fox

The Greek and Hebrew that is translated as “foxes” in English is translated in Mam as “weasel.” Ron Ross explains: “Foxes is often a difficult concept to express in this part of the world. The Mayas don’t seem to know them. In the Mam project we finally put ‘weasel’ rather than ‘coyote,’ which were basically our choices.”

In Toraja-Sa’dan it is translated as sindallung or “civet cat.” H. van der Veen (in The Bible Translator 1950, p. 21 ff. ) explains: “This animal is a real chicken thief, and is a type of cat with a head resembling that of a fox.”

In Noongar, it is translated as mokiny or “dingo” (in Luke 9:58) (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang).

See also fox (Herod).

Translation commentary on Nehemiah 4:3

Tobiah the Ammonite was by him: Tobiah was a close ally and friend of Sanballat (see Neh 2.10, 19). Good News Translation makes it explicit that “Tobiah was standing there beside” Sanballat.

Yes … if a fox goes up on it he will break down their stone wall!: Tobiah also resorted to ridicule. Yes emphasizes the intensity of his ridicule. The construction of the wall would be done so fast and so poorly that even if a fox goes up on it he will break down their stone wall! The exclamation point emphasizes the strong ridicule of this statement. Two interpretations of Tobiah’s scornful remark are apparent in the various translations. In one interpretation, the focus is on the fox who will break down the wall or will make a breach in it either deliberately (Good News Translation, Nouvelle Bible Segond) or accidentally (Revised Standard Version). In the other interpretation, the focus is on the wall that will be so weak and so poorly built that even a fox happening to climb on it will cause it to break down or crumble (Bible en français courant, New Living Translation). This Handbook prefers the second interpretation. Good News Translation restructures Tobiah’s words into a rhetorical question followed by a statement.

Although the Hebrew word rendered fox can also mean jackal, here most translations take it to refer to the fox. Foxes and jackals are similar animals. They are like dogs in appearance and habits. A fox is often alone while jackals are often in groups. If the fox is not known in the receptor culture, the term for jackal may be used, or it may be described as “an animal that is like a wild dog.” The animal referred to here should be distinguished, however, from the animal that is sometimes called the “wild dog” or the “hunting dog”.

Quoted with permission from Noss, Philip A. and Thomas, Kenneth J. A Handbook on Nehemiah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2005. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .