Ass

 •  1 min. read  •  grade level: 6
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Equus Heminus
In the East the ass takes the place which the horse has among European nations. It is there a much more noble animal, and is declared to be a very intelligent one (compare Isa. 1:3). It is highly valued there and is well treated. It was used for riding both by men and women, and for carrying burdens. Among a man’s property the asses are often enumerated (Gen. 12:16; Job 1:3; Job 42:12; Ezra 2:67; Neh. 7:69). There are five Hebrew words used for the domestic and the wild ass, referring to its strength or to its color.
The “white asses” mentioned in Judges 5:10 are still greatly prized in the East. In some parts the flesh of the ass is highly esteemed for food, but it was forbidden as unclean to the Jews: was however eaten in the dire famine at the siege of Samaria (2 Kings 6:25).
THE WILD Ass is very wild and very swift. It is seldom tamed. It is thus a fit emblem of man’s natural birth (Job 11:12). Jehovah demanded of Job “Who hath sent out the wild ass free? or who hath loosed the bands of the wild ass?” (Job 39:5; compare Jer. 2:24; Dan. 5:21).