H6501 H6501
Wild donkey (onager); a symbol of untamed freedom, desert survival, and willful independence.
Designates the wild donkey or onager (Equus hemionus), an animal that embodied the untamed freedom of the desert in the ancient Near Eastern imagination. The angel's description of Ishmael as 'a wild donkey of a man' (Gen 16:12) became a proverbial image of fierce nomadic independence. Job's speeches use the animal to illustrate both the futility of complaint (Job 6:5) and the impossibility of taming innate nature (Job 11:12). Hosea compares wayward Ephraim to a wild donkey wandering alone (Hos 8:9), and Jeremiah likens Israel's lust for idols to a wild donkey in heat (Jer 2:24). Spanish 'asno montes' (mountain donkey) nicely captures the wilderness habitat.
Senses
1. wild donkey — The wild donkey or onager (פֶּרֶא, pere), a fleet, untameable equid of the desert steppe. The animal serves as a powerful symbol: Ishmael is called 'a wild donkey of a man' (Gen 16:12), marking him as a free-roaming nomad. In wisdom literature, the wild donkey illustrates instinct and contentment (Job 6:5), untameable nature (Job 11:12), and God's sovereign provision for wild creatures (Job 39:5, Ps 104:11). Prophetically, it represents Israel's willful pursuit of idolatry (Jer 2:24, Hos 8:9) and the destitution of the poor (Job 24:5). Spanish 'asno montes' and French forms consistently identify the same zoological species across all occurrences. 10×
AR["أَتَانٌ", "الفَراءُ", "الفَراءِ", "الفِراء", "الْحُمُرِ-الْوَحْشِيَّةِ", "الْحِمَارَ-الْوَحْشِيَّ", "حِمارٌ-وَحشيٌّ", "حِمَارٌ-وَحْشِيٌ", "فِرَاءَ", "وَ-الْحُمُرُ-الْوَحْشِيَّةُ"]·ben["ও-বন্য-গাধা", "বন্য-গাধা", "বন্য-গাধাকে", "বন্য-গাধাদের", "বন্য-গাধার", "বন্য-গাধারা", "বন্য-গাধী"]·DE["[ופראים]", "[פרא]", "[פראים]", "[פרה]", "ein-Wildesel", "wild-donkeys"]·EN["A-wild-donkey", "and-wild-donkeys", "of-flocks", "the-wild-donkey", "wild-donkey", "wild-donkeys"]·FR["[ופראים]", "[פראים]", "[פרה]", "onagre", "wild-âne"]·heb["ו-פראים", "פרא", "פראים", "פרה"]·HI["और-जंगली-गधे", "जंगली-गदहा", "जंगली-गदहों-की-तरह", "जंगली-गधा", "जंगली-गधी", "जंगली-गधे", "जंगली-गधे-का", "जंगली-गधों-का", "जनगलि-गध"]·ID["Keledai-liar", "dan-keledai-liar", "keledai liar", "keledai-keledai-liar", "keledai-liar"]·IT["[פרא]", "[פראים]", "asino-selvatico", "e-asino-selvatico", "wild-asino"]·jav["Lan-kuldi-wana", "kuldi-alas", "kuldi-liar", "kuldài-liar"]·KO["그리고-들나귀들이", "나귀가", "들나귀", "들나귀-가", "들나귀-들-이", "들나귀같은", "들나귀들-같이", "들나귀를", "들나귀의", "암-당나귀-로"]·PT["E-jumentos-selvagens", "Jumenta", "asnos-selvagens", "jumento-selvagem", "jumento-selvagem-de", "jumentos-selvagens", "o-jumento-selvagem", "os-jumentos-selvagens"]·RU["Дикая-ослица", "дикие-ослы", "дикий-осёл", "диких-ослов", "дикого-осла", "и-дикие-ослы"]·ES["Asna-montés", "Y-asnos-silvestres", "asno-montés", "asno-salvaje", "asnos-salvajes"]·SW["Na-punda-mwitu", "punda-mwitu", "punda-wa-mwitu", "ya-punda-mwitu"]·TR["ve-yaban-eşekleri", "yaban-eseklerin", "yaban-eşek", "yaban-eşekleri", "yaban-eşeği", "yaban-eşeğini", "yaban-eşeğinin"]·urd["اور-جنگلی-گدھے", "جنگلی گدھوں", "جنگلی-گدھا", "جنگلی-گدھوں-کے-لیے", "جنگلی-گدھے-کا", "جنگلی-گدھے-کو", "گدھا", "گورخر"]
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
† פֶּ֫רֶא n.m. Jb 39:5 (m. et. f. Je 2:24, but f. prob. erron., cf. KöSynt. 157 AlbrZAW xvi (1896), 68) wild ass (prob. from swiftness);—פ׳ abs. Ho 8:9 + (so Je 2:24 Gi; van d. H. Baer פֶּרֶה, cstr. Gn 16:12; pl. פְּרָאִים Je 14:6 +;—wild ass Je 14:6; Jb 6:5; 39:5; Is 32:14 ψ 104:11; עַיִר פ׳ Jb 11:12 wild ass’s colt; פ׳ אָדָם Gn 16:12 (J) a wild ass of a man (Ishmael as a free nomad); fig. of…