The Donkey
This article talks about:
- Cultural and Economic Significance of Donkeys in The Ancient Near East
- Redemption of the Donkey
- Yeshua’s Donkey
-By Pnina Torn Broers-
About 100 species of animals are mentioned in the Bible. Amongst the equids, the donkey gained quite a bit of attention in the text and is mentioned some 200 times. Two of the most famous donkeys that the reader immediately might think of are Balaam’s jenny and the donkey that Yeshua rode on when entering Jerusalem. But there are many more interesting donkeys in the Bible. Though these animals often are considered stubborn and not so smart, we might learn some important lessons from them. Let us explore the history of the donkey in the Biblical world and the Biblical text.
The donkey was domesticated in the Ancient Near East and was used for different purposes. The donkey is a strong animal and cheaper and faster than an ox. A healthy donkey can work many years. It can survive drought while it needs only low-quality food, it can carry heavy loads of about 75-100 kg long-distance on roads with difficult terrain, and nevertheless, it can be managed by one person only. All those characteristics were of course of great advantage for the people whose life depended on agriculture and trade. It is not surprising that the donkey became a widely used animal.
In Mesopotamia (modern-day Iran and Iraq), the donkeys were mainly used for ploughing, and in the Levant (modern Lebanon, Syria, Israel, and Jordan), they were mainly used for packing. In Egypt, however, the main use of the donkey was for threshing. Nevertheless, an example of packing is mentioned in the Bible and relates to Egypt. Joseph “sent to his father: ten donkeys loaded with the best things of Egypt and ten female donkeys loaded with grain and bread and other provisions for his journey” (Gen. 45:23). All these usages of the donkey indicate their vital role in the development of the economy.
It might be due to this vital role that the donkey became the subject of worship. In the entire Ancient Near East, intentional donkey burials have been found. Those burials were next to human burials, below walls of structures, and sometimes close to places of worship. In Syria, for example, a whole temple complex has been found with numerous equids, most of them domesticated donkeys. In the Negev, a donkey burial was found next to a temple complex as well.
Not only archaeological evidence points out the special status of the donkey in the Near East; also, several other texts indicate their uniqueness. Those texts refer to donkeys as beasts of burden and dissoluteness. In those texts, on the one hand, the donkey is often associated with negative aspects like sickness and death. On the other hand, the donkey is considered of high value and of importance in divination processes (rituals to obtain insight in the future). In the Bible, the donkey serves as God’s agent.
Before we turn to this interesting passage, we should examine the words used in the Hebrew Bible for the equids that we often generalize as donkeys. The Hebrew Bible contains five different words: ḫamor (חמור, a general term, which can be either male or female), ‘aton (אתון, jenny), and ‘ayir (עיר, male equid, either donkey, jack, or mule). For the hybrid animals the words pered (פרד, male mule) and pirdah (פרדה female jennet/hinny) are used.
The first time we meet an equid is in the book of Genesis when Abram and Sarai went down to Egypt, and Pharaoh takes Sarai into his court. Pharaoh blesses Abram, and “he treated Abram well for her sake, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, male and female servants, and camels” (Gen. 12:16). The second time is in the before-mentioned verses about Joseph. Both show that the donkey was used by the elite in Egypt, and they were an important part of flocks.
In numerous ways the importance of the donkey is seen in the Bible about which six cases can teach us.
Donkeys and Destiny
The idea that donkeys can be related to a certain destination of someone’s life is found in Ancient Near Eastern texts and in the Bible. One story that might come to mind is the story of the lost donkeys of Kish, the father of the king-to-be Saul.
1 Samuel 9:1 states that Kish was an important man, and verse 3 tells his jennies were lost. The whole story of the appointment of Saul by the prophet Samuel was triggered by those lost animals. If it were not for the jennies, Samuel, who was already told by God that he will meet the man that is going to lead the people of Israel (verse 23), would not have met Saul.
Another passage with an element of destiny can be found as a small remark in the generation list of Esau. In Gen. 36:24, we read about a certain Anah, son of Zibeon, son of Seir, a man living in the place were Esau and his family settled: “This is the Anah who discovered the hot springs in the desert while he was grazing the donkeys of his father Zibeon.” Maybe the hot springs were the condition that made life suitable in this area. Though we do not have much information, the fact that it was during the grazing of the donkeys was of enough importance to be written down.
In the book of Samuel two other incidents are reported. Prince Absalom, the son of king David, “was riding his mule, and as the mule went under the thick branches of a large oak, Absalom’s hair got caught in the tree. He was left hanging in midair, while the mule he was riding kept on going” (2 Sam. 18:9). Here, the relation to the mule and the fatal moment is straightforward.
It is only one chapter earlier that Ahithophel, the king’s advisor, “saddled his donkey and set out for his house in his hometown. He put his house in order and then hanged himself. So he died…” (2 Sam. 17:23). Ahithophel was king David’s advisor, but chose Absalom’s side when the latter tried to seize the throne. The moment he understood that this attempt was going to fail, he killed himself. It is remarkable that immediately afterwards, also Absalom, though unintentionally, was hung. He was killed by Yoav, but the motive of the hanging and the mentioning of the donkey in the same verse does not seem accidental.
The relation of the donkey and the destination of one’s life fits well into the cultural sphere of the Ancient Near East. However, the Bible has some other, more unique attitudes towards the donkey.
Redemption of the Donkey
In the Ancient Near East, donkeys were used in offerings and sacrifices. Because it is a non-kosher animal, it could not be sacrificed to the God of Israel. Nevertheless, the donkey should be redeemed. In Exodus 13, we read, “All male animals will be to the Lord. But the donkey…you should redeem it with a lamb, otherwise you should break its neck.” This remarkable commandment within the land of Israel, is the only one applying to non-kosher animals. It might be that the donkey was the only non-kosher animal held, or it might reflect some of its importance in daily life. In the latter case, it reminds us of God’s request to devout to Him all our life and all our belongings.
Even until today, the redemption of the donkey takes place, though rarely, and reminds us of the importance of obedience to God’s law even if it seems illogic to us.
B’nei Hamor
It is already clear from the above that the donkey was considered special in the Ancient Near East. This was also the case in Shechem, an important Canaanite city. A decapitated equid found in a special burial site might indicate that some ritual took place in the city of Shechem, likely related to making a covenant.
It is in this city that we meet the family of the sons of Ḫamor, literally, the sons of a donkey. It is written about Jakob that he “arrived safely at the city of Shechem in Canaan and camped within sight of the city. For a hundred pieces of silver, he bought from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem, the plot of ground where he pitched his tent” (Gen. 33:18-19).
It is mere speculation to determine why the family was called ḫamor. It is known from texts from Syria that donkeys were used in ceremonial practices, especially those involved in making a covenant. It might be that the forefathers of Shechem engaged in such a pact and their name was a reminder of it. Another possibility is that they were donkey-drivers, using them in trade. A third option might indicate some royal descendance of the family, not unthinkable, for Shechem was one of the most important cities in Canaan.
The Donkey of Balaam
Another story, maybe the most famous one, is about Balaam’s jenny. The prophet Balaam son of Be’or was an important figure in the area of Moab, as we read in the Bible and in an ancient plaster text discovered in modern Jordan. In the Bible, we read about Moabite officials who visit Balaam with a message from king Balak in which he requests him to come and curse the Israelites. Balaam, however, wants first to ask the Lord, and when he receives the answer, he “got up and said to Balak’s officials, ‘Go back to your own country, for the LORD has refused to let me go with you’” (Num. 22:13). Only after another delegation of officials comes to Balaam, and he again asks the Lord, he receives confirmation that he can go. “Since these men have come to summon you, go with them, but do only what I tell you” (Num. 22: 20), he is told in a nightly vision.
So, the next morning he saddles his jenny and leaves for Moab. On the road, apparently, Balaam forgets that he has to obey the words of the Lord, whose mission he is going to fulfil. He is not aware at all that there is someone standing on the path. Only the jenny had open eyes and immediately understood; she noticed an angel on the path. She leaves the path into the field, but her impatient master forces her to go back on the path. Without choice, while trying to avoid the angel, she pushes herself against the wall and as a result gets beaten by Balaam. He did not even try to understand the reason for her behavior, and when she lies down on the ground, he beats her even more. Only then, she opens her mouth and speaks. She asks Balaam, who is not surprised by her voice, why he hit her.
Instead of pointing at the angel, the jenny asks Balaam if she ever behaved like this before, and it is through her questions that Balaam realizes that there is something unusual. The jenny does not tell him straight away but tries to cause self-reflection. Only when Balaam confesses that she never behaved like this before, his eyes are opened.
The following verses contain an important lesson: “The angel of the LORD asked him, ‘Why have you beaten your donkey these three times? I have come here to oppose you because your path is a reckless one before me. The donkey saw me and turned away from me these three times. If it had not turned away, I would certainly have killed you by now, but I would have spared it.’ Balaam said to the angel of the LORD, ‘I have sinned. I did not realize you were standing in the road to oppose me. Now, if you are displeased, I will go back.’ The angel of the LORD said to Balaam, ‘Go with the men, but speak only what I tell you.’ So Balaam went with Balak’s officials” (Num. 22:32-34).
Balaam the prophet did not really listen to the Lord’s words. He was told to go to Moab but to speak what he is told to speak. He had to learn from his jenny who was speaking God’s words.
The Man of God from Judah
Though Balaam’s jenny is the only speaking equid we know from the Bible, another story shows us the importance of the donkey and the obedience of animals. In a quite peculiar episode in 1 Kings 13, we read about a certain ‘man of God’ riding a donkey, who sits under an oak tree, when some prophet of a nearby town asks him to come to his place and dine with him. Though the man had heard a clear instruction not to do so, he is persuaded and follows the man. After the meal, he saddles his donkey and returns on his way, where suddenly a lion appears that kills him. The lion, who apparently got the instruction to kill the man only, stayed with the donkey, which was faithfully watching its master, both still on the road when the prophet finds the body of the ‘man of God’. “The lion had neither eaten the body nor mauled the donkey. So, the prophet picked up the body of the man of God, laid it on the donkey, and brought it back to his own city to mourn for him and bury him” (1 Kings 13: 28-29). This is yet another example of an obedient donkey, almost an agent of the Lord, like Balaam’s jenny. Interestingly, some other ancient sources put these animals (the lion and donkey) together as peacefully operating.
Now that we have discussed some examples of donkeys in the Hebrew Bible and have seen their importance, one might ask why the donkey of Messiah is considered so unimportant? This has to do with the appearance of the horse which, over time, became the elegant equid used by kings and officials. In the second Temple Period, the simple donkey, which was a high-valued and important animal a few ages ago, was now nothing more than a beast of burden used in trade and in agriculture. It was this animal, considered nothing special, that was chosen by the King as His animal to ride on when entering His city.
The Donkey of Yeshua
He was even not a grown-up animal, but a small jack, tied somewhere in the city next to his mother, when he was chosen by Messiah. This was already prophesied by Zechariah (9:9): “Say to the Daughter Zion, ‘See, your King comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”
Both the jack and his mother were taken to Yeshua. The choice of those animals is in my eyes a beautiful expression of the Kingdom of Yeshua, where “the last will be first, and the first will be last” (Matt. 20:16). The tied donkeys became untied to serve Messiah. Their ancestors might have been animals that served kings and prophets, but they were considered nothing special. But it is not the society’s choice whether they are suitable or not. The jenny and her jack have become the most famous in history. It is not our eyes that count, but the Master’s view.
The list of donkey-stories, donkey-texts, and donkey-related-finds is much longer than has been discussed here. However, from all the above-mentioned donkeys, we might learn a lot for our life.
Donkeys, today generally considered stubborn and stupid, were once highly valued animals, vital for the ancient economy. Though often considered with negative things, in the Bible we see a slightly different picture. How blessed we would be if we were like the jenny of Balaam, with open eyes to see God’s angels, aware of God’s will, and speaking His words. How blessed would we be if we were like a first-born donkey, redeemed, and not slaughtered. How blessed would we be if we were part of a decisive incident for the destiny of someone’s life, in a positive way. And how blessed would we be if we were servants of our Master, like this little donkey in Jerusalem so many years ago. In God’s eyes, all His creatures have a purpose and are worthy to serve Him. When we listen to His voice, it does not matter how others see us or treat us, we are worthy, because He has chosen us.
Source: Kenneth C. Way (2011) Donkeys in the Biblical World: Ceremony and Symbol.
Bible passages were taken from the NIV.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Pnina has been living in Israel for the past five years while also studying Biblical archaeology. She likes to explore the land of Israel, uncover its past, and enjoy the variety in nature, people, and stories that the land is blessed with.