Ezra 2:66

horses The number mentioned here (736) appears in 1Es 5:43 as 7036, a fair sample of the way in which figures could easily undergo alteration by accident or intention.

Before this time we do not find mention of the use of the horse among the Israelites for peaceful purposes. Hitherto the horse had been used for war and for pomp. The considerable number here mentioned is another proof of the presence of considerable wealth. The horse was the possession of the rich and well armed.

mules About one-third the number of the horses. During the monarchy the mule is the royal animal (1 Kings 1:33; 1 Kings 1:38; 1 Kings 1:44). The mule was scarce and precious like the horse (1 Kings 18:5). To be carried by a mule is classed with being carried by a horse or on a litter or in a chariot (Isaiah 66:20). They were not bred in Palestine. Solomon imported them (1 Kings 10:25; 2 Chronicles 9:24). The mules here mentioned were probably ridden by the richest class. In the O.T. we do not read of the mule carrying loads.