Simon says: "Let's meet the dromedary (Camelus dromedarius)"

The dromedary (Camelus dromedarius)

#ImagineIsraelTours

#SimonOsterTourGuideIsrael

This is the single-humped camel of the Middle East & the Horn of Africa, appearing in the Bible more than 40 times - the Hebrew word is gamal. Bereshit/Genesis alone uses it 24 times, always in connection with the Patriarchs: Abraham (12:16), Isaac, Jacob, Joseph (37:25). The stories place these events between 2000 - 1500 BCE.

But archaeology tells a different story.

Recent excavations in the Timna Valley discovered the earliest camel bones in Israel, dating to around 930 BCE. This was centuries after the Patriarchs would have lived. The excavators see this as evidence that the stories of Abraham, Joseph, Jacob, Esau were written or rewritten after this time.

The hump stores up to 80 pounds of fat, metabolised into water & energy when food is scarce

Camels eat almost any desert vegetation: dry grasses, thorny shrubs, halophytes (salt-loving plants). They forage 8 to 12 hours a day, taking only a few leaves from each plant. They need a lot of salt in their diet to absorb & store water .

Females reach sexual maturity at three years, mate a year or two later. Males mature later - fully ready at six years. Gestation lasts about 15 months, usually a single calf. Calves walk within a day of birth, staying with their mothers for up to two years .

The dromedary inhabits hot, dry climates, deserts, arid regions & semi-arid plains; it can withstand extreme temperatures & long droughts & doesn't do well in wet, muddy areas

Longevity: 30 to 50 years in the wild or captivity .

Kashrut: Leviticus 11:4 lists the camel as unclean. It chews the cud but does not have a divided hoof

Ready to walk in the footsteps of a camel?

Message us for more info:

📩 imagineisraelenquiries@gmail.com

📲 Phone/WhatsApp +972 54 2390412

🔗Links

⭐ TripAdvisor reviews: https://shorturl.at/aIR47

⭐ Google Reviews: https://shorturl.at/FZVNW

📸 Instagram https://h1.nu/1ABQW

🌐 https://imagineisrael-tours.com/


Photo taken by Dafna Tal for the Israeli Ministry of Tourism.
Israel_photo_gallery

Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0