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.

wild ass of a man, wild donkey

The Hebrew that is translated as “wild ass of a man” of “wild donkey” in English is translated in Chol as “uncontrollable” (with a negative connotation).

In Chichewa (interconfessional translation) it is translated as mtima wa chilombo or “with the heart of a beast.” (Source: Wendland 1987, p. 130)

See also wild ass.

complete verse (Genesis 16:12)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Genesis 16:12:

  • Kankanaey: “But that-aforementioned-one that you (sing.) will-give-birth-to, he will be like a wild donkey. All people will be his enemies (this expression focuses on his attitude to them), and all people they will also quarrel/fight-with (same root as enemy) him. Even also his siblings/close-relatives, he will consider/count them as enemies.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Newari: “He will be like a wild donkey among men. He oppose everyone. And everyone will oppose him. He will live separated from all his kin.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “But your child will-live like a wild donkey. He will-oppose everyone, and everyone will-oppose him. Even his relatives he will-oppose.'” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “But your son will be as uncontrollable as a wild donkey. He will oppose everyone, and everyone will oppose him. He will live far away from his relatives.'” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Genesis 16:12

This verse tells what kind of person the child will be and what will become of him.

He shall be a wild ass of a man: the wild ass or donkey is described in Job 39.5-8 as being free, untameable, living in the open desert. Here it is Ishmael’s style of life as a free and fearless Bedouin tribesman that is pictured in the expression wild ass of a man. Good News Translation “your son will live like a wild donkey” expresses the thought well.

If this expression is translated literally, it is possible that readers will focus on some inappropriate feature of it, such as eating grass, or having hooves and long ears. Or they may understand some quite inappropriate figurative meaning from it, such as being stubborn or stupid. Also in some areas these animals are unknown. It may be possible to substitute another suitable wild animal; but perhaps it will be preferable to shift to a more general expression and say, for example, “He will live like a wild animal.” If this is inappropriate, it may be necessary to say, for example, “He will live with no one able to control him,” “Nobody will be able to tell him what to do,” or “He will be ruled by no one.”

His hand against every man: the use of hand in this clause and the following one suggests conflict, violence, opposition, or, as Good News Translation says, “he will be against everyone.” The sense may also be expressed in terms of fighting; for example, Bible en français courant, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch say “he will battle with everyone.” Other translations have “he will be an enemy to everybody” or “he will not be friends with anybody.”

This line is completed in Hebrew by the reciprocal and every man’s hand against him; that is, “and everybody will fight against him.” The manner of phrasing is due to the repetitive poetic structure and may require adjustments in some languages. For example, it may not be necessary to repeat that “everybody will fight against him.”

And he shall dwell over against all his kinsmen: this line is probably intended to be parallel to the two clauses before it. Here, however, kinsmen is a more limited term than every man (Hebrew “all”); literally it is “brothers,” but here again the term includes other relatives. Translations differ in their understanding of over against, which is literally “in the face of” or “in front of.” Furthermore, this expression as used in 1 Kgs 11.7 has the sense of “to the east of.” Good News Translation, Bible en français courant, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, interpret “in the face of” to mean “separated from,” and so Good News Translation has “He will live apart from all his relatives.” On the other hand New English Bible, Revised English Bible, New International Version, New Revised Standard Version, New Jerusalem Bible, Moffatt understand the expression to refer to living as an enemy of his relatives. New English Bible, Revised English Bible, New Revised Standard Version say “He will live at odds…,” New Jerusalem Bible “in defiance of,” New International Version “in hostility,” Moffatt “defying all his kinsmen.” The later group of translations has the advantage of making this line more parallel with what comes before it and is recommended to translators. One example of the way this is expressed in translation is “… and he will not stay peacefully with his relatives.”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .