jackal

Everyday

1. A jackal is a wild animal like a small, thin dog that lives in Africa and Asia and eats small animals and leftovers from other hunters. tree →
2. (informal) A jackal can mean a sneaky person who takes advantage of others' work or misfortune. tree →

In the lessons

In nature lessons, jackals are hunters and scavengers that help clean up the savanna; they often live in pairs for life. In history lessons on Ancient Egypt, the god Anubis has a jackal's head. In stories and fables, the jackal is often a sly trickster.

Examples

• A jackal crept towards the leftover meat. tree →
• Jackals howl at night on the savanna. tree →
• Anubis, the Egyptian god, had a jackal's head. tree →
• The jackal is a cousin of the dog and the wolf. tree →
• In the fable, the clever jackal tricks the lion. tree →
• Jackals live in pairs and raise their pups together. tree →
• We heard jackals calling in the dark. tree →

Note

Countable: jackals. Pronounced «JACK-ul». A jackal is not a hyena, though both scavenge; hyenas are a different family.

In Jewish tradition

The jackal lived in wild, empty places and ruins, so it often stands for desolation.

Interpretation. The prophets use jackals to describe cities that have been destroyed, such as Babylon, and tradition reads this as a warning that sin leads to ruin.

Examples

• I am become a brother to jackals, and a companion to ostriches. (Writings JOB.30.29, JPS 1917) tree →
• And Babylon shall become heaps, a dwelling-place for jackals, an astonishment, and a hissing, without inhabitant. (Prophets JER.51.37, JPS 1917) tree →
• Though Thou hast crushed us into a place of jackals, and covered us with the shadow of death. (Writings PSA.44.20, JPS 1917) tree →

Note

Countable: jackals. Pronounced «JACK-ul». A jackal is not a hyena, though both scavenge; hyenas are a different family.