Exodus 23:23

23 1"When my angel goes before you and brings you 2to the Amorites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Canaanites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, and I blot them out,

Exodus 23:23 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 23:23

For mine Angel shall go before thee
The same as before described:

and bring thee in unto the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite,
and the Canaanite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite;
six nations are only mentioned, though there were seven; the Girgashites are omitted, though added in the Septuagint version; and this omission of them might be, either because they were swallowed up by one or other of the other nations, particularly the Amorites, who were the most powerful; or rather, having mentioned the most and chiefest, the Lord was not careful, as Aben Ezra observes, to take notice of the least:

and I will cut them off;
from being a nation, either of them; for though there were some of them left, and dwelt about in the land, yet not as a kingdom and nation of themselves, as they had been, but became tributary to the Israelites.

Exodus 23:23 In-Context

21 Pay careful attention to him and obey his voice; do not rebel against him, for he will not pardon your transgression, for my name is in him
22 "But if you carefully obey his voice and do all that I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries.
23 "When my angel goes before you and brings you to the Amorites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Canaanites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, and I blot them out,
24 you shall not bow down to their gods nor serve them, nor do as they do, but you shall utterly overthrow them and break their pillars in pieces.
25 You shall serve the LORD your God, and he will bless your bread and your water, and I will take sickness away from among you.

Cross References 2

  • 1. [See ver. 20 above]
  • 2. See Exodus 13:5
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.