t 
128 ON THE ORIGIN OF THE HORSE. 
to none but Arabs It appears probable that many of the 
circumjacent countries received their first supplies of population 
from Arabia; even the Jews themselves are supposed by some 
authors to have originally descended from some branch of the far 
spread Arab tribes : at all events, they are undoubtedly from the 
same stock, and may be considered as collateral branches. 
Most of the countries so frequently mentioned in the history of 
the Jews were Arab tribes : the Edomites and Amalekites in¬ 
habited a part of Arabia Petreea; they are described in the Mo¬ 
saic writing as two powerful nations: the former nation levied an 
immense army to prevent the passage of the Israelites through 
their country. The latter are described, by Balaam, as the 
“ first or beginning of nations/’ possessing cattle and flocks in 
abundance. The Uzzites, Moabites, Ammonites, Midianites, 
&c. &c. were nations inhabiting Arabia Desserta. 
It would occupy too much space in your publication to take 
particular notice of the different passages which occur respecting 
the Arabians in the sacred writings; to be brief, they are de¬ 
scribed as powerful nations, possessing cattle of every description, 
“and horses and chariots very many” 
The word cattlef, which occurs so frequently in different pas¬ 
sages in sacred writ, comprehends all four-footed beasts, but some¬ 
times only those which are domesticated, such as the horse, ass, 
camel, ox, dog, &c. Horses do not appear to have been used 
but for purposes of war: for common travelling asses were chiefly 
employed. The Eastern asses were more spirited and tractable 
than ours, and on them did the principal great men, as Abra¬ 
ham, Moses, Abdon, and David’s family, ride. On asses did 
the Princes of Israel, under Pekah, generously send back the 
Jewish prisoners that were unable to travel, nor had the captives, 
on their return from Babylon, but few beasts of burden, besides 
6720 asses. This did not proceed from any scarcity of horses, 
but entirely on account of their hoofs. Horseshoes were not 
known in those days, and the wear and tear of their feet, on 
long journies, rendered them altogether useless. “Then were 
the horses’ hoofs broken by the prancings of the mighty ones.”— 
(Judges , chap, v.) For this reason, they used their utmost 
means to render their hoofs as hard and durable as possible ; 
hence the prophet Isaiah says, “The hoofs of their horses should 
be counted like flints.” This circumstance, together with the 
prohibition of the Almighty, who forbade the Hebrews to mul¬ 
tiply horses, sufficiently accounts for their being mentioned so 
* Niebhur’s Travels in Arabia. 
t Wood, Brown, and Calinct, authorise this assertion. 
