Horseman

Horsemen in the biblical world were cavalry soldiers who rode horses in military operations, distinguished from chariot warriors who were pulled by horses. The Hebrew parāš (horseman, rider) and the more common baʿal parāš (master of a horse) denote mounted military personnel. Egyptian cavalry and chariots pursuing Israel at the Exodus introduced horsemen as a force of oppression in Israel's national memory; their drowning in the Red Sea was a paradigm of divine deliverance over military technology.

Horses and horsemen multiplied in Israel under the monarchy: Solomon had 12,000 horsemen stationed in chariot cities and in Jerusalem (1 Kings 10:26). The prophets use the image of divine horsemen in apocalyptic visions: Zechariah sees horsemen patrolling the earth at God's direction, and Elijah's translation was accompanied by a chariot of fire and horses of fire (2 Kings 2:11–12), giving rise to Elisha's exclamation My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and its horsemen! The phrase became a way of describing a prophet's worth to Israel—more valuable than military cavalry. In Revelation 9, demonic horsemen form part of the vision of judgment, while Revelation 19 depicts Christ himself as a conquering rider.