Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible (1898)
CAM'EL, a well-known and highly useful animal in Eastern countries, and justly called "the ship of the desert." It is by the law of Moses unclean. Lev 11:4. The camel is usually about 6 feet in height to the saddle. Though he makes loud complaints when caused to kneel or receive a load, he is still docile, and marches on as under a painful sense of duty. He varies in color from white to black, but is ordinarily tawny. In the Bible lands the
Arabian or one-humped camel ( Camelits dromedcuius) is found. Two-humped camels (C. Bactrianus) are rarely used except in Central Asia. The feet of this animal are provided with a tough, elastic sole, which prevents them from sinking in the sand. His hump serves as a cushion for loads, Isa 30:6, and a store-house of food against times of scarcity. There is a large callus on his breast and three pairs of calluses on his legs, which protect him
from laceration when kneeling upon sharp stones. His nostrils are adapted for breathing with safety in a sandstorm. A horny mouth with divided upper lip is fitted for the harsh and thorny shrubs of the desert, which he seems to prefer to more tender herbage. The second stomach of the camel, which is a ruminant animal, is divided into hexagonal cells, and receives and retains for gradual use the water which is drunk. On a full supply he can live
even 20 or 30 days. As the camel never sensibly perspires, there is no loss in this direction. These qualities all combine to