Song of Solomon 2:15

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; 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.