Joshua 24:12
in Joshua 24I sent the hornet ahead of you, and it drove out the two Amorite kings before you, but not by your own sword or bow.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And I sent the hornet before you, which drove them out from before you, even the two kings of the Amorites; not with thy sword, nor with thy bow.
KJV
And I sent the hornet before you, which drave them out from before you, even the two kings of the Amorites; but not with thy sword, nor with thy bow.
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This verse in Joshua 24
Commentary
8 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
I sent the hornet before you--a particular species of wasp which swarms in warm countries and sometimes assumes the scourging character of a plague; or, as many think, it is a figurative expression for uncontrollable terror (see on Ex 23:28).
This site's exposition
you crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho
on Joshua 24:11-13
Verse 11 names the seven nations of Deuteronomy 7:1, and the hornet, promised at Exodus 23:28 and Deuteronomy 7:20, appears only in those three places. Readers take it as literal swarms or, with Keil and Delitzsch, as a figure for the terror that ran ahead of Israel.
This site's exposition
the two Amorite kings
The two kings are Sihon and Og, named at 9:10. Psalm 44:3 says the same of the whole conquest, that Israel did not take the land by its own sword. Jacob at Genesis 48:22 had spoken of land taken from the Amorites with my sword and bow.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
What does it mean when Joshua, the son of Nun, says among other things which he recalls that the Lord had done for the Israelites: "He sent wasps before you and drove out the Canaanites from your face"? One also finds that statement in the book of Wisdom, but nonetheless one cannot find any account of such a thing taking place. But perhaps "wasps" ought to be understood in a metaphorical sense to mean the sharp stings of fear, by which they were stung in a way as rumors flew about, so that they fled. Or wasps may refer to the invisible spirits of the air, as it says in the psalm, "through wicked angels." Perhaps someone will say that not everything which took place has been written down and that the incident with the wasps also took place in a visible manner, so that this passage should be understood to refer to real wasps.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
These dreadful swarms which first appeared in their war with Sihon and Og, tormented them with their stings and terrified them with their noise, so that they became an easy prey to Israel. God had promised to do this for them, Exod. xxiii, 27, 28, and here Joshua observes the fulfilling the promise.
And I sent the hornet before you,....
God had promised to do this for them, Exod. xxiii. And here Joshua takes notice of the fulfilling of that promise. These hornets, it should seem, annoyed the enemy more than the artillery of Israel, and therefore he adds, not with thy sword nor bow.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
I sent the hornet before you - See the note on Exo 23:28.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
The people of Yericho went to war against you. As did the Emorites, the Perezites etc. 5 Why were these nations involved in the battle of Yericho? All these seven nations are mentioned here because Yericho is on the border, and was the bolt and lock of Eretz Yisroel.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 6 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וָאֶשְׁלַ֤ח | vaeshlach | and I sent | H7971 → | 845 times |
| לִפְנֵיכֶם֙ | lifneikhem | <to> before you | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַצִּרְעָ֔ה | hatzirah | the hornet | H6880 → | |
| וַתְּגָ֤רֶשׁ | vategaresh | and it drove out | H1644 → | |
| אוֹתָם֙ | ʾotam | <obj.> them | H853 → | 10935 times |
| מִפְּנֵיכֶ֔ם | mipeneikhem | from before you | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| שְׁנֵ֖י | shenei | [the] two | H8147 → | 768 times |
| מַלְכֵ֣י | malkhei | [the] kings of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| הָאֱמֹרִ֑י | haemori | the Amorite[s] | H567 → | 87 times |
| לֹ֥א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| בְחַרְבְּךָ֖ | vecharbekha | by sword your | H2719 → | 413 times |
| וְלֹ֥א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| בְקַשְׁתֶּֽךָ׃ | vekashtecha | by bow your | H7198 → |
וָאֶשְׁלַ֤חand I sent
vaeshlachH7971 →845 times
לִפְנֵיכֶם֙<to> before you
lifneikhemH6440 →2123 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הַצִּרְעָ֔הthe hornet
hatzirahH6880 →
וַתְּגָ֤רֶשׁand it drove out
vategareshH1644 →
אוֹתָם֙<obj.> them
ʾotamH853 →10935 times
מִפְּנֵיכֶ֔םfrom before you
mipeneikhemH6440 →2123 times
שְׁנֵ֖י[the] two
sheneiH8147 →768 times
מַלְכֵ֣י[the] kings of
malkheiH4428 →2525 times
הָאֱמֹרִ֑יthe Amorite[s]
haemoriH567 →87 times
לֹ֥אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
בְחַרְבְּךָ֖by sword your
vecharbekhaH2719 →413 times
וְלֹ֥אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
בְקַשְׁתֶּֽךָ׃by bow your
vekashtechaH7198 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
3 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
Exodus 23:28I will send the hornet before you to drive the Hivites and Canaanites and Hittites out of your way.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 7:20
Moreover, the LORD your God will send the hornet against them until even the survivors hiding from you have perished.
- Joshua 24:11–12
After this, you crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho. The people of Jericho fought against you, as did the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites, and Jebusites, and I delivered them into your…
- Deuteronomy 7:20
Through
Deuteronomy 7:20Moreover, the LORD your God will send the hornet against them until even the survivors hiding from you have perished.
it leads to
- Exodus 23:28–30
I will send the hornet before you to drive the Hivites and Canaanites and Hittites out of your way.
- Exodus 23:28–30
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies11
On this verse
On this chapter
About Joshua
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Augustine of Hippo, QUESTIONS ON JOSHUA 27; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, Ruth and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.