UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament

Sense 1: fox, jackal

Semantic entry: 4.10

Semantic domains: Animals

Subdomains: Animals

Definition: animal looking like a longhaired dog with a pointed nose and a bushy tail; either reddish with white underparts (fox) or yellowish brown with red tips to the fur on the back (jackal); scavenger; associated with destruction and devastation, and also with being insignificant but self-important; also intelligent and quick-witted, crafty

Notes: Though the Greek term ἀλώπηξ and the corresponding Hebrew terms used in the OT may refer to either a fox or a jackal, ἀλώπηξ in the NT seems to refer primarily to a fox (see Fauna and Flora of the Bible, pp. 31-32, for certain significant distinctions between foxes and jackals).|In areas of the world where the fox is not known, one can sometimes speak of ‘a small wild dog’ or ‘an animal like a small wild dog.’ In other instances translators have borrowed the term ‘fox’ from a dominant language in the area and have then explained the appearance and habits of the animal in a glossary.|For ἀλώπηξ in a figurative sense as applied by Jesus to Herod Antipas, see 88.120: ἀλώπηξ.

Further resources: fauna:2.22

Sense 2: wicked person, cunning person, fox

Semantic entry: 88.120

Semantic domains: Moral and Ethical Qualities and Related Behavior

Subdomains: Bad, Evil, Harmful, Damaging

Definition: (a figurative extension of meaning of ἀλώπηξ[a] ‘fox,’ 4.10: ἀλώπηξ) a wicked person, probably with the implication of being cunning and treacherous

Notes: Some scholars, however, suggest that ἀλώπηξ in RV LUK 13:32 · LV LUK 13:32 · Read together LUK 13:32 may imply ‘worthlessness.’|Rendering ἀλώπηξ in RV LUK 13:32 · LV LUK 13:32 · Read together LUK 13:32 by a term meaning ‘fox’ may sometimes be misleading, since in some cultures the fox is regarded as a particularly wise animal, and therefore referring to a person as a fox may be a compliment. A local term for ‘fox’ may have other connotations which are quite undesirable. For example, in some languages a term for fox is used to designate a male or female prostitute, usually of the lowest grade.