wild ass

In the context of being in the wilderness, the Aramaic, Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “wild ass” in English is translated in Chitonga as cibize or “zebra,” because “from the Tonga perspective, no ‘donkey of the bush’ [the literal correspondent of ‘wild ass’] could be expected to live very long, due to predators like lions, etc.” (Source: Wendland 1987, p. 130)

 

Two species of wild ass were known by the Israelites, the Nubian Wild Ass Equus asinus africanus, which lived on the African side of the Red Sea, and the Persian Wild Ass or Onager Equus hemionus, which was common in the land of Israel, Syria, and Mesopotamia. It seems likely that the Hebrew ‘arod and the Aramaic ‘arad refer to the Nubian wild ass, and the Hebrew pere’ to the onager.

Both species of wild ass were hunted for their meat.

The Nubian wild ass is probably the ancestor of virtually all domestic donkeys. It is a smallish, light brown donkey with a characteristic dark stripe down its spine and across its shoulders. It originally had stripes on the lower part of its forelegs. It has long ears and a tufted tail. It is still found in Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Somalia.

The onager, or Persian wild ass, is a larger animal, classified scientifically as a species of horse. It looks something like a mule. The scientific name hemionus means “half-ass”. It has smaller ears than a typical donkey. It is a fawn color but has a whitish chest and belly. It was evidently never fully domesticated, although one ancient Sumerian illustration shows onagers harnessed to a chariot. Onagers are still found in very small numbers in parts of Syria and Iraq and have been reintroduced into Israel.

The onager was a symbol of untameable wildness, and thus the metaphor “wild ass” was used to describe anyone with wild uncontrolled behavior.

In Africa the closest equivalent to the wild ass is the zebra, which is about the same size and belongs to the same animal family. Like the onager, the zebra has never been widely domesticated. Where the phrase “wild donkeys” would refer to domestic donkeys that have returned to living in a wild state (“feral donkeys”), a phrase meaning “wild horse” is a better choice, since feral donkeys are easily captured and domesticated, whereas feral horses are harder to domesticate. Languages that use the same word for horse and zebra may still have a problem.

The same word or expression can be used for both Hebrew words and for the Aramaic ‘arad, since no distinction between the wild ass species is intended in the biblical text, except in Job 39:5. In this verse, the Hebrew pere’ and ‘arod are both used:

The parallelism can be preserved either by using a pronoun in the second line (Who untied its ropes?) or by using “zebra” or “wild horse” for pere’ and “wild ass” for ‘arod.

Nubian Wild Ass, Wikimedia Commons

Persian Wild Ass / Onager, Wikimedia Commons

Source: All Creatures Great and Small: Living things in the Bible (UBS Helps for Translators)

See also wild ass of a man / wild donkey and donkey.

complete verse (Jeremiah 2:24)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Jeremiah 2:24:

  • Kupsabiny: “You are like donkeys (wild donkeys) in the desert,
    who sniff in the wind wanting a bull/male.
    Who can prevent/block (her/them) when she/they are in heat/looking for a male/bull.
    Bulls who want to climb (it/her) do not worry
    because they will find that young female when her days have arrived.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “You (plur.) are also like a wild female donkey who is anxious/excited for she really wanting to-mate. When she is-in-heat no one can-stop her. A male donkey no longer have a hard time looking for her during the time of-mating.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Jeremiah 2:24

The sentence begun in verse 23 continues. Translators may continue that way as well, but it will be better in many languages to begin a new sentence here: “You are like a wild ass….”

A wild ass used to the wilderness (New International Version “a wild donkey accustomed to the desert”) represents the text of the Hebrew as we have it. However, some scholars believe this expression is senseless in the context because it disturbs the figure and does not fit grammatically. Thus they conclude that a scribe unintentionally repeated two letters of the Hebrew text when copying it. If these two letters are removed and another slight alteration is made in the Hebrew, it may then be made to say “rushing into the desert” (Good News Translation). Both Jerusalem Bible and New American Bible accept this modification of the Hebrew, though without a footnote; Revised English Bible also takes this approach, but it provides a footnote, as does Good News Translation. Hebrew Old Testament Text Project prefers that the Hebrew text be followed, as is the case with Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, Luther 1984, and An American Translation.

A wild ass is an animal that is related to the horse, although it is smaller than a horse. If the animal is unknown, then translators can have simply “wild animal.”

For wilderness see verse 2.

Heat is literally “longing” or “desire” (compare the use of the noun in Deut 12.15); the related verb is translated “desire” by Revised Standard Version in 17.16. But here the noun is used in parallel with lust, which refers to that period when an animal is sexually excited and reproductively active.

Sniffing the wind describes the activity of the female animal in heat, as it goes about seeking the scent of a male animal.

It may make the line more natural to restructure, as in “sniffing the wind as she is in heat [or, is filled with desire.]” Or the first two lines could be dealt with together: “[You are like] a wild donkey in heat rushing into the desert sniffing the wind.”

Who can restrain her lust? may be expressed as “Who can restrain her in her heat [or, lust]?” or as a statement, “No one can hold her back when she is full of lust [or, in heat].”

None who seek refers to the male animal. Good News Translation makes this clear: “No male that wants her.”

The verb translated weary is found again in 51.58, 64. The weariness referred to here is that which results from running, which is similar to the usage of the verb in Isa 40.30-31, where Revised Standard Version renders it “faint.” In some cases a slight expansion has been necessary for this line: “No male that wants her needs wear himself out chasing her.”

In her month is used in parallel to in her heat and her lust. Some translators will use an expression from their language that refers to the time when a female animal is in heat, or a phrase such as “at that time when she is in heat.” Good News Translation translates in her heat sniffing the wind … her lust … in her month as “When she is in heat … she is always available in mating season.”

They will find refers back to the subject of None who seek.

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on Jeremiah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2003. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .