Domestic Animals in Ancient Israel: The Donkey
excerpt:
But when we turn to the Hebrew literature, we do not find such jokes about the donkey. Rather the animal is known for its strength and its loyalty to its master (Genesis 49:14; Numbers 22:30).
Indeed, the ruler of Shechem in the time of Jacob was named Hamor, the Semitic word for donkey. To call the man Hamor apparently did not create the same effect in ancient society as calling a man Eeyore—or worse—in our own society.
The donkey, not the horse, was ordinarily used for riding. It was ridden with a saddle and often with a bit (Numbers 22:21; Proverbs 26:3). It was ridden by all classes of people: by Abraham, by Balaam the seer from Mesopotamia, by women and children, and by king David’s household (Genesis 22:3; Numbers 22:21; Exodus 4:20; 2 Samuel 16:2).
As a work animal, the donkey carried burdens and pulled the plow (Genesis 42:26; Isaiah 30:24). When Jacob’s sons went to Egypt to buy food, they brought the grain back on pack asses (Genesis 42:26).
Later in the story, Joseph sent a caravan of ten donkeys laden with “the good things of Egypt” and ten laden with grain, bread, and other provisions (Genesis 45:23). In an Egyptian tomb dating around 1890 b.c. we find a painting of such a donkey caravan, although the two little donkeys in the picture do not make much of a caravan.
The painting depicts Semitic men, women, and children traveling on foot while their donkeys carry baggage and two more children.
By later Jewish times there are indications that the donkey was regarded as a lowly beast. The Wisdom of Sirach says, “Fodder and a stick and burdens for an ***; bread and discipline and work for a servant” (33:24). We note, too, that Rabbi Judah declares donkey-drivers scalawags:
***-drivers are most of them wicked, camel-drivers are most of them proper folk, sailors are most of them saintly, the best among physicians is destined for Gehenna, and the most seemly among butchers is a partner of Amalek. (Mishnah Kiddushin 4.14)
In any case, Zechariah portrayed Israel’s future king coming not on a horse, the beast of war, but “humble and riding on an ***” (Zechariah 9:90).
The animal known to us as the donkey is called by at least three names in Hebrew.
Athon is the she-donkey and appears in the Bible about thirty-five times, mostly in the story about Balaam and his donkey (Numbers 22) and in the story about the lost donkeys of Saul’s father (1 Samuel 9).
The name
ayir is infrequent. It is generally thought to refer to the animal’s young. The most common name (about 100 times) is
hamor. Possibly the word means “the reddish animal.” Spanish
burro is similarly derived from Greek
purros, red. The word
hamor is, however, enough like the sound of a donkey that I wonder if it is imitative. Pronounce it aloud a few times with a falling inflection and strong emphasis on the initial laryngeal, and you will see what I mean.
Samuel 15: 1; After this Absalom provided a chariot and
HORSES for himself and an escort of fifty men, etc. - - - - - So much for your no
HORSES in Israel.
1 Kings 18: 4-5; “Ahab had said to Obadiah, "Go through the land to all the springs and valleys. Maybe we can find some grass to keep the
HORSES and mules alive so we will not have to kill any of our animals." - - - - - So much for your no
HORSES in Israel.
1 Kings 20: 1; King Benhadad of Syria gathered all his troops, and supported by thirty two other rulers with their horses and chariots, he marched up and laid siege to Samaria, etc.
The ground wasn’t too stony for Benhadad’s horses, was it?
After the Israelite forces defeated the huge Syrian army under King Benhadad, Ahab showed mercy of Benhadad and invited him to get into his [Ahab’s] chariot with him. 1 Kings 20: 34. - - - - - So much for your no
HORSES in Israel.
1 Kings 22: 4; “So he (
Ahab the King of Israel) asked Jehoshaphat, (
The King of Judah) "Will you go with me to fight against Ramoth Gilead?" Jehoshaphat replied to the king of Israel, "I am as you are, my people as your people, my
HORSES as your
HORSES." - - - - - So much for your no
HORSES in Israel.
2 Kings 3: 7; Jehoshaphat the King of Judah, supplies men and
HORSES to support his son, Jehoram/Joram, the king of Israel, in his battle against the King of Moab. - - - - - So much for your no
HORSES in Israel.
2 Kings 7: When Jehoram/Joram, the son-in-law of Ahab, was king of Israel, Benhadad laid siege to Samaria, starving the inhabitants, who ate their donkeys, horses, and even their children. But the Lord caused the Syrian army to abandon their camp and run away. Jehoram was wary and thought it was a trick by the Syrians to get them to leave that city, and would not let anyone go out to investigate, etc,
Verse 13; But one of the officials said; “The people here in the city are doomed anyway, like those that have already died. So let’s send some men with five of the
HORSES that are left, etc. - - - - - So much for your no
HORSES in Israel.
Jehoram/Joram the King of Israel, Son of Jehoshaphat the King of Judah, and the son-in-law of King Ahab, had married Ahab’s daughter ‘Athaliah,’ who was the mother of King Ahaziah the king of Judah . And in 2 Kings 9: 20-21; we see that King Joram, his son King Ahaziah and Jehu, who kills both Joram and Ahaziah, are all riding in
HORSE drawn chariots. - - - - - So much for your no
HORSES in Israel.
2 Kings 10: 2-8; Ahab had 70 descendants living in Samaria, Jehu sent the leaders in that city a letter, Saying; “You are in charge of Ahab’s descendants, and you have at your disposal chariots,
HORSES [I repeat, HORSES] and fortified cities, etc. Jehu then demanded that they give him the 70 heads of Ahab’s descendants, or choose themselves a king and prepare to do Battle, etc. In no time at all, Jehu had the heads of Ahab’s 70 descendants. - - - - - So much for your no
HORSES in Israel.
2 Kings 14: 20; The body of the assassinated King Amazaih, was carried back to Jerusalem on a
HORSE and was buried in the Royal Tombs in the city of David. - - - - - So much for your no
HORSES in Israel.
2 Kings 23: 11; King Josiah removed the
HORSES and burned the chariots that were used in the worship of the sun, - - - - - So much for your no
HORSES in Israel.
OK, If you’re still not convinced that the Israelites had horse drawn chariots that they used in fighting their wars etc, we will move on to 1st and 2nd Chronicles, in order to reveal beyond any doubt, that the Israelites did have horses.
But surely someone who CLAIMS to have read the bible seven times would have known that.