Camel
Summary
A large ruminant animal indispensable to desert travel, called 'the ship of the desert' for its ability to traverse regions impassable to other animals.
☩Description and Adaptation
The Arabian or one-humped camel (Camelus dromedarius) was the species common to Palestine and neighboring lands. Providence has remarkably adapted this animal for desert life: its broad, cushioned feet prevent sinking into sand; its nostrils can close against drifting dust; its cellular stomach contains a reservoir for water enabling survival for days without drinking. The fatty hump provides stored nourishment, swelling when the animal is well-fed and shrinking by absorption during privation.
☩Uses and Importance
Without the camel, immense portions of the earth's surface would be uninhabitable and impassable—the Arabs call it 'Job's beast, a monument of God's mercy.' The camel serves for riding, carrying burdens, and in warfare. Its milk provides nourishment; its dense wool is woven into tent-covers and coarse garments, such as John the Baptist wore; its hide makes leather goods; even its dung serves as fuel. The dromedary is a lighter, swifter breed used for riding and carrying mail.
☩Biblical References
Camels feature prominently in patriarchal narratives, forming substantial wealth for Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Rebekah traveled on camels to meet Isaac, and the Queen of Sheba brought spices on camels to Solomon. The Ishmaelites, Midianites, and 'children of the East' possessed vast herds. Interestingly, the later Israelites used camels less frequently, though David maintained a herd under an Ishmaelite keeper.
☩Proverbial Sayings of Jesus
Jesus employed the camel in memorable hyperbolic sayings. 'It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God' emphasizes the impossibility of salvation by human effort—yet what is impossible with men is possible with God. 'You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel' exposed the Pharisees' scrupulousness over trifles while neglecting weightier matters of the law.
☩Ceremonial Status
The camel was ceremonially unclean under Mosaic law because, though it chews the cud, it does not have a completely divided hoof. The Israelites were forbidden to eat its flesh, though Arabs freely consume it. Some have explained the levitical description as referring to the camel's incompletely separated toes, though the hoofs themselves are divided.
Related Verses60 mentions
See Also
References
- 1.James Hastings (ed.), "Camel, Camel's Hair," in Dictionary of Christ and the Gospels, vol. I (T. & T. Clark, 1906–1908).
- 2.John McClintock and James Strong, "Camel," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. II (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 3.F. N. Peloubet & M. A. Peloubet (ed.), "Camel," in Smith's Bible Dictionary (Porter & Coates, 1884).
- 4.James Orr (ed.), "Camel," in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, vol. I (Howard-Severance Company, 1915).
- 5.George Morrish, "Camel," in Morrish's Concise Bible Dictionary (George Morrish, 1898).
- 6.Philip Schaff and Johann Herzog (ed.), "Camel," in The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, vol. II (Funk and Wagnalls, 1908–1914).