Joshua 24:12

12 And I sent ¹the hornet before you, which drove them out before you, the two kings of the Amorites; it was ²not by your sword or by your 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. Indeed, he blessed you. So I delivered you out of his hand.

11 And you went over the Jordan and came to Jericho, and the leaders of Jericho fought against you, and also the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. And I gave them into your hand.

12 And I sent the hornet before you, which drove them out before you, the two kings of the Amorites; it was not by your sword or by your bow.

13 I gave you a land on which you had not labored and cities that you had not built, and you dwell in them. You eat the fruit of vineyards and olive orchards that you did not plant.'

14 "Now therefore fear the LORD and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD.

Cross References

• 1. Exodus 23:28; Deuteronomy 7:20
• 2. Psalms 44:3