Horsefly (Heb. qerets). Apparently an annoying and biting insect (Jer 46:20); his exact 1123 identity is a matter of conjecture. Some think that it refers to the mosquito because of the similarity of the Heb. qerets with the ar. q~rits, “mosquito”. Some scholars believe that horsefly is also a translation of Heb. ârôb, and it would be one of the plagues that fell on Egypt (Exo 8:17; Psa 78:45; 105:31).
Source: Evangelical Bible Dictionary
Wasp. †¢Bible animals.
Source: Christian Bible Dictionary
type, FAUN
see, AMARNA, EGYPT, PHARAI“N
vet, Name with which it is erroneously translated into Jos. 24:12, in the 1960 revision of the Reina-Valera version, the term Heb. “Sir’ah”. It is a wasp (“Vespa crabo”) larger than the one known in Europe. It is very common in Palestine. These wasps were released in large numbers to harass the Canaanites, demoralizing them (Ex. 23:28; Deut. 7:20; Josh. 24:12; cf. Wis. 12:8). The hypothesis that he would see in these wasps an allusion to an Egyptian invasion of Canaan, led by Thutmose III, and that it would have facilitated Joshua’s conquest of Canaan, has no internal logic. An Egypt destroyed by the ten plagues would not have been able to launch into the destruction of Canaan, nor would it have done anything to facilitate Joshua’s campaign if he could. Furthermore, this hypothesis is based on the conventional chronology of Egypt, which places Thutmose III around the date of the exodus, and the Amarna letters in the period of the conquest; however, this stance cannot stand up to scrutiny (see AMARNA, EGYPT, a; PARAí“N, c, and the respective bibliographies).
Source: New Illustrated Bible Dictionary
(Heb. `a·rov).
It is not known with certainty which particular insect designates the Hebrew word mentioned in the Scriptures when speaking of the fourth plague of Egypt, the first that did not affect the Israelites in Goshen. (Ex 8:21, 22, 24, 29, 31; Ps 78:45; 105:31) `A·rov has been variously, though not always uniformly, translated “gadflies” (EMN, 1988 ; FS; NC; Mod; NM; VP), “flies” (ATI; Val, 1989), “insects” (BAS), “dog fly” (LXX), “mosquitoes” (Val, 1989, note ), †œall kinds of flies† (Scío; compare BR, TA) and †œmixture of vermin† (HM; compare DK).
The Spanish term †œgadfly† encompasses various species. The female horsefly burrows into the skin of animals and people to suck blood from it, producing terrible bites. In some African regions they are developed in such quantity that they make it impossible to stay and even transit through them. Therefore, a plague of such insects must have brought great suffering to the Egyptians and their cattle, and, in some cases, even death.
Source: Dictionary of the Bible