Palin: The Ass Again (Mk 11,3d) 125 v stony path. Such would not have been the case if the animal had been accompanied by his owner or his agent (to lead or drive it) (Ex 22,14- 15) 21, and the liability would have been less if the animal had been hired. In our case there was no hire nor was any pledge offered. We are deliberately given every detail of the transaction, and it has naturally been guessed that the loungers, or however they are to be described, were in previous communication with Jesus 22. The point of the alleged prom- ise seems to be that the ass is needed for so short a time (it was idle, «tied up») that risk to the owner would be small. The position is otherwise if, all previous communication ignored, Jesus is requisitioning a mount for a solemn occasion, where he can demand its use, at a time when no riot was expected. As has been noticed by several commentators, rabbis in later periods did commandeer trans- port 23, and someone called oJ kuvrio" may claim this privilege. Did that happen? We come to JO kuvrio~ aujtou' creivan e[cei. Unlike old translators we must take aujtou' with kuvrio" «his master». This leaves creivan e[cei absolute, «he is in need». This is entirely possible 24. It would rep- resent Heb. nis≥ra–k, Aram. s≥a–rik. Of what is he in need? Transport. By some suitable beast. Why should no one have ridden on the animal? A female in menstruation, a male with a «flux» were to be feared. The religious leader is supposed to be fussy. A «king’s mount» must never have been ridden by another 25. Honour must be shown to him to whom it is due 26. It is claimed that ancient kings rode on asses, except to war. Whatever a prophet might be prepared to do (Num 22,21-22), and whatever Jdg 5,10; 10,4 might suggest 27, a Seleucid «Benefactor» or «Saviour» would look odd on an ass. Had Jesus ever mounted a horse? There were more than one reason why he should seek an ass’s colt: Zech 9,9 (at which commentators turn up their noses) says the Messiah will. 21 Taken somewhat broadly: m. B.M. VIII.1; b. B.M. 94b-97a. Maimonides, ubi cit., ii (trans., 55f ). 22 So Bengel and Taylor (Mark, 1952). I. H. Marshall, Luke (Exeter, 1978), 710 rais- es the question. Derrett, ubi cit., at 170 n.2. A. Farrer, Study in St Mark (Westminster, 1951), 176 took them to be strangers. They may have been «righteous», unknown mes- sianists. See below. 23 b. Yoma 55b (Soncino trans.,163-4); b. Ned. 52a (Sonc., 97); b. Sot. 10a (Sonc. 46). Patsch (1971) was aware that rabbis rode asses. 24 Bengel. Cf. Mk 2,25; Acts 2,45; 4,35; Rom 12,13; Eph 4,28; 1 Jn 3,17. 25 m. Sanh. 11.5 (Danby, 385). 26 Num 19,2; Dt 21,3; 1 Sam 6,7; 2 Sam 6,3; Mt 27,59; Lk 23,53; And cf. Euripides, Phoen. 639-642; Horace, Epod. 9.21-22; Ovid, Met. 3.8-13; Seneca, Oed. 719-724. Sherman E. Johnson, Mark (London, 1960), 185 suggests that the animal was as if ready for sacrifice (a strange notion in the light of Lev 27,11; Ex 13,15). 27 M. Rehm, Der König Messias (Kevelaer, 1968), 333-338, esp. 335n.352.