Exodus 23:28 · Bible study
Exodus 23:28 Commentary: Hornets, Promise, and God's Power
Hebrew · 9 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
What does God sending hornets mean? Explore literal and figurative interpretations of this promise, showing how God uses surprising means to fulfill
Research Summary
- Meaning: God promises to send the hornet as an instrument of judgment to drive out the Canaanite nations before Israel.
- Key words: Hornet (tsir'ah, H6880); send (shalach, H7971); drive out (garash, H1644).
- Main debate: Literal hornets, figurative terror/disease, or historical reference to Egyptian campaigns.
- Theological theme: God fights for His people using means that humble human pride and display His sovereignty.
- Best use: Teaching on God's faithfulness, His use of secondary causes, and the interplay between divine sovereignty and human responsibility.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
I will send the hornet before you to drive the Hivites and Canaanites and Hittites out of your way.
WEB World English Bible 2000
I will send the hornet before you, which will drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before you.
KJV King James Version 1769
And I will send hornets before thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before thee.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
And I will send the hornet before thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before thee.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
`And I have sent the hornet before thee, and it hath cast out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before thee;
Darby Darby Bible 1890
And I will send hornets before thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before thee.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
Sending out hornets before, that shall drive away the Hevite, and the Chanaanite, and the Hethite, before thou come in.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Yo enviaré la avispa delante de ti, que eche fuera al Heveo, y al Cananeo, y al Hetheo, de delante de ti:
Eu enviarei a vespa diante de ti, que lance fora aos heveus, e aos cananeus, e aos heteus, de diante de ti:
J’ enverrai les frelons devant toi, et ils chasseront loin de ta face les Héviens, les Cananéens et les Héthiens.
Ich will Hornissen vor dir her senden, die vor dir her ausjagen die Heviter, Kanaaniter und Hethiter.
Ik zal ook horzelen voor uw aangezicht zenden; die zullen van voor uw aangezicht uitstoten de Hevieten, de Kanaanieten en de Hethieten.
E manderò davanti a te i calabroni, che scacceranno gli Hivvei, i Cananei e gli Hittei dal tuo cospetto.
Poślę też szerszenie przed tobą, które wypędzą Hewejczyka, Chananejczyka, i Hetejczyka przed oblicznością twoją.
пошлю пред тобою шершней, и они погонят от лица твоего [Аморреев,] Евеев, [Иевусеев,] Хананеев и Хеттеев;
我要打發 黃蜂 飛在你前面，把 希未人、 迦南人、 赫人 攆出去。
I will send hornets before you, driving out the Hivite and the Canaanite and the Hittite before your face.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Exodus 23:28
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Most commentators agree that the hornet represents a divine act of judgment, whether as literal insects or as a symbol of terror sent by God. Adam Clarke takes the word at face value, pointing to Joshua 24:12 as historical evidence that hornets actually drove out two Amorite kings without Israel using sword or bow. John Calvin and Albert Barnes see the hornet figuratively, as a cause of panic and confusion, an extension of the “terror” already promised in verse 27. Gill's Exposition lists both possibilities, noting that even small creatures can accomplish God's purposes, while Jamieson-Fausset-Brown collects the main interpretive options: literal hornets, a pestilential disease, or extraordinary fear. Despite differences on the literal sense, all affirm that the outcome, driving out the Canaanites, comes entirely from God, not from Israel's strength.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- Literal hornets: Joshua 24:12 states God sent the hornet, and Israel used no sword or bow; Adam Clarke defends this historically.
- Figurative terror: Calvin and Barnes interpret the hornet as a symbol of confusion and panic, linked to the 'terror' in verse 27.
- Egyptian invasion: Ellicott suggests the hornet refers to Egyptian campaigns under Ramesses III that weakened the Canaanite states before Israel.
What is clear: God alone is the agent who drives out the nations, using means that require no human weaponry and that display His power over both creation and history.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Literal vs figurative hornet | All agree that God sends the hornet and that it accomplishes the driving out of the nations. | Some take it as literal insects (Clarke, Bochart); others as a symbol of divine terror or disease (Barnes, Calvin, Gill). |
| Which nations are named | The three named (Hivite, Canaanite, Hittite) represent the full list of Canaanite peoples. | Some suggest these three were especially affected by the hornet (Poole); others see them as the most troublesome enemies (Gill). |
| Human cooperation in conquest | God is the primary agent; Israel must also obey His commands and actively possess the land. | How much human effort is required alongside divine intervention? Verses 24, 33 call for obedience and separation from the nations. |
| Timing of the conquest | God promised a gradual, not instant, conquest (vv.29, 30). | No disagreement; this is accepted as God's wise accommodation to Israel's size and the land's condition. |
Historical & Cultural Context
Exodus 23:28 sits within a longer promise section (vv.20, 33) that follows the Book of the Covenant. God has given Israel laws; now He pledges to bring them into Canaan. The hornet appears in a sequence of divine interventions: the angel (v.23), terror (v.27), and then the hornet itself. Three nations are named, Hivite, Canaanite, Hittite, as representatives of the full list of seven nations (cf. Deuteronomy 7:1). These were well-established peoples with fortified cities and chariots, making the promise of their overthrow by insects or panic a striking display of God's power.
Canaanite culture was deeply tied to fertility gods and practices the Israelites were to avoid (v.24). The surrounding verses also stress a gradual conquest, not instant removal, so the land would not become desolate and overrun by wild animals (vv.29, 30). Historically, Joshua 24:12 records the fulfillment: “I sent the hornet before you, which drove them out before you, even the two kings of the Amorites; not with your sword, nor with your bow.” Some interpreters, like Ellicott, have suggested the “hornet” refers to Egyptian campaigns under Ramesses III that weakened the Canaanite states before Israel's invasion. Others, like Bochart, cite ancient accounts of people being driven from their land by wasps. The wide range of proposals shares one conviction: God used means that the Israelites could not claim as their own.
Textual Notes
The consulted sources note no significant textual variants for Exodus 23:28. The Hebrew text is stable across manuscripts, with הַּצִּרְעָה (hătstsirah) consistently rendered as “the hornet.” The ancient versions (LXX, Vulgate) agree with this reading.
Reception History
Early Christian writers, such as Origen, often read the hornet allegorically as an image of divine power humbling the proud. In the Reformation, Calvin and the Geneva Bible treated it as a figure for the terror God sends, while literalist interpreters like Bochart argued from ancient natural history for a real insect plague. Joshua 24:12 has always been the key anchor for understanding the verse, providing a concrete historical claim that the hornet accomplished what Israel could not. Modern scholarship has added the proposal that “the hornet” may refer to Egyptian military campaigns that weakened Canaan before the conquest, a view represented in Ellicott’s commentary. Across the centuries, the verse has been used to illustrate God’s sovereignty over creation and history, and His willingness to employ small or unexpected means to fulfill His promises.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- God keeps His promises. The exodus generation heard that the land would be theirs, and God specifies exactly how He will clear the way.
- God uses surprising means. Hornets, whether literal insects or panic, show that God is not limited by human strength or conventional warfare.
- God works gradually. The next two verses explain the timing: little by little, so that Israel can grow into the land without being overwhelmed.
Five-point outline
- The promise of the land. God has covenanted to give Canaan to Abraham’s descendants.
- The sending agent. God Himself sends the hornet; victory is His work.
- The targeted enemies. The Hivite, Canaanite, and Hittite represent all the nations that must be displaced.
- The result. The hornet drives them out, so Israel faces a cleared path.
- The larger plan. Gradual conquest preserves the land from becoming desolate and teaches Israel dependence on God.
Illustration hooks
- A hornet’s nest in a backyard fence: one small nest can make an entire yard unusable. The smallest creature can change behavior fast.
- A computer virus that shuts down a large system. No army needed, just one invisible piece of code can bring down a network.
- When a bee sting halts a bully in a schoolyard. The biggest threat can be stopped by something tiny.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Did hornets literally drive out the Canaanites, or is this a metaphor for something else?
- If God fights for us, do we still have to do anything?
- How does God use small, ordinary things today to accomplish His purposes in our lives?
Leading a Discussion
God's promise to drive out the Canaanites involved sending hornets, whether actual insects or a symbol of terror. This invites us to think about how God works through means that seem insignificant by human standards. The surrounding verses show that God's methods are both powerful and patient. In your own life, when has God used a small, unexpected thing to change your situation or bring about His purposes? Open your group by sharing one example.
Discussion questions
- Read Exodus 23:27, 31. What does the context tell you about the hornet's role alongside the terror, the gradual conquest, and the borders God promises?
- Why do you think God mentions only three nations here when the full list is seven (compare Deuteronomy 7:1)?
- Joshua 24:12 says the hornet drove out two Amorite kings “not with your sword, nor with your bow.” What does this teach about who gets the credit for victory?
- Some believe the hornet was literal; others see a metaphor for divine panic or even Egyptian military campaigns. Which view do you lean toward, and why?
- In what ways have you seen God use seemingly small or weak means to accomplish something significant in your faith journey or in your church?
- Verses 29, 30 explain that God did not drive out the nations all at once. How does patience and gradual growth apply to your current challenges?
- What does this passage reveal about God’s character, His power, His care for Israel, and His attention to detail?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Deuteronomy 7:20 | Moreover Yahweh your God will send the hornet among them, until those who are left, and hide themselves, perish from before you. |
| Joshua 24:11 | “‘You went over the Jordan, and came to Jericho. The men of Jericho fought against you, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Girgashite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite; and I delivered them into your hand. |
| Joshua 24:12 | I sent the hornet before you, which drove them out from before you, even the two kings of the Amorites; not with your sword, nor with your bow. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
9 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke dwells on the hornet's ferocious strength, describing it as an inch-long insect whose sting could throw an army into chaos. He points to Joshua 24:12 as proof that hornets literally drove out two Amorite kings, so Israel conquered without sword or bow.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes interprets the hornets as a figure of speech, not literal insects. They represent a cause of terror and discouragement sent by God, much like bees are used in other passages to picture an overwhelming, stinging threat.
Calvin's Commentaries Reformed 1564
Calvin highlights that God promises to use hornets, not human warriors, to drive out Israel's enemies, showing how easily God can accomplish victory through even the smallest creatures. He also explains that God will expel the enemies gradually so wild animals do not overrun the empty land, which would be worse than the enemy themselves.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The commentator observes that the promises of prosperity and victory are tied to obedience, but the commands to be obeyed are not the laws just given in Exodus but future instructions from the angel on the way to Canaan. This suggests the passage may have been written for a different context, though in its current place it still motivates observance of the preceding laws.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
And I will sende hornets before thee, which shall driue out the Hiuites, the Canaanites, and the Hittites from thy face.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill takes the hornets literally—a swarm of stinging wasps, not a metaphor for fear or disease. He cites ancient accounts of people driven from their land by such insects and connects this to the three Canaanite nations mentioned, suggesting they were especially plagued and forced out.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
JFB presents three historical interpretations of the "hornets" as a divine instrument: literal insects, a pestilence, or supernatural terror. The commentator refrains from choosing one, instead showing how scholars have understood this as God's judgment working through natural, biological or psychological means.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange reads these laws not primarily as a criminal code but as a system for training a people in freedom. Their structure,
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry stresses that the Angel leading Israel is no ordinary messenger but the Angel of the covenant, Christ himself, since God's own name dwells in him. This makes the command to obey him absolute: he cannot be provoked, because his authority is divine and his pardon is not automatic. The gradual conquest of Canaan shows God's wise mercy, letting Israel grow without being overrun by wild beasts.