Text: Joshua 24:12
OT Text Referred to: Exodus 23:28
Subject: Shechem retrospective
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Reference Type: Allusion
Connection Method(s): Promise-Fulfillment
Significance: Exodus 23:28 promises "I will send the hornet (הַצִּרְעָה, hatsir'ah) ahead of you to drive out the Hivites, Canaanites, and Hittites before you," and Joshua 24:12 records the fulfillment at the Shechem covenant renewal: "I sent the hornet ahead of you, which drove them out before you—the two kings of the Amorites." Joshua's retrospective uses the identical term צִרְעָה (tsir'ah) and presents it as God's own speech ("I sent"), confirming that the Exodus promise was fulfilled during the conquest. This promise-fulfillment connection is embedded within Joshua's farewell address, which systematically traces God's faithfulness from Abraham through the conquest, with the hornet promise serving as evidence that God kept every word He spoke at Sinai.