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.

Ephraim

The Hebrew and Greek that is transliterated as “Ephraim” in English is translated in Spanish Sign Language with the sign for “palm tree” referring to the palm of Deborah in the land of Ephraim (see Judges 4:5. (Source: Steve Parkhurst)


“Ephraim” in Spanish Sign Language, source: Sociedad Bíblica de España

For more information on translations of proper names with sign language see Sign Language Bible Translations Have Something to Say to Hearing Christians .

For Deborah, see here.

More information about Ephraim and the Tribe of Ephraim .

complete verse (Hosea 8:9)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Hosea 8:9:

  • Kupsabiny: “The people of Israel went to Assyria
    and wander around like a wild donkey.
    Ephraim has sold herself to their lovers.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Like a wild donkey going hither and thither, all alone
    they went to Assyria.
    By taking wages, Ephraim has sold herself off to her lovers.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Its-as-if she (is) like a wild donkey that is-by-itself and wandering. She asked-for-help from Asiria; she paid the other nations so-that she would-be-helped.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “Like donkeys that are looking for mates,
    they have requested help from Assyria;
    they paid money to the leaders of Assyria
    in order to persuade those leaders to protect them.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Hosea 8:9

The Hebrew word ki rendered For is most likely a logical connector here. It introduces why Israel is useless among the nations (8.8). Andersen and Freedman treat it as an emphatic particle, saying “Indeed,” which is also acceptable. Other translations omit this word (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, NET Bible), but it should be expressed in some way.

They have gone up to Assyria means the Israelites have sought assistance from Assyria (compare 5.13; 7.11). They renders an independent pronoun in Hebrew, so it is emphatic and may be translated “they themselves.”

A wild ass wandering alone: The Hebrew word for wild ass refers to an onager. An onager is a species of horse that is known for being wild. It looks like a donkey. Good News Translation says “wild donkeys,” since the word ass in English is more often used today in a crude way to refer to a part of a person’s body (the buttocks). Translators in other languages will not have the same problem here that English has, but they need to be aware constantly of how words will sound when they are read. In English it would be better to say “wild horse” rather than “wild donkey,” since donkeys are usually domesticated. The Hebrew word for wild ass is singular. Onagers usually stay together and do not associate with other animals or with humans, so one that is wandering alone loses the protection of the herd.

In the Hebrew text this line about an onager comes between two lines about Israel. In Revised Standard Version it is not clear whether Israel or Assyria is the wild ass? There are four ways of relating it to the rest of the verse:

(1) The wild ass may be understood as referring to Israel (they). Good News Translation interprets it in this way, rendering the first two lines as “Stubborn as wild donkeys, the people of Israel go their own way. They have gone off to seek help from Assyria.” This model makes it clear that the comparison of the wild ass applies to Israel (so also New Living Translation, New English Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). “Stubborn” interprets the idea of wandering alone. New English Bible says “For, like a wild ass that has left the herd, they have run to Assyria.” In view of the onager’s behavior as an animal that moves around in small herds, this model makes good sense.

(2) It is possible but not a good choice to understand the figure of the wild ass as referring to Assyria. Revised Standard Version is somewhat ambiguous, but the grammatical form of its English here makes it appear that this is the interpretation of Revised Standard Version. Applying this figure to Assyria would mean that Assyria was not looking for contact with Israel when Israel approached Assyria for help. However, this is not an accurate historical description of what occurred, nor is it the normal way to understand the Hebrew here.

(3) Another interpretation is that the figure of the wild ass stands by itself in contrast with the behavior of Ephraim; for example, Bible en français courant renders the last two lines of this verse as “A wild donkey keeps its independence, but the people of Ephraim buy lovers” (similarly Einheitsübersetzung). There is a play on words in Hebrew, because the word for wild ass rearranges some of the consonants of the name Ephraim.

(4) A better interpretation is that of Mays, who also takes the figure to refer to Ephraim, noting that such animals normally stay with the herd for mutual protection. By seeking help from other nations (lovers), Israel resembles the action of a wild ass wandering alone. Being alone, it seeks the wrong companions. Israel is in danger because it avoids God’s guidance. This seems to be the best interpretation (see the model below).

Ephraim has hired lovers: This line compares Israel to a harlot who, instead of receiving pay from her lovers, is so desperate that she is willing to pay them once she has found them. In the same way Israel has paid other nations to be her allies. The Hebrew also allows for a slightly different translation: “Ephraim has hired herself out to lovers” (NET footnote). New Living Translation is similar with “The people of Israel have sold themselves—sold themselves to many lovers.” For Ephraim see 4.17.

A translation model for this verse is:

• because they themselves have gone to Assyria.
Wandering alone, away from the herd like a wild ass,
they have sold themselves to lovers.

Quoted with permission from Dorn, Louis & van Steenbergen, Gerrit. A Handbook on Hosea. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2020. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Hosea 8:9

8:9a–b

This verse has two similar figures of speech. The simile in 8:9a and the metaphor in 8:9b both describe Israel’s efforts to persuade Assyria to help them. Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning:

9a For they have gone up to Assyria like a wild donkey on its own.

9b
Ephraim has hired lovers.

8:9a

For they have gone up to Assyria like a wild donkey on its own: This simile compares the people of Israel to a wild donkey that has left the herd. The similarities are that the donkey stubbornly decided to do what it wanted and refused to follow the leader of the herd. It left the protection of the herd and went away by itself.

Similarly, the people of Israel decided not to obey the LORD or trust him to protect them. Instead, they stubbornly rejected their covenant with God, and their leaders went to the foreign nation of Assyria to request help.

Another way to translate this simile is to make explicit one or more points of similarity. For example:

Stubborn as wild donkeys, the people of Israel go their own way. They have gone off to seek help from Assyria (Good News Translation)
-or-
Because Israel is like a wild ass ⌊that refuses to follow its leader ⌋. The people have ⌊disobeyed the Lord ⌋ and decided to go by themselves to ask Assyria for help.

For: In Hebrew, this word probably introduces the reason or explanation for the result in 8:8b that Israel had become worthless.

Here are some ways to introduce this reason/explanation:

• Use a conjunction. For example:

For/Because they traveled to Assyria

• Use an explanatory phrase. For example:

The reason ⌊that this has happened to Israel ⌋ is that ⌊their leaders ⌋ went to Assyria

Use a natural way in your language to indicate that 8:9a is a reason or explanation for 8:8b.

they: In this context, they refers mainly to the leaders or official representatives of the nation of Israel. These leaders represented the people as a whole.

Here are some other ways to translate this pronoun:

• Refer to the nation or people of Israel. For example:

Israel (New Century Version)
-or-
the people of Israel (Good News Translation)

• Refer more specifically to the leaders. For example:

their leaders
-or-
the leaders/representatives of Israel

In Hebrew, there are two pronouns here. The Hebrew is literally “they, they have gone up…” The two pronouns emphasize that the leaders themselves had decided to go to Assyria.

have gone up to Assyria: To go to Assyria, people from Israel needed to first travel north to Damascus. They then went a long ways to the east following the Euphrates River. The words have gone up do not refer here to going uphill or to going straight north. It is suggested that you translate these words in a more general way, as in the preceding notes on the word “for.” The emphasis here is not on the exact direction of travel.

like a wild donkey: A wild donkey or “wild ass” is an untamed animal that is similar to a small horse. It normally lives in a herd in dry, wilderness areas.

In languages that do not have a term for “ass” or donkey, here are some ways to translate the term:

• Use the name of a similar animal in your culture. For example:

wild horse/buffalo

• Use a general term. For example:

untamed animal

on its own: In Hebrew, this phrase is literally “isolated/alone to itself.”

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

all by itself (New Century Version)
-or-
all alone (New Jerusalem Bible)

8:9b

Ephraim has hired lovers: The name Ephraim here is a figure of speech that refers to the nation of Israel. See how you translated this name in 7:8.

This statement is a metaphor that compares Ephraim to a prostitute. The word hired here refers to an unusual situation in which the prostitute “hires” or pays her lovers to have sex instead of the lovers paying the prostitute.

Here are some ways to translate this metaphor:

• Keep the metaphor (Berean Standard Bible).

• Change the metaphor to a simile. Add the nonfigurative meaning if necessary. For example:

Ephraim ⌊is like a prostitute who ⌋ pays men to have sex with her.
-or-
Israel has given money ⌊to other nations to protect her ⌋. She ⌊is like a prostitute who ⌋ hires lovers to sleep with her.

• Translate the meaning without using a figure of speech. For example:

They…have paid other nations to protect them (Good News Translation)
-or-
You’ve…hired them as allies. (Contemporary English Version)

lovers: This word refers here to the nation of Assyria and probably also Egypt. See the notes on 7:11b–c.

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