Ezra 2:67

camels The camel is mentioned in the O.T. chiefly as the beast of burden of nomad families and races, e.g. Ishmaelites (Genesis 37:25), Midianites and Amalekites (Judges 6:5; 1 Samuel 30:17). It would be the most serviceable of all beasts for the long journey from Babylon, on account of its great endurance and its capacity for carrying heavy weights.

The camel here spoken of is probably of Arabian breed. It is what we should call the -dromedary" or one-humped camel.

Camels would be in frequent use in Babylon. Several Assyrian sculptures have been preserved in which we may see that the camel then as now was the favourite beast both of merchants and of robbers (Job 1:17).

asses Here and in Nehemiah the number is 6720, in 1Es 5:43 it is 5525. The ass was the commonest best of burden. Unlike the horse, mule and camel, it seems from the earliest times to have been bred in Palestine. Its endurance for a long journey is greater than that of the horse. But it is not so serviceable for work in waterless regions as the mule or the camel. Asses are mentioned along with camels and horsemen in Isaiah's prophecy of the fall of Babylon (Isaiah 21:7).

These four beasts of burden are mentioned in the same order in Zechariah 14:15. The horses and mules would be ridden by the wealthier, asses by the poorer classes. The camels and asses would carry the baggage.