen: and David hamstrung all the chariot horses, but reserved of them for one hundred chariots.

Berean Study Bible

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.

Brenton Septuagint Translation

And David took a thousand of his chariots, and seven thousand horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen: and David houghed all his chariot horses, and he reserved to himself a hundred chariots.

1700:

English Standard Version

And David took from him 1,700 horsemen, and 20,000 foot soldiers. And David hamstrung all the chariot horses but left enough for 100 chariots.

New American Standard Bible

David captured from him 1,700 horsemen and 20,000 foot soldiers; and David hamstrung the chariot horses, but reserved enough of them for 100 chariots.

Christian Standard Bible

David captured seventeen hundred horsemen and twenty thousand foot soldiers from him, and he hamstrung all the horses and kept a hundred chariots.

Contemporary English Version

In the battle, David captured 1,700 cavalry and 20,000 foot soldiers. He also captured war chariots, but he destroyed all but 100 of them.

Good News Translation

David captured seventeen hundred of his cavalry and twenty thousand of his foot soldiers. He kept enough horses for a hundred chariots and crippled all the rest.

Holman Christian Standard Bible

David captured 1,700 horsemen and 20,000 foot soldiers from him, and he hamstrung all the horses and kept 100 chariots.

International Standard Version

David captured 1,000 of his chariots, 1,700 horsemen, and 20,000 foot soldiers. David hamstrung all the chariot horses except for enough to supply 100 chariots.

NET Bible

David seized from him 1,700 charioteers and 20,000 infantrymen. David cut the hamstrings of all but a hundred of the chariot horses.

 

[cyrus2020]

GOD’S WORD® Translation

David took 1,700 horsemen and 20,000 foot soldiers from him. David also disabled all but 100 of their horses so that they couldn’t pull chariots.

JPS Tanakh 1917

And David took from him a thousand and seven hundred horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen; and David houghed all the chariot horses, but reserved of them for a hundred chariots.

New American Standard 1977

And David captured from him 1,700 horsemen and 20,000 foot soldiers; and David hamstrung the chariot horses, but reserved enough of them for 100 chariots.

World English Bible

David took from him one thousand seven hundred horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen: and David hamstrung all the chariot horses, but reserved of them for one hundred chariots.

Young’s Literal Translation

and David captureth from him a thousand and seven hundred horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen, and David destroyeth utterly the whole of the charioteers, only he leaveth of them a hundred charioteers.

700:

New King James Version

David took from him one thousand chariots, seven hundred horsemen, and twenty thousand foot soldiers. Also David hamstrung all the chariot horses, except that he spared enough of them for one hundred chariots.

King James Bible

And David took from him a thousand chariots, and seven hundred horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen: and David houghed all the chariot horses, but reserved of them for an hundred chariots.

King James 2000 Bible

And David took from him a thousand chariots, and seven hundred horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen: and David hamstrung all the chariot horses, but reserved of them for a hundred chariots.

American King James Version

And David took from him a thousand chariots, and seven hundred horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen: and David hamstrung all the chariot horses, but reserved of them for an hundred chariots.

Darby Bible Translation

And David took from him one thousand seven hundred horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen; and David houghed all the chariot [horses], but reserved of them [for] a hundred chariots.

English Revised Version

And David took from him a thousand and seven hundred horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen: and David houghed all the chariot horses, but reserved of them for an hundred chariots.

Webster’s Bible Translation

And David took from him a thousand chariots, and seven hundred horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen: and David houghed all the chariot-horses, but reserved of them for a hundred chariots.

Guide me please. What was true number of horsemen?

 

[Fauken]

From Haydock’s Commentary:

" Ver. 4. A thousand. Protestants supply chariots, (H.) after the Sept. and 1 Par. (xviii. 4.) which have 7000 horsemen. See how we have attempted to reconcile these texts, 1 K. xiii. 5. Perhaps the numbers were expressed by single letters; and the Hebrew final n, (700) has been mistaken for z, (7000) both here and C. x. 18. Literis numeralibus non verbis antiquitus numeri concipiebantur. Scaliger, apud Walton prol. — “Will any other hypothesis so naturally solve this repeated difficulty?” Kennicott, Diss. on 1 Chron. xi. p. 96 and 463. — Kimchi thinks that the king’s horse-guards are only specified here; and Salien supposes, that those who fought on chariots are also included in Chronicles, as they are often styled horsemen. Isai. xxi. 7. 9. M. — Houghed. Aquila, “destroyed.” He rendered them unfit for war, as Josue had don, (Jos. xi. 6.) supposing that this was the import of the decree, forbidding many horses to be kept, Deut. xvii. 16. — Horses is not expressed in Heb. though the Prot. supply the word; as also, for. We should translate lit. “He left out of them 100 chariots;” (H.) as we read elsewhere, that Adarezer had 1000. M. — But this expression being unintelligible, no less than, “he houghed all the chariots,” as the text stands at present in the original, may lead us to suspect that this verse has been inaccurately printed. Sept. “David paralyzed, (or rendered useless) all the chariots; and 100 chariots were reserved for himself out of them.” Josephus says the rest of the 1000 chariots were burnt, 5000 horse slain, and 20,000 foot. H."

 

[Tis_Bearself]

The vast majority of the translations you’ve posted are not Catholic Bibles. Catholics do not do apologetics in defense of non-Catholic Bible translations.

 

[BartholomewB]

The discrepancy in the numbers already appears in the Vulgate. Both the Hebrew and the Greek texts of the OT apparently give the list as:

• 1,000 chariots
• 7,000 horsemen
• 20,000 foot soldiers

There are complications, however. Translating isn’t always an easy job. The Hebrew word parash can mean either a horse or a horseman, while the Greek word arma can mean either a chariot or the team of horses drawing the chariot.

In the Vulgate the word “chariots” is missing from this list, and the first two numbers have been run together as “1,700 horsemen”:

4 Et captis David ex parte ejus mille septingentis equitibus, et viginti millibus peditum, subnervavit omnes jugales curruum: dereliquit autem ex eis centum currus.

This is Ronald Knox’s translation:

4 seventeen hundred horsemen he took alive, and twenty thousand that fought on foot, and cut the hamstrings of the horses, but kept a hundred teams for himself.