He-Ass, "^l^t!!, chamor' (Gen. xii, 16; elsewhere simply "ass"), the general designation of the donkey (Exod. xiii, 13, etc.) for carrying burdens (Exod. xiii, 26) and ploughing (Isa. xxx, 24), being regarded as a patient (Gen. xlix, 14) and contented animal for riding in time of peace (2 Sam. xix, 27 ; Zech. ix, 9) ; different from the proud (Eccles. x, 9) and warlike horse (Isa. xx, 16). As a beast of burden, it was eaten only in times of famine (2 Kings vi, 25). See Ass's Head.
Tlie prohibition of the use of horses to Israel caused the ass to be held in higher estimation than it holds in our times. It was, at least down to the days of Solo- mon, the principal beast of burden. But Ave must not attribute this election whoUy to the absence or scarcity of the horse, for in AVestem Asia the ass is still largely used for the saddle. Though inferior in dignity to the horse, he is still, in his native regions, a very superior animal to the poor, weather-beaten, stunted, half-starved beast of our commons. Chardin and others describe the Arabian ass as a really elegant creatiu-e. Tlie coat is smooth and clean, the carriage is erect and proud; the limbs are clean, well-formed, and muscular, and are well thrown out in walking or galloping. Asses of this Arab breed are used exclusively for the saddle, and are im- ported into SjTia and Persia, where they are highly valued, especiaUy by the mollahs or la-nyers, the sheiks or religious teachers, and elderly persons of the opiUent classes. They are fed and dressed with the same care as horses, the head-gear is highly ornamented, and the saddle is covered with a fine carpet. They are active, spirited, and yet sufficiently docile. Other breeds are equaUy useful in the more humble labors of ploughing and carrj'ing burdens. White asses, distinguished not only by their color, but by their statiu-e and s}Tnmetrj% are frequently seen in Western Asia, and are always more highly esteemed than those of more ordinary hue. The editor of the Pictorial Bible says that these "are usually in every respect tlie finest of their species, and their oAvners certainly take more pride in them than in any other of their asses. They sell at a much higher price ; and those hackney ass-men who make a liveli- hood by hiring out their asses to persons who want a ride, always expect better pay for the white ass than for any of the others." After describing their more highly ornamented trappings, he obser\'es, " But, above all, their white hides are fantastically streaked and spot-
HEAT
118
HEATH
Modern Egyptians mounted on Asses. ted with the red stains of the henna plant, a barbarous kind of ornament which the Western Asiatics are fond of ajiplyinK to their own beards, and to the manes and tails of their white horses." See Horse.
Tlie constitution of the ass is formed for a drj-, rugged region, a rocky wilderness. Its hoofs are long, hollow beneath, with very sharp edges, a peculiarity which makes it sure-footed in ascending and descending steep mountain passes, where the flat hoof of the horse would be insecure. It prefers aromatic, tlry, prickly herbs to the most succulent and tender grass ; is fond of rolling in the dry dust; suffers but little from thirst or heat; drinks seldom and little ; and seems to have no sensible perspiration, its skin being hard, tough, and insensitive. All these characters suit the arid, rocky wildernesses of Persia and AVestern Asia, the native country of this val- uable animal. — Fairbairn. See Ass.
Heat (usually DPI, chCm, flBH, chummali', or >T2n, chcmah'), besides its ordinary meaning, has several pe- culiar uses in Scripture. In laa. xlix, 10, and Rev. vii, 10, there is a reference to the burning wind of the des- ert, the simoom or samkl, described by travellers as ex- ceedingly pestilential and fatal. It is highly probable that this was the instrument with which God destroyed the army of Sennacherib (2 Kings xix, 7, 35). Its ef- fects are evidently allii^led to in Psa, ciii, 15, 16, and in Jer. iv, 1 1. Thevenot mentions such a wind, which in 1G5« suflbcated 20,000 men in one night, and another wliich in 1()55 suffocated 4000 persons. It sometimes burns up the com when near its maturity, and hence the image of " corn blasted before it be grown up," used in 2 Kings xix, 26. Its effect is not only to render the air extremely liot and scorching, but to iill it with poi- sonous and suffocating vajiors. The most violent storms that Judtca was subject to came from the deserts of Arabia. " Out of the south cometh the whirlwind," says Job (xxxvii, 9) ; "And there came a great wind from ihc u-ildcmess" (,Iob i, 10). Zcch. ix, 14: "And Jeho- vah shall aiijiear over them, and his arrow shall go forth as the liglitning; and the Lord Jehovah shall sound the trumpet, anifsball march in tlie whirlwinds of M," south:' The 91st Psalm, which speaks of divine protection, de- scribes the ])laguc as arrows, and in those winds there are observed flashes of fire. In Numb, xiii, 3, the place in which tlic ))laguc was inflicted ujion the Israelites is for that reason called Tuhvrah, i. e. a burning. A plague is called ^2'!, dther\ as a desert is called "^a^"?, mid- har', because those winds came from the desert, and are real plagues. Tliis hot wind, when used as a symbol, signifies the fire oi perscciitinn, or else some prodigious wars which destroy men. For wind siguities war ; and