Joel 1:1

Introduction

1:1 This ¹  is the Lord’s message ²  that was given ³ 

to Joel ⁴  the son of Pethuel:

Joel 3:8

3:8 I will sell your sons and daughters to ⁵  the people of Judah. ⁶ 

They will sell them to the Sabeans, ⁷  a nation far away.

Indeed, the Lord has spoken!

Joel 2:28

An Outpouring of the Spirit

2:28 (3:1) ⁸  After all of this ⁹ 

I will pour out my Spirit ¹⁰  on all kinds of people. ¹¹ 

Your sons and daughters will prophesy.

Your elderly will have revelatory dreams; ¹² 

your young men will see prophetic visions.

Joel 1:3

1:3 Tell your children ¹³  about it,

have your children tell their children,

and their children the following generation. ¹⁴ 

Joel 3:6

3:6 You sold Judeans and Jerusalemites to the Greeks,

removing them far from their own country. ¹⁵ 

Joel 1:12

1:12 The vine has dried up;

the fig tree languishes –

the pomegranate, date, and apple ¹⁶  as well.

In fact, ¹⁷  all the trees of the field have dried up.

Indeed, the joy of the people ¹⁸  has dried up!

Joel 3:19

3:19 Egypt will be desolate

and Edom will be a desolate wilderness,

because of the violence they did to the people of Judah, ¹⁹ 

in whose land they shed innocent blood.

Joel 2:23

2:23 Citizens of Zion, ²⁰  rejoice!

Be glad because of what the Lord your God has done! ²¹ 

For he has given to you the early rains ²²  as vindication.

He has sent ²³  to you the rains –

both the early and the late rains ²⁴  as formerly.

Joel 3:16

3:16 The Lord roars from Zion;

from Jerusalem ²⁵  his voice bellows out. ²⁶ 

The heavens ²⁷  and the earth shake.

But the Lord is a refuge for his people;

he is a stronghold for the citizens ²⁸  of Israel.

¹ sn The dating of the book of Joel is a matter of dispute. Some scholars date the book as early as the ninth century b.c., during the reign of the boy-king Joash. This view is largely based on the following factors: an argument from silence (e.g., the book of Joel does not mention a king, perhaps because other officials de facto carried out his responsibilities, and there is no direct mention in the book of such later Israelite enemies as the Assyrians, Babylonians, and Persians); inconclusive literary assumptions (e.g., the eighth-century prophet Amos in Amos 9:13 alludes to Joel 3:18); the canonical position of the book (i.e., it is the second book of the Minor Prophets); and literary style (i.e., the book is thought to differ in style from the postexilic prophetic writings). While such an early date for the book is not impossible, none of the arguments used to support it is compelling. Later dates for the book that have been defended by various scholars are, for example, the late seventh century or early sixth century or sometime in the postexilic period (anytime from late sixth century to late fourth century). Most modern scholars seem to date the book of Joel sometime between 400 and 350 b.c. For a helpful discussion of date see J. A. Thompson, “The Date of the Book of Joel,” A Light unto My Path, 453-64. Related to the question of date is a major exegetical issue: Is the army of chapter two to be understood figuratively as describing the locust invasion of chapter one, or is the topic of chapter two an invasion of human armies, either the Babylonians or an eschatological foe? If the enemy could be conclusively identified as the Babylonians, for example, this would support a sixth-century date for the book.

² tn Heb “the word of the Lord.”

³ tn Heb “that was.” The term “given” does not appear in the Hebrew, but is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity and smoothness.

⁴ sn The name Joel means in Hebrew “the Lord is God.” There are a dozen or so individuals with this name in the OT.

⁵ tn Heb “into the hand of.”

⁶ tn Heb “the sons of Judah.”

⁷ sn The Sabeans were Arabian merchants who were influential along the ancient caravan routes that traveled through Arabia. See also Job 1:15; Isa 43:3; 45:14; Ps 72:10.

⁹ sn Beginning with 2:28, the verse numbers through 3:21 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 2:28 ET = 3:1 HT, 2:29 ET = 3:2 HT, 2:30 ET = 3:3 HT, 2:31 ET = 3:4 HT, 2:32 ET = 3:5 HT, 3:1 ET = 4:1 HT, etc., through 3:21 ET = 4:21 HT. Thus Joel in the Hebrew Bible has 4 chapters, the 5 verses of ch. 3 being included at the end of ch. 2 in the English Bible.

¹⁰ tn Heb “Now it will be after this.”

¹¹ sn This passage plays a key role in the apostolic explanation of the coming of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost recorded in Acts 2:17-21. Peter introduces his quotation of this passage with “this is that spoken by the prophet Joel” (Acts 2:16; cf. the similar pesher formula used at Qumran). The New Testament experience at Pentecost is thus seen in some sense as a fulfillment of this Old Testament passage, even though that experience did not exhaustively fulfill Joel’s words. Some portions of Joel’s prophecy have no precise counterpart in that experience. For example, there is nothing in the experience recorded in Acts 2 that exactly corresponds to the earthly and heavenly signs described in Joel 3:3-4. But inasmuch as the messianic age had already begun and the “last days” had already commenced with the coming of the Messiah (cf. Heb 1:1-2), Peter was able to point to Joel 3:1-5 as a text that was relevant to the advent of Jesus and the bestowal of the Spirit. The equative language that Peter employs (“this is that”) stresses an incipient fulfillment of the Joel passage without precluding or minimizing a yet future and more exhaustive fulfillment in events associated with the return of Christ.

¹² tn Heb “all flesh.” As a term for humanity, “flesh” suggests the weakness and fragility of human beings as opposed to God who is “spirit.” The word “all” refers not to all human beings without exception (cf. NAB, NASB “all mankind”; NLT “all people”), but to all classes of human beings without distinction (cf. NCV).

¹³ tn Heb “your old men will dream dreams.”

¹³ tn Heb “sons.” This word occurs several times in this verse.

¹⁴ sn The circumstances that precipitated the book of Joel surrounded a locust invasion in Palestine that was of unprecedented proportions. The locusts had devastated the country’s agrarian economy, with the unwelcome consequences extending to every important aspect of commercial, religious, and national life. To further complicate matters, a severe drought had exhausted water supplies, causing life-threatening shortages for animal and human life (cf. v. 20). Locust invasions occasionally present significant problems in Palestine in modern times. The year 1865 was commonly known among Arabic-speaking peoples of the Near East as sent el jarad, “year of the locust.” The years 1892, 1899, and 1904 witnessed significant locust invasions in Palestine. But in modern times there has been nothing equal in magnitude to the great locust invasion that began in Palestine in February of 1915. This modern parallel provides valuable insight into the locust plague the prophet Joel points to as a foreshadowing of the day of the Lord. For an eyewitness account of the 1915 locust invasion of Palestine see J. D. Whiting, “Jerusalem’s Locust Plague,” National Geographic 28 (December 1915): 511-50.

¹⁷ tn Heb “border.”

²¹ tn This Hebrew word וְתַפּוּחַ (vÿtappuakh) probably refers to the apple tree (so most English versions), but other suggestions that scholars have offered include the apricot, citron, or quince.

²² tn These words are not in the Hebrew text but are supplied in the translation for clarity.

²³ tn Heb “the sons of man.”

²⁵ tn Heb “violence of the sons of Judah.” The phrase “of the sons of Judah” is an objective genitive (cf. KJV “the violence against the children of Judah”; NAB, NIV, NRSV “violence done to the people of Judah”). It refers to injustices committed against the Judeans, not violence that the Judeans themselves had committed against others.

²⁹ tn Heb “sons of Zion.”

³⁰ tn Heb “be glad in the Lord your God.”

³¹ tn Normally the Hebrew word הַמּוֹרֶה (hammoreh) means “the teacher,” but here and in Ps 84:7 it refers to “early rains.” Elsewhere the word for “early rains” is יוֹרֶה (yoreh). The phrase here הַמּוֹרֶה לִצְדָקָה (hammoreh litsdaqah) is similar to the expression “teacher of righteousness” (Heb., מוֹרֶה הַצֶּדֶק , moreh hatsedeq) found in the Dead Sea Scrolls referring to a particular charismatic leader, although the Qumran community seems not to have invoked this text in support of that notion.

³² tn Heb “caused to come down.”

³³ sn For half the year Palestine is generally dry. The rainy season begins with the early rains usually in late October to early December, followed by the latter rains in March and April. Without these rains productive farming would not be possible, as Joel’s original readers knew only too well.

³³ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

³⁴ tn Heb “he sounds forth his voice.”

³⁵ tn Or “the sky.” See the note on “sky” in 2:30.

³⁶ tn Heb “sons.”