(Heb. pered), so called from the quick step of the animal or its power of carrying loads. It is not probable that the Hebrews bred mules, as this was strictly forbidden in the law (Lev. 19:19), although their use was not forbidden. We find them in common use even by kings and nobles (2 Sam. 18:9; 1 Kings 1:33; 2 Kings 5:17; Ps. 32:9). They are not mentioned, however, till the time of David, for the word rendered "mules" (R.V. correctly, "hot springs") in Gen. 36:24 (yemim) properly denotes the warm springs of Callirhoe, on the eastern shore of the Dead Sea. In David's reign they became very common (2 Sam. 13:29; 1 Kings 10:25). Mules are not mentioned in the New Testament. Perhaps they had by that time ceased to be used in Palestine. a hybrid animal, the offspring of a horse and an ass. "The mule is smaller than the horse, and is a remarkably hardy, patient, obstinate, sure-footed animal, living, ordinarily, twice as long as a horse."--McClintock and Strong's Cyclopedia. It was forbidden to the Israelites to breed mules, but sometimes they imported them. It would appear that only kings and great men rode on mules. We do not read of mules at all in the New Testament; perhaps therefore they had ceased to be imported.
Mule