An Egyptian and his donkey.
Dr. Alice C. Linsley
The mule is a cross between a mare and a donkey, and is known for its strength, endurance, and ability to handle steep terrain. It is likely that Ruth and Naomi traveled from Moab to Bethlehem either on mules or donkeys. From Moab to Bethlehem was a journey of 7-10 days on foot though the distance is only about 50 miles as the crow flies. However, the terrain is rugged and mountainous. Traveling by donkey or mule would have made the journey easier and shorter.
Female horses (mares) and jack asses were paired by the Horite Hebrew to produce mules. Genesis 36:24 speaks of Anah, the grandson of Seir the Horite, who fed the donkeys and mules who came to a spring in the wilderness. Because mules typically are sterile, there were fewer mules than horses and donkeys, and that increased their value.
Donkeys pulled carts, mill stones, and olive presses. They were used to plow the fields. The earliest known representation of donkeys is on an Egyptian palette dated c. 3100 BC. Donkeys were buried in elite cemeteries in ancient Egypt and the Ancient Near East. In a royal funerary complex at Abydos, donkey skeletons were found in mudbrick graves. The bones of domesticated donkeys are known from 4500 BC. Donkeys and mules were a symbol of royal or noble status.
Mules were ridden by rulers, chiefs, and ruler-priests (2 Sam. 13:29; 18:9; 1 Kings 1:33,38,44). Mules were among the yearly tribute brought to King Solomon (1Kings 10:25).
Jesus came into Jerusalem on a donkey fulfilling Zechariah 9:9, which states that the coming king will be "humble, and mounted on a donkey." The donkey was a colt, meaning it was a male. Jesus' entry into Jerusalem on a donkey conveyed humility and meekness. He did not enter as a king, though the crowd hailed him as such by waving palm branches according to an ancient custom.
Related reading: Why Palms on Palm Sunday?; Archaeology Now - The Donkey; The Virgin Mary's Ancestry; The Hebrew were a Caste; The Priestly Divisions
In the early 80's, 40-year-younger me went with my brother on a guided elk hunt in Colorado. Most hunters were supplied a horse to ride the several miles of mountainous trails to and from the hunting sites. I, however, drew the short straw and got the male donkey. Now, even with a good saddle, I hurt so badly by the end of the first day that if crying would have helped, I surely would have. And to make bad even worse, he was intent on biting me all the time I was mounted on him. So I now view Jesus's riding that young male, previously-not-ridden, donkey with no fuss or muss as something possibly only He could have done. :-)
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