² tn Heb “the donkey.”

¹ tn Heb “lead [the donkey on] and go.”

⁴ tn Heb “the joy of wild donkeys, a pasture for flocks.”

¹ tn Heb “the oxen and the donkeys that work the ground.”

² tn Heb “who set free the foot of the ox and donkey”; NIV “letting your cattle and donkeys range free.”

⁶ sn His own animal refers to a riding animal, presumably a donkey, but not specified.

³ tn Heb “and they led them on donkeys, with respect to everyone stumbling.”

¹ tn Heb “And the man took her on the donkey and arose and went to his place.”

¹ tn Heb “and the one that opens [the womb of] the donkey.”

¹ tn Heb “Abraham rose up early in the morning and saddled his donkey.”

³ tn Heb “but the horses are tied up and the donkeys are tied up and the tents are as they were.”

¹ tn Heb “and the donkey the feeding trough of its owner.” The verb in the first line does double duty in the parallelism.

¹ sn A fool must be disciplined by force like an animal—there is no reasoning. The fool is as difficult to manage as the donkey or horse.

² tn Heb “and the men were sent off, they and their donkeys.” This clause, like the preceding one, has the subject before the verb, indicating synchronic action.

¹ tn Grk “the millstone of a donkey.” This refers to a large flat stone turned by a donkey in the process of grinding grain (BDAG 661 s.v. μύλος 2; L&N 7.68-69). The same term is used in the parallel account in Matt 18:6.

² tn Grk “the millstone of a donkey.” This refers to a large flat stone turned by a donkey in the process of grinding grain (BDAG 661 s.v. μύλος 2; L&N 7.68-69). The same term is used in the parallel account in Mark 9:42.

¹ sn A wild donkey of a man. The prophecy is not an insult. The wild donkey lived a solitary existence in the desert away from society. Ishmael would be free-roaming, strong, and like a bedouin; he would enjoy the freedom his mother sought.

³ tn The conditional clause uses an imperfect tense; this is followed by a perfect tense with the vav consecutive providing the obligation or instruction. The owner might not redeem the donkey, but if he did not, he could not keep it, he had to kill it by breaking its neck (so either a lamb for it, or the donkey itself). The donkey could not be killed by shedding blood because that would make it a sacrifice, and that was not possible with this kind of animal. See G. Brin, “The Firstling of Unclean Animals,” JQR 68 (1977): 1-15.

¹ sn The author does not repeat the detailed accounts of the finding of the donkey recorded in the synoptic gospels. He does, however, see the event as a fulfillment of scripture, which he indicates by quoting Zech 9:9.

³ sn In this brief section Job indicates that it would be wiser to seek the reason for the crying than to complain of the cry. The wild donkey will bray when it finds no food (see Jer 14:6).