The verse isn't just asking who let the wild donkey go, but rather who ordained its very nature of untamed freedom. It highlights the radical wildness of this creature, contrasting it implicitly with domesticated animals, and by extension, even the way humans often chafe under God's ordered liberty.
“Who has let the wild donkey go free? Who has loosed the bonds of the swift donkey, to whom I have given the arid plain for his home and the salt land for his dwelling place? He scorns the tumult of the city; he hears not the shouts of the driver. He ranges the mountains as his pasture, and he searches after every green thing.
English Standard Version (ESV)
After the whirlwind of God's speeches, which highlighted Job's limited understanding of creation and divine power, the narrative shifts to specific examples from the animal kingdom. God begins to detail the wild creatures—starting with the wild donkey—and questions Job about who governs their existence and unique characteristics, emphasizing their untamed nature and freedom. This sets the stage for God to reveal His ultimate sovereignty over all of creation, including the most unlikely and seemingly insignificant creatures, in contrast to Job's suffering.
Have you ever marvelled at an animal's instinct—its wildness, its freedom? The book of Job dives deep into this, asking profound questions about the creatures around us.
In Job 39:5, God directs Job's attention to the wild donkey, posing a series of rhetorical questions. These aren't questions Job can answer, but they highlight a fundamental truth: humans didn't create the wild donkey's nature or grant it freedom.
The Question of Origin
The questions "Who has let the wild donkey go free?" and "Who has loosed the bonds of the swift donkey?" point to a divine originator. This isn't about a specific act of release, but about the inherent nature and liberty gifted to this creature.
Ask a follow-up
Why focus on a wild donkey? This isn't just about an animal; it's a powerful illustration God uses to teach Job a profound lesson about His own sovereignty.
The passage in Job 39 uses the wild donkey to highlight a significant contrast between the untamable and the tame, serving as a metaphor for the limits of human understanding and control compared to God's absolute authority.
Designed for Independence
The wild donkey, described as swift and free, represents a creature that inherently resists human attempts at subjugation. Its nature is to roam vast, desolate places, untroubled by the familiar sounds of human settlements or the commands of a driver.
Understand the original words
pere' · Hebrew Noun
An animal known in the Ancient Near East for its untamable, independent, and rugged nature; it represents creatures that defy human domestication and thrive in desolate spaces by divine decree.
shalach / pathach · Hebrew Verb
To set loose, release, or untie; signifies the act of providing freedom or removing constraints, which in the biblical worldview is a prerogative of God as Creator.
moserah · Hebrew Noun
Restraints, ropes, or chains; in Scripture, these can represent bondage or limitation, but here they specifically refer to the control mechanisms that humanity fails to impose on God's untamable creation.
arabah · Hebrew Noun
A region characterized by extreme dryness, often barren and inhospitable, used in the Bible to describe wilderness or desert areas that are outside human cultivation.
melachah · Hebrew Noun
Land saturated with salt or minerals, making it barren, infertile, and unsuitable for standard agriculture; often symbolizes desolation or spiritual fruitlessness.
tsachaq · Hebrew Verb
To reject with contempt or derision; in a biblical context, it often refers to a prideful disregard for human systems, authority, or worldly priorities.
hamon · Hebrew Noun
A state of noisy confusion, disorder, or commotion; frequently used to describe the chaotic or turbulent nature of human society and city life.
This verse echoes the theme of God's provision for wild animals, showing that even creatures known for their freedom, like the wild donkey, receive sustenance from Him.
Jeremiah 2:24This passage uses the image of the wild donkey to describe Israel's unruliness and love of freedom, highlighting the creature's untamed nature that is also presented in Job.
Job 39:1-4These verses immediately precede Job 39:5 and describe the mountain goats and hinds, setting a pattern of God questioning Job about the care and nature of wild animals.
Isaiah 58:6This verse speaks of 'letting the oppressed go free,' which provides a conceptual contrast to the 'loosed bands' of the wild ass, emphasizing God's role in true freedom versus human oppression.
pulpitJob 39:5: "Who hath sent out the wild ass free? or who hath loosed the bands of the wild ass?"
Verse 5. - Who hath sent out the wild ass free? or who hath loosed the bands of the wild ass? Two kinds of onager or wild ass, seem to be intended - the one called pore' (פִרֶא), and the other 'arod (עָרוד). These correspond probably to the Asinus hemippus and the Asinus onager of modern naturalists, the former of which is still found in the deserts of Syria, Mesopotamia, and Northern Arabia, while th…
cambridgeJob 39:5: "Who hath sent out the wild ass free? or who hath loosed the bands of the wild ass?"
5–8 . The wild ass. Who gave the wild ass his freedom and his indomitable love of liberty—who scorns the noise of cities and laughs at the shouts of the driver, which his tame brother obeys? The point of the questions lies not only in the striking peculiarities of the beautiful creature itself, but in the strange contrast between it and the tame ass, which in external appearance it resembles.
The verse isn't just asking who let the wild donkey go, but rather who ordained its very nature of untamed freedom. It highlights the radical wildness of this creature, contrasting it implicitly with domesticated animals, and by extension, even the way humans often chafe under God's ordered liberty.
After the whirlwind of God's speeches, which highlighted Job's limited understanding of creation and divine power, the narrative shifts to specific examples from the animal kingdom. God begins to detail the wild creatures—starting with the wild donkey—and questions Job about who governs their existence and unique characteristics, emphasizing their untamed nature and freedom. This sets the stage for God to reveal His ultimate sovereignty over all of creation, including the most unlikely and seemingly insignificant creatures, in contrast to Job's suffering.
After the whirlwind of God's speeches, which highlighted Job's limited understanding of creation and divine power, the narrative shifts to specific examples from the animal kingdom. God begins to detail the wild creatures—starting with the wild donkey—and questions Job about who governs their existence and unique characteristics, emphasizing their untamed nature and freedom. This sets the stage for God to reveal His ultimate sovereignty over all of creation, including the most unlikely and seemingly insignificant creatures, in contrast to Job's suffering.
"“Who has let the wild donkey go free? Who has loosed the bonds of the swift donkey, to whom I have given the arid plain for his home and the salt land for his dwelling place? He scorns the tumult of the city; he hea…" — The verse isn't just asking who let the wild donkey go, but rather who ordained its very nature of untamed freedom. It highlights the radical wildness of this creature, contrasting it implicitly…
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Last reviewed October 2026
