H6171 H6171
wild donkey, untamed ass (likely Aramaic loanword, equivalent to Hebrew pere)
Job 39:5 asks, 'Who has let the wild donkey go free?' using this term, which is likely an Aramaic loanword equivalent to the more common Hebrew 'pere.' The wild donkey is a creature of the open desert, free and untamed, symbolizing independence and the wildness of creation that owes nothing to human control. God's speech in Job 38–41 highlights animals that live outside human dominion, and the wild donkey epitomizes this: no one has domesticated it, no one feeds it, yet it thrives in the wilderness. Spanish 'onagro' (from Latin/Greek) is the technical term for wild ass, confirming the identification.
Senses
1. sense 1 — In Job 39:5, God asks who has set 'the wild donkey' free—a rhetorical question emphasizing divine sovereignty over creation. This Aramaic-derived term denotes the same animal as Hebrew 'pere,' the untamed ass that roams the desert steppes. Targums and Syriac confirm the identification. The wild donkey in Job is an emblem of freedom: it scorns the city, ignores the driver's shout, ranges the mountains for pasture. It exists entirely outside human systems, a creature whose liberty is God's gift. Spanish 'onagro' and the technical zoological tradition preserve this identity as the Asiatic wild ass. 1×
AR["الْعِرَّ"]·ben["বন্য-গাধার"]·DE["[ערוד]"]·EN["the-wild-donkey"]·FR["ערוד"]·heb["ערוד"]·HI["जंगली-गधे-के"]·ID["keledai liar"]·IT["il-wild-donkey"]·jav["kuldi"]·KO["야생-나귀의"]·PT["asno-selvagem"]·RU["онагра"]·ES["onagro"]·SW["vya-punda-mwitu"]·TR["yaban-eşeğinin"]·urd["گور-خر-کے"]
Related Senses
H6629 1. flock, sheep/goats (small livestock) (274×)H1241 1. cattle, herd (bovine livestock) (183×)H0352a 1. ram (male sheep) (156×)H6499 1. young bull, bullock (130×)H3532 1. lamb, young male sheep (105×)H2543 1. donkey (male ass) (96×)H7794 1. ox, bull (79×)H7462b 1. shepherd (agent noun) (76×)H5795 1. she-goat(s), female goat(s) (68×)H7462b 2. to shepherd, tend, pasture (60×)H1581 1. camel (domestic animal) (54×)H0738b 1. lion (46×)G4263 1. sheep (39×)H5739 1. flock or herd of livestock (38×)H5695 1. calf, young bull (35×)H0738a 1. lion (large predatory feline) (34×)H0860 1. female donkey (34×)H3611 1. dog (animal) (32×)H3715a 1. young lion, lion cub (31×)G0721 1. Lamb (29×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† עָרוֹד n.[m.] wild ass (prob. Aramaic loan-word (= Heb. פֶּרֶא), 𝔗 עֲרָדָא, עֲרוֹדָא; Syriac ܥܪܳܕܳܐ; Mand. אראדא, cf. HomNS 133)* Jb 39:5.