Deuteronomy 7:20

20 And the Lord thy God shall send against them the hornets, until they that are left and they that are hidden from thee be utterly destroyed.

Deuteronomy 7:20 Meaning and Commentary

Deuteronomy 7:20

Moreover, the Lord thy God will send the hornet among them,
&c.] Not a single one, but several of them, and which may be understood of creatures so called, which resemble wasps, only twice as large, an insect very bold and venomous; see ( Exodus 23:28 ) . Aben Ezra interprets it of the leprosy:

until they that are left, and hide themselves from thee, be destroyed;
such of the Canaanites who escaped the sword of the Israelites, and hid themselves in holes and caverns of the earth; these the hornets would find out and sting them to death, until they were all destroyed. Thus God can make use of small creatures, even insects, to destroy nations the most populous and mighty.

Deuteronomy 7:20 In-Context

18 thou shalt not fear them; thou shalt surely remember all that the Lord thy God did to Pharao and to all the Egyptians:

19 the great temptations which thine eyes have seen, those signs and great wonders, the strong hand, and the high arm; how the Lord thy God brought thee forth: so the Lord your God will do to all the nations, whom thou fearest in their presence.

20 And the Lord thy God shall send against them the hornets, until they that are left and they that are hidden from thee be utterly destroyed.

21 Thou shalt not be wounded before them, because the Lord thy God in the midst of thee a great and powerful God.

22 And the Lord thy God shall consume these nations before thee by little and little: thou shalt not be able to consume them speedily, lest the land become desert, and the wild beasts of the field be multiplied against thee.