---
title: פֶּרֶא — wild ass · The Tanakh dictionary
description: פֶּרֶא (6501), a word of Biblical Hebrew, used 10 times: wild ass. BDB 1906: n.m. wild ass. With 2 verses in Hebrew, word for word and JPS 1917.
---

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# פֶּרֶא

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«פֶּרֶא» in the Tanakh dictionary: **wild ass** — how often it is used, MACULA's glosses, its meanings in the printed dictionaries and why they were chosen, and 2 verses in layers.

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**Used:** 10 times · **Key:** 6501 · **BDB:** פֶּ֫רֶא

### Glosses

a.wild.donkey (4); wild.donkeys (3); \[the\].wild.donkey (1)

### Meaning (OSHB)

wild ass [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1508/6501/#m1)

### Meaning (BDB 1906)

n.m. wild ass [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1508/6501/#m2)

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**The whole BDB entry:** n.m. Jb 39:5 (m. et. f. Je 2:24, but f. prob. erron., cf. KöSynt. 157 AlbrZAW xvi (1896), 68) wild ass (prob. from swiftness);—פ׳ abs. Ho 8:9 + (so Je 2:24 Gi; van d. H. Baer פֶּרֶה, cstr. Gn 16:12; pl. פְּרָאִים Je 14:6 +;—wild ass Je 14:6; Jb 6:5; 39:5; Is 32:14 ψ 104:11; עַיִר פ׳ Jb 11:12 wild ass’s colt; פ׳ אָדָם Gn 16:12 (J) a wild ass of a man (Ishmael as a free nomad); fig. of wilfulness Ho 8:9 (v. I. בָּדַד); of lust Je 2:24 (i.e. Israel’s love of idolatry); of poor desert-dwellers Jb 24:5.

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Why these entries: BDB: headword, part of speech agrees, 10 of its verses cited, 1 words shared with the glosses, lists its Strong's number (4 candidates); OSHB: headword, part of speech agrees, 2 words shared with the BDB entry, 1 with the glosses (2 candidates)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every English meaning of «פֶּרֶא» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1508/6501/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.

### In the verses

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[Job 11:12](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/JOB.11.12/)

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וְאִ֣ישׁ נָ֭בוּב יִלָּבֵ֑ב וְעַ֥יִר פֶּ֝֗רֶא אָדָ֥ם יִוָּלֵֽד׃

*Word for word:* and a.person hollow he.will.get.understanding and a.male.donkey of.a.wild.donkey a.human.being it.will.be.born

*JPS 1917:* But an empty man will get understanding, when a wild ass's colt is born a man.

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[Job 39:5](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/JOB.39.5/)

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מִֽי־שִׁלַּ֣ח פֶּ֣רֶא חָפְשִׁ֑י וּמֹסְר֥וֹת עָ֝ר֗וֹד מִ֣י פִתֵּֽחַ׃

*Word for word:* who? did.he.let.loose \[the\].wild.donkey free and.\[the\] fetters of.\[the\].wild.ass who? did.he.loosen

*JPS 1917:* Who hath sent out the wild ass free? Or who hath loosed the bands of the wild ass?

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