Genesis 31:34 - "Now Rachel had taken the household gods and put them in the camel’s saddle, and sat upon them. Laban felt all about the tent, but did not find them."

Leviticus 15:9 - "And any saddle on which he who has the discharge rides shall be unclean."

In the ancient world, asses were the oldest riding animals, the camel being used, at least in the earliest times, primarily as burden-bearers. When riding asses, a doubled piece of cloth, fastened by a girth, served as the saddle. As the use of camels for riding developed, the type of saddle used for them was a kind of basket, with a cover and curtains, much as we …