Exodus 23:30
in Exodus 23Little by little I will drive them out ahead of you, until you become fruitful and possess the land.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, until thou be increased, and inherit the land.
KJV
By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, until thou be increased, and inherit the land.
⋯
This verse in Exodus 23
Commentary
3 notes on this verseBy little and little I will drive them out from before thee,.... Not the beasts of the field, but the inhabitants of Canaan, who were left partly to keep up the cities and towns, that they might not fall to ruin, and to till the land, that it might not be desolate; and partly to be trials and exercises to the people of Israel, and to prove whether they would serve the Lord or not.
This site's exposition
I will not drive them out before you in a single year
on Exodus 23:29-30
The conquest is to be slow for a practical reason, since an emptied land goes wild and “wild animals would multiply against you”. “Little by little” matches the giving of the land to Israel's own growth, so the land comes as fast as the nation can hold it.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Canaan has room enough to receive Israel, but Israel is not numerous enough to occupy Canaan. We are not straitened in God; if we are straitened, it is in ourselves. The land of Canaan is promised them (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
The words behind it
10 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| מְעַ֥ט | meat | little | H4592 → | 101 times |
| מְעַ֛ט | meat | little | H4592 → | 101 times |
| אֲגָרְשֶׁ֖נּוּ | ʾagareshenu | I will drive out it | H1644 → | 46 times |
| מִפָּנֶ֑יךָ | mipaneikha | from before you | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| עַ֚ד | ʾad | until | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | that | H834 → | 5497 times |
| תִּפְרֶ֔ה | tifreh | you will be fruitful | H6509 → | |
| וְנָחַלְתָּ֖ | venachalta | and you will possess | H5157 → | 59 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הָאָֽרֶץ׃ | haaretz | the land | H776 → | 2504 times |
מְעַ֥טlittle
meatH4592 →101 times
מְעַ֛טlittle
meatH4592 →101 times
אֲגָרְשֶׁ֖נּוּI will drive out it
ʾagareshenuH1644 →46 times
מִפָּנֶ֑יךָfrom before you
mipaneikhaH6440 →2123 times
עַ֚דuntil
ʾadH5704 →1261 times
אֲשֶׁ֣רthat
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
תִּפְרֶ֔הyou will be fruitful
tifrehH6509 →
וְנָחַלְתָּ֖and you will possess
venachaltaH5157 →59 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הָאָֽרֶץ׃the land
haaretzH776 →2504 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies6
About Exodus
This page draws on John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.