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.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And these are the sons of Zibeon: both Ajah and Anah; this was that Anah that invented mules in the wilderness as he fed the asses of Zibeon his father.
Ye shall keep my statutes. Thou shalt not let thy animal join with a diverse kind for mixtures; thou shalt not sow thy field with mixture, neither shalt thou wear garments of a mixture of different things.
And the servants of Absalom did unto Amnon as Absalom had commanded. Then all the king's sons arose, and they all got upon their mules and fled.
And Absalom met the slaves of David. And Absalom rode upon a mule, and the mule went under the thick boughs of a great oak, and his head caught hold of the oak, and he was taken up between the heaven and the earth; and the mule that was under him went away.
And they each one brought his presents each year, vessels of gold and vessels of silver and garments and arms and spices, horses, and mules.
And he wrote in King Ahasuerus's name and sealed it with the king's ring and sent letters by posts on horseback, and riders on mules, mules that were born of mares,
So the posts rode upon mules, they went out on mules, being hastened and pressed on by the king's commandment. And the law was given at Shushan, the palace.
Those of the house of Togarmah traded in thy fairs with horses and horsemen and mules.
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 Ajah and Anah; this was that Anah that invented mules in the wilderness as he fed the asses of Zibeon his father.
Ye shall keep my statutes. Thou shalt not let thy animal join with a diverse kind for mixtures; thou shalt not sow thy field with mixture, neither shalt thou wear garments of a mixture of different things.
And the servants of Absalom did unto Amnon as Absalom had commanded. Then all the king's sons arose, and they all got upon their mules and fled.
And Absalom met the slaves of David. And Absalom rode upon a mule, and the mule went under the thick boughs of a great oak, and his head caught hold of the oak, and he was taken up between the heaven and the earth; and the mule that was under him went away.
Be ye not as the horse or as the mule, which have no understanding: whose mouth must be held in subjection with bit and bridle, or they 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 Ajah and Anah; this was that Anah that invented mules in the wilderness as he fed the asses of Zibeon his father.
Ye shall keep my statutes. Thou shalt not let thy animal join with a diverse kind for mixtures; thou shalt not sow thy field with mixture, neither shalt thou wear garments of a mixture of different things.
And the king said unto them, Take with you the slaves of your lord and cause Solomon my son to ride upon my own mule and bring him down to Gihon.
They also brought barley and straw for the horses and beasts of burden unto the place where he was, each one according to his charge.
And Ahab said unto Obadiah, Go through the land to all the fountains of water and to all the brooks; peradventure we may find herbage to save the horses and mules alive that we not lose all the beasts.
And likewise, those that were near them, even unto Issachar and Zebulun and Naphtali, brought bread on asses and on camels and on mules and on oxen, and food, meal, cakes of figs, and bunches of raisins, and wine and oil, and oxen, and sheep abundantly; for there was joy in Israel.
And all the kings of the earth sought the presence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom, that God had put in his heart. And of these, each his present, vessels of silver and vessels of gold and raiment, arms, spices, horses, and mules, every year.
Their horses were seven hundred and thirty-six; their mules, two hundred and forty-five;
Their horses, seven hundred and thirty-six; their mules, two hundred and forty-five:
And he wrote in King Ahasuerus's name and sealed it with the king's ring and sent letters by posts on horseback, and riders on mules, mules that were born of mares,
So the posts rode upon mules, they went out on mules, being hastened and pressed on by the king's commandment. And the law was given at Shushan, the palace.
Those of the house of Togarmah traded in thy fairs with horses and horsemen and mules.
O thou inhabitant of Lachish, hitch the chariot to dromedaries: for thou wert the beginning of the sin to the daughter of Zion, for in thee the rebellions of Israel were invented.
Hastings
(1) pered (m.) and pird
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And these are the sons of Zibeon: both Ajah and Anah; this was that Anah that invented mules in the wilderness as he fed the asses of Zibeon his father.
Ye shall keep my statutes. Thou shalt not let thy animal join with a diverse kind for mixtures; thou shalt not sow thy field with mixture, neither shalt thou wear garments of a mixture of different things.
And the servants of Absalom did unto Amnon as Absalom had commanded. Then all the king's sons arose, and they all got upon their mules and fled.
And Absalom met the slaves of David. And Absalom rode upon a mule, and the mule went under the thick boughs of a great oak, and his head caught hold of the oak, and he was taken up between the heaven and the earth; and the mule that was under him went away.
And the king said unto them, Take with you the slaves of your lord and cause Solomon my son to ride upon my own mule and bring him down to Gihon.
And they each one brought his presents each year, vessels of gold and vessels of silver and garments and arms and spices, horses, and mules.
And Ahab said unto Obadiah, Go through the land to all the fountains of water and to all the brooks; peradventure we may find herbage to save the horses and mules alive that we not lose all the beasts.
And likewise, those that were near them, even unto Issachar and Zebulun and Naphtali, brought bread on asses and on camels and on mules and on oxen, and food, meal, cakes of figs, and bunches of raisins, and wine and oil, and oxen, and sheep abundantly; for there was joy in Israel.
Their horses were seven hundred and thirty-six; their mules, two hundred and forty-five;
And he wrote in King Ahasuerus's name and sealed it with the king's ring and sent letters by posts on horseback, and riders on mules, mules that were born of mares,
So the posts rode upon mules, they went out on mules, being hastened and pressed on by the king's commandment. And the law was given at Shushan, 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 Ajah and Anah; this was that Anah that invented mules in the wilderness as he fed the asses of Zibeon his father.
Ye shall keep my statutes. Thou shalt not let thy animal join with a diverse kind for mixtures; thou shalt not sow thy field with mixture, neither shalt thou wear garments of a mixture of different things.
And the servants of Absalom did unto Amnon as Absalom had commanded. Then all the king's sons arose, and they all got upon their mules and fled.
And Absalom met the slaves of David. And Absalom rode upon a mule, and the mule went under the thick boughs of a great oak, and his head caught hold of the oak, and he was taken up between the heaven and the earth; and the mule that was under him went away.
They also brought barley and straw for the horses and beasts of burden unto the place where he was, each one according to his charge.
And he wrote in King Ahasuerus's name and sealed it with the king's ring and sent letters by posts on horseback, and riders on mules, mules that were born of mares,
So the posts rode upon mules, they went out on mules, being hastened and pressed on by the king's commandment. And the law was given at Shushan, the palace.
Be ye not as the horse or as the mule, which have no understanding: whose mouth must be held in subjection with bit and bridle, or they will not come near unto thee.
And they shall bring all your brethren for an offering unto the LORD from among all the Gentiles, upon horses and in chariots and in litters and upon mules and upon camels to my holy mountain of Jerusalem, saith the LORD, so that the sons of Israel bring the offering in clean vessels to the house of the LORD.
Those of the house of Togarmah traded in thy fairs with horses and horsemen and mules.
O thou inhabitant of Lachish, hitch the chariot to dromedaries: for thou wert the beginning of the sin to the daughter of Zion, for in thee the rebellions of Israel were invented.
And so shall be the plague of the horse, of the mule, of the camel, and of the ass, and of all the beasts that were in the armies.
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
Ye shall keep my statutes. Thou shalt not let thy animal join with a diverse kind for mixtures; thou shalt not sow thy field with mixture, neither shalt thou wear garments of a mixture of different things.
And the servants of Absalom did unto Amnon as Absalom had commanded. Then all the king's sons arose, and they all got upon their mules and fled.
And the servants of Absalom did unto Amnon as Absalom had commanded. Then all the king's sons arose, and they all got upon their mules and fled.
And Absalom met the slaves of David. And Absalom rode upon a mule, and the mule went under the thick boughs of a great oak, and his head caught hold of the oak, and he was taken up between the heaven and the earth; and the mule that was under him went away.