Meaning of FOX

Animal that digs burrows (Mt. 8:20) and that also lives in solitary ruins (Lm. 5:18); he is crafty and jealous of his safety (Ez. 13:4; Luke 13:32).

Tristram cites two species of foxes in Palestine, the Egyptian ("Vulpes nilotica") and the tawny ("Vulpes flavescens").

The former is abundant in central and southern Palestine and east of the Jordan; The second, of a somewhat larger size, and which may be nothing more than a variety of the common fox ("Vulpes vulgaris"), lives in the forested areas of the country.

It seems that under the general term for fox, "shû'ãl", the Hebrews included the jackal, which belongs to the canid family, although they had a specific name for it (see JACKAL).

On Thu. 15:4 it seems that the reference is to jackals, since these animals were abundant in the plain occupied by the Philistines; At night they prowl in packs and spend the day hiding in any cave.

Therefore, they can be easily caught, while the fox, a solitary animal, is difficult to capture.

The jackal devours the decomposing corpses, which barely makes up the area. In Cnt. 2:15 can be both the jackal and the fox, because both animals like grapes.