H6880 H6880
hornet; a stinging insect sent by God as a weapon against Israel's enemies
The hornet appears as a divine weapon—God promises to send hornets ahead of Israel to drive out the Canaanites. Exodus 23:28 and Deuteronomy 7:20 present this as part of the conquest strategy: the Lord will send the hornet before the people to expel inhabitants. Joshua 24:12 recalls the fulfillment: 'I sent the hornet before you.' Whether literal insects or a metaphor for terror and panic, the hornet represents God's active intervention dismantling enemy resistance. The definite article ('the hornet') suggests a known phenomenon or symbol of divine judgment.
Senses
1. sense 1 — All three occurrences present the hornet as God's agent in conquest. Exodus and Deuteronomy promise its future deployment, while Joshua looks back at its past effectiveness. The cross-linguistic unanimity ('hornet', 'avispón', 'Hornisse') supports a literal insect, though interpretive debate continues whether this is metaphorical for panic, disease, or actual swarms. The singular 'the hornet' (collective) functions as a military ally—God's unconventional weapon that succeeds where human armies might fail. 3×
AR["الزَّنابيرَ", "الزَّنابِيرَ", "الـ-صِّرْعَ"]·ben["এবং-তা-তাড়িয়ে-দিল", "বোলতা-যে", "ভীমরুকে"]·DE["der-hornet"]·EN["the-hornet"]·FR["le-hornet"]·heb["ה-צרעה"]·HI["बर्र", "बर्रे", "बर्रों-को"]·ID["tabuhan", "tabuhan-itu"]·IT["il-hornet"]·jav["tawon", "tawon-bremuk", "tèbuan"]·KO["그-땅벌을", "그-말벌을"]·PT["a-vespa", "o-vespa"]·RU["-шершней", "шершней", "шершня"]·ES["avispa", "el-avispón", "la-avispa"]·SW["manyigu", "nyigu"]·TR["eşek-arısını", "yaban-arısını"]·urd["-بیڑں", "بڑ-تڑیں", "بھڑوں"]
Related Senses
H6629 1. flock, sheep/goats (small livestock) (274×)H1241 1. cattle, herd (bovine livestock) (183×)H0352a 1. ram (male sheep) (156×)H6499 1. young bull, bullock (130×)H3532 1. lamb, young male sheep (105×)H2543 1. donkey (male ass) (96×)H7794 1. ox, bull (79×)H7462b 1. shepherd (agent noun) (76×)H5795 1. she-goat(s), female goat(s) (68×)H7462b 2. to shepherd, tend, pasture (60×)H1581 1. camel (domestic animal) (54×)H0738b 1. lion (46×)G4263 1. sheep (39×)H5739 1. flock or herd of livestock (38×)H5695 1. calf, young bull (35×)H0738a 1. lion (large predatory feline) (34×)H0860 1. female donkey (34×)H3611 1. dog (animal) (32×)H3715a 1. young lion, lion cub (31×)G0721 1. Lamb (29×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† צִרְעָה n.f.coll. hornets (? as wounding, prostrating; NH = BH);—allies of Isr.;—הַצּ׳ Ex 23:28; Jos 24:12 (both E), Dt 7:20.