Joshua 24:12

12 I sent the hornet before you. It drove them out before you and did the same to the two kings of the Amorites. It wasn't your sword or bow that did this.

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 wasn't willing to listen to Balaam, so he actually blessed you. I rescued you from his power.

11 Then you crossed over the Jordan. You came to Jericho, and the citizens of Jericho attacked you. They were Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites, and Jebusites. But I gave them into your power.

12 I sent the hornet before you. It drove them out before you and did the same to the two kings of the Amorites. It wasn't your sword or bow that did this.

13 I gave you land on which you hadn't toiled and cities that you hadn't built. You settled in them and are enjoying produce from vineyards and olive groves that you didn't plant.

14 “So now, revere the LORD. Serve him honestly and faithfully. Put aside the gods that your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates and in Egypt and serve the LORD.

Footnotes

• [a]. Heb uncertain