Deuteronomy 7:20

20 "Moreover, the LORD your God will send 1the hornet against them, until those who are left and hide themselves from you perish.

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 you shall not be afraid of them; you shall well remember what the LORD your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt:
19 the great trials which your eyes saw and the signs and the wonders and the mighty hand and the outstretched arm by which the LORD your God brought you out. So shall the LORD your God do to all the peoples of whom you are afraid.
20 "Moreover, the LORD your God will send the hornet against them, until those who are left and hide themselves from you perish.
21 "You shall not dread them, for the LORD your God is in your midst, a great and awesome God.
22 "The LORD your God will clear away these nations before you little by little; you will not be able to put an end to them quickly, for the wild beasts would grow too numerous for you.

Cross References 1

  • 1. Exodus 23:28; Joshua 24:12
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