10:18 seven hundred. The parallel account of the same battle between David and the Syrians in I Chronicles 19:18 says that “David slew of the Syrians seven thousand men which fought in chariots.” One explanation for this apparent discrepancy is a copyist’s error. The Hebrew characters for seven hundred and seven thousand are very easy to interchange. But see note for II Samuel 8:4. Also, some have said that each chariot may have carried ten men.

10:18 forty thousand horsemen. I Chronicles 19:18 says these were “forty thousand footmen.” The same men could fight either on horseback or on foot, as needed.