Foxes have dens
The mention of "foxes" in this context is symbolic. In the ancient Near East, foxes were often seen as cunning and resourceful creatures. The Greek word "ἀλώπεκες" (alopekes) refers to these animals that are able to find shelter and security. This imagery contrasts with Jesus' own situation, highlighting the irony that even these creatures have a place of rest, while He does not.

and birds of the air have nests
"Birds of the air" refers to the common birds that were part of the everyday landscape in Israel. The Greek word "πετεινά" (peteina) is used here, which can mean any flying creature. The "nests" symbolize a place of safety and belonging. This phrase further emphasizes the natural order where even the simplest creatures have a home, underscoring the humility and sacrifice of Jesus' earthly ministry.

but the Son of Man
This title, "Son of Man," is significant in the Gospels and is used by Jesus to refer to Himself. The Greek "ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου" (ho huios tou anthrōpou) has roots in the Old Testament, particularly in the book of Daniel (Daniel 7:13-14), where it denotes a messianic figure with authority and glory. Jesus uses this title to assert His identity and mission, while also emphasizing His humanity and connection to all people.

has no place to lay His head
This phrase poignantly captures the transient and sacrificial nature of Jesus' ministry. The Greek "οὐκ ἔχει ποῦ τὴν κεφαλὴν κλίνῃ" (ouk echei pou tēn kephalēn klinē) literally means "has not where the head he might lay." It reflects the reality that Jesus, despite His divine authority, chose a life of poverty and itinerancy. This statement serves as a powerful reminder of the cost of true discipleship and the call to prioritize spiritual over material security.

Nests.--The word is sufficient for popular use, but, strictly speaking, the "nest" belongs only to the brooding season of a bird's life, and the Greek word has the wider meaning of "shelter."

The Son of man.--The passage is remarkable as the first in this Gospel in which the name occurs which was afterwards so prominent in our Lord's teaching, and this is accordingly the right place for tracing the history and significance of that title.

As found in the Old Testament, the term is the literal translation of the Hebrew ben-adam, the latter word expressing the generic weakness and frailty of man's nature, as the Hebrew ish expresses its greatness and its strength. It stands therefore as representing man idealised under that one aspect of his being. "What is man that Thou art mindful of him, and the son of man that Thou visitest him?" (Psalm 8:4); "Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man in whom is no help" (Psalm 146:3), are instances of its use in this meaning. In some passages our version expresses the same thought by rendering the "sons of Adam" and the "sons of Ish "as" low and high" (Psalm 49:2), or the former word alone as "men of low degree" (Psalm 62:9). The title received a new prominence about the time of the Captivity from its use in Ezekiel's prophecies. There it appears frequently (not fewer than eighty-seven times in all) as the title with which the prophet is addressed by the voice of Jehovah. We can scarcely doubt that it was used there in all the fulness of its earlier meaning, and was designed to teach the prophet that, amid all the greatness of his work, he was still subject to all the weakness and temptations of man's nature, and ought therefore to have compassion on their infirmities. Yet a fresh aspect of the name was presented in the mysterious vision of Daniel 7:13, in which "One like the Son of Man came with the clouds of heaven, and was brought to the Ancient of Days, . . . and there was given unto Him dominion and glory and a kingdom." The word used is not, it is true, benadam, but bar-enosh, but there is no traceable distinction of meaning between the two. Here, then, the thought manifestly was this, that One who shared man's weakness, should also be a sharer of God's glory, and be the Head of the divine kingdom. The prominence which the Maccabean struggles gave to the predictions of Daniel drew attention to the name as it had thus been used. The "Son of Man" became one of the titles of the expected Christ. The Targum or Paraphrase of the Psalms (probably earlier than our Lord's ministry) explains even such a passage as Psalm 80:17 ("the son of man whom thou madest so strong for thine own self") as referring to the Christ. So when the crowd at Jerusalem are questioning in their hearts whether Jesus was the Christ, they are not startled at this application of the name, and their question, "Who is this Son of Man?" is the utterance of their wonder that things so unlike what they expected of the Christ should be predicted of One who claimed the title (John 12:34). It was accordingly, with these ideas attached to it--involving at once fellowship with the lowest of the heirs of our humanity, and yet also participation in the eternal glory of the Highest--that our Lord claimed the title, and used it with such marvellous frequency. We might almost say that it serves as the chief connecting-link between the teaching of the first three Gospels and the fourth. It appears thirty-two times in St. Matthew, fourteen in St. Mark, twenty-six in St. Luke, and twelve times in St. John. It is remarkable that it never passed into the current language of the Apostolic Church, nor into the theological or liturgical phraseology of Christendom. It is not used in any one of the Epistles. Outside the Gospels it is found only in the exclamation of Stephen (Acts 7:56), with a manifest reference to Daniel 7:13, and possibly in the visions of the Apocalypse (Revelation 1:13; Revelation 14:14). The minds of believers loved to dwell on the glory of the risen Christ, and apparently looked on this as belonging rather to the time of His humiliation. Its absence from the other books of the New Testament, and its presence in the Gospels is, at all events, an indication that the latter were not the after-growth of a later age. . . .