Jackal
Jackal
Jackal. The prophet Isaiah spoke of jackals– wild dogs that make their dens in desolate places (Isa 34:13). As scavengers, jackals also fed on garbage in towns and villages in Bible times.
Jackals have an unpleasant smell, and they make a yapping and howling noise at night. They are also agricultural pests. Palestinian farmers put up shelters for watchmen, who guarded their cucumber fields against jackals. Some farmers heaped up whitewashed stones to frighten the jackals, just as scarecrows are used in other places.
Bible references to jackals are confusing, since jackal, fox, dragon, and wolf may be used interchangeably, depending on the translation. The “foxes” to whose tails Samson tied torches were probably jackals which, unlike foxes, travel in packs (Jdg 15:4). Also see Fox.
Fuente: Plants Animals Of Bible
Jackal
the Persic shaal, Turkish jakal, canis aureus of Linnaeus, has been thought to be denoted by several Hebrew words variously rendered in the Autho Vers. SEE FOX; SEE DRAGON; SEE WHELP, etc. It is a wild animal of the canine family SEE WOLF; SEE DOG, which in Persia, Armenia, likewise Arabia (Niebuhr, Beschr. 166), and even in Syria (Russel, Aleppo, 2, 61) and Palestine (around Jaffa, Gaza, and in Galilee, Hasselquist, Trav. p. 271; among the hills of Judea, Robinson, 2, 432; 3:188), is frequently met with, attaining a large size (three and a half feet in length), and so closely resembling a fox in color and general appearance as to be at first readily mistaken for that animal. But the jackal has a somewhat peculiarly formed head, not greatly unlike that of a shepherd’s dog, about seven inches long, with a very pointed muzzle, and yellowish-red hair which resembles that of the wolf. The color of the body is yellowish-gray above, whitish below; the back and sides sometimes of mixed gray and black; the shoulders, thighs, and legs uniformly tawny-yellow. The tail is round, projecting, and reaching hardly to the heel. The eyes are large, with a round pupil. It is gregarious in its habits, hunting in packs (generally preying upon smaller animals and poultry, but frequently attacking the larger quadrupeds), the pest of the countries where it is found. It burrows in the earth, preferring forests and caverns, where it usually lies hid during the daytime; but at night it issues in companies (sometimes very large) on predatory incursions among the villages, and often the immediate vicinity of towns.
Its favorite food is fowls or carrion, and it’ will break into graves to make a meal upon the corpse, and even carry off and devour young children if found unprotected. In a wild state, this animal has an intolerably offensive odor. Colonel Hamilton Smith, in his Canidae, states that jackals form a group of crepuscular and nocturnal canines, never voluntarily abroad before dark, and then hunting for prey during the whole night; entering the streets of towns to seek for offals, robbing the hen- roosts, entering out-houses, examining doors and windows, feasting upon all dressed vegetables and ill secured provisions, devouring all the carrion they find exposed, and digging their way into sepulchers that are not carefully protected against their activity and voraciousness; and in the fruit season, in common with foxes, seeking the vineyards, and fattening upon grapes. They congregate in great numbers, sometimes as many as two hundred being found together, and they howl so incessantly that the annoyance of their voices is the theme of numerous apologues and tales in the literature of Asia. This cry is a melancholy sound, beginning the instant the sun sets, and never ceasing till after it has arisen. The voice is uttered and responded to by all within hearing, in an accent of every possible tone, from a short, hungry yelp to a prolonged crescendo cry, rising octave above octave in the shrillness, and mingled with dismal whinings, as of a human being in distress. Their nightly howl has a peculiar wailing tone (Russel, Aleppo, p. 62; Russegger, Reise, 3, 125), greatly resembling the cry of a child. These sinister, guilty, woebegone brutes, when pressed with hunger, gather in gangs among the graves, and yell in rage, and fight like fiends over their midnight orgies; but on the battlefield is their great carnival (Thomson, Land hand Book, 1, 134). (See, generally, Bochart, Hieroz. 2, 180 sq., who maintains that the jackal was designated among the Greeks and Romans by the name , , Kampfer, Amoen. 2, 406 sq.; Gmelin, Reise. 2, 81 sq. Gildenstdt, in Nov. coment. acad. Petropol. 20, 449 sq.; Oedmann, Samnnl. 2, 18 sq.) This animal is very generally regarded as denoted by the name (i, the howler, in the plural, , iyim’, wild beasts of the islands), represented as inhabiting deserts (Isa 13:22; Isa 34:14; Jeremiah 40:39). It is more usually recognized as the , shual’, of Scripture ( , fox), especially in the instance of Samson’s exploit (Jdg 15:4; compare Rosenmller, Alterthumsk. IV. 2, 156 sq., and Scholia ad Judices, p. 327). See Fox.
We have, however, no proof that shual’ denotes exclusively the fox, and that iyim’, and Solomon’s little foxes, refer solely to jackals; particularly as these animals were, if really known, not abundant in Western Asia, even during the first century of the Roman empire; for they are but little noticed by the Greek writers and sportsmen who resided where now they are heard and seen every evening; these authorities offering no remark on the most prominent characteristic of the species, namely, the chorus of howlings lasting all night a habit so intolerable that it is the invariable theme of all the Shemitic writers since the Hegira whenever they mention the jackal. We may therefore infer that shual’, if a general denomination, and that qinz’, if the etymology be just, is derived from howling or barking, and may designate the jackal, though more probably it includes also those wild Caniaeu which have, a. similar habit. Indeed, as. Ehrenberg (Icon. et descript. emammal. d(c. 2) has remarked, it is likely that travelers have usually confounded the jackal with the camis Syriacus, while a thorough treatise on the canis aureus is still a desideratum (see Wood, Bible Animals, p. 56).
There is also another term in the O.T., (tan, in plural by Chaldaism,
, tannin’, regarded by others as the singular, whence a true plur.
, tasninim’, dragons), described as a wild animal inhabiting deserts, and uttering a plaintive cry (Job 30:29; Mic 1:8); often joined (in poetic parallelism) with , daughter of the ostrich. and
, iyimm’ (Isaiah 12:22; Isa 34:13; Isa 43:20). The Syriac understands the jackal, and the Arabic the wolf (comp. Pococke, Comm. in Mic. ad loc.; Schurrer, Diss. philol. p. 323 sq.). It is possibly no more than the canis Syriacus after all. Bochart (Hieroz. 3:222 sq.) interprets it of an endrmous kind of serpent. SEE DRAGON.
Fuente: Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature
Jackal
JACKAL.Although the word jackal does not occur in the AV [Note: Authorized Version.] , there is no doubt that this animal is several times mentioned in OT: it occurs several times in RV [Note: Revised Version.] where AV [Note: Authorized Version.] has fox. (1) shl is used in Heb. for both animals, but most of the references are most suitably tr. [Note: translate or translation.] jackal. The only OT passage in which the fox is probably intended is Neh 4:3. (2) tannm (pl.), AV [Note: Authorized Version.] dragons, is in RV [Note: Revised Version.] usually tr. [Note: translate or translation.] jackals. See Isa 34:13, Jer 9:11; Jer 10:22 etc. Post considers wolves would be better. (3) iyym, tr. [Note: translate or translation.] AV [Note: Authorized Version.] wild beasts of the island (Isa 13:22; Isa 34:14, Jer 50:39), is in RV [Note: Revised Version.] tr. [Note: translate or translation.] wolves, but Post thinks these howling creatures (as word implies) were more probably jackals. (4) hm, doleful creatures (Isa 13:21), may also have been jackals. The jackal (Canis aureus) is exceedingly common in Palestine; its mournful cries are heard every night. During the day jackals hide in deserted ruins, etc. (Isa 13:22; Isa 34:13; Isa 35:7), but as soon as the sun sets they issue forth. They may at such times be frequently seen gliding backwards and forwards across the roads seeking for morsels of food. Their staple food is carrion of all sorts (Psa 63:10). At the present day the Bedouin threaten an enemy with death by saying they will throw his body to the jackals. Though harmless to grown men when solitary, a whole pack may be dangerous. The writer knows of a case where a European was pursued for miles over the Philistine plain by a pack of jackals. It is because they go in packs that we take the shulim of Jdg 15:4 to be jackals rather than foxes. Both animals have a weakness for grapes (Son 2:15). Cf. art. Fox.
E. W. G. Masterman.
Fuente: Hastings’ Dictionary of the Bible
Jackal
jakol:
(1) , tannm, jackals, the King James Version dragons; compare Arabic tnan, wolf; and compare , tannn, Arab tinnn, sea monster or monster the English Revised Version dragon (Job 7:12 m; Psa 74:13; Psa 148:7; Isa 27:1; Isa 51:9; Jer 51:34), serpent (Exo 7:9, Exo 7:10, Exo 7:12; Deu 32:33; Psa 91:13), the King James Version whale (Gen 1:21; Job 7:12); but , tannn, jackals, the King James Version sea monsters (Lam 4:3), jackal’s well, the King James Version dragon well (Neh 2:13), and tannm, monster, the King James Version and the English Revised Version dragon (Eze 29:3; Eze 32:2).
(2) , ‘ym, wolves, the King James Version wild beasts of the islands; compare , ‘, plural , ‘ym, island; also , ‘ayyah, a cry, , ‘awah, to cry, to howl; Arabic auwa’, to bark (of dogs, wolves, or jackals); ‘ibn ‘awa’, colloquially, waw, jackal.
(3) , cym, wild beasts of the desert.
(4) , ‘ohm, doleful creatures.
Jackals occurs as a translation of tannm, the King James Version dragons, in Job 30:29; Psa 44:19; Isa 13:22; Isa 34:13; Isa 35:7; Isa 43:20; Jer 9:11; Jer 10:22; Jer 14:6; Jer 49:33; Jer 51:37; of the feminine plural form tannoth in Mal 1:3, and of tannn in Neh 2:13 and Lam 4:3. Tannm is variously referred to a root meaning to howl, and to a root meaning to stretch out trop. to run swiftly, i.e. with outstretched neck and limb extended (Gesenius). Either derivation would suit wolf equally as well as jackal. The expression in Jer 10:22, to make the cities of Judah a desolation, a dwelling-place of jackals, seems, however, especially appropriate of jackals. The same is true of Isa 34:13; Jer 9:11; Jer 49:33, and Jer 51:37.
The jackal (from Persian shaghal), Canis aureus, is found about the Mediterranean except in Western Europe. It ranges southward to Abyssinia, and eastward, in Southern Asia, to farther India. It is smaller than a large dog, has a moderately bushy tail, and is reddish brown with dark shadings above. It is cowardly and nocturnal. Like the fox, it is destructive to poultry, grapes, and vegetables, but is less fastidious, and readily devours the remains of others’ feasts. Jackals generally go about in small companies. Their peculiar howl may frequently be heard in the evening and at any time in the night. It begins with a high-pitched, long-drawn-out cry. This is repeated two or three times, each time in a higher key than before. Finally there are several short, loud, yelping barks. Often when one raises the cry others join in. Jackals are not infrequently confounded with foxes. They breed freely with dogs.
While tannm is the only word translated jackal in English Versions of the Bible, the words ‘ym, cym, and ‘ohm deserve attention. They, as well as tannm, evidently refer to wild creatures inhabiting desert places, but it is difficult to say for what animal each of the words stands. All four (together with benoth yaanah and serm) are found in Isa 13:21, Isa 13:22 : But wild beasts of the desert (cym) shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures (‘ohm); and ostriches (benoth yaanah) shall dwell there, and wild goats (serm) shall dance there. And wolves (‘ym) shall cry in their castles, and jackals (tannm) in the pleasant palaces.
In the King James Version ‘ym (Isa 13:22; Isa 34:14; Jer 50:39) is translated wild beasts of the islands (compare ‘ym, islands). the King James Version margin has merely the transliteration iim, the Revised Version (British and American) wolves, the Revised Version margin howling creatures. Gesenius suggests the jackal, which is certainly a howler. While the wolf has a blood-curdling howl, it is much more rarely heard than the jackal.
Cym (Psa 72:9; Psa 74:14; Isa 13:21; Isa 23:13; Isa 34:14; Jer 50:39) has been considered akin to cyah, drought (compare ‘erec cyah, a dry land (Psa 63:1)), and is translated in the Revised Version (British and American) as follows: Psa 72:9, they that dwell in the wilderness; Psa 74:14, the people inhabiting the wilderness; Isa 23:13, them that dwell in the wilderness, the Revised Version margin the beasts of the wilderness; Isa 13:21; Isa 34:14; Jer 50:39, wild beasts of the desert. There would be some difficulty in referring cym in Psa 72:9 to beasts rather than to men, but that is not the case in Psa 74:14 and Isa 23:13. Wild cats have been suggested.
‘Ohm, doleful creatures, perhaps onomatopoetic, occurs only in Isa 13:21. The translation owls has been suggested, and is not unsuitable to the context.
It is not impossible that tannm and ‘ym may be different names of the jackals. ‘Iym, cym, and tannm occur together also in Isa 34:13, Isa 34:14, and ‘ym and cym in Jer 50:39. Their similarity in sound may have much to do with their collocation. The recognized word for wolf, ze’ebh (compare Arabic dhi’b), occurs 7 times in the Old Testament. See DRAGON; WOLF; ZOOLOGY.
Fuente: International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Jackal
A carnivorous animal.
Mal 1:3