Albert Barnes Commentary Job 1:14

"that there came a messenger unto Job, and said, The oxen were plowing, and the asses feeding beside them;" — Job 1:14 (ASV)

And there came a messenger unto Job - Hebrew מלאך mal'âk; the word usually translated “angel,” is appropriately translated “messenger” here. The word properly means “one who is sent.”

The oxen were plowing - Hebrew “the cattle” (בקר bâqâr), including not merely “oxen,” but probably also “cows”; see the notes at Job 1:3.

And the asses - Hebrew אתון 'âthôn “she-asses.” The “sex” is expressly mentioned here, and Dr. Good maintains that it should be in the translation. So it is in the Septuagint αἱ θήλειαι ὄνοι hai thēleiai onoi. So Jerome, “asinoe.”

The reason the sex is specified is that female asses, because of their milk, were much more valuable than males. For this reason, they were also preferred for traveling (see the notes at Job 1:3).

Beside them - Hebrew “By their hands,” that is, by their sides, because the Hebrew יד yâd is often used in this sense; compare the notes at Isaiah 33:21.