Library Theodoret Questions on Exodus
Questions on Exodus 58: “I will send the hornets before you”
What is the meaning of “I will send the hornets before you”?
Just as he sent frogs and gnats and the dog-fly upon the Egyptians, so he sent the hornets upon the Canaanites and the other nations. This makes clear God’s surpassing power: that even through tiny little creatures he both aids his own and brings destruction upon those opposed to them. This he also says through the blessed David: “If Israel had walked in my ways, in nothing would I have humbled their enemies”—that is, very easily and readily would I have utterly destroyed those who made war on them.
Greek: Theodoret of Cyrus, Quaestiones in Octateuchum / Questions on Exodus (CPG 6200.02; cf. Fernández Marcos and Sáenz-Badillos; also PG 80, cols. 225–298). English: study translation for BWAB Library—not the copyrighted Robert C. Hill (CUA Press) translation. The full Questions on Exodus (72 questions) is hosted here.