“I sent the hornet before you.” There is no mention of literal physical hornets in the text, but it may represent that God was working to give Israel the lands that were not immediately visible to Israel (Exod. 23:28; Deut. 7:20). Also, the hornet can be a metaphor for fear, and the fear of Israel did go ahead of the Israelites and caused the Canaanites to panic or lose heart.