מדרש על דניאל 4:17

It is not written (Exodus 15:7) "He has consumed them as stubble," but "He will consume them as stubble" — in time to come, viz. (Ovadiah 1:18) "And the house of Yaakov will be fire, and the house of Joseph, flame, and the house of Esav, stubble, and they will ignite them and consume them, etc." And it is written (Zechariah 12:6) "On that day I will make the chieftains of Judah like a stove — fire (burning) wood, torch (burning) sheaf, etc." All woods, when they burn, their sound is not heard; but stubble, when it burns, it crackles and is heard. Thus did the sound of Egypt, in its destruction, make itself heard. All woods, when they burn, leave a trace; but stubble, when it burns, leaves no trace. And the L rd said (Isaiah 43:17) "They (the chariots of Egypt) all lie together, never to rise, snuffed out like flax" — to teach that there was no kingdom so abject as that of Egypt, but it seized power for the moment towards the aggrandizement of Israel. When the (other) kingdoms are symbolized, they are symbolized as cedars, viz. (Ezekiel 31:3) "Behold, Ashur, a cedar in the Levanon," and (Amos 2:9) "And I destroyed the Emori from before them, whose height was as the height of cedars, etc.", and (Daniel 4:17) "The tree (Bavel) that you have seen, etc." And when Egypt is symbolized, it is symbolized only as stubble, viz. "He will consume them as stubble." And when the (other) kingdoms are symbolized, they are symbolized as silver and gold (Ibid. 2:32) "This statue, its head of fine gold, etc." And when Egypt is symbolized, it is symbolized only as lead, viz. (Exodus 15:10) "they sank as lead." And when the (other) kingdoms are symbolized, they are symbolized as beasts, viz. (Daniel 7:3) "and four immense beasts, etc." And when Egypt is symbolized, it is symbolized only as a fox, viz. (Song of Songs 2:15) "Seize for us the foxes, etc." Antoninus asked Rabbeinu Hakadosh: I want to go to Alexandria. Is it possible that a king will arise there who will beat me? He answered: I do not know. In any event, we have it in writing that Egypt is incapable of establishing either a king or a governor, viz. (Ezekiel 29:15) "Of all the kingdoms it (Egypt) will be the lowest, and it will not exalt itself again among the nations. And I will diminish them, so that they not dominate the nations."

“Catch foxes for us, little foxes that ruin the vineyards, as our vineyards are in bloom” (Song of Songs 2:15).
“Catch foxes for us.” When [God] analogizes the kingdoms, He analogizes them only to fire; that is what is written: “I will direct My attention against them; they have emerged from the fire, but fire will consume them” (Ezekiel 15:7). But when He analogizes the Egyptians, he analogizes them with something that is consumed by fire. That is what is written: “It dwindled and extinguished like flax” (Isaiah 43:17). When He analogizes the kingdoms, He analogizes them only to silver and gold, is that not what is written: “That image, its head was of fine gold” (Daniel 2:32). When He analogizes the Egyptians, He analogizes them only to lead, as it is stated: “They sank like lead” (Exodus 15:10).
When He analogizes the kingdoms, he analogizes them only to cedars, is that not what is written: “Behold, Assyria is a cedar in Lebanon” (Ezekiel 31:3); and it is written: “The tree that you saw that grew [and was strong, whose height reached to heaven]” (Daniel 4:17); and it is written: “I destroyed the Emorite from before them, [whose height was like the height of cedars]” (Amos 2:9). When He analogizes the Egyptians, He analogizes them only to straw, as it is stated: “He will consume them like straw” (Exodus 15:7).
When He analogizes the kingdoms, He analogizes them only to beasts, as it is stated: “Four great beasts arose from the sea, each different from the other” (Daniel 7:3); and it is written: “The first was like a lion” (Daniel 7:4). When He analogizes the Egyptians, He analogizes them only to foxes, as it is stated: “Catch [eḥezu] foxes for us.”¹³⁵The verse is interpreted by the midrash to mean: “Foxes would catch us.” Thus, the Egyptians are compared to foxes. [The Egyptians] monitored them to cast them into the Nile.
Rabbi Elazar ben Rabbi Shimon said: The Egyptians were cunning; therefore He likens them to foxes. Just as the fox looks behind itself, so the Egyptians would look to their end and say: ‘How shall we destroy them? [If] we destroy them in fire, is it not already stated: “For the Lord will judge with fire”? (Isaiah 66:16). [If] we destroy them by the sword, is it not written: “And with His sword all flesh”? (Isaiah 66:16). Rather, let us destroy them in water, as the Holy One blessed be He has already taken an oath that He will never again bring a flood to the world, as it is written: “For this is for Me like the waters of Noah; [as I took an oath that the waters of Noah would no longer pass over the earth]”’ (Isaiah 54:9). The Holy One blessed be He said to them: ‘By your lives, I will drag each and every one of you to his own flood,’ as it is stated: “They will be hurled [yagiruhu] to the sword [ḥarev]; they will be a portion for the foxes [shualim]” (Psalms 63:11).“They will be hurled to the sword [ḥarev],” these are the wicked, who will be dragged to the dry seabed.¹³⁶The midrash interprets the verse to mean: He will entice [yegareh] them with dry land [ḥorev], into the waters of the sea [sha’al yam]. “They will be a portion for the foxes,” let this portion be designated for the foxes.¹³⁷The Egyptians. Rabbi Berekhya said: The first instance of foxes [shualim] is written full and the second defective;¹³⁸The first instance is written with a vav, and the second is written without a vav. However, it should be noted that traditionally the text appears with both words missing the vav. the foxes [shualim] will descend to the seabed [shaal yam].¹³⁹The first appearance of the word includes the vav so that it must be read shualim¸ whereas the second time it does not include the vav so that it may be read shaalim, or sha’al yam.