CARSHENA (kar'she-na or (bleb.
kar-shen-aul, one of the seven princes who "saw the king's face" (Estli. Lt.)), B.C. 483. CART (kart), (11 eb. The Hebrew word rendered by our translators in sonic places by 'wagon,' and in others by 'cart,' denotes any vehicle moving on wheels, and usually drawn by oxen ; and their particular char acter must be determined by the context indicat ing the purpose for which they were employed First, we have the carts which the King of Egypt sent to assist in transporting Jacob's family from Canaan (Gen. xlv :19, 27). From their being so sent it is manifest that they were not used in the latter country ; and that they were known there as being peculiar to Egypt is shown by the con firmation which they afforded to Jacob of the truth of the strange story told by his sons. These carts, or wagons, were, of course, not war chariots, nor such curricles as were in use among the Egyptian nobility, but were not suited for traveling.
Elsewhere (Num. vii :3, 6; I Sam. vi :7) we read of carts used for the removal of the sacred arks and utensils. These also were drawn by two oxen.
A very curious vehicle used for such purposes by the Egyptians is little more than a platform on wheels ; and the apprehension which induced Uzzah to put forth his hand to stay the ark when shaken by the oxen (2 Sam. vi :6), may suggest that the cart employed on that occasion was not unlike this, as it would be easy for a jerk to dis place whatever might he upon it.
As it appears that the Israelites used carts, they doubtless employed them sometimes in the re moval of agricultural produce, although we are not aware of any distinct mention of this prac tice in Scripture. This is now the only use for which carts are employed in Western Asia.
FiguratiVe. The expression, "Woe unto them .hat draw . . . sin, as it were, with a cart rope" (Is. v :18), is understood by some to refer to the binding of burdens upon carts, and so to the enslaving power of sin. Others think that cart rope is used in the sense of a trace, and that the metaphor is employed to illustrate the heavy burdens which must be drawn by the sinner.