◄ 8565. tan ►
Lexical Summary
tan: Jackal, dragon, or sea monster

Original Word: תַּן
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: tan
Pronunciation: tan
Phonetic Spelling: (tan)
KJV: dragon, whale
NASB: jackals
Word Origin: [from an unused root probably meaning to elongate]

1. a monster (as preternaturally formed), i.e. a sea-serpent (or other huge marine animal)
2. also a jackal (or other hideous land animal)

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
dragon, whale

From an unused root probably meaning to elongate; a monster (as preternaturally formed), i.e. A sea-serpent (or other huge marine animal); also a jackal (or other hideous land animal) -- dragon, whale. Compare tanniyn.

see HEBREW tanniyn

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
from an unused word
Definition
a jackal
NASB Translation
jackals (14).

Brown-Driver-Briggs
[תַּן] noun [masculine and] feminineLamentations 4:3 jackal (so most; TrNHB 109 ff., 263 f. Shipley-CookEncy. Bib. JACKAL; but wolf PostHast. DB DRAGON, compare CheIsaiah 13:22 and (rare) Arabic ); — plural תַּנִּים Micah 1:8 +, תַּנִּין Lamentations 4:3 (Ges§ 87e), לְתַנּוֺת Malachi 1:3 (si vera lectio; ᵐ5 Thes and others interpret = dwellings, Sta Now conjecture נְאוֺת, Marti נָתַתִּי לְ); — jackal, howling mournfully in waste places, Micah 1:8; Job 30:29 (both "" בְּנוֺת יַעֲנָה), Isaiah 13:22 ("" אִיִּים), in desert also Isaiah 43:20 ("" בְּנוֺת יַעֲנָה); deserted sites called ׳מְעוֺן ת Jeremiah 9:10; Jeremiah 10:22; Jeremiah 49:33; Jeremiah 51:37, ׳נְוֵה ת Isaiah 34:13; Isaiah 35:7, ׳מְקוֺם ת Psalms; מִדְבָּר ׳ת Malachi 1:3 (si vera lectio, but see above); ׳ת as snuffing up wind Jeremiah 14:6, giving suck Lamentations 4:3.

Topical Lexicon
Definition and Scope

Strong’s Hebrew 8565, תַּן (tan), designates the jackal. The form itself does not occur as an independent word in the preserved Masoretic text, but it stands behind the collective and plural usages that appear frequently under related spellings (for example, tannîm, tannîn). Because Scripture often treats the jackal collectively, the conceptual field of 8565 must be traced through those occurrences.

Place in the Animal Kingdom of Scripture

The jackal belongs to the category of wild, nocturnal scavengers. Alongside lions, wolves, bears, and hyenas, the jackal serves as one of the Bible’s principal symbols of desolation. While other animals may denote strength or majesty, the jackal more consistently evokes waste places, abandonment, and mourning.

Representative Biblical Passages

Job 30:29 records Job’s lament: “I have become a brother to jackals and a companion of ostriches,” picturing utter estrangement.

Psalm 44:19 notes, “But You have crushed us in the lair of jackals,” employing the animal as shorthand for exile and humiliation.

Isaiah 34:13; Jeremiah 9:11; Lamentations 5:18; and Malachi 1:3 likewise link jackals to ruined cities and uninhabited land. Although these verses employ plural forms, they illuminate the semantic range intended by the singular תַּן.

Historical and Cultural Setting

In the Ancient Near East the jackal was universally known for haunting burial grounds and devastated settlements. Archaeological strata of ruined towns in the Levant reveal bone scatters consistent with scavenging canids, and cuneiform texts speak of “city of jackals” as a proverbial curse. Such background explains why Hebrew writers intuitively chose the jackal to visualize covenant curses (Leviticus 26:22 implied) and prophetic judgments.

Symbolic and Prophetic Associations

1. Desolation after judgment

Jeremiah 10:22 describes an impending catastrophe: “The cities of Judah will be a habitation of jackals.” Here the animal embodies the fulfillment of covenant warnings where the land vomits out its inhabitants.

2. Lament and mourning

Micah 1:8 aligns personal grief with national calamity: “I will wail like jackals.” The animal’s shrill howl becomes a metaphor for the prophet’s voice, underlining the seriousness of sin and its consequences.

3. Contrasts with redemption

Isaiah 35:7 anticipates messianic restoration: “The haunt of jackals, their resting place, will become reeds and rushes.” The verse teaches that the LORD’s salvation reverses every indicator of curse—including the very presence of the jackal.

Practical Ministry Observations

• Preaching and Teaching: References to jackals provide vivid imagery for sermons on repentance, illustrating how sin devastates and leaves life barren until God intervenes.
• Counseling and Comfort: Job’s comparison with jackals reminds believers that seasons of extreme loneliness are recorded in Scripture and are not outside God’s sovereignty.
• Missions and Evangelism: The transformation of jackal-haunted lands into flourishing gardens (Isaiah 35) reinforces the hope of new creation offered in the gospel.

Theological Reflection

The biblical jackal underscores the moral universe in which creation itself reacts to human obedience or disobedience. Wilderness creatures are not random narrative details; they testify to the orderly, covenant-regulated world God governs. When divine judgment falls, jackals move in; when divine mercy restores, jackals depart. Thus even the humble תַּן participates in the larger redemptive account that culminates in the renewed earth where “the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:4).

Related Terms

• תַנִּין (tannîn) – sometimes translated “dragon” or “sea monster,” occasionally overlapping in meaning when signifying monstrous desolation.
• שׁוּעָל (shûʿāl) – “fox,” a distinct species but likewise used for desolation (Judges 15:4).

These terms should not be conflated with תַּן, yet their thematic resonance amplifies the imagery of waste places and divine retribution.

Conclusion

Though Strong’s 8565 does not surface in the text as an isolated form, its conceptual footprint is unmistakable. The jackal stands as a living commentary on sin’s ruin and God’s power to redeem. By attending to the broader usage of its cognate forms, readers gain a fuller appreciation of Scripture’s integrated testimony—from the desolated ruins of Isaiah’s prophecies to the exuberant restoration promised in the age to come.

Links
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