Joshua 24:12

12 I sent the hornet^[a][b] ahead of you, and it drove out the two Amorite kings^[c] before you. It was not by your sword or 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 would not listen to Balaam. Instead, he repeatedly blessed you, and I delivered you from his hand.

11 " 'You then crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho. The people of Jericho-as well as the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites, and Jebusites-fought against you, but I handed them over to you.

12 I sent the hornet ahead of you, and it drove out the two Amorite kings before you. It was not by your sword or bow.

13 I gave you a land you did not labor for, and cities you did not build, though you live in them; you are eating from vineyards and olive groves you did not plant.'

14 "Therefore, fear the Lord and worship Him in sincerity and truth. Get rid of the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and worship the Lord.

Footnotes

• [a]. Or sent terror
• [b]. Ex 23:27-28; Dt 7:20
• [c]. Nm 21:21-35; Dt 2:26-3:11; 29:7