The Tzirah or Hornet of Scripture—Travelers driven away by Hornets—The Hornet used as metaphor—Oriental symbolism—The Talmudical writers—Sting of the Hornet.
STILL keeping to the hymenopterous insects, we come to the Hornet. There are three passages in which occurs the word tzirah, which has been translated as Hornet. In every case when the word is mentioned the insect is employed in a metaphorical sense. See, for example, Exod. 23:27, 2827I will send my fear before thee, and will destroy all the people to whom thou shalt come, and I will make all thine enemies turn their backs unto thee. 28And I will send hornets before thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before thee. (Exodus 23:27‑28): "I will send my fear before thee, and will destroy all the people to whom thou shalt come; and I will make oil thine enemies turn their backs unto thee.
“And I will send hornets before thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before thee.”
A similar use of the word is made in Deut. 7:2020Moreover the Lord thy God will send the hornet among them, until they that are left, and hide themselves from thee, be destroyed. (Deuteronomy 7:20): “Moreover the Lord thy God will send the hornet among them, until they that are left, and hide themselves from thee, be destroyed.”
The fulfillment of this promise is recorded in Josh. 24:11,1211And ye went over Jordan, and came unto Jericho: and the men of Jericho fought against you, the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; and I delivered them into your hand. 12And 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. (Joshua 24:11‑12): "And ye went over Jordan, and come unto Jericho and the men of Jericho fought against you, the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; and I delivered them into your hand.
“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.”
It is most probable that in these passages the word is used rather as a metaphor than as the statement of a fact, and that under the symbol of the Hornet was signified some means whereby the people should be driven out of the land as men are driven when chased by angry Hornets. The reader may remember that the word "bee" is more than once used in a similar manner. This view of the case is corroborated by such passages as Deut. 2:2525This day will I begin to put the dread of thee and the fear of thee upon the nations that are under the whole heaven, who shall hear report of thee, and shall tremble, and be in anguish because of thee. (Deuteronomy 2:25): "This day will 1 begin to put the dread of thee, and the fear of thee, upon the nations that are under the whole heaven, who shall hear report of thee, and shall tremble, and be in anguish because of thee." Also Josh. 2:9-119And she said unto the men, I know that the Lord hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you. 10For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were on the other side Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed. 11And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you: for the Lord your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath. (Joshua 2:9‑11): “I know that the Lord hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you.” For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you, when ye carne out of Egypt; and What ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were on the other side Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed.
“And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you.”
The Hornet affords a most appropriate image for such a promise as was made to the Israelites, and was one which they must have thoroughly comprehended. The Hornets of Palestine and the neighboring countries are far more common than our own Hornets in England, and they evidently infested some parts to such an extent that they gave their name to those spots. Thus the word Zoreah, which is mentioned in Josh. 15:3333And in the valley, Eshtaol, and Zoreah, and Ashnah, (Joshua 15:33), signifies the “place of Hornets.”
They make their nests in various ways; some species placing them underground, and others disposing them as shown in the illustration, and merely sheltering them from the elements by a paper cover. Such nests as these would easily be disturbed by the animals which accompanied the Israelites on their journeys, even if the people were careful to avoid them. In such a case, the irritated insects rush out at the intruders; and so great is the terror of their stings, that men and beasts fly promiscuously in every direction, each only anxious to escape from the winged foes.
The recollection of such scenes would necessarily dwell in the memory of those who had taken part in them, and cause the metaphor to impress itself strongly upon them.
It is needless to say that the passages in question might be literal statements of facts, and that the various nations were actually driven out of their countries by Hornets. Let the insects be brought upon the land in sufficient numbers, and neither man nor beast could stay in it. It is not likely, however, that such a series of miracles, far exceeding the insect-plagues of Egypt, would have been worked without frequent references to them in the subsequent books of the Scriptures; and, moreover, the quick, short, and headlong flight of the attack of Hornets is a very different thing from the emigration which is mentioned in the Scriptures, and the long journeys which such a proceeding involved.
The Talmudical writers inclined to the literal view of the passage, and dilated on the terrible power of the Hornet, four of which could destroy a horse, and one kill a boy nine years of age, or a man, provided he were stung in the forehead. The sting of the Hornet is very severe indeed, exceeding in virulence that of the wasp, to which it is closely allied; and it is possible that a boy, or even a man, might be in so feeble a state of health, or be naturally so sensitive to poison, that the sting of a Hornet would be fatal. As a rule, however, the sting of the Hornet, although exceedingly painful, is scarcely more injurious than that of a bee or wasp. The Talmudists stated that the Hornets mentioned in Joshua killed the people by stinging them in the eye.
The species of Hornet represented in the illustration is Vespa orientalis, the insect and nest being drawn from specimens in the British Museum.