Donkeys and Horses

 

 

Donkeys and Horses

By Fr. Claudio Doglio (Translated from Italian by L. Pavese)

Donkeys and horses fill the biblical bestiary and are very important symbolic figures.

Horses represent strength and power. They remind us of the pharaoh’s army lined up for battle. In fact, impressed in the collective imagination of Israel are the archetypical figure of the pharaoh’s army chasing the people and the saving intervention of God, who made the horses end up at the bottom of the sea.

The ancient sea hymn celebrates that fundamental victory with these words: “[s]ing to the LORD, for he is gloriously triumphant; horse and chariot he has cast into the sea.” (Es 15,21).

Because of these words, the figure of the horse recurs as a noble, intelligent, strong, bellicose animal; a symbol of human strength but, for that reason, also the emblem of a self-assertive arrogance.

A psalmist counterposed the worldly attitude of someone who relies on horses and chariots to the faithful attitude of the believer who invokes the name of the Lord, our God: “Some rely on chariots, others on horses, but we on the name of the Lord our God. They collapse and fall, but we stand strong and firm.” (Psalms 20, 8-9).

Contrary to our popular expressions, in which the ass usually doesn’t look very good, the role of the donkey stands out among biblical symbols, especially if confronted with the horse.

In our (Italian) culture, a proverb recites: “When there are no horses, the asses pull the wagon.” The image evokes a fallback that entails a loss; a situation in which we must make do. If there’s no one better, we are stuck with the less worthy and less capable people. And telling someone: “You’re a jackass!” is certainly not a compliment.

But in the biblical language the donkey is better than the horse. It is not presented as an example of stupidity but rather of simplicity.

The donkey is the animal of the poor farmer that carries out a humble duty helping a working man. For a farmer in Palestine the donkey was his power, his means of transport and locomotion: a strong, patient, and reliable aid.

In chapter 22 of the Book of Numbers we find an instructive episode that concerns the female donkey that belonged to the Oriental warlock Balaam. He had been invited by the king of Moab to curse Israel. The Angel of the Lord blocked his way. Balaam’s donkey recognized the angel and veered from her path; but her proud owner, who did not see anything, got very angry and beat her. With subtle irony, the story says that Balaam, a great wise man endowed with superpowers, was dumber than his ass who could see farther than he could. The tale has a pedagogic purpose aimed at pointing out the baseless arrogance of the powerful proud men; and the reproach is issued by means of a humble animal.

The prophet Zechariah, in a delightful messianic picture, announces that the future king will present himself in a way definitely different from the way of the worldly warrior kings:

“Rejoice heartily, O daughter Zion, shout for joy, O daughter Jerusalem! See, your king shall come to you; a just savior is he, meek, and riding on an ass, on a colt, the foal of an ass.” (Zec 9,9).

This messianic oracle dates to the Hellenistic period and very likely   alludes to Alexander the Great, the magnificent hero who conquered the whole world riding on a horse. Contrary to the great king, the messiah king will arrive riding on an ass, not with a warlike attitude, but rather a meek and gentle one. But, at the same time, the messiah king will be determined to do away with the horse and the chariot, to break the war bow and announce peace to all nations. Therefore, Zechariah’s biblical prophecy reads like a parody. Throughout history, the monuments to great men, heroes, kings and leaders represented them always on a horse, never on a donkey! And there lies the difference with the true King. 

That is the reason Jesus picked a foal, a young donkey, to enter Jerusalem. He intentionally sent his disciples to look for a donkey, not because he was tired, but because he wanted to accomplish a symbolic gesture and remind everyone of that ancient prophetic oracle.

The evangelists relate that, on that occasion, the crowds of Jerusalem, and kids in particular, ran up to Jesus greeting him as the messiah and singing to him the Hosanna, that is the exhortation “Pray, save us,” which is reserved for the Lord God. In that context, the donkey becomes a symbol of humility, meekness and service and, sure, maybe also stubbornness; but in the positive sense of someone who persists in service to carry out one’s duty.

The donkey is not always paired with the horse but is also occasionally coupled with the ox. In fact, today in the nativity scenes we always put an ox beside the donkey. However, in the evangelical narrations of the birth of Jesus there are no animals. The ox and the donkey are, in fact, a medieval artistic invention, which derives from the image that begins the great scroll of the prophet Isaiah:

“An ox knows its owner, and an ass, its master's manger; But Israel does not know, my people has not understood.” (Isaiah 1,3). It is a reproach directed to the people that the Lord raised as His own children, because they do not understand who is feeding and leading them. The comparison with domestic animals points out how, paradoxically, sometimes they can be wiser than God’s people.

The Latin word for manger is praesepe (today presepe means crèche in Italian), therefore the prophetic phrase: “Cognovit asinus praesepe Domini sui” (the donkey knew its master’s manger) seems truly Christological.

14th Century anonymous German artist 

This lexical link is the reason why the ox and the ass were put in the crèche. Their presence in the nativity scenes has had a prophetic function since antiquity. The purpose is to instruct and admonish those who look at it. Next time you look at a crèche pay close attention: you will hear the donkey say: “You’re more of an ass than I am, because I recognize who’s the Lord, and you don’t!” 

Many thanks to J.J. Pavese for reviewing my English version. 

(The picture under the title is a painting by German artist Marc Franc)

If you are interested in more theological writings by Fr. Claudio Doglio, you may find them in this blog here, and here. Your comments, as usual, will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

L. Pavese