THE FOX, OR JACKAL. 97 



of the fox or jackal ; * Go, tell that fox that crafty, cruel, insidious, 

 devouring creature that jackal of a prince who has indeed ex- 

 pressed his enmity by his threats, as jackals indicate their mischiev- 

 ous dispositions by their barkings; and who yelps in concert with 

 other of my enemies, jackal-like go, tell him that I am safe from 

 his fury to-day and to-morrow ; and on the third day I shall be 

 completed, completely beyond his power;' alluding, perhaps, 

 to his resurrection on the third day. There have beeii some doubts 

 as to the propriety of our Redeemer's speaking in such terms of a 

 civil ruler, whose subject he was, and whose character he was 

 therefore bound to respect and to honor. For these scruples, how- 

 ever, there is no ground ; the character of Herod as a cruel, insidi- 

 ous, and crafty prince, was too notorious to be disguised from any 

 part of his subjects ; and he who knew his heart as well as witness- 

 ed his conduct, could speak with certainty as to his dispositions and 

 motives. Besides this, such metaphorical applications as these are 

 much more common in the East than here, and would, therefore, 

 not appear so strong to our Lord's attendants as to us. 



The expedient of Samson (Judges xv. 4, 5,) has frequently been 

 made the butt of ridicule, by the unbeliever in divine revelation ; 

 but without reason. Volney says, ' That, in Syria the wolf and the 

 real fox are very rare, though there is a prodigious quantity of the 

 middle species, named shacal, which go in droves.' And again ; 

 'Jackals are concealed by hundreds in the gardens, and among ruins 

 and tombs.' Where, then, was the difficulty for Samson to procure 

 three hundred of these animals, especially as the time during which 

 he had to provide them for his purpose was not limited to a week 

 or a month ? Besides, it should be recollected, that Samson sus- 

 tained the highest office in the commonwealth, and could be at no 

 loss for persons to assist him in his enterprise. 



From the book of Exodus we learn, that before the passover, 

 that is, before the fourteenth day of the mouth Abib, or March, bar- 

 ley in Egypt was in the ear, chap. xii. 18 ; xiii. 4. And in chap. ix. 

 31, 32, it is said that the wheat at that time was not grown up. Bar- 

 ley harvest, then, in Egypt, and so in the country of the Philistines 

 which bordered upon it, must have fallen about the middle of 

 March. Wheat harvest, according to Pliny, was a month later, 

 Therefore, wheat harvest happened about the middle of April, 



