HEBREW / ARAMAIC · H7776
שׁוּעָל
shu.al — fox
1) fox, a burrower 1a) fox 1b) perhaps also jackal
5 tagged verse occurrences · see every occurrence →BIBLE DICTIONARY + WORD STUDY
Fox
Original Hebrew / Aramaic / Greek connected to this term
How to read this: there is rarely one magic “true meaning” hidden behind an English word. A lexicon records a word’s semantic range. The intended meaning is narrowed by grammar, sentence, author, historical usage and context.
GREEK · G258
ἀλώπηξ
alōpēx — fox
ἀλώπηξ, -εκος, ἡ [in LXX for שׁוּעָל ;] a fox: Mat.8:20, Luk.9:58; metaphorically, of Herod, Luk.13:32.† (AS)
3 tagged verse occurrences · see every occurrence →GREEK · G3588
ὁ
ho — the/this/who
ὁ, ἡ, τό, the prepositive article (ἄρθρον προτακτικόν), originally a demonstr. pron. (so usually in Hom.), in general corresponding to the Eng. definite article. I. As demonstr. pron. 1. As frequently in Hom., absol., he (she, it), his (etc.): Act.17:28 (quoted from the poet Aratus). 2. Distributive, ὁ μὲν . . . ὁ δέ, the one . . . the other: 1Co.7:7, Gal.4:22; pl., Act.14:4, 17:32, Php.1:16, al.; οἱ μὲν . . . ἄλλοι δέ, Mat.16:14, Jhn.7:12; οἱ μεν̀ . . . ὁδέ, Heb.7:21, 23. 3. In narration (without ὁ μὲν preceding), ὁ δέ, but he: Mat.2:14, Mrk.1:45, Luk.8:21, Jhn.9:38, al. mult. II. As prepositive article, the, prefixed, 1. to nouns unmodified: ὁ θεός, τὸ φῶς, etc.; to abstract nouns, ἡ σοφία, etc., to pl. nouns which indicate a class, οἱ ἀλώπεκες, foxes, Mat.8:20, al.; to an individual as representing a class, ὁ ἐργάτης, Luk.10:7; with nom. = voc. in addresses, Mat.11:26, Jhn.19:3, Jas.5:1, al.; to things which pertain to one, ἡ χεῖρ, his hand, Mrk.3:1; to names of persons well known or already mentioned; usually to names of countries (originally adjectives), ἡ Ἰουδαία, etc. 2. To modified nouns: with of person(s) pron. genitive, μοῦ, σοῦ, etc.; with poss. pron., ἐμός, σός, etc.; with adj. between the art. and the noun, ὁ ἀγαθὸς ἄνθρωπος, Mat.12:35; the noun foll, by adj., both with art., ὁ ποιμὴν ὁ καλός, Jhn.10:11 (on ὁ ὄχλος πολύς, Jhn.12:9, see M, Pr., 84); before adjectival phrases, ἡ κατ᾽ ἐκλογὴν πρόθεσις, Rom.9:11. 3. To Other parts of speech used as substantives; (a) neuter adjectives: τ. ἀγαθόν, etc.; (b) cardinal numerals: ὁ εἶς, οἷ δύο, etc.; (with) participles: ὁ βαπτίζων (= ὁ Βαπτιστής, Mat.14:2), Mrk.6:14; πᾶς ὁ, with ptcp., every one who, etc.; (d) adverbs: τὸ πέραν, τὰ νῦν, ὁ ἔσω ἄνθρωπος; (e) infinitives: nom., τὸ θέλειν, Rom.7:18, al.; genitive, τοῦ, after adjectives, ἄξιον τοῦ πορεύεσθαι, 1Co.16:4; verbs, ἐλαχεν τοῦ θυμιᾶσαι, Luk.1:9; and frequently in a final sense, ἐξῆλθεν ὁ σπείρειν, Mat.13:3 (on the artic. inf., see Bl., §71). 4. In the neut. to sentences, phrases or single words treated as a quotation: τὸ Ἐι δύνῃ, Mrk.9:23; τὸ ἔτι ἅπαξ, Heb.12:27; τὸ ἀνέβη, Eph.4:9, al. 5. To prepositional phrases: οἱ ἀπὸ Ἰταλίας, Heb.13:24; οἱ ἐκ νόμου, Rom.4:14; neut. accusative absol., in adverbial phrases, τὸ καθ᾽ ἡμέραν, daily, Luk.11:3; τὸ κατὰ σάρκα, as regards the flesh, Rom.9:5. 6. To nouns in the genitive, denoting kinship, association, etc.: ὁ τοῦ, the son of (unless context indicates a different relationship), Mat.10:2, al.; τὰ τοῦ θεοῦ, the things that pertain to God, Mat.16:23; τὰ τῆς εἰρήνης, Rom.14:19 (cf. M, Pr., 81ff.; Bl, §§46, 47). (AS)
6942 tagged verse occurrences · see every occurrence →GREEK · G3516
νήπιος
nēpios — child
νήπιος, -α, -ον [in LXX chiefly for עוֹלֵל, also for פְּתִי, etc. ;] infant; of children and minors: Mat.21:16 (LXX), 1Co.13:11, Gal.4:1 (see Lft., in l). Metaphorical, childish, unskilled, simple (Psa.19:8, Pro.1:32 al.): Mat.11:25, Luk.10:21, Rom.2:20, Gal.4:3, Eph.4:14, 1Th.2:7 (WH, fox ἤπιοι); opposite to τέλειος, Heb.5:13; ν. ἐν Χριστῷ, 1Co.3:1.† (AS)
10 tagged verse occurrences · see every occurrence →HEBREW / ARAMAIC · H8169
שַׁעַלְבִים
sha.al.vim — Shaalbim
Shaalbim or Shaalabbin = "place of foxes" a town in Dan occupied by the Amorites Also named: sha.al.vo.ni (שַׁעַלְבֹנִי "Shaalbonite" H8170)
3 tagged verse occurrences · see every occurrence →HEBREW / ARAMAIC · H8170
שַׁעַלְבֹנִי
sha.al.vo.ni — Shaalbonite
Group of sha.al.vim (שַׁעַלְבִים "Shaalbim" H8169) § Shaalbonite, of Shaalbim "place of foxes" an inhabitant of Shaalbim or Shaalabbin
2 tagged verse occurrences · see every occurrence →HEBREW / ARAMAIC · H8171
שַׁעֲלִים
sha.a.lim — Shaalim
§ Shalim = "foxes" a district in Israel
1 tagged verse occurrence · see every occurrence →Historical dictionary entry
(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.
Scripture references
Source: Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897). Historical dictionary wording reflects the scholarship and language of its era.