FOWLER (foul'ar), (Heb. yaw-koosh', to lay snares, Ps. xci:3; Prov. vi:5; Jer. v:26; Hos. ix:8), one who took birds by means of nets, snares, decoys, etc.
Among the Egyptians "fowling was one of the great amusements of all classes. Those who fol lowed this sport for their livelihood used nets and traps, but the amateur sportsman pursued his game in the thickets and felled them with the throw stick . . . The throw-stick was made of heavy wood, and flat, so as to offer little resistance to the air in its flight, and the distance to which an ex pert could throw it was considerable. It was about one foot and a quarter to two feet in length and about one and a half inches in breadth, slightly curved at the upper end. They frequently took with them a decoy bird, and, in order to keep it to its post, a female was selected, whose nest, con taining eggs, was deposited in the boat" (Wil kinson, Ancient Egyptians, i:234, sq). By a hu mane and just regulation Moses forbade anyone finding a bird's nest, to take the mother with the eggs or young (Deut. xxii :6, 7) lest the species be extinguished ; or, perhaps, to impress upon men the sacredness of the relation between parent and young.
FOX In several places it is uncertain whether Heb. shoo-awl' ; Gr. dXdirnE, al-o'fiakes, sig nifies fox orjackal (Lam. v:18; Ezek. xiii:4; Cant. ln others it probably means jackals (Judg. xv:4; Ps. lxiiiiro).
Under this term, as above indicated, the jackal is included—indeed. most of the references seem to be to that animal. The Orientals at the pres ent time do not distinguish in common language between the two creatures. Both are common in Palestine. The fox -(Vulpes vulgaris) is smaller than the jackal (Canis aureus). and is of a red
dish hue, while the latter is yellowish; hence its scientific name, meaning "the golden dog." It is the latter also, and not the fox. which devours the dead and follows the armies that he may feed on human bodies left behind (Ps. lxiii :ro). Both animals are omnivorous, but the jackal, which goes in packs, is even more destructive to the vineyards than the other (Cant. ii :r5). The crafty, artful nature of the fox is proverbial (Ezek. xiii :4 ; Luke xiii:32). He prowls singly for his prey of birds or small quadrupeds, which he takes by stratagem. Jackals are concealed by hundreds among the ruins, caves and gardens of Syria (Lam. v :18). At sunset they come forth, and both then and at intervals through the night the traveler hears their cry, resembling the confused wailingof many infants. (See SHUAL.) FiguratiVe. (r) False prophets and teachers are likened to foxes; how crafty ! how obstinate in their evil way ! how uneven and inconsistent their doctrine and practice 1 (Ezek. xiii :4; Cant. ii :5). (2) Tyrants and other wicked men are likened to foxes for their craft, obstinacy in sin, and ruinous designs against others (Luke xiii: 32). (3) Inward sinful lusts resemble foxes; how crafty, stubborn, abominable and ruinous to the souls of men ! and how hurtful to the graces of the saints ! (Cant. ii:r5). (4) To be the por tion of foxes is for men to have their land or habitation rendered desolate and ruinous, and themselves left unburied (Ps. lxiii :10). (5) The fox's fondness for grapes is alluded to in Cant. ii 35.