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Animals of the Bible
Donkey
Hebrew chamor, aton (she-donkey) · Greek onos · the everyday beast of burden
The donkey was the everyday animal of the Bible lands: it carried loads, turned millstones, plowed and carried people. It was tamed from the African wild ass in north-eastern Africa more than five thousand years ago. Abraham received donkeys in Egypt (Genesis 12:16), Saul first appears searching for his father’s lost donkeys, and Israel’s leaders rode white donkeys (Judges 5:10). The Law forbade plowing with an ox and a donkey yoked together (Deuteronomy 22:10).
Horses were mostly for war and kings; a donkey suited someone traveling in peace. So Zechariah pictures a humble king riding on a donkey, a verse the Gospels recall at Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. The best-known donkey is Balaam’s in Numbers 22: she sees the angel blocking the road, turns aside three times — and then speaks. Apart from visions and fables, only two animals speak in the Bible: the serpent in Eden and Balaam’s donkey.
Key verses
He treated Abram well on her account, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, menservants and maidservants, and camels.You who ride white donkeys, who sit on saddle blankets, and you who travel the road, ponderOne day the donkeys of Saul’s father Kish wandered off, and Kish said to his son Saul, “Take one of the servants and go look for the donkeys.”Then the LORD opened the donkey’s mouth, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you that you have beaten me these three times?” Balaam answered the donkey, “You have made a fool of me! If I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you right now!” But the donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not the donkey you have ridden all your life until today? Have I ever treated you this way before?” “No,” he replied.Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your King comes to you, righteous and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.They brought the donkey and the colt and laid their cloaks on them, and Jesus sat on them.Sources
Adapted and shortened from the Tyndale Open Bible Dictionary · CC BY-SA 4.0
Tyndale Open Bible Dictionary © 2023 Tyndale House Publishers · CC BY-SA 4.0 — Animals: Donkey; Balaam
Adapted from Tyndale Open Bible Dictionary: articles chosen, shortened and retold in our own words (history, nature and daily life only) and, in languages other than English, machine-translated. The original work by Tyndale House Publishers is available for free at tyndaleopenresources.com.
