המור, Arabic, _chamara_ and _hamar_. There are three words referred
by translators to the ass: 1. המור, which is the usual appellation, and
denotes the ordinary kind; such as is employed in labour, carriage, and
domestic services. 2. פררא, rendered _onager_, or “wild ass.” 3. אהון,
rendered _she ass_. To these we must add, ערדיא, rendered _wild asses_,
Dan. v, 21. The prevailing colour of this animal in the east is reddish;
and the Arabic word, _chamara_, signifies _to be red_.
In his natural state he is fleet, fierce, formidable, and intractable;
but when domesticated, the most gentle of all animals, and assumes a
patience and submission even more humble than his situation. Le Clerc
observes, that the Israelites not being allowed to keep horses, the ass
was not only made a beast of burden, but used on journeys; and that even
the most honourable of the nation were wont to be mounted on asses,
which in the eastern countries were much larger and more beautiful than
they are with us. Jair of Gilead had thirty sons who rode on as many
asses, and commanded in thirty cities, Judges x, 4. Abdon’s sons and
grandsons rode also upon asses, Judges xii, 4. And Christ makes his
solemn entry into Jerusalem riding upon an ass, Matt. xxi, 4; John xii,
14. To draw with an ox and ass together was prohibited in the Mosaic
law, Deut. xxii, 10. This law is thought to have respect to some
idolatrous custom of the Gentiles, who were taught to believe that their
fields would be more fruitful if thus ploughed; for it is not likely
that men would have yoked together two creatures so different in their
tempers and motions, had they not been led to it by some superstition.
There might be, however, a physical reason for this injunction. Two
beasts of a different species cannot well associate together; and on
this account never pull pleasantly either in the cart or plough, and are
not therefore “true yoke fellows.” Le Clerc considers this law as merely
symbolical, importing that we are not to form improper alliances in
civil and religious life; and he thinks his opinion confirmed by these
words of St. Paul, 2 Cor. vi, 14: “Be ye not unequally yoked with
unbelievers;” which are simply to be understood as prohibiting all
intercourse between Christians and idolaters, in social, matrimonial,
and religious life. To teach the Jews the propriety of this, a variety
of precepts relative to improper and heterogeneous mixtures were
interspersed through their law; so that in civil and domestic life they
might have them ever before their eyes.
The _wild ass_, called PARA, is probably the _onager_ of the ancients.
It is taller and a much more dignified animal than the common or
domestic ass; its legs are more elegantly shaped; and it bears its head
higher. It is peculiarly distinguished by a dusky woolly mane, long
erect ears, and a forehead highly arched. The colour of the hair, in
general, is of a silvery white. These animals associate in herds, under
a leader, and are very shy. They inhabit the mountainous regions and
desert parts of Tartary, Persia, &c. Anciently they were likewise found
in Lycaonia, Phrygia, Mesopotamia, and Arabia Deserta. They are
remarkably wild; and Job, xxxix, 5–8, describes the liberty they enjoy,
the place of their retreat, their manners, and wild, impetuous, and
untamable spirit. “Vain man would be wise, though he be born a wild
ass’s colt,” Job xi, 12; עיר פרא, “ass colt,” not “ass’s colt;” יר being
in apposition with פרא, and not in government. The whole is a proverbial
expression, denoting extreme perversity and ferocity, and repeatedly
alluded to in the Old Testament. Thus, Gen. xvi, 12, it is prophesied of
Ishmael that he should be פרא אדם, a wild ass man; rough, untaught, and
libertine as a wild ass. So Hosea, xiii, 15; “He (Ephraim) hath _run
wild_ (literally _assified_ himself) amidst the braying monsters.” So
again, Hosea viii, 9, the very same character is given of Ephraim, who
is called “a solitary wild ass by himself,” or perhaps a solitary wild
ass of the _desert_; for the original will bear to be so rendered. This
proverbial expression has descended among the Arabians to the present
day, who still employ, as Schultens has remarked, the expressions, “the
ass of the desert,” or “the wild ass,” to describe an obstinate,
indocile, and contumacious person. The Prophet Isaiah, xxxii, 14,
describes great desolation by saying that “the wild asses shall rejoice
where a city stood.” There is another kind of ass called, אתון. Abraham
had ATONOTH, Gen. xii, 16; Balaam rode on an ATON, Num. xxii, 23. We
find from 1 Chron. xxvii, 30, that David had an officer expressly
appointed to superintend his ATONOTH; not his ordinary asses, but those
of a nobler race; which implies at least equal dignity in this officer
to his colleagues mentioned with him. This notion of the ATON gives also
a spirit to the history of Saul, who, when his father’s ATONOTH were
lost, was at no little pains to seek them; moreover, as beside being
valuable, they were _uncommon_, he might the more readily hear of them
if they had been noticed or taken up by any one; and this leads to the
true interpretation of the servant’s proposed application to Samuel,
verse 6, as though he said, “In his office of magistracy this honourable
man may have heard of these strayed rarities, and secured them;
peradventure he can direct us.”
Thus we find that these _atonoth_ are mentioned in Scripture, only in
the possession of judges, patriarchs, and other great men; insomuch that
where these are there is dignity, either expressed or implied. They were
also a present for a prince; for Jacob presented Esau with twenty, Gen.
xxxii, 15. What then shall we say of the wealth of Job, who possessed a
thousand? Another word which is rendered “_wild ass_” by our
translators, Job xxxix, 5, is ORUD; which seems to be the same, that in
the Chaldee of Daniel, v, 21, is called _oredia_. Mr. Parkhurst supposes
that this word denotes _the brayer_, and that PARA and ORUD are only two
names for the same animal. But these names _may_ perhaps refer to
different races, though of the same species; so that a description of
the properties of one may apply to both, though not without some
variation.
Who sent out the _para_ free?
Or who hath loosed the bands of the _orud_?
Whose dwelling I have made the wilderness,
And the barren land (salt deserts) his resort:
The range of open mountains are his pasture,
And he searcheth after every green thing.
Gmelin observes that the _onager_ is very fond of salt. Whether the
“deserts” of the above text were salt marshes, or salt deserts, is of
very little consequence; the circumstance shows the correctness of the
Hebrew poet. In Daniel we read that Nebuchadnezzar dwelt with the
OREDIA. We need not suppose that he was banished to the deserts, but was
at most kept safely in an enclosure of his own park, where curious
animals were kept for state and pleasure. If this be correct, then the
ORUD was somewhat, at least, of a rarity at Babylon; and it might be of
a kind different from the PARA, as it is denoted by another name. May it
not be the _Gicquetei_ of Professor Pallas, the wild mule of Mongalia
which surpasses the _onager_ in size, beauty, and perhaps in swiftness.
by translators to the ass: 1. המור, which is the usual appellation, and
denotes the ordinary kind; such as is employed in labour, carriage, and
domestic services. 2. פררא, rendered _onager_, or “wild ass.” 3. אהון,
rendered _she ass_. To these we must add, ערדיא, rendered _wild asses_,
Dan. v, 21. The prevailing colour of this animal in the east is reddish;
and the Arabic word, _chamara_, signifies _to be red_.
In his natural state he is fleet, fierce, formidable, and intractable;
but when domesticated, the most gentle of all animals, and assumes a
patience and submission even more humble than his situation. Le Clerc
observes, that the Israelites not being allowed to keep horses, the ass
was not only made a beast of burden, but used on journeys; and that even
the most honourable of the nation were wont to be mounted on asses,
which in the eastern countries were much larger and more beautiful than
they are with us. Jair of Gilead had thirty sons who rode on as many
asses, and commanded in thirty cities, Judges x, 4. Abdon’s sons and
grandsons rode also upon asses, Judges xii, 4. And Christ makes his
solemn entry into Jerusalem riding upon an ass, Matt. xxi, 4; John xii,
14. To draw with an ox and ass together was prohibited in the Mosaic
law, Deut. xxii, 10. This law is thought to have respect to some
idolatrous custom of the Gentiles, who were taught to believe that their
fields would be more fruitful if thus ploughed; for it is not likely
that men would have yoked together two creatures so different in their
tempers and motions, had they not been led to it by some superstition.
There might be, however, a physical reason for this injunction. Two
beasts of a different species cannot well associate together; and on
this account never pull pleasantly either in the cart or plough, and are
not therefore “true yoke fellows.” Le Clerc considers this law as merely
symbolical, importing that we are not to form improper alliances in
civil and religious life; and he thinks his opinion confirmed by these
words of St. Paul, 2 Cor. vi, 14: “Be ye not unequally yoked with
unbelievers;” which are simply to be understood as prohibiting all
intercourse between Christians and idolaters, in social, matrimonial,
and religious life. To teach the Jews the propriety of this, a variety
of precepts relative to improper and heterogeneous mixtures were
interspersed through their law; so that in civil and domestic life they
might have them ever before their eyes.
The _wild ass_, called PARA, is probably the _onager_ of the ancients.
It is taller and a much more dignified animal than the common or
domestic ass; its legs are more elegantly shaped; and it bears its head
higher. It is peculiarly distinguished by a dusky woolly mane, long
erect ears, and a forehead highly arched. The colour of the hair, in
general, is of a silvery white. These animals associate in herds, under
a leader, and are very shy. They inhabit the mountainous regions and
desert parts of Tartary, Persia, &c. Anciently they were likewise found
in Lycaonia, Phrygia, Mesopotamia, and Arabia Deserta. They are
remarkably wild; and Job, xxxix, 5–8, describes the liberty they enjoy,
the place of their retreat, their manners, and wild, impetuous, and
untamable spirit. “Vain man would be wise, though he be born a wild
ass’s colt,” Job xi, 12; עיר פרא, “ass colt,” not “ass’s colt;” יר being
in apposition with פרא, and not in government. The whole is a proverbial
expression, denoting extreme perversity and ferocity, and repeatedly
alluded to in the Old Testament. Thus, Gen. xvi, 12, it is prophesied of
Ishmael that he should be פרא אדם, a wild ass man; rough, untaught, and
libertine as a wild ass. So Hosea, xiii, 15; “He (Ephraim) hath _run
wild_ (literally _assified_ himself) amidst the braying monsters.” So
again, Hosea viii, 9, the very same character is given of Ephraim, who
is called “a solitary wild ass by himself,” or perhaps a solitary wild
ass of the _desert_; for the original will bear to be so rendered. This
proverbial expression has descended among the Arabians to the present
day, who still employ, as Schultens has remarked, the expressions, “the
ass of the desert,” or “the wild ass,” to describe an obstinate,
indocile, and contumacious person. The Prophet Isaiah, xxxii, 14,
describes great desolation by saying that “the wild asses shall rejoice
where a city stood.” There is another kind of ass called, אתון. Abraham
had ATONOTH, Gen. xii, 16; Balaam rode on an ATON, Num. xxii, 23. We
find from 1 Chron. xxvii, 30, that David had an officer expressly
appointed to superintend his ATONOTH; not his ordinary asses, but those
of a nobler race; which implies at least equal dignity in this officer
to his colleagues mentioned with him. This notion of the ATON gives also
a spirit to the history of Saul, who, when his father’s ATONOTH were
lost, was at no little pains to seek them; moreover, as beside being
valuable, they were _uncommon_, he might the more readily hear of them
if they had been noticed or taken up by any one; and this leads to the
true interpretation of the servant’s proposed application to Samuel,
verse 6, as though he said, “In his office of magistracy this honourable
man may have heard of these strayed rarities, and secured them;
peradventure he can direct us.”
Thus we find that these _atonoth_ are mentioned in Scripture, only in
the possession of judges, patriarchs, and other great men; insomuch that
where these are there is dignity, either expressed or implied. They were
also a present for a prince; for Jacob presented Esau with twenty, Gen.
xxxii, 15. What then shall we say of the wealth of Job, who possessed a
thousand? Another word which is rendered “_wild ass_” by our
translators, Job xxxix, 5, is ORUD; which seems to be the same, that in
the Chaldee of Daniel, v, 21, is called _oredia_. Mr. Parkhurst supposes
that this word denotes _the brayer_, and that PARA and ORUD are only two
names for the same animal. But these names _may_ perhaps refer to
different races, though of the same species; so that a description of
the properties of one may apply to both, though not without some
variation.
Who sent out the _para_ free?
Or who hath loosed the bands of the _orud_?
Whose dwelling I have made the wilderness,
And the barren land (salt deserts) his resort:
The range of open mountains are his pasture,
And he searcheth after every green thing.
Gmelin observes that the _onager_ is very fond of salt. Whether the
“deserts” of the above text were salt marshes, or salt deserts, is of
very little consequence; the circumstance shows the correctness of the
Hebrew poet. In Daniel we read that Nebuchadnezzar dwelt with the
OREDIA. We need not suppose that he was banished to the deserts, but was
at most kept safely in an enclosure of his own park, where curious
animals were kept for state and pleasure. If this be correct, then the
ORUD was somewhat, at least, of a rarity at Babylon; and it might be of
a kind different from the PARA, as it is denoted by another name. May it
not be the _Gicquetei_ of Professor Pallas, the wild mule of Mongalia
which surpasses the _onager_ in size, beauty, and perhaps in swiftness.