Text: Isaiah 31:3
OT Text Referred to: 2 Kings 18:23
Subject: depending on horses
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Reference Type: Echo
Connection Method(s): None
Significance: Isaiah 31:3 warns that "the Egyptians are men, not God; their horses (סוּסִים, susim) are flesh, not spirit," condemning Judah's reliance on Egyptian cavalry. In 2 Kings 18:23, the Rabshakeh taunts Hezekiah by offering to give him two thousand horses "if you are able to put riders on them," exposing Judah's military weakness. Both passages address Judah's misplaced trust in horse-powered military strength — Isaiah condemns it theologically as trusting flesh rather than spirit, while the Assyrian commander mocks it pragmatically as inadequate. The shared focus on horses as a false source of security reflects the Deuteronomic prohibition against the king multiplying horses (Deut 17:16), which specifically warned against returning to Egypt for them.