שמות, פרק כ״ג, פסוק כ״ח

As the Israelites prepare to enter the Promised Land, God promises miraculous assistance to clear the path for their army. This divine intervention is designed to drive out the land's inhabitants, bypassing the need for conventional warfare. The primary approach among commentators is that God sent a swarm of flying insects, similar to vicious flies or bees, which attacked the enemy, struck their eyes, and injected them with deadly venom [רש״י, ביאור יש״ר, פרדס יוסף, צאינה וראינה]. Historical accounts even record instances of entire nations abandoning their territories due to sudden insect invasions [אם למקרא]. However, others suggest this affliction was a physical disease or bodily plague, complementing the psychological terror already inflicted upon the inhabitants [אבן עזרא, אבן עזרא הקצר]. Alternatively, the swarm can be understood as a metaphor for overwhelming panic that triggers mass flight [קאסוטו], a demonstration of God easily expelling enemies without standard weaponry [חזקוני], or a sudden, paralyzing harm striking anyone standing in the way [פרדס יוסף, נתינה לגר].

This divine intervention served several strategic and compassionate purposes. Primarily, it was designed to flush out enemies hiding in deep caves and heavily fortified strongholds that would be exceedingly difficult to conquer through regular combat [ביאור יש״ר, שפתי כהן]. It also provided crucial protection for the Israelite women and children who remained in the border regions while the warriors advanced inland [העמק דבר]. Furthermore, reflecting God's profound mercy, this plague acted as a final warning. By inciting terror, it encouraged individuals to flee voluntarily and abandon the land, thereby saving their own lives [ביאור יש״ר, מלבי״ם].

If this miraculous force was so devastating, it raises the question of why Joshua later required seven years of grueling warfare to conquer the land. Some commentators explain that the swarm never actually crossed the Jordan River. Instead, it operated exclusively on the eastern side, and to affect the nations on the western bank, it stood at the water's edge and projected its venom across the river [רש״י, מזרחי, תורה תמימה, שפתי חכמים, חזקוני]. Another perspective suggests there were actually two distinct swarms: one during the leadership of Moses that remained on the eastern side, and a second during Joshua's era that crossed over [רש״י, מזרחי, תורה תמימה, שפתי חכמים, חזקוני]. Additionally, the expulsion was intentionally gradual to prevent the land from becoming desolate and overrun by wild animals [צאינה וראינה].

Although seven nations inhabited the land, only the Hivites, Canaanites, and Hittites are explicitly mentioned as targets of this plague. Many agree that this is simply a concise shorthand representing all seven nations [ביאור יש״ר, קאסוטו]. However, others argue these specific groups are singled out because they suffered the most severe blows [אבן עזרא], or because they were the ones primarily hiding in fortresses, necessitating the swarm to reach them [שפתי כהן]. Another unique explanation posits that these three nations are highlighted because they ultimately had the highest number of survivors, each for distinct reasons. The Hivites survived through cunning deception, the Canaanites were temporarily spared as a reward for developing and planting the land, and the Hittites were spared in recognition of the respect they had shown to Abraham generations earlier [שפתי כהן].