And I will send hornets before thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before thee.
And I will send hornets before thee (cf. Deuteronomy 7:20) х 'et (H854) hatsir`aah (H6880)] - hornet, with the article prefixed, used collectively and metaphorically as a symbol of the terror inspired by God into the enemy. Junius suggests this translation-`I will send before thee fear or pestilence as a hornet.' But the particle of likeness, as, is not in the text, and must not be interpolated at the will of translators. Bochart, who considers literal hornets to be meant, quotes several remarkable instances of Oriental people being compelled, by overwhelming swarms of these malignant insects, to abandon their dwellings and seek habitations elsewhere ('Hierozicon,' lib. 4:, pp 540, 541). With these examples on record, he thinks it far from being incredible that many of the Canaanites were by this formidable enemy driven from their homes, and forced to remove beyond the reach of their attack.
Most modern writers are inclined to take the word as used figuratively, understanding, with Augustine, an extraordinary dejection of spirits; or regarding it, with Rosenm˜ller, as a symbol of divine judgments-various kinds of evils which might be very aptly described under the metaphorical name of insects whose stings cause exquisite pain, and which, from their immense numbers, are capable of harassing and distressing man exceedingly. Accordingly, it has been remarked that Joshua, though he recorded the fulfillment of this promise (Joshua 24:12), does not mention a single case of Canaanites being expelled from their towns or villages by any extraordinary swarms of these noxious creatures.