Charles Ellicott Commentary Genesis 12:16

"And he dealt well with Abram for her sake: and he had sheep, and oxen, and he-asses, and men-servants, and maid-servants, and she-asses, and camels." — Genesis 12:16 (ASV)

He entreated Abram well. —Hebrew, did good to Abram. It was customary to give the relatives a sum of money when taking a daughter or sister as a wife. The presents here show that Pharaoh fully believed he was acting lawfully, while their size proves that Sarai, despite her age, was regarded as a valuable acquisition. Among the presents are “asses.” The charge of “inaccuracy” brought against the author on this account, suggesting that asses were not known in Egypt at this time, is disproved by the presence of depictions of this animal on the tombs of Beni Hasan: we even have proof that they were numerous as far back as the time when the Pyramids of Giza were built.

The horse is not mentioned, and its earliest representation is in the war-chariot of Ahmes I, the first pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty, who expelled the Hyksos. Male and female slaves are, curiously enough, introduced between “he-asses” and “she-asses.” Since she-asses were especially valuable, perhaps these and the camels were regarded as the monarch’s choicest gifts.

Camels are not depicted on the monuments and are said not to thrive well in Egypt. However, the Semitic peoples who were populating the Delta would certainly have brought camels with them. Many of the Egyptian monarchs too—for instance, those of the Twelfth Dynasty—ruled over a large part of the Sinaitic Peninsula. They must have known the camel's value for transporting heavy burdens in the desert and its usefulness to a nomadic sheikh like Abram. .