Hebrew word · H7409

רֶ֫כֶשׁ

harekhesh

steed

Swift horses, fine steeds, chargers. It is used of royal courier horses and of the king's elite horse stock.

Appears 4 times in 4 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

steeds, horses

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Micah 1:13

Range of meaning

Swift horses, fine steeds, chargers. It is used of royal courier horses and of the king's elite horse stock.

Against the English

'Swift beast' (KJV, YLT), 'swift steed' (WEB), 'chariot horses' (BSB), 'steeds' or 'team of horses' in others. 'Swift' and 'steed' both catch the sense of high-grade animals rather than plough horses.

Used elsewhere in the period

1 Kings 4:28 (Hebrew 5:8): barley and straw 'for the horses and the rekeš' of Solomon's royal establishment. Esther 8:10, 14: couriers ride the swift royal horses to carry the king's decree.

Where it appears

1 Kings · 1

  1. 1 Kings 4:28 וְלָרָ֑כֶשׁ and for the steed[s]

    Each one also brought to the required place their quotas of barley and straw for the chariot horses and other horses.

Esther · 2

  1. Esther 8:10 הָרֶ֙כֶשׁ֙ the steed[s]

    Mordecai wrote in the name of King Xerxes and sealed it with the royal signet ring. He sent the documents by mounted couriers riding on swift horses bred from the royal mares.

  2. Esther 8:14 הָרֶ֙כֶשׁ֙ the steed[s]

    The couriers rode out in haste on their royal horses, pressed on by the command of the king. And the edict was also issued in the citadel of Susa.

Micah · 1

  1. Micah 1:13 לָרֶ֖כֶשׁ to the steed

    Harness your chariot horses, O dweller of Lachish. You were the beginning of sin to the Daughter of Zion, for the transgressions of Israel were found in you.

    Here: 'To the steed.' This means fast, high-quality horses, the kind used for royal couriers. The word is chosen for its sound: la-REkesh echoes la-KHISH (Lachish). The town's name itself sounds like a call to its horses.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.