3. C'3 sti^. This word is often nsed for chariot horses (lix 14" etc., Jos 11«, 1 K 4«, .Icr StF, Ezk 27"). It is uae<l even more frcq. for riding horses,
VOL. II. — 27
e.sp. war horses (Gn 49", Est 6'- ■», Job 39'»-» Jer ga gi8_ Yisxh 1", Zee P etc.). In not a few cases it seems jcHcra/ for horses (I)t 17'", 1 K 18' etc.). In one it seems to refer to a hunter (Job 39").
4. I':"! rekhesh. This word is used in tliree places, in all of which KV renders it by 'swift steeds' (Est 8'°- ", A V ' mules ' ; 1 K 4-=<, AV ' dromedaries,' marg. 'mules' or 'swift beasts'; Mic 1", AY 'swift beast'). In the last it clea.rly refers to a chariot horse.
5. 1)^1 rammAk. This word, rendered AV 'drome- daries ' (Est 8'», KV ' stud '), is Pers. ramah, ' flock ' or 'herd.' See Dromedary.
6. "i;!D si'isi'ih, ri iTTiros, equilatus. AV (Ca 1'), following Vulg., renders this word 'a company of horses,' liV 'a steed,' marg. 'the steeds.' These renderings would make the point of similarity between the bride and the horses their triumphant march. Others would make ■n;p = j«y /nare. It is ditlicult, if this rendering be adopted, to see what is the connexion between this word .and the ex- [iression ' in the chariots of Pharaoh,' which immediately follows.
It may seem strange that the Isr., who certainly knew the horse well in Egypt (Gn 47"), and who came into a country, many of the tribes of which had large numbers of war horses, should not have adopted and used so noble an animal. The ex- planation is to be sought in the pastoral habits of the Isr., inherited from their patriarchal ancestors, and continued through the period of their residence iu Egypt. These habits led them to seek first the conquest of the hill-country of Canaan. This country is not adapted for the movements either of cavalry or chariots, and the aborigines of these regions seem not to have had horses. Bul when the Isr. came into the plains of N. Pal. they at once encountered large numbers of chariots and horsemen, but, acting under the command of God, who delivered them into their hands, they houghed the horses and burned the chariots (.los 11'"). The fact tliat the Phil, plains had chariots and horses (Jg 1'^) prevented the early conquest of that region. An encounter, 150 years later, in the plain of Jezreel, resulted in another overthrow of the chariots. The Isr., entrenched in their hills, were slow in adopting cavalry and chariots. The Arabs of that day do not seem to have used the horse. In the account of the great raid of Zebah and Zalmunna (Jg 7. 8) no mention is made of horses. David began their use by reserving 100 of the chariots of N. Syria, witli their horses (2 S 8'). Solomon increased this force by imiiortations from Egypt, at a fixed price of 150 shekels for a cavalry horse, and 600 for a chariot and it.s three horses (1 K 10-*- ■•='). He had 12,0liO of the former and 1400 chariots, which, at three horses to a chariot, would make 4200 (ef. 1 K 10^ with 4* where 40,i;KXt should read 4000). When the kingdom was divided, the ten tribes, which held the plains of N. Pal., had many chariots. When nearly all their chariots and lior-ses were tAken in the great overthrow by the Syrians (2 K 13') they never recovered from the blow. The Kiiiall number of chariots possessed by the Jud.'can kingdom led to a constant reliance on Egypt for chariots and cavalry in the encounters with Syria and Assyriiu Against this the nrophet-s inveighed (Is 31', tzk 17" etc., cf. l)t 17"). The cavalry ami chariots of A.isyria were esteemed the most formidable in the worfd, and are often men- tioneil in the prophets (Hub I", Nah 3^ etc.). The .lews brought back I'M't horses from Hnbylon (Neh 7*"). Horses were regularly emiiloycd in war in Pal. down to late Koman times. There wius a chariot road to Egypt in the days of the a|iostles (.\c 8"), and there are abundant evidences of the use of these formiilable cugiuea of war in the cities K. of the Jordan, in the pass by the Nahr el-Kclb >ieni
418
HORSE GATE
HOSANXA
Beirflt, and in many otlier places in the land. It is probable that the [ircsent breed of Ambian liorsca are descendants of the very line stoik for whiirli Assyria was famous. White horses (Kev 6^ 19"- ") were ridden by conijuerors. Horses and chariots were dedicated to the sun by idolatrous kind's (2 K 23"). Horses had halters (Is Sn-") and bridles (Ps 32"). The bridles were decorated with bells (Zee U-"; Layard, A'ln. ii. 29, 27ri). The horses were often not shotl, hence the hardness of their hoofs (Is 5^). Chariots and horses had rich trap- pings (Ezk 27"). Saddles were rare (Layard, ii. 3,i7).
U. E. Post. HORSE GATE.— See Jerusalem.
HORSELEECH (iS'''X, 'iUulnh, /35AXa, sangid- suga). — The obsolete Heb. root p'ri' corresponds to the Arab, 'aliha, which means to hang to. The Arab, generic name for leeches is 'ilhik, and for an individual Wlnkah. If we regard the creature intended as one of the annelids, Vdiikdh should be rendered leecli rather than horseleech. Of the annelids found in Sj-ria and Pal. the medicinal leech, Hirudo mcdirinalis, Sav., and the horseleech, Hcvmopls sanijxtisorba, Sav., are the most common. There are also species of Bdello, Trochetin, and other genera of leeches, in the stagnant waters. They cling to the feet and legs of those who wade into such waters. They also infest the fountains and pools, and the wctering-troughs of cattle, and attach themselves to the throat or nostrils of beasts and men. The tenacity with wldcli they adhere is such that they must sometimes be pulled apart in order to detach them. The pertinacity with which they suck quite justifies the e.xi>ression 'the 'aUikuh hath two daughters. Give, Give' (Pr 30'=). It is, however, possible that the allusion m.ay be to the 'aluk of the Arabs, the ghiH or fenude spectre, which they allege sucks blood like the vaiupire, and feeds on the flesh of the dead (see Wildeboer, ad loc.). G. E. POST.