Reference: Mule
American
A mixed animal, the offspring of a horse and an ass. A mule is smaller than a horse, and has long ears, though not so long as those of an ass. It is a remarkably hardy, patient, obstinate, sure-footed animal, lives twice as long as a horse, and is much more easily and cheaply fed. Mules are much used in Spain and South America, for transporting goods across the mountains. So also in the Alps, they are used by travelers among the mountains, where a horse would hardly be able to pass with safety. There is no probability that the Jews bred mules, because it was forbidden to couple creatures of different species, Le 19:19. But they were not forbidden to obtain them from abroad and use them, 1Ki 10:25; Eze 27:14. Thus we may observe, especially after David's time, that mules, male and female, were common among the Hebrews; formerly they used only male and female asses, 2Sa 13:29; 18:9; 1Ki 1:33; 10:25; 18:5; Es 8:10,14.
In Ge 36:24, Anah is said to have found "mules" in the desert; but the Hebrew word here probably means hot springs. See ANAH.
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And, these, are the sons of Zibeon: Both Aiah and Anah, - The same, is the Anah that found the warm springs in the desert, as he fed the asses of Zibeon his father.
My statutes, shall ye observe, Thy beasts, shalt thou not cause to breed in two kinds, Thy field, shalt thou not sow with two sorts of seed, - And a garment woven of diverse threads, shalt thou not suffer to come upon thee.
So Absolom's young men did to Amnon as Absolom had commanded. Then arose all the king's sons, and rode away - each man on his mule, and fled.
Now, when Absolom met the servants of David, Absolom, was riding upon a mule, and the mule came under the thick branches of a large oak, and his head caught hold of the oak, and he was suspended between heaven and earth, the mule that was under him passing on.
And, they, did bring every man his present - vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and garments, and armour, and spices, horses and mules, - a rate of a year in a year.
and he wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus, and sealed it with the king's signet-ring, - and sent letters by the hand of runners on horses, riding the swift steeds used in the kings service, bred of the stud:
The runners that rode on the swift steeds used in the king's service, went forth, being urged forward and pressed on, by the word of the king, - and, the edict, was given in Shusan the palace.
Some of the house of Togarmah, with horses and horsemen and mules, Took part in thy traffic:
Easton
(Heb pered), so called from the quick step of the animal or its power of carrying loads. It is not probable that the Hebrews bred mules, as this was strictly forbidden in the law (Le 19:19), although their use was not forbidden. We find them in common use even by kings and nobles (2Sa 18:9; 1Ki 1:33; 2Ki 5:17; Ps 32:9). They are not mentioned, however, till the time of David, for the word rendered "mules" (R.V. correctly, "hot springs") in Ge 36:24 (yemim) properly denotes the warm springs of Callirhoe, on the eastern shore of the Dead Sea. In David's reign they became very common (2Sa 13:29; 1Ki 10:25).
Mules are not mentioned in the New Testament. Perhaps they had by that time ceased to be used in Palestine.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And, these, are the sons of Zibeon: Both Aiah and Anah, - The same, is the Anah that found the warm springs in the desert, as he fed the asses of Zibeon his father.
My statutes, shall ye observe, Thy beasts, shalt thou not cause to breed in two kinds, Thy field, shalt thou not sow with two sorts of seed, - And a garment woven of diverse threads, shalt thou not suffer to come upon thee.
So Absolom's young men did to Amnon as Absolom had commanded. Then arose all the king's sons, and rode away - each man on his mule, and fled.
Now, when Absolom met the servants of David, Absolom, was riding upon a mule, and the mule came under the thick branches of a large oak, and his head caught hold of the oak, and he was suspended between heaven and earth, the mule that was under him passing on.
Do not ye become like a horse, like a mule, without discernment, - With the bit and bridle of his mouth, hast thou to restrain him, - He will not come near unto thee.
Fausets
1. Pered. Not mentioned until David's time, when Israel became more familiar with horses (1Ch 12:40; 2Sa 13:29; 18:9). Used for riding only by persons of rank (1Ki 1:33). As breeding from different species was forbidden (Le 19:19), mules must have been imported. An Egyptian monument from Thebes in British Museum represents them yoked to a chariot. The people of Togarmah (Armenia) brought them to Tyre for barter (Eze 27:14). They were part of the "presents" from "the kings of the earth" to Solomon, "a rate year by year" (2Ch 9:23-24). In these ways they came into Palestine (1Ki 18:5). In Ezr 2:66; Ne 7:68. the mules on the return from Babylon amounted to 245; but the horses about three times as many, 736; so that the mule was then, as we find in the Greek classics, rarer and more precious.
2. Rechesh is translated "mules," Es 8:10,14; but in 1Ki 4:28 "DROMEDARIES" Mic 1:13, "swift beasts." (See CAMEL.)
3. Yeemim. Ge 36:24 translated rather "Anah that found the hot springs," so the Vulgate version; the Samaritan text has "the Emim." Callirrhoe in the wady Zerka Maein is thought to be Anah's hot springs.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And, these, are the sons of Zibeon: Both Aiah and Anah, - The same, is the Anah that found the warm springs in the desert, as he fed the asses of Zibeon his father.
My statutes, shall ye observe, Thy beasts, shalt thou not cause to breed in two kinds, Thy field, shalt thou not sow with two sorts of seed, - And a garment woven of diverse threads, shalt thou not suffer to come upon thee.
Then said the king unto them - Take ye with you the servants of your lord, and cause Solomon my son to ride upon the mule which pertaineth unto myself, - and bring him down unto Gihon;
Barley also and crushed straw, for the horses and for the swift beasts, brought they in unto the place where it should be, every man according to his charge.
So then Ahab said unto Obadiah, Go, and let us pass throughout the land, unto all the fountains of water, and unto all the ravines, peradventure we may find grass, and save alive horse and mule, and not have more of the beasts cut off.
Moreover also, they who were near of kin unto them, as far as Issachar and Zebulun and Naphtali, were bringing bread, on asses and on camels and on mules and on oxen, meal-food, cakes of figs and cakes of raisins, and wine, and oil, and oxen, and sheep - in abundance, - for there was joy Israel.
And, all the kings of the earth, were seeking the face of Solomon, - to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart; and, they, were bringing in every man his present - utensils of silver, and utensils of gold, and mantles, armour, and spices, horses and mules, - the need of a year in a year.
their horses, were seven hundred and thirty-six, - their mules, two hundred and forty-five;
their horses, were seven hundred, and thirty-six, - their mules, two hundred, and forty-five;
and he wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus, and sealed it with the king's signet-ring, - and sent letters by the hand of runners on horses, riding the swift steeds used in the kings service, bred of the stud:
The runners that rode on the swift steeds used in the king's service, went forth, being urged forward and pressed on, by the word of the king, - and, the edict, was given in Shusan the palace.
Some of the house of Togarmah, with horses and horsemen and mules, Took part in thy traffic:
Bind the chariot to the steed, O inhabitress of Lachish, - the beginning of sin, was she to the daughter of Zion, for, in thee, have been found the transgressions of Israel.
Hastings
(1) pered (m.) and pird
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And, these, are the sons of Zibeon: Both Aiah and Anah, - The same, is the Anah that found the warm springs in the desert, as he fed the asses of Zibeon his father.
My statutes, shall ye observe, Thy beasts, shalt thou not cause to breed in two kinds, Thy field, shalt thou not sow with two sorts of seed, - And a garment woven of diverse threads, shalt thou not suffer to come upon thee.
So Absolom's young men did to Amnon as Absolom had commanded. Then arose all the king's sons, and rode away - each man on his mule, and fled.
Now, when Absolom met the servants of David, Absolom, was riding upon a mule, and the mule came under the thick branches of a large oak, and his head caught hold of the oak, and he was suspended between heaven and earth, the mule that was under him passing on.
Then said the king unto them - Take ye with you the servants of your lord, and cause Solomon my son to ride upon the mule which pertaineth unto myself, - and bring him down unto Gihon;
And, they, did bring every man his present - vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and garments, and armour, and spices, horses and mules, - a rate of a year in a year.
So then Ahab said unto Obadiah, Go, and let us pass throughout the land, unto all the fountains of water, and unto all the ravines, peradventure we may find grass, and save alive horse and mule, and not have more of the beasts cut off.
Moreover also, they who were near of kin unto them, as far as Issachar and Zebulun and Naphtali, were bringing bread, on asses and on camels and on mules and on oxen, meal-food, cakes of figs and cakes of raisins, and wine, and oil, and oxen, and sheep - in abundance, - for there was joy Israel.
their horses, were seven hundred and thirty-six, - their mules, two hundred and forty-five;
and he wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus, and sealed it with the king's signet-ring, - and sent letters by the hand of runners on horses, riding the swift steeds used in the kings service, bred of the stud:
The runners that rode on the swift steeds used in the king's service, went forth, being urged forward and pressed on, by the word of the king, - and, the edict, was given in Shusan the palace.
Morish
1. pered. The first reference to this animal is in the time of David: his sons rode upon mules. David had his own mule, upon which Solomon was made to ride when he was proclaimed king. Mules were among the animals that were brought as presents by the nations to Solomon. They were also imported to Tyre. It would appear from Le 19:19 that the Israelites were forbidden to breed them. 2Sa 13:29; 18:9; 1Ki 1:33,38,44; 10:25; Ps 32:9; Isa 66:20; Eze 27:14; Zec 14:15.
2. rekesh. This was probably a swift horse on which despatches were sent. Es 8:10,14. The word is once translated 'dromedary,' 1Ki 4:28; and once 'swift beast.' Mic 1:13.
3. yemim. This is acknowledged to be wrongly rendered in the A.V.: it is translated 'hot springs,' by the Revisers and others. Ge 36:24.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And, these, are the sons of Zibeon: Both Aiah and Anah, - The same, is the Anah that found the warm springs in the desert, as he fed the asses of Zibeon his father.
My statutes, shall ye observe, Thy beasts, shalt thou not cause to breed in two kinds, Thy field, shalt thou not sow with two sorts of seed, - And a garment woven of diverse threads, shalt thou not suffer to come upon thee.
So Absolom's young men did to Amnon as Absolom had commanded. Then arose all the king's sons, and rode away - each man on his mule, and fled.
Now, when Absolom met the servants of David, Absolom, was riding upon a mule, and the mule came under the thick branches of a large oak, and his head caught hold of the oak, and he was suspended between heaven and earth, the mule that was under him passing on.
Barley also and crushed straw, for the horses and for the swift beasts, brought they in unto the place where it should be, every man according to his charge.
and he wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus, and sealed it with the king's signet-ring, - and sent letters by the hand of runners on horses, riding the swift steeds used in the kings service, bred of the stud:
The runners that rode on the swift steeds used in the king's service, went forth, being urged forward and pressed on, by the word of the king, - and, the edict, was given in Shusan the palace.
Do not ye become like a horse, like a mule, without discernment, - With the bit and bridle of his mouth, hast thou to restrain him, - He will not come near unto thee.
Then shall they bring in all your brethren out of all the nations, As a present unto Yahweh, Upon horses and in chariots and in palanquins and on mules and on dromedaries Unto my holy mountain - Jerusalem, saith Yahweh, - Just as the sons of Israel, bring in their present in a pure vessel, into the house, of Yahweh.
Some of the house of Togarmah, with horses and horsemen and mules, Took part in thy traffic:
Bind the chariot to the steed, O inhabitress of Lachish, - the beginning of sin, was she to the daughter of Zion, for, in thee, have been found the transgressions of Israel.
And, so, shall be the plague of the horse, the mule, the camel, and the ass, and all the beasts which shall be in those camps, - like this plague!
Smith
Mule,
a hybrid animal, the offspring of a horse and an ass. "The mule is smaller than the horse, and is a remarkably hardy, patient, obstinate, sure-footed animal, living, ordinarily, twice as long as a horse." --McClintock and Strong's Cyclopedia. It was forbidden to the Israelites to breed mules, but sometimes they imported them. It would appear that only kings and great men rode on mules. We do not read of mules at all in the New Testament; perhaps therefore they had ceased to be imported.
Watsons
MULE, ???, 2Sa 13:29; 1Ki 1:33; 10:25, &c. A mongrel kind of quadruped, between the horse and the ass. Its form bears a considerable resemblance to the last mentioned animal; but in its disposition it is rather vicious and intractable; so that its obstinacy has become a proverb. With this creature the early ages were probably unacquainted. It is very certain the Jews did not breed mules, because it was forbidden them to couple together two creatures of different species, Le 19:19. But they were not prohibited the making use of them: thus we find in David's time that they had become very common, and made up a considerable part of the equipage of princes, 2Sa 13:29; 18:9; 1Ki 1:33,38,44; 10:25; 2Ch 9:24.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
My statutes, shall ye observe, Thy beasts, shalt thou not cause to breed in two kinds, Thy field, shalt thou not sow with two sorts of seed, - And a garment woven of diverse threads, shalt thou not suffer to come upon thee.
So Absolom's young men did to Amnon as Absolom had commanded. Then arose all the king's sons, and rode away - each man on his mule, and fled.
So Absolom's young men did to Amnon as Absolom had commanded. Then arose all the king's sons, and rode away - each man on his mule, and fled.
Now, when Absolom met the servants of David, Absolom, was riding upon a mule, and the mule came under the thick branches of a large oak, and his head caught hold of the oak, and he was suspended between heaven and earth, the mule that was under him passing on.