Bible animals

by J. G. Wood

Now this passage, as well as the one which describes its fulfilment so many years afterwards, has often been seized upon as a proof of the meekness and lowliness of our Saviour, in riding upon so humble an animal when He made His entry into Jerusalem. The fact is, that there was no humility in the case, neither was the act so understood by the people. He rode upon an Ass as any prince or ruler would have done who was engaged on a peaceful journey, the horse being reserved for war purposes. He rode on the Ass, and not on the horse, because He was the Prince of Peace and not of war, as indeed is shown very clearly in the context. For, after writing the words which have just been quoted, Zechariah proceeds as follows (ver. 10): "And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be cut off: and He shall speak peace unto the heathen: and His dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth."

Meek and lowly was He, as became the new character, hitherto unknown to the warlike and restless Jews, a Prince, not of war, as had been all other celebrated kings, but of peace. Had He come as the Jews expected—despite so many prophecies—their Messiah to come, as a great king and conqueror, He might have ridden the war-horse, and been surrounded with countless legions of armed men. But He came as the herald of peace, and not of war; and, though meek and lowly, yet a Prince, riding as became a prince, on an Ass colt which had borne no inferior burden.

That the act was not considered as one of lowliness is evident from the manner in which it was received by the people, accepting Him as the Son of David, coming in the name of the Highest, and greeting Him with the cry of "Hosanna!" ("Save us now,") quoted from verses 25, 26 of Ps. cxviii.: "Save now, I beseech Thee, O Lord: O Lord, I beseech Thee, send now prosperity."

"Blessed be He that cometh in the name of the Lord."

The palm-branches which they strewed upon the road were not chosen by the attendant crowd merely as a means of doing honour to Him whom they acknowledged as the Son of David. They were necessarily connected with the cry of "Hosanna!" At the Feast of Tabernacles, it was customary for the people to assemble with branches of palms and willows in their hands, and for one of the priests to recite the Great Hallel, i.e. Ps. cxiii. and cxviii. At certain intervals, the people responded with the cry of "Hosanna!" waving at the same time their palm-branches. For the whole of the seven days through which the feast lasted they repeated their Hosannas, always accompanying the shout with the waving of palm-branches, and setting them towards the altar as they went in procession round it.

Every child who could hold a palm-branch was expected to take part in the solemnity, just as did the children on the occasion of the triumphal entry. By degrees, the name of Hosanna was transferred to the palm-branches themselves, as well as to the feast, the last day being called the Great Hosanna.

The reader will now see the importance of this carrying of palm-branches, accompanied with Hosannas, and that those who used them in honour of Him whom they followed into Jerusalem had no idea that He was acting any lowly part.

Again, the action of the disciples in putting their mantles on the Ass, and setting their Master upon them, was one that signified their acknowledgment of Him as their Prince; and the same idea was typified by the laying of the clothes upon the road, together with the palm-branches. Compare also the passage in 2 Kings ix. 13. When Elisha sent the young prophet to call Jehu from among the council, and to anoint him King of Israel, the act of anointing was performed in a private chamber. Jehu, scarcely realizing the import of the act, seemed to think it a trick played upon him by some of his companions, the commanding officers of the army. When, however, they heard his account of the interview with the prophet, they at once accepted him as their king, and, as token thereof, "they hasted, and took every man his garment, and put it under him at the top of the stairs, and blew with trumpets, saying, Jehu is king."

White Asses were selected for persons of high rank, especially for those who exercised the office of judges. See Judges v. 10: "Speak, ye that ride on white asses, ye that sit in judgment, and walk by the way." Such Asses are still in use for similar purposes, and are bred expressly for the use of persons of rank. They are larger, and are thought to be swifter, than the ordinary breeds; but they are by no means hardy animals, and are said to be unsuitable for places near the sea-coast.

Both sexes used the Ass for riding, as they do now in the East. See for example Judges i. 14, where we find that Achsah, the daughter of Caleb, rode on an Ass when she went to ask her father to give her some springs of water, in addition to the land which he had previously given her as a dowry. Later in the Scriptural history we read that Abigail, the wife of the wealthy churl Nabal, rode to meet David on an Ass, when she went to deprecate his anger against her husband (1 Sam. xxv. 23). And, still later, the woman of Shunem, who acted so hospitably towards Elisha, rode on an Ass to meet him when her child had died from sunstroke in the field (see 2 Kings iv. 24).