In the Book of Malachi, God says that he has left the kingdom of Esau to jackals. Malachi 1:3 describes Esau’s territory, identified with Edom, as a desolate inheritance given to “the jackals of the wilderness.” The passage contrasts Esau with Jacob and presents Edom’s ruined landscape as evidence of divine judgment.
Esau is the biblical ancestor associated with the Edomites, a people who lived south of Judah in the rugged region around Mount Seir. Malachi was addressing the post-exilic Jewish community, probably in the fifth century BCE, when questions about God’s covenant and Israel’s fortunes were especially pressing. The prophecy uses the destruction of Edom to reinforce the idea that God’s purposes for Israel would endure.
Some older English Bible translations use “dragons” or “wild dogs” instead of “jackals.” Those differences reflect changing English vocabulary and translation traditions rather than a separate animal intended by the passage. “Jackals” is the standard modern rendering and the canonical quiz answer.