CART (עֲגָלָה, H6322, from the root ’gl “roll”). Sometimes called “wagons” (q.v.), KJV Genesis 45:19, 21, 27; 46:5; Numbers 7:3, 6, 7, 8. The earliest cart appeared in Babylonia in the Early Dynastic period as a sledge designed for carrying light loads. Egypt and other flat countries soon adopted the idea. Once the wheel was invented carts became common in Babylonia, Egypt (Gen 45:19-21; 46:5) and in the low-lying areas of Pal. (Shepelah). In the days of the Judges they were used on main roads in the hill country (1 Sam 6:1-12). Normally they were drawn by two oxen or cows (Num 7:3-8; 1 Sam 6:10; 2 Sam 6:3). Both persons and things were carried (Gen 45:19, 21, 27; 46:5). Frequently they were used for transporting the harvest (Amos 2:13). They could carry one or two drivers (1 Chron 13:7). Since they were made of wood (1 Sam 6:7) they could be dismantled and burned (1 Sam 6:14; Ps 46:9). At times they were covered (Num 7:3). The wheels, either solid or spoked, sometimes carried a metal tread (Isa 28:27, 28). Good representations of carts come from Egyptian and Assyrian reliefs (e.g., the Assyrian sculptures referring to the fall of Lachish in 701 b.c.).

Some obscure references to carts or wagons require specialized explanation; e.g., the fig. reference to a cart rope in Isaiah 5:18; the expression עֶגְלֹ֥ת צָב׃֙ (lit. wagons of wagon, Num 7:3), tr. KJV, RSV “covered wagons,” new Jewish VS (1962) “draught carts”; the references in Ezekiel 23:24; 26:10 and Psalm 46:9 seem to be to the transport wagons of an army; the reference in Isaiah 28:27, 28 is to some kind of vehicle used in threshing.