Genesis 12:16

"And he dealt well with Abram for her sake: and he had sheep, and oxen, and he-asses, and menservants, and maid-servants, and she-asses, and camels."

Pharaoh loaded Abram with great wealth, intended no doubt as a kind of dowry, for the beautiful Sarai. This is an angle of the narrative that seems to be somewhat ignored. In view of the way that this episode turned out for Abraham, one can well understand why, later on, he did it again! Critics have been quick to allege that camels were not known in Egypt until a period long after the usual date assigned to Genesis, but they have been completely frustrated by the excavation of bones of camels from Mesopotamia dating from the 18th century B.C.[21] It is indeed a safe deduction that since camels were in use at such an early date in Mesopotamia, they were certainly known in Egypt. This text proves that Pharaoh had them in such abundance that he counted them among the gifts to Abraham.