Exodus 23:29
in Exodus 23I will not drive them out before you in a single year; otherwise the land would become desolate and wild animals would multiply against you.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
I will not drive them out from before thee in one year, lest the land become desolate, and the beasts of the field multiply against thee.
KJV
I will not drive them out from before thee in one year; lest the land become desolate, and the beast of the field multiply against thee.
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This verse in Exodus 23
Commentary
4 notes on this verseThis 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 Awakening2 voices
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
I will not drive them out from before thee in one year,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Beast of the field - i. e. destructive animals.
The words behind it
13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| לֹ֧א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| אֲגָרְשֶׁ֛נּוּ | ʾagareshenu | I will drive out it | H1644 → | 46 times |
| מִפָּנֶ֖יךָ | mipaneikha | from before you | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| בְּשָׁנָ֣ה | beshanah | in a year | H8141 → | 877 times |
| אֶחָ֑ת | ʾechat | one | H259 → | 971 times |
| פֶּן־ | pen- | lest | H6435 → | 133 times |
| תִּהְיֶ֤ה | tihyeh | it should become | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| הָאָ֙רֶץ֙ | haaretz | the land | H776 → | 2504 times |
| שְׁמָמָ֔ה | shemamah | a waste | H8077 → | |
| וְרַבָּ֥ה | verabah | and it will become many | H7231 → | |
| עָלֶ֖יךָ | ʾaleikha | on you | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| חַיַּ֥ת | chaiyat | [the] animal[s] of | H2416 → | 498 times |
| הַשָּׂדֶֽה׃ | hasadeh | the field | H7704 → | 334 times |
לֹ֧אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
אֲגָרְשֶׁ֛נּוּI will drive out it
ʾagareshenuH1644 →46 times
מִפָּנֶ֖יךָfrom before you
mipaneikhaH6440 →2123 times
בְּשָׁנָ֣הin a year
beshanahH8141 →877 times
אֶחָ֑תone
ʾechatH259 →971 times
פֶּן־lest
pen-H6435 →133 times
תִּהְיֶ֤הit should become
tihyehH1961 →3559 times
הָאָ֙רֶץ֙the land
haaretzH776 →2504 times
שְׁמָמָ֔הa waste
shemamahH8077 →
וְרַבָּ֥הand it will become many
verabahH7231 →
עָלֶ֖יךָon you
ʾaleikhaH5921 →5755 times
חַיַּ֥ת[the] animal[s] of
chaiyatH2416 →498 times
הַשָּׂדֶֽה׃the field
hasadehH7704 →334 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Deuteronomy 7:22The LORD your God will drive out these nations before you little by little. You will not be enabled to eliminate them all at once, or the wild animals would multiply around you.
it leads to
- Exodus 23:29–30
I will not drive them out before you in a single year; otherwise the land would become desolate and wild animals would multiply against you.
- Exodus 23:29–30
Through
Joshua 16:10But they did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer. So the Canaanites dwell among the Ephraimites to this day, but they are forced laborers.
it leads to
- Judges 1:29
Ephraim also failed to drive out the Canaanites living in Gezer; so the Canaanites continued to dwell among them in Gezer.
- Deuteronomy 7:1–2
When the LORD your God brings you into the land that you are entering to possess, and He drives out before you many nations—the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, seven nations…
- 1 Kings 9:16
Pharaoh king of Egypt had attacked and captured Gezer. He had set it on fire, killed the Canaanites who lived in the city, and given it as a dowry to his daughter, Solomon’s wife.
- Joshua 17:13
However, when the Israelites grew stronger, they put the Canaanites to forced labor; but they failed to drive them out completely.
- Judges 1:29
Through
Joshua 15:63But the descendants of Judah could not drive out the Jebusites living in Jerusalem. So to this day the Jebusites live there among the descendants of Judah.
it leads to
- Judges 1:21
The Benjamites, however, failed to drive out the Jebusites living in Jerusalem. So to this day the Jebusites live there among the Benjamites.
- Judges 1:8
Then the men of Judah fought against Jerusalem and captured it. They put the city to the sword and set it on fire.
- 2 Samuel 5:6–9
Now the king and his men marched to Jerusalem against the Jebusites who inhabited the land. The Jebusites said to David: “You will never get in here. Even the blind and lame can repel…
- Judges 1:21
Where this verse is studied
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About Exodus
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); 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.