Fox: (Heb. shu'al, a name derived from its digging or burrowing under
ground), the Vulpes thaleb, or Syrian fox, the only species of this
animal indigenous to Palestine. It burrows, is silent and solitary in
its habits, is destructive to vineyards, being a plunderer of ripe
grapes
(The Song of Solomon 2:15) The Vulpes Niloticus, or Egyptian dog-fox, and the
Vulpes vulgaris, or common fox, are also found in Palestine. The
proverbial cunning of the fox is alluded to in
(Ezekiel 13:4) and in
(Luke 13:32) where our Lord calls Herod "that fox." In
(Judges 15:4,5)
the reference is in all probability to the jackal. The Hebrew word
shu'al through the Persian schagal becomes our jackal (Canis
aureus), so that the word may bear that signification here. The reasons
for preferring the rendering "jackal" are
1. That it is more easily caught than the fox;
2. That the fox is shy and suspicious, and flies mankind, while
the jackal does not
3. That foxes are difficult, jackals comparatively easy, to treat
in the way here described. Jackals hunt in large numbers, and
are still very numerous in Southern Palestine.
