Hornet
hor'-net (tsir`ah; compare tsor`ah, "Zorah" (Jdg 13:2,
etc.); also compare tsara`ath, "leprosy" (Lev 13:2, etc.);
from tsara`, "to smite"; Septuagint sphekia, literally,
"wasp's nest"): Hornets are mentioned only in Ex 23:28; Dt
7:20; Josh 24:12. All three references are to the miraculous
interposition of God in driving out before the Israelites
the original inhabitants of the promised land. There has
been much speculation as to whether hornets are literally
meant. The following seems to throw some light on this
question (Ex 23:20,27,28): "Behold, I send an angel before
thee, to keep thee by the way, and to bring thee into the
place which I have prepared. .... I will send my terror
before thee, and will discomfit all the people to whom thou
shalt come, and I will make all thine enemies turn their
backs unto thee. And I will send the hornet before thee,
which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the
Hittite, from before thee." The "terror" of Ex 23:27 may
well be considered to be typified by the "hornet" of 23:28,
the care for the Israelites (23:20) being thrown into marked
contrast with the confusion of their enemies. Compare Isa
7:18, where the fly and the bee symbolize the military
forces of Egypt and Assyria: "And it shall come to pass in
that day, that Yahweh will hiss for the fly that is in the
uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt, and for the bee that
is in the land of Assyria."
Hornets and wasps belong to the family Vespidae of the order
Hymenoptera. Both belong to the genus Vespa, the hornets
being distinguished by their large size. Both hornets and
wasps are abundant in Israel (compare Zorah, which may mean
"town of hornets"). a large kind is called in Arabic debbur,
which recalls the Hebrew debhorah, "bee." They sting
fiercely, but not unless molested.
Alfred Ely Day
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-Or wasp
Ex 23:28; De 7:20; Jos 24:12
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The hornet bears a general resemblance to the common wasp,
only it is larger. It is exceedingly fierce and voracious,
especially in hot climates and its sting is frequently
dangerous. In Scripture the hornet is referred to only by the
means which Jehovah employed for the extirpation of the
Canaanites. Ex 23:28; De 7:20; Jos 24:12 Wisd. 12:8. (It is
said that the Phaselitae, a Phoenician people, were driven
from their locality by hornets; and other examples are given
in Paxton's "Illustrations of Scripture," 1:303.--ED.)
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Heb. tsir'ah, "stinging", (Ex. 23:28; Deut. 7:20; Josh.
24:12).
The word is used in these passages as referring to
some means by
which the Canaanites were to be driven out from
before the
Israelites. Some have supposed that the word is used
in a
metaphorical sense as the symbol of some panic which
would seize
the people as a "terror of God" (Gen. 35:5), the
consternation
with which God would inspire the Canaanites. In
Israel there
are four species of hornets, differing from our
hornets, being
larger in size, and they are very abundant. They
"attack human
beings in a very furious manner." "The furious
attack of a swarm
of hornets drives cattle and horses to madness, and
has even
caused the death of the animals."
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tsireah. Whence Zoreah is named (Joshua 15:38). In Exodus
23:28, "I will send hornets before thee, which shall drive out
the Hivite," etc., is perhaps figurative for I will send
terror on them (Joshua 2:11; Deuteronomy 2:25), so that they
will flee as if before a swarm of hornets. So "bees"
(Deuteronomy 1:44; Psalm 118:12).
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Moreover the LORD thy God will send the hornet among them,
until they that are left, and hide themselves from thee, be
destroyed.
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And I sent the hornet before you, which drave them out from
before you, [even] the two kings of the Amorites; [but] not
with thy sword, nor with thy bow.
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Hornet (Hebr., çíre'ah; vespa crabro). - One of the largest and most pugnacious wasps; when disturbed they attack cattle and horses; their sting is very severe, capable not only of driving men and cattle to madness, but even of killing them (Exodus 23:28; Deuteronomy 7:20; Joshua 24:12).
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