5ti SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY. 



The swiftness of these animals is incredible, and has given occa- 

 sion to some very spirited figures in the sacred writings. Thus, 

 Isaiah, describing the terrible devastation which the land of Judea 

 was doomed to suffer by the Assyrian armies, whose horses were 

 probably of the Persian breed, expresses the amazingly rapid move- 

 ments of their chariots with much beauty and force : ' Their wheels 

 shall belike a whirlwind,' (ch. v. 28.); as does Jeremiah, also: 

 'Behold, he shall come up as clouds, and his chariots shall be as a 

 whirlwind ; his horses are swifter than eagles,' ch. iv. 14. The 

 prophet Habakkuk, in describing the same quality of the horse, 

 uses a different figure, but one equally striking : ' Their horses are 

 swifter than the leopards, and more fierce than the evening wolves ; 

 and their horsemen shall spread themselves, and their horsemen 

 shall come from far ; they shall fly as the eagle that hasteth to eat,' 

 ch. i. 8. 



At a very early period of its history, Egpyt was famous for its 

 breed of horses, as we learn from Exod. xiv. 9 ; and such appears 

 to have been the excellency of the Egyptian horses in subsequent 

 times, that the prophet Isaiah declares to the Israelites, who were 

 disposed to put their confidence in the time of danger on the re- 

 sources of Egypt, that 'the Egyptians were men, and not God, and 

 their horses flesh, and not spirit,' chap. xxxi. 3. 



In early ages, horses were rare among the Hebrews. The pat- 

 riachs had none ; and after the departure from Egypt, it was express- 

 ly forbidden to their ruler to procure them, Deut. xvii. 16. As 

 horses appear to have been generally furnished by Egypt, God pro- 

 hibited them, 1. Lest there should be such commerce with Egypt 

 as might lead to idolatry. 2. Lest the people might depend on a 

 well appointed cavalry, as a means of security, and so cease from 

 trusting in the promised aid and protection of Jehovah. And, 3. 

 That they might not be tempted to extend their dominion by means 

 of cavalry, and so get scattered among the surrounding idolatrous 

 nations, and thus cease, in process of time, to be that distinct and 

 separate people which God intended they should be, and without 

 which the prophecies relative to the Messiah could not be known 

 to have their due and full accomplishment. 



In the time of the Judges, there were horses and war chariots 

 among the Canaanites, but the Israelites were without them ; and 

 hence they were generally too timid to venture down into the plains, 

 confining their conquests to the mountainous parts of the country. 

 In the reign of Saul, horse breeding does not appear to have been 

 introduced into Arabia, for, in a war with some of the Arabian na- 

 tions, the Israelites sold plunder, in camels, sheep, and asses, but 

 still no horses. Solomon was the first among the Hebrews who 

 established a cavalry force, and compared to what is now usual, it 

 was one of very considerable extent, 1 Kings, x. 23. He also car- 

 ried on a trade in Egyptian horses for the benefit of the crown, 2 

 Chr.ix.28. 



It is evident from Judges, v. 2; Isa. v. 28 ; and Amos, vi. 12, that 



