Template:Hornets
Send in the Hornets
"LORD thy God will send the hornet".
We are told that צִרְעָה (tzir‘ah) denotes a stinging flying insect like a hornet and that insect is employed by God according to scripture as an agent of judgment and displacement against the pagan nations inhabiting Canaan.
We are also told that each of these occurrences presents the hornet as an insect that comes "as a deliberate extension" of the Lord’s covenant of faithfulness to Israel.
But the word translated may not have anything to do with flying or stinging insects. But whatever is sent seem to have the ability to "drive out" the Hivite[1], the Canaanite[2], and the Hittite [3].
- Exodus 23:28 "And I will send hornets <06880(הַצִּרְעָ֖ה> (צִרְעָה ))[4] before thee[5], which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before thee."
- Deuteronomy 7:20 "Moreover the LORD thy God will send the hornet <06880>(הַצִּרְעָ֔ה)[4] among them, until they that are left, and hide themselves from thee, be destroyed.[6]"
- Joshua 24:12 And I sent the hornet <06880>(הַצִּרְעָ֔ה)[4] before you, which drave(וַתְּגָ֤רֶשׁ) them out from before you(מִפְּנֵיכֶ֔ם), [even] the two kings of the Amorites; [but] not with thy sword(בְחַרְבְּךָ֖), nor with thy bow(בְקַשְׁתֶּֽךָ׃).[7]
The three occurrences of this word suggest whatever it represents it is able to drive out and destroy the inhabitants but not with a sword or a bow.
Words are symbols
Words are symbols of ideas and Hebrew letter are also symbols of ideas. Just as many scholars over the centuries do not believe the word Leprosy in Leviticus 13 does not mean the modern Hansen's skin disease nor the disease Leprosy we see during the time of Jesus and the New Testament.
We see in Exodus 23 whatever is sent by God which is called hornets[4] may be like the leprosy[8] of Leviticus in that it is contagious but ideas are contagious.
Is there an idea or mood and spirit that is spread amongst the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite that will have an effect upon the people that will be an aid to Israel when they come into the land?
Will it weaken and degenerate the citizenry but not with their sword <02719>, nor with thy bow <07198>?
The term פָנִים (pānîm) translated before thee occurs more than two thousand times across the Old Testament and moves fluidly between the concrete and the theological.
Whether denoting a human face, the visible manifestation of emotion, personal presence, or the very nearness of God Himself, pānîm links relational intimacy with covenantal responsibility.[9], which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before thee."[10]
Hivite spirit
The Hivite,[11] who or what are they.
God "promised to bring you up out of your affliction in Egypt to the land of the Canaanites… the Hivites, and the Jebusites” (Exodus 3:17).
In Genesis 34 had narrated the violation of Dinah by Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, revealing the moral climate that led to genocide by the sons of Jacob. That unjust revenge lead them to the bondage of Egypt which was a mercy.
The consequence of their sin of revenge could have been much worse but for Jacob's repentance and rejection of Idolatry and his faithful building of the Altar of Bethel as Israel.
The Gibeonite Hivites secured a treaty through subterfuge in Joshua 9. They are consistently named among the seven nations of Canaan.[12] Genesis 10:17 lists them as descendants of Canaan, establishing their lineage within the Hamitic branch and explaining why they occupied the Promised Land prior to Israel.
The term Hivite includes the idea of deceptive covenants. The Gibeonite Hivites secured a treaty through subterfuge in Joshua 9. Israel’s leaders, having failed to seek divine counsel, were bound by oath: “The men of Israel said to the Hivites, ‘Perhaps you dwell among us; so how can we make a treaty with you?’” (Joshua 9:7).
- Exodus 23:28 "And I will send <07971> (8804) hornets <06880> before <06440> thee, which shall drive out <01644> (8765) the Hivite(הַחִוִּ֧י אֶת־)[13] <02340>, the Canaanite (הַֽכְּנַעֲנִ֛י אֶת־)<03669>, and the Hittite (הַחִתִּ֖י וְאֶת־)<02850>, from before <06440> thee.
The nature of Canaan[12] was a bloody system that reduced men to human resources through the covetous practices of Idolatry.[14] The episodes of the history of Israel and the Hivites not elevates the sanctity of vows and the necessity of prayerful discernment but also the dangers of cultures that accept the idea that lying is acceptable.
Leprosy
There are several words that are similar to הַצִּרְעָ֖ה tsir‘ah (HeyTzadikReishAyinHey) such as the root word צָרַע tsara‘[15] said to possibly represent a skin disease that could be identified as leprosy.
Zorah
The identical letters of for the word hornet הַצִּרְעָ֖ה tsir‘ah are the same letters in the Hebrew word צָרְעָה Zorah which stood on the border of the Shephelah and the foothills of the Judean highlands, opposite the Sorek Valley and approximately twenty miles west of Jerusalem.
In the Old Testament, Zorah is primarily representative of divine intervention and deliverance, serving as the birthplace of Samson, the Nazirite judge who began the liberation of Israel from Philistine oppression. Its significance is further anchored by its association with Manoah, Samson’s father, whose barren wife received an angelic announcement of a miraculous birth, highlighting God’s power to overcome human weakness.
Although originally allotted to Judah (Joshua 15:33), it also appears in the inheritance of Dan (Joshua 19:41), illustrating the overlapping territorial claims between these tribes. Closely linked with nearby Eshtaol (אֶשְׁתָּאֹל), the two towns are repeatedly paired in Scripture, forming a small sub-district that influenced important events in Israel’s early history.
Zorites Zareathites Zorathites
The inclusion of Zorites (הַצָּרְעִֽי)[16], Zareathites(הַצָּ֣רְעָתִ֔י)[17] , and Zorathites (הַצָּֽרְעָתִֽי)[18] in Scripture carries significant implicit spiritual meaning regarding God’s view of faithfulness.
How is the word Zorites (הַצָּרְעִֽי) related to the idea of Leprosy or hornets?
Is God sending hornets into into the country to sting people or is God preparing the land and the people of the land for the way of the Lord?
The primary conflict between Israel and the cities of blood found in the world:
- In Israel they funded their systems of social care for the needy of their society through charity. It was provided by freewill offerings on their altars of clay and stone.
- The cities of the world of rulers provides benefits and dainties on their civil tables that should be for your welfare but are also the snare and trap of cities like Egypt, Sodom, Sumer, and Babylon.
The name of the Eshtaolites (וְהָאֶשְׁתָּ֖אֻֽלִֽי), who were supposedly inhabitants of some place named Eshtaol. But its Hebrew letters and its biblical context carry a profound spiritual meaning directly related to faithfulness through supplication and divine empowerment.
- ↑ Hivite
- ↑ Canaanite
- ↑ Hittite
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 06880 צִרְעָה tsir‘ah [tsir-aw’] TzadikReishAyinHey from צָרַע tsara‘ TzadikReishAyin 06879 said to mean Leprous ; n f coll; [BDB-864a] [{See TWOT on 1971 @@ "1971b" }] AV-hornet 3; 3
- 1) hornets
- ↑ The term פָנִים (pānîm) occurs more than two thousand times across the Old Testament and moves fluidly between the concrete and the theological. Whether denoting a human face, the visible manifestation of emotion, personal presence, or the very nearness of God Himself, pānîm links relational intimacy with covenantal responsibility.
To “seek the face” is to pursue fellowship; to have the face hidden is to suffer judgment; to live “before the face” is to dwell continually under divine scrutiny and care. - ↑ 06 אָבַד ‘abad [aw-bad’] AlefBeitDalet a primitive root; v; [BDB-1a] [{See TWOT on 2 }] AV-perish 98, destroy 62, lose 10, fail 2, surely 2, utterly 2, broken 1, destruction 1, escape 1, flee 1, spendeth 1, take 1, undone 1, void 1; 184
- 1) perish, vanish, go astray, be destroyed
- 1a) (Qal)
- 1a1) perish, die, be exterminated
- 1a2) perish, vanish (fig.)
- 1a3) be lost, strayed
- 1b) (Piel)
- 1b1) to destroy, kill, cause to perish, to give up (as lost), exterminate
- 1b2) to blot out, do away with, cause to vanish, (fig.)
- 1b3) cause to stray, lose
- 1c) (Hiphil)
- 1c1) to destroy, put to death
- 1c1a) of divine judgment
- 1c2) object name of kings (fig.)
- 1c1) to destroy, put to death
- 1a) (Qal)
- א Alef Father-Son- begin- The Paradox: God and Man - (ox bull) [strength, leader, first] (Numeric value: 1)
- ב Beit Purpose: God's Dwelling Place Below - a house or God's house here. [household, in, into] (Numeric value: 2)
- ד Dalet Selflessness – Charity, back and forth or through a door or pathway, to enter like a fish (Numeric value: 4)
- 1) perish, vanish, go astray, be destroyed
- ↑ Joshua 24:12 And I sent <07971> (8799) the hornet <06880> before <06440> you, which drave them out <01644> (8762) from before <06440> you, [even] the two <08147> kings <04428> of the Amorites <0567>; [but] not with thy sword <02719>, nor with thy bow <07198>.
- ↑ 06883 צָרַעַת tsara‘ath tsaw-rah’-ath from 06879; n f; [BDB-863b] {See TWOT on 1971 @@ "1971a" } AV-leprosy 35; 35
- 1) leprosy
- 1a) in people, malignant skin disease (Leviticus 13:1-14:57)
- 1b) in clothing, a mildew or mould (Leviticus 13:47-52)
- 1c) in buildings, a mildew or mould (Leviticus 14:34-53)
- 1) leprosy
- ↑ To “seek the face” is to pursue fellowship; to have the face hidden is to suffer judgment; to live “before the face” is to dwell continually under divine scrutiny and care.
- ↑ Exodus 23:28 And I will send <07971> (8804) hornets <06880> before <06440> thee, which shall drive out <01644> (8765) the Hivite <02340>, the Canaanite <03669>, and the Hittite <02850>, from before <06440> thee.
- ↑ 02340 חִוִּי Chivviy khiv-vee’ perhaps from 02333; n pr coll/adj pr gent; [BDB-295b] {See TWOT on 621 @@ "621a" } AV-Hivite 25; 25 Hivite= "villagers"
- 1) 6th generation of descendants of Canaan, the son of Ham, who were living in northern Canaan near Mount Hermon at the time of the conquest
- Only an adjective in #Genesis 34:2 36:2. Always a noun with prefixed by the definite article.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 The Blood of Canaan
- Psalms 106:“36 And they served their idols: which were a snare unto them. 37 Yea, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto devils, 38 And shed innocent blood, [even] the blood of their sons and of their daughters, whom they sacrificed unto the idols of Canaan: and the land was polluted with blood."
- Isaiah 19: “18 In that day shall five cities in the land of Egypt speak the language of Canaan, and swear to the LORD of hosts; one shall be called, The city of destruction. {the language: Heb. the lip} {of destruction: or, of Heres, or, of the sun}”
- Isaiah 23:“11 He stretched out his hand over the sea, he shook the kingdoms: the LORD hath given a commandment against the merchant city, to destroy the strong holds thereof. {against…: or, concerning a merchantman} {the merchant city: Heb. Canaan} {strong…: or, strengths}”
- [[Hosea 12]: “7 He is a merchant, the balances of deceit are in his hand: he loveth to oppress. {a merchant: or, Canaan} {oppress: or, deceive}”
- Genesis 23: “16 And Abraham hearkened unto Ephron; and Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver, which he had named in the audience of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, current money with the merchant.”
- ↑ AlefTav
- ↑ Covetousness is idolatry
- Colossians 3:5 "Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: 6 For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience:"
- Ephesians 5:5 "For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God."
- 1 Corinthians 5:10 "Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world. 11 But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat."
- For it is written that the tables of dainties provided by rulers of the world are a snare because they cause the masses to bite one another through government systems of legal charity which are covetous practices which are a form of fornication or adultery where the people are devoured as merchandise, curse children and are "entangled again in the yoke of bondage" with the aid of the false religion of the whore who rides the beast.
- ↑ 06879 צָרַע tsara‘ [tsaw-rah’] a primitive root, see Hornet צָרַע tsara‘ and 06880 צִרְעָה tsir‘ah; v; [BDB-863b] [{See TWOT on 1971 }] AV-leper 14, leprous 6; 20
- 1) to be diseased of skin, be leprous
- 1a) (Qal) to be a leper
- 1b) (Pual) to have leprosy
- 1) to be diseased of skin, be leprous
- ↑ 1 Chronicles 2:54 "54 The sons of Salma; Bethlehem, and the Netophathites, Ataroth, the house of Joab, and half( a portion that is incomplete yet significant, redemptive symbolism, and practical stewardship) of the Manahethites, the Zorites."
- ↑ 1 Chronicles 2:53 " And the families of Kirjathjearim; the Ithrites, and the Puhites, and the Shumathites, and the Mishraites; of them came the Zareathites (הַצָּ֣רְעָתִ֔י), and the Eshtaulites (וְהָאֶשְׁתָּ֖אֻֽלִֽי)."
- ↑ 1 Chronicles 4:2 "And Reaiah the son of Shobal begat Jahath; and Jahath begat Ahumai, and Lahad. These are the families of the Zorathites. 3 And these were of the father of Etam; Jezreel, and Ishma, and Idbash: and the name of their sister was Hazelelponi(face the shade or turn from the light):"