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Fox Breaking Down the Wall of Jerusalem in Scripture

The image of a fox breaking down the wall of Jerusalem appears in the Old Testament book of Nehemiah, specifically in Nehemiah 4:3. This statement is made by Tobiah the Ammonite, an adversary of Nehemiah, who mocks the efforts of the Jews to rebuild Jerusalem's walls [16, 17]. Tobiah suggests that the construction is so weak that "if a fox go up, he shall break down their stone wall" [16]. This taunt implies that the wall is not only low enough for a fox to climb but also so poorly built that even the animal's weight would cause it to collapse [16, 17].

The mention of foxes in this context draws on their known characteristics in ancient Palestine. Foxes, or more likely jackals, were abundant in the region, especially in desolate areas [4, 16]. The Hebrew term shu'al, often translated as "fox," likely refers to the jackal in many Old Testament passages, as jackals are gregarious and found in large numbers, unlike the more solitary fox [4, 8]. These animals were known for burrowing and for being destructive to vineyards [8]. The image of a fox in ruins is also used in Ezekiel 13:4, where false prophets are compared to "foxes in ruins," suggesting their opportunistic and destructive nature [2, 15]. Rashi, a medieval Jewish commentator, interprets this to mean that a fox, upon finding a breach in a ruin, would flee through another breach rather than stand and fight, highlighting their evasiveness [15].

The destruction of Jerusalem's walls was a significant event, symbolizing the city's vulnerability and disgrace [13]. Following the Babylonian conquest in 586 BC, and possibly further setbacks before Nehemiah's arrival, the walls were in ruins [3, 7, 13]. The prophet Isaiah speaks of God's judgment involving the breaching and demolishing of walls [10, 11, 12, 14]. Similarly, Amos prophesies fire devouring the palaces on the walls of Gaza and Tyre, indicating divine judgment and destruction [1, 5]. The book of 2 Kings describes God stretching "the line of Samaria, and the plummet of the house of Ahab" over Jerusalem, signifying its complete destruction, "wiping it and turning it upside down" [6]. This extensive demolition and looting are also noted in other passages of 2 Kings, testifying to overwhelming victories by invading forces [18].

Tobiah's taunt in Nehemiah 4:3, therefore, plays on the existing reality of Jerusalem's ruined state and the common understanding of foxes (or jackals) as creatures associated with desolation and weakness [16]. The implication is that the rebuilt wall would offer no real defense, being easily compromised by even a small animal [17]. This mockery was intended to demoralize the builders and undermine their efforts to restore the city's defenses, which were designed for separation and protection [9]. The historical context indicates that the destruction of Jerusalem's walls was a source of shame, allowing foreigners to gloat and question the power of Israel's God [13]. The rebuilding effort under Nehemiah was thus a crucial act of restoration, both physically and spiritually.

Sources

  1. Amos “but I will send a fire on the wall of Gaza, and it will devour its palaces. -- Amos 1:7”
  2. Torrey's Topical Textbook “Torrey's Topical Textbook: Fox, The — Found in deserts -- Eze 13:4. Abounded in Palestine -- Jdj 15:4; La 5:18. Described as Active. -- Ne 4:3. Crafty. -- Lu 13:32. Carnivorous. -- Ps 63:10. Destructive to vines -- Song 2:15. Dwells in holes -- Mt 8:20; Lu 9:58. Illustrative of False prophets. -- Eze 13:4. Cunning and deceitful persons. -- Lu 13:32. Enemies of the church. -- Song 2:15. Used by Samson for annoying the Philistines. -- Jdj 15:4-6.”
  3. Project Gutenberg “Flavius Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, CHAPTER 8, section 10: fast on a festival day, is quoted in the Apostolical Constitutions, B. V., as obtaining among Christians also.] 12 (return) [ This miserable condition of the Jews, and their capital, must have been after the death of Esdras, their former governor, and before Nehemiah came with his commission to build the walls of Jerusalem. Nor is that at all disagreeable to these histories in Josephus, since Esdras came on the seventh, and Nehemiah not till the twenty-fifth of Xerxes, at the interval of eighteen years.] 13 (return) [ This showi”
  4. Smith's Bible Dictionary “Smith's Bible Dictionary: Fox — (Heb. shu'al). Probably the jackal is the animal signified in almost all the passages in the Old Testament where the Hebrew term occurs. Though both foxes and jackals abound in Palestine, the shu'alim (foxes) of (Judges 15:4) are evidently jackals and not foxes, for the former animal is gregarious, whereas the latter is solitary in its habits; and Samson could not, for that reason, have easily caught three hundred foxes, but it was easy to catch that number of jackals, which are concealed by hundreds in caves and ruins of Syria. It is not probable, however, that”
  5. Amos “but I will send a fire on the wall of Tyre, and it will devour its palaces.” -- Amos 1:10”
  6. 2 Kings “I will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria, and the plummet of the house of Ahab; and I will wipe Jerusalem as a man wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down. -- 2 Kings 21:13”
  7. Project Gutenberg “Flavius Josephus, The Wars of the Jews, CHAPTER 9, section 4: parts of the city, and burnt them down, and entirely demolished its walls.”
  8. Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: 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 p”
  9. Torrey's Topical Textbook “Torrey's Topical Textbook: Walls — Designed for separation -- Eze 43:8; Eph 2:14. Designed for defence -- 1Sa 25:16. Mentioned in scripture Of cities. -- Nu 13:28. Of temples. -- 1Ch 29:4; Isa 56:5. Of houses. -- 1Sa 18:11. Of vineyards. -- Nu 22:24; Pr 24:31. Frequently made of stone and wood together -- Ezr 5:8; Hab 2:11. Were probably often strengthened with plates of iron or brass -- Jer 15:20; Eze 4:3. Of cities Often very high. -- De 1:28; 3:5. Strongly fortified. -- Isa 2:15; 25:12. Had towers built on them. -- 2Ch 26:9; 32:5; Ps 48:12; Song 8:10. Houses often built on. -- Jos 2:15. Wer”
  10. Sefaria (Jewish (Rabbinic)) “Rashi (Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki) on Isaiah 30:13: as a breach of a fallen wall.”
  11. Sefaria (Jewish (Rabbinic)) “Rashi (Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki) on Isaiah 5:7: Breach its wall I will demolish its walls.”
  12. Sefaria (Jewish (Rationalist)) “Abraham Ibn Ezra on Isaiah 5:5: Break down the fence thereof. By this the prophet indicates that the walls of the towns shall be destroyed.”
  13. Nehemiah (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Nehemiah 1:3: 1:3 The wall of Jerusalem has been torn down: This probably refers to a recent setback in Jerusalem (see Ezra 4:6-23), not to the Babylonian conquest in 586 BC. • disgrace: Foreigners could gloat about the destroyed city, using it as evidence that Israel’s God was too weak to protect it (cp. Joel 2:17; Mic 7:8-10).”
  14. Sefaria (Jewish (Rabbinic)) “Rashi (Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki) on Isaiah 22:5: destroying the wall a day of destroying the wall.”
  15. Sefaria (Jewish (Rabbinic)) “Rashi (Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki) on Ezekiel 13:4: Like foxes in ruins When a man comes upon a breach in a ruin, the fox flees through another breach, and it does not stand in the breach to fight.”
  16. Nehemiah (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Nehemiah 4:3: Now Tobiah the Ammonite was by him,.... Who was one of his brethren he spake before, Neh 4:2, and he said; in the like contemptuous and scoffing manner: even that which they build, if a fox go up, he shall break down their stone wall; signifying not only that it was so low that a fox could easily get up to it, or leap over it; but that the materials were so bad, and the work so poorly done, that the weight of a fox would break it down; of which creatures many were thereabout, since Jerusalem was desolate, see Lam 5:18.”
  17. Nehemiah (Lutheran) “Keil & Delitzsch on Nehemiah 4:3: Tobiah the Ammonite, standing near Sanballat, and joining in in his raillery, adds: "Even that which they build, if a fox go up he will break their stone wall;" i.e., even if they build up walls, the light footsteps of the stealthy fox will suffice to tread them down, and to make breaches in their work.”
  18. 2 Kings (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on 2 Kings 14:13: 14:13-14 The extensive demolition of Jerusalem’s wall and the thorough looting of the city testify to Jehoash’s overwhelming victory. Carrying off Temple and palace treasures and taking hostages are often noted in the annals of victorious Assyrian kings. See also 12:17-18; 18:13-15; 24:13-14; 25:8-21; 1 Kgs 14:25-26.”
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