Joshua 24:12

12 'Then I 1sent the hornet before you and it drove out the two kings of the Amorites from before * you, but 2not by your sword or your bow.

Joshua 24:12 Meaning and Commentary

Joshua 24:12

And I sent the hornet before you
Of which (See Gill on Exodus 23:28);

which drave them out from before you, [even] the two kings of the
Amorites;
who were Sihon and Og, and not only them, and the Amorites under them, but the other nations, Hivites, Hittites

[but] not with thy sword, nor with thy bow;
but by insects of the Lord's sending to them, which, as Kimchi says, so blinded their eyes, that they could not see to fight, and so Israel came upon them, and slew them; in which the hand of the Lord was manifestly seen, and to whose power, and not, their own, the destruction of their enemies was to be ascribed.

Joshua 24:12 In-Context

10 'But I was not willing to listen to Balaam. So he had to bless you, and I delivered you from his hand.
11 'You crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho; and the citizens of Jericho fought against you, and the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Girgashite, the Hivite and the Jebusite. Thus I gave them into your hand.
12 'Then I sent the hornet before you and it drove out the two kings of the Amorites from before you, but not by your sword or your bow.
13 'I gave you a land on which you had not labored, and cities which you had not built, and you have lived in them; you are eating of vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant.'
14 "Now, therefore, fear the LORD and serve Him in sincerity and truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD .

Cross References 2

  • 1. Exodus 23:28; Deuteronomy 7:20
  • 2. Psalms 44:3

Footnotes 1

New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, California.  All rights reserved.