FOX

Two words in Hebrew are translated "fox" in the Bible; and it is not easy in every case to determine what animal is referred to. There were several varieties of fox in Palestine, all like the common fox in form and habits. The fox is cunning, voracious, and mischievous, Eze 13:4 Lu 13:32. He is fond of grapes, and does much harm in vineyards, So 2:15. The fable of the fox and the sour grapes is well known. He is solitary in his habits, and burrows a home for himself in the ground, Lu 9:58. The jackal, at the present day, is much more numerous in Palestine, and is probably referred to in many texts where the word "foxes" occurs. It is like a medium-sized dog, with a head like the wolves, and a tail like the fox’s; of a bright yellow color. To the fierceness of the wolf it joins the impudent familiarity of the dog. It differs from the fox in its habit of hunting its prey in large packs, and in its cry-a mournful howl, mixed with barking, which they keep up all night, to the annoyance of all within hearing. They live in holes; prowl around villages; ravage poultry yards; feed upon game, lizards, insects, grapes, garbage; and when they can find nothing else, old leather and any thing that has once had animal life. They follow after caravans and armies, and devour the bodies of the dead, and even dig them up from their graves, Ps 63:10 La 5:18. The incident in the life of Samson, where foxes, or perhaps jackals, are referred to, Jud 15:4-5, has a parallel in the ancient Roman feast of Ceres, goddess of corn; when torches were bound to the tails of numbers of foxes, and they ran round the circus till the fire stopped and consumed them. This was in revenge for their once burning up some fields of corn.

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Fox. 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 (Cant. 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 Ezek. 13:4, and in Luke 13:32, where our Lord calls Herod “that fox.” In Judg. 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; and (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.

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FOX. → Dens of Mt 8:20; Lu 9:58 → Samson uses, to burn the field of the Philistines Jud 15:4 → Depredations of Ps 63:10; So 2:15 → Held in contempt Ne 4:3 → FIGURATIVE
* Of unfaithful prophets Eze 13:4
* Of craftiness Lu 13:32
* Of heretics So 2:15

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fox. Fox, n. a wild animal of the canine kind, a fly or knavish person

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Fox (?), n.; pl. Foxes (#). [[AS. fox; akin to D. vos, G. fuchs, OHG. fuhs, foha, Goth. faúh�, Icel. f�a fox, fox fraud; of unknown origin, cf. Skr. puccha tail. Cf. Vixen.]] 1. 1. (Zoöl.) A carnivorous animal of the genus Vulpes, family Canidæ, of many species. The European fox (V. vulgaris or V. vulpes), the American red fox (V. fulvus), the American gray fox (V. Virginianus), and the arctic, white, or blue, fox (V. lagopus) are well-known species.
☞ The black or silver-gray fox is a variety of the American red fox, producing a fur of great value; the cross-gray and woods-gray foxes are other varieties of the same species, of less value. The common foxes of Europe and America are very similar; both are celebrated for their craftiness. They feed on wild birds, poultry, and various small animals. Subtle as the fox for prey. Shak. 2. 2. (Zoöl.) The European dragonet.
3. 3. (Zoöl.) The fox shark or thrasher shark; — called also sea fox. See Thrasher shark, under Shark.
4. 4. A sly, cunning fellow.
We call a crafty and cruel man a fox. Beattie. 5. 5. (Naut.) Rope yarn twisted together, and rubbed with tar; — used for seizings or mats.
6. 6. A sword; — so called from the stamp of a fox on the blade, or perhaps of a wolf taken for a fox.
Thou diest on point of fox. Shak. 7. 7. pl. (Ethnol.) A tribe of Indians which, with the Sacs, formerly occupied the region about Green Bay, Wisconsin; — called also Outagamies.
Fox and geese. (a) A boy's game, in which one boy tries to catch others as they run one goal to another. (b) A game with sixteen checkers, or some substitute for them, one of which is called the fox, and the rest the geese; the fox, whose first position is in the middle of the board, endeavors to break through the line of the geese, and the geese to pen up the fox. — Fox bat (Zoöl.), a large fruit bat of the genus Pteropus, of many species, inhabiting Asia, Africa, and the East Indies, esp. P. medius of India. Some of the species are more than four feet across the outspread wings. See Fruit bat. — Fox bolt, a bolt having a split end to receive a fox wedge. — Fox brush (Zoöl.), the tail of a fox. — Fox evil, a disease in which the hair falls off; alopecy. — Fox grape (Bot.), the name of two species of American grapes. The northern fox grape (Vitis Labrusca) is the origin of the varieties called Isabella, Concord, Hartford, etc., and the southern fox grape (Vitis vulpina) has produced the Scuppernong, and probably the Catawba. — Fox hunter. (a) One who pursues foxes with hounds. (b) A horse ridden in a fox chase. — Fox shark (Zoöl.), the thrasher shark. See Thrasher shark, under Thrasher. — Fox sleep, pretended sleep. — Fox sparrow (Zoöl.), a large American sparrow (Passerella iliaca); — so called on account of its reddish color. — Fox squirrel (Zoöl.), a large North American squirrel (Sciurus niger, or S. cinereus). In the Southern States the black variety prevails; farther north the fulvous and gray variety, called the cat squirrel, is more common. — Fox terrier (Zoöl.), one of a peculiar breed of terriers, used in hunting to drive foxes from their holes, and for other purposes. There are rough- and smooth-haired varieties. — Fox trot, a pace like that which is adopted for a few steps, by a horse, when passing from a walk into a trot, or a trot into a walk. — Fox wedge (Mach. & Carpentry), a wedge for expanding the split end of a bolt, cotter, dowel, tenon, or other piece, to fasten the end in a hole or mortise and prevent withdrawal. The wedge abuts on the bottom of the hole and the piece is driven down upon it. Fastening by fox wedges is called foxtail wedging. — Fox wolf (Zoöl.), one of several South American wild dogs, belonging to the genus Canis. They have long, bushy tails like a fox.