Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible (1898)
HOR'NET, a very large, strong, and bold insect of the wasp family, remarkable for its irritability and for the severity of its sting. Deut 7:20. Hornets were employed as the instruments of the divine judgments upon the enemies of Israel, Ex 23:28; Josh 24:12. The furious attack of these insects often drives horses or cattle to madness, and profane history tells of districts rendered almost uninhabitable by them. Capt. Warren says: "The hornets in Palestine are very numerous, and attack human beings in the most furious manner.