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JPS Old Testament
Job 39:5
Bible Study Resources
Concordances:
- Nave'sDictionaries:
- BridgewayEncyclopedias:
- InternationalParallel Translations
Who set the wild donkey free?Who released the swift donkey from its harness?
"Who has set the wild donkey free? Or who has loosened the bonds of the swift donkey,
Who hath sent out the wild ass free? or who hath loosed the bands of the wild ass?
"Who has let the wild donkey go free? Who has loosed the bonds of the swift donkey,
"Who let the wild donkey go free? Who untied its ropes?
Who let the wild donkey go free? Who released the bonds of the donkey,
"Who sent out the wild donkey free [from dependence on man]? And who has loosed the bonds of the wild donkey [to survive in the wild],
"Who sent the wild donkey out free? And who opened the bonds of the swift donkey,
"Who has set the wild donkey free? Or who has loosened the bonds of the swift donkey,
Who hath set the wilde asse at libertie? or who hath loosed the bondes of the wilde asse?
"Who sent out the wild donkey free?And who loosed the bonds of the swift donkey,
Who set the wild donkey free? Who released the swift donkey from the harness?
Who set wild donkeys free?
"Who lets the wild donkey roam freely? Who sets the wild donkey loose from its shackles?
Who hath sent out the wild ass free? and who hath loosed the bands of the onager,
"Who let the wild donkeys go free? Who untied their ropes and let them loose?
Who has left the wild ass to be free, and made him to escape the yoke?
Who gave the wild donkeys their freedom? Who turned them loose and let them roam?
"Who has sent forth the wild ass free? And who has released the wild donkey's bonds,
Who has sent out the wild ass free, or who has loosened the bands of the wild ass?
who letteth the wilde asse go fre, or who lowseth the bodes of the Moole?
Who hath sent out the wild ass free? Or who hath loosed the bonds of the swift ass,
Who has let the ass of the fields go free? or made loose the bands of the loud-voiced beast?
Who hath sent out the wild asse free? or who hath looosed the bands of the wild asse?
Who letteth the wylde asse to go free? or who looseth the bondes of the wylde mule?
And who is he that sent forth the wild ass free? and who loosed his bands?
Who hath sent out the wild ass free? or who hath loosed the bands of the wild ass?
Who let go the wielde asse fre, and who loside the boondis of hym?
Who has sent out the wild donkey free? Or who has loosed the bonds of the swift donkey,
Who hath sent out the wild ass free? or who hath loosed the bands of the wild ass?
"Who set the wild donkey free? Who loosed the bonds of the onager,
"Who gives the wild donkey its freedom? Who untied its ropes?
"Who has let the wild donkey go free? Who has taken off the ropes which held the fast donkey?
"Who has let the wild ass go free? Who has loosed the bonds of the swift ass,
Who hath sent forth the Wild Ass free? And, the bands of the swift-runner, who hath loosed?
Who hath sent out the wild ass free, and who hath loosed his bonds?
"Who has let the wild ass go free? Who has loosed the bonds of the swift ass,
Who hath sent forth the wild ass free? Yea, the bands of the wild ass who opened?
"Who do you think set the wild donkey free, opened the corral gates and let him go? I gave him the whole wilderness to roam in, the rolling plains and wide-open places. He laughs at his city cousins, who are harnessed and harried. He's oblivious to the cries of teamsters. He grazes freely through the hills, nibbling anything that's green.
"Who sent out the wild donkey free? And who loosed the bonds of the swift donkey,
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
the wild: Job 6:5, Job 11:12, Job 24:5, Genesis 16:12, Psalms 104:11, Isaiah 32:14, Jeremiah 2:24, Jeremiah 14:6, Daniel 5:21, Hosea 8:9
who hath loosed: Genesis 49:14
Reciprocal: Genesis 1:24 - Let Job 39:10 - General
Cross-References
And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and be thou a blessing.
And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the Plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when He overthrew the cities in which Lot dwelt.
And Laban said unto him: 'If now I have found favour in thine eyes--I have observed the signs, and the LORD hath blessed me for thy sake.'
And his master saw that the LORD was with him, and that the LORD made all that he did to prosper in his hand.
And he left all that he had in Joseph's hand; and, having him, he knew not aught save the bread which he did eat. And Joseph was of beautiful form, and fair to look upon.
And it came to pass on a certain day, when he went into the house to do his work, and there was none of the men of the house there within,
that she caught him by his garment, saying: 'Lie with me.' And he left his garment in her hand, and fled, and got him out.
His glory is great through Thy salvation; honour and majesty dost Thou lay upon him.
May his name endure for ever; may his name be continued as long as the sun;
Gill's Notes on the Bible
Who hath sent out the wild ass free?.... Into the wide waste, where it is, ranges at pleasure, and is not under the restraint of any; a creature which, as it is naturally wild, is naturally averse to servitude, is desirous of liberty and maintains it: not but that it may be tamed, as Pliny m speaks of such as are; but it chooses to be free, and, agreeably to its nature, it is sent out into the wilderness as such: not that it is set free from bondage, for in that it never was until it is tamed; but its nature and inclination, and course it pursues, is to be free. And now the question is, who gave this creature such a nature, and desire after liberty? and such power to maintain it? and directs it to take such methods to secure it, and keep clear of bondage? It is of God;
or who hath loosed the bands of the wild ass? not that it has any naturally upon it, and is loosed from them; but because it is as clear of them as such creatures are, which have been in bands and are freed from them: therefore this mode of expression is used, and which signifies the same as before.
m Nat. Hist. l. 8. c. 44.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
Who hath sent out the wild ass free? - For a description of the wild ass, see the notes at Job 11:12. On the meaning of the word rendered “free” (חפשׁי chophshı̂y), see the notes at Isaiah 58:6. These animals commonly “inhabit the dry and mountainous parts of the deserts of Great Tartary, but not higher than about latitude 48 degrees. They are migratory, and arrive in vast troops to feed, during the summer, on the tracts to the north and east of the sea of Aral. About autumn they collect in herds of hundreds, and even thousands, and direct their course southward toward India to enjoy a warm retreat during winter. But they more usually retire to Persia, where they are found in the mountains of Casbin; and where part of them remain during the whole year. They are also said to penetrate to the southern parts of India, to the mountains of Malabar and Gelconda. These animals were anciently found in Palestine, Syria, Arabia Deserta, Mesopotamia, Phrygia, and Lycaonia, but they rarely occur in those regions at the present time, and seem to be almost entirely confined to Tartary, some parts of Persia and India, and Africa. Their manners resemble those of the wild horse.
They assembIe in troops under the conduct of a leader or sentinel; and are extremely shy and vigilant. They will, however, stop in the midst of their course, and even suffer the approach of man for an instant, and then dart off with the utmost rapidity. They have been at all times celebrated for their swiftness. Their voice resembles that of the common ass, but is shriller.” “Rob. Calmet.” The Onager or wild ass is doubtless “the parent stock from which we have derived the useful domestic animal, which seems to have degenerated the further it has been removed from its parent seat in Central Asia. It is greatly distinguished in spirit and grace of form from the domestic ass. It is taller and more dignified; it holds the head higher, and the legs are more elegantly shaped. Even the head, though large in proportion to the body, has a finer appearance, from the forehead being more arched; the neck by which it is sustained is much longer, and has a more graceful bend. It has a short mane of dark and woolly hair; and a stripe of dark bushy hair also runs along the ridge of the back from the mane to the tail. The hair of the body is of a silver gray, inclining to flaxen color in some parts, and white under the belly.
The hair is soft and silken, similar in texture to that of the camel.” - The Pictorial Bible. It is of this animal, so different in spirit, energy, agility, and appearance, from the domestic animal of that name, that we must think in order to understand this passage. We must think of them fleet as the wind, untamed and unbroken, wandering over vast plains in groups and herds, assembled by thousands under a leader or guide, and bounding off with uncontrollable rapidity on the approach of man, if we would feel the force of the appeal which is here made. God asks of Job whether he - who could not even subdue and tame this wild creature - had ordained the laws of its freedom; had held it as a captive, and then set it at liberty to exult over boundless plains in its conscious independence. The idea is, that it was one of the creatures of God, under no laws but such as he had been pleased to impose upon it, and wholly beyond the government of man.
Or who hath loosed the bands of the wild ass? - As if he had been once a captive, and then set free. The illustration is derived from the feeling which attends a restoration to liberty. The freedom of this animal seems to be as productive of exhilaration as if it had been a prisoner or slave, and had been suddenly emancipated.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Job 39:5. Who hath sent out the wild ass free? — פרא pere, which we translate wild ass, is the same as the ονος αγριος of the Greeks, and the onager of the Latins; which must not, says Buffon, be confounded with the zebra, for this is an animal of a different species from the ass. The wild ass is not striped like the zebra, nor so elegantly shaped. There are many of those animals in the deserts of Libya and Numidia: they are of a gray colour; and run so swiftly that no horse but the Arab barbs can overtake them. Wild asses are found in considerable numbers in East and South Tartary, in Persia, Syria, the islands of the Archipelago, and throughout Mauritania. They differ from tame asses only in their independence and liberty, and in their being stronger and more nimble: but in their shape they are the same. See on Job 6:5.
The bands of the wild ass? — ערוד arod, the brayer, the same animal, but called thus because of the frequent and peculiar noise he makes. But Mr. Good supposes this to be a different animal from the wild ass, (the jichta or equus hemionus,) which is distinguished by having solid hoofs, a uniform colour, no cross on the back, and the tail hairy only at the tip. The ears and tail resemble those of the zebra; the hoofs and body, those of the ass; and the limbs, those of the horse. It inhabits Arabia, China, Siberia, and Tartary, in glassy saline plains or salt wastes, as mentioned in the following verse.
