Exodus 23 · Verse 28

Exodus 23:28

And I will send hornets before thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before thee.
Exodus 23:28, King James Version

Exodus 23:28 in other translations

BSBI will send the hornet before you to drive the Hivites and Canaanites and Hittites out of your way.
WEBI will send the hornet before you, which will drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before you.
ASVAnd I will send the hornet before thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before thee.
YLT‘And I have sent the hornet before thee, and it hath cast out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before thee;
DARBYAnd I will send hornets before thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before thee.
BBEI will send hornets before you, driving out the Hivite and the Canaanite and the Hittite before your face.
WebsterAnd I will send hornets before thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite from before thee.

What does Exodus 23:28 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
28. I will send hornets before thee, &c. (See on Jos 24:12)--Some instrument of divine judgment, but variously interpreted: as hornets in a literal sense [Bochart]; as a pestilential disease [Rosenmuller]; as a terror of the Lord, an extraordinary dejection [Junius].

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 28 I will send hornets before thee - הצרעה hatstsirah. The root is not found in Hebrew, but it may be the same with the Arabic saraa, to lay prostrate, to strike down; the hornet, probably so called from the destruction occasioned by the violence of its sting. The hornet, in natural history, belongs to the species crabro, of the genus vespa or wasp; it is a most voracious insect, and is exceedingly strong for its size, which is generally an inch in length, though I have seen some an inch and a half long, and so strong that, having caught one in a small pair of forceps, it repeatedly escaped by using violent contortions, so that at last I was obliged to abandon all hopes of securing it alive, which I wished to have done. How distressing and destructive a multitude of these might be, any person may conjecture; even the bees of one hive would be sufficient to sting a thousand men to madness, but how much worse must wasps and hornets be! No armor, no weapons, could avail against these. A few thousands of them would be quite sufficient to throw the best disciplined army into confusion and rout. From Jos 24:12, we find that two kings of the Amorites were actually driven out of the land by these hornets, so that the Israelites were not obliged to use either sword or bow in the conquest.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Exodus 23:20-33

It is here promised that they should be guided and kept in their way through the wilderness to the land of promise, Behold, I send an angel before thee, mine angel. The precept joined with this promise is, that they be obedient to this angel whom God would send before them. Christ is the Angel of Jehovah; this is plainly taught by St. Paul, 1Co 10:9. They should have a comfortable settlement in the land of Canaan…

Read the full comment on Exodus 23:20-33 →

Exodus 23:28 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וְשָׁלַחְתִּ֥יve.sha.lach.Tiand I will sendH7971
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
הַצִּרְעָ֖הha.tzir.'Ahthe hornetH6880
לְפָנֶ֑יךָle.fa.Nei.kha<to> before youH6440
וְגֵרְשָׁ֗הve.ge.re.Shahand it will drive outH1644
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
הַחִוִּ֧יha.chi.Vithe Hivite[s]H2340
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
הַֽכְּנַעֲנִ֛יha.ke.na.'a.Nithe Canaanite[s]H3669
וְאֶת\־ve.'Etand <obj.>H853
הַחִתִּ֖יha.chi.Tithe Hittite[s]H2850
מִלְּפָנֶֽיךָ\׃mi.le.fa.Nei.khafrom to before youH6440

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Exodus 23:28

  • Deuteronomy 7:20

    Moreover the Lord thy God will send the hornet among them, until they that are left, and hide themselves from thee, be destroyed.

  • Joshua 24:11-12

    And ye went over Jordan, and came unto Jericho: and the men of Jericho fought against you, the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; and I delivered them into your hand. 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.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
hornets.{Tzirâh,} The hornet, may be so called from the Arabic {zaraâ,} to lay prostrate, strike down, because of the destruction occasioned by the violence of its sting. The hornet, in natural history, belongs to the species Crabro, of the genus Vespa or Wasp. It is a most voracious insect, and exceedingly strong for its size, which is generally an inch in length.
De 7:20; Jos 24:11

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Exodus 23:27

    I will send my fear before thee, and will destroy all the people to whom thou shalt come, and I will make all thine enemies turn their backs unto thee.

  • Exodus 23:28

    And I will send hornets before thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before thee.

  • Exodus 23:29

    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.

Read all of Exodus 23

Exodus 23:28 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Yo enviaré la avispa delante de ti, que eche fuera al Heveo, y al Cananeo, y al Hetheo, de delante de ti:
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et j’enverrai des frelons devant toi, et ils chasseront le Hévien, le Cananéen et le Héthien de devant toi.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und ich werde die Hornisse vor dir hersenden, daß sie vor dir vertreibe die Hewiter, die Kanaaniter und die Hethiter.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		emittens crabrones prius, qui fugabunt Hevæum, et Chananæum, et Hethæum, antequam introëas.