It marks the start of Holy Week. Credit: AP/Maya Alleruzzo Colt is defined as “a young male horse that is usually not castrated.” ...

One day in early summer, Mary Alice and I stopped at a friend’s farm/greenhouse to purchase flowers. On the way to the greenhouses, we passed the chickens, goats, horses, pigs, cattle and one donkey.

Each one explicitly says that he rode into the city on a donkey or a colt. Throughout the Bible, however, the word meaning “colt” is used almost exclusively for young donkeys, not horses.

But in the Bible, the word meaning "colt" is used almost exclusively for young donkeys, not horses, writes Joanne M. Pierce, professor emerita of religious studies at the College of the Holy Cross.

But in the Bible, the word meaning “colt” is used almost exclusively for young donkeys, not horses, writes Joanne M. Pierce, professor emerita of religious studies at the College of the Holy ...

But in the Bible, the word meaning “colt” is used almost exclusively for young donkeys, not horses, writes Joanne M. Pierce, professor emerita of religious studies at the College of the Holy ...

But in the Bible, the word meaning "colt" is used almost exclusively for young donkeys, not horses, writes Joanne M. Pierce, professor emerita of religious studies at the College of the Holy Cross.

In Judaism, she says, the passage from Zechariah refers to the Messiah, a spiritual king who would peacefully redeem Israel, and the donkey is interpreted as a sign of humility.