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Exodus 23:29

Old Testament Law (Torah) ASV (1901)

What does Exodus 23:29 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “I will not drive them out from before thee in one year, lest the land become desolate, and the beasts of the field multiply against thee.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

I will not drive them out from before thee in one year, lest the land become desolate, and the beasts of the field multiply against thee.
Exodus 23:29 — American Standard Version

Context — Exodus 23

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
26There shall none cast her young, nor be barren, in thy land: the number of thy days I will fulfil.
27I will send my terror before thee, and will discomfit all the people to whom thou shalt come, and I will make all thine enemies turn their backs unto thee.
28And I will send the hornet before thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before thee.
29I will not drive them out from before thee in one year, lest the land become desolate, and the beasts of the field multiply against thee.
30By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, until thou be increased, and inherit the land.
31And I will set thy border from the Red Sea even unto the sea of the Philistines, and from the wilderness unto the River: for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand: and thou shalt drive them out before thee.
32Thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor with their gods.
← Exodus 23:28Exodus 23:30 →
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What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“I will not drive them out from before thee in one year, etc.] This is observed before hand, lest the Israelites should be discouraged, and fear they should never be rid of them; and it was so ordered in Providence for the following reason: lest the land become desolate; there being not a sufficient number of Israelites to replace in their stead, to repeople the land, and to cultivate it; and yet their number was very large, being, when they came out of Egypt, as is generally computed, about two millions and a half, besides the mixed multitude of Egyptians and others, and during their forty years in the wilderness must be greatly increased: and the beast of the field multiply against thee;…”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“I will not drive . . . out . . . in one year; lest the land become desolate--Many reasons recommend a gradual extirpation of the former inhabitants of Canaan. But only one is here specified--the danger lest, in the unoccupied grounds, wild beasts should inconveniently multiply; a clear proof that the promised land was more than sufficient to contain the actual population of the Israelites. Next: Exodus Chapter 24”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“Beast of the field - i. e. destructive animals. return to 'Top of Page'”
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Tyndale Open Study Notes
Tyndale House Publishers · Tyndale Open Study Notes · Modern study notes
“23:29-31 I will: God, not Israel, would take the land. The land would be a gift from their Covenant Lord. Israel was being granted possession of it as long as they faithfully fulfilled the covenant.”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“in one year: Deu 7:22; Jos 15:63, Jos 16:10, Jos 17:12, Jos 17:13; Jdg 3:1-4 Exodus 23:31”
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Related study paths

Read Exodus 23 in contextBrowse Hebrew word studiesOpen this verse in the study reader

Sources and verification