That the ass was used in covenant rituals in the ancient Near East generally is addressed in Hiller's book,      5. The difference between an ass and goat is not critical; among Israel's neighbors it made little difference what kind of animal was used. The Book of Mormon identifies Yahweh, the God and Redeemer of the Old Testament, with Jesus Christ. The element of renaming is equally clear. . . The words which Alma, the High Priest according to the holy order of God, delivered to the people in their cities and villages throughout the land.To gain salvation, men must repent and keep the commandments, be born again, cleanse their garments through the blood of Christ, be humble and strip themselves of pride and envy, and do the works of righteousness—The Good Shepherd calls His people—Those who do evil works are children of the devil—Alma testifies of the truth of his doctrine and commands men to repent—The names of the righteous will be written in the book of life. The Hebrew word means "jawbone" or "cheekbone," words which have many direct associations with asses. The idea that the "flock" here is a flock of asses is consistent with the verse which immediately precedes Benjamin's expulsion simile (Mosiah 5:13). If any of these ideas has merit, Benjamin might have drawn upon these traditions in creating a powerful analogy here, leading to this interpretation: if Joseph is associated with the ass, then his descendants would constitute the "flock" to which Benjamin refers. Benjamin may have felt a need to refer to some kind of animal in the place of the scapegoat, and the ass proved more suitable than other candidates, such as sheep, which were symbols of obedient followers, and even of the Lord himself (1 Nephi 10:10)      2. For the symbolic value of its fabled stubbornness.

The goat for Jehovah was sacrificed, but upon the other the high priest placed his hands and symbolically transferred to it all the sins of Israel. I say unto you, Nay; he will not even suffer that he shall feed among his flocks, but will drive him away, and cast him out. Benjamin states that one of the main purposes of the assembly was to "give this people a name" (Mosiah 1:11-12). (Mosiah 5:14)      To what extent can Benjamin's reference to the ass in this ritual context be connected with any other ancient ceremonial practices? This description is one of the clearest examples that covenant creates an adoptive relationship. [John W. Welch, "A Masterful Oration," in            While in Germany, I attended a series of lectures delivered by a prominent professor at the University of Regensburg, one of which was on chiasmus in Matthew and Mark. It comes at the very center of section 7 of the speech in which Benjamin presents six ideas, first in one order and then in the exact opposite order. Just as the Jewish traditions allowed the priest to utter this name ten times during the Day of Atonement liturgy, it is interesting that in Benjamin's speech, the expanded name of God as "Lord God" (five times), "Lord God Omnipotent" (twice) and "Lord Omnipotent" (three times), appears a total of ten times. 4. (Bruce R. McConkie, [M. Catherine Thomas, "Benjamin and the Mysteries of God," in There Is No Other Name Given Where Salvation Cometh:      [See the commentary on Mosiah 6:1; Moroni 10:8-17]      According to John Welch, an excellent instance of chiasmus is found in Mosiah 5:10-12. In this concluding section of his speech, the people enter into a covenant with God and are called the children of Christ. Amen. [John W. Welch, "The Temple in the Book of Mormon," in      In his farewell address to his people, King Benjamin admonished his people: "Therefore, I would that ye should be steadfast and immovable, always abounding in good works, that Christ, the Lord God Omnipotent , that you may be brought to heaven, that ye may have everlasting salvation and eternal life" (Mosiah 5:15)      According to John Gee, Hebrew seals from before the Babylonian exile (and thus in use during Lehi's time) provide helpful insight into King Benjamin's phrase "seal you his." Because the ass was uniquely redeemable by the slaying of a lamb (see Exodus 13:13; 24:20). [Jennifer Clark Lane, "The Lord Will Redeem His People: Adoptive Covenant and Redemption in the Old Testament and Book of Mormon," in I Would That Ye Should Take upon You the Name of Christ:      In Mosiah 5:8 we find an interesting statement by Benjamin:            And under this head ye are made free, and there is no other head whereby ye can be made free.