Greek word · G3678
ὀνάριον
onarion
young donkey
A 'little' form of ónos (donkey, ass). In the strict sense it means a small or young donkey. By Koine times, the everyday Greek of the New Testament period, such 'little' forms were often used as plain nouns with no sense of smallness.
Appears once in the Greek New Testament. ·
What it means
From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).
In depth
- Range of meaning
A 'little' form of ónos (donkey, ass). In the strict sense it means a small or young donkey. By Koine times, the everyday Greek of the New Testament period, such 'little' forms were often used as plain nouns with no sense of smallness. John himself does this with ōtarion, 'ear,' for Malchus's ear (18:10). So the word can mean 'little donkey,' 'young donkey,' or simply 'donkey.'
- Against the English
Most modern versions say "young donkey" (BSB, WEB, NIV, ESV, NASB). The KJV and YLT say "young ass." "Young" comes partly from the 'little' form and partly from v. 15's "colt of a donkey" (pōlon onou), which settles that the animal was young.
- How it drifted
No drift in the Greek. The KJV's "ass" has drifted in English (see the drift section).
- Used elsewhere in the period
Rare in literature but found in ordinary use. Epictetus, a Stoic teacher of around AD 100, uses it for a loaded pack-donkey (Discourses 4.1.79). Business documents on papyrus (Moulton–Milligan) use it for ordinary working donkeys. In the Greek Old Testament (the Septuagint), Zech 9:9 has pōlon neon, 'a young colt.' John's v. 15 shortens this to pōlon onou.
Where it appears
John · 1
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John 12:14 ὀνάριον a young donkey
Finding a young donkey, Jesus sat on it, as it is written:
Here: A shortened, 'little' form of ónos (donkey). It appears only here in the New Testament. In everyday Greek of the time the 'little' sense was often worn away, but v. 15 calls it a "colt of a donkey," which points to a young animal.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.