Joel 1:1-14

Introduction

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

to Joel ⁴  the son of Pethuel:

A Locust Plague Foreshadows the Day of the Lord

1:2 Listen to this, you elders; ⁵ 

pay attention, ⁶  all inhabitants of the land.

Has anything like this ever happened in your whole life ⁷ 

or in the lifetime ⁸  of your ancestors? ⁹ 

1:3 Tell your children ¹⁰  about it,

have your children tell their children,

and their children the following generation. ¹¹ 

1:4 What the gazam-locust left the ‘arbeh-locust consumed, ¹² 

what the ‘arbeh-locust left the yeleq-locust consumed,

and what the yeleq-locust left the hasil-locust consumed! ¹³ 

1:5 Wake up, you drunkards, ¹⁴  and weep!

Wail, all you wine drinkers, ¹⁵ 

because the sweet wine ¹⁶  has been taken away ¹⁷  from you. ¹⁸ 

1:6 For a nation ¹⁹  has invaded ²⁰  our ²¹  land.

There are so many of them they are too numerous to count. ²² 

Their teeth are like those ²³  of a lion;

they tear apart their prey like a lioness. ²⁴ 

1:7 They ²⁵  have destroyed our ²⁶  vines; ²⁷ 

they have turned our ²⁸  fig trees into mere splinters.

They have completely stripped off the bark ²⁹  and thrown them aside;

the ³⁰  twigs are stripped bare. ³¹ 

A Call to Lament

1:8 Wail ³²  like a young virgin ³³  clothed in sackcloth,

lamenting the death of ³⁴  her husband-to-be. ³⁵ 

1:9 No one brings grain offerings or drink offerings

to the temple ³⁶  of the Lord anymore. ³⁷ 

So the priests, those who serve the Lord, are in mourning.

1:10 The crops of the fields ³⁸  have been destroyed. ³⁹ 

The ground is in mourning because the grain has perished.

The fresh wine has dried up;

the olive oil languishes.

1:11 Be distressed, ⁴⁰  farmers;

wail, vinedressers, over the wheat and the barley.

For the harvest of the field has perished.

1:12 The vine has dried up;

the fig tree languishes –

the pomegranate, date, and apple ⁴¹  as well.

In fact, ⁴²  all the trees of the field have dried up.

Indeed, the joy of the people ⁴³  has dried up!

1:13 Get dressed ⁴⁴  and lament, you priests!

Wail, you who minister at the altar!

Come, spend the night in sackcloth, you servants of my God,

because no one brings grain offerings or drink offerings

to the temple of your God anymore. ⁴⁵ 

1:14 Announce a holy fast; ⁴⁶ 

proclaim a sacred assembly.

Gather the elders and ⁴⁷  all the inhabitants of the land

to the temple of the Lord your God,

and cry out to the Lord.

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 sn Elders here refers not necessarily to men advanced in years, but to leaders within the community.

⁶ tn Heb “give ear.”

⁷ tn Heb “days.” The term “days” functions here as a synecdoche for one’s lifespan.

⁸ tn Heb “days.”

⁹ tn Heb “fathers.”

¹⁰ tn Heb “sons.” This word occurs several times in this verse.

¹¹ 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.

¹² tn Heb “eaten.” This verb is repeated three times in v. 4 to emphasize the total devastation of the crops by this locust invasion.

¹³ tn The four Hebrew terms used in this verse are of uncertain meaning. English translations show a great deal of variation in dealing with these: (1) For ָגּזָם (gazam) KJV has “palmerworm,” NEB “locust,” NAB “cutter”, NASB “gnawing locust,” NIV “locust swarm,” NKJV “chewing locust,” NRSV, NLT “cutting locust(s),” NIrV “giant locusts”; (2) for אַרְבֶּה (’arbeh) KJV has “locust,” NEB “swarm,” NAB “locust swarm,” NASB, NKJV, NRSV, NLT “swarming locust(s),” NIV “great locusts,” NIrV “common locusts”; (3) for יֶלֶק (yeleq) KJV has “cankerworm,” NEB “hopper,” NAB “grasshopper,” NASB “creeping locust,” NIV, NIrV “young locusts,” NKJV “crawling locust,” NRSV, NLT “hopping locust(s)”; (4) for חָסִיל (khasil) KJV has “caterpillar,” NEB “grub,” NAB “devourer,” NASB, NLT “stripping locust(s),” NIV, NIrV “other locusts,” NKJV “consuming locust,” NRSV “destroying locust.” It is debated whether the Hebrew terms describe different species of locusts or similar insects or different developmental stages of the same species, or are virtual synonyms. While the last seems more likely, given the uncertainty over their exact meaning, the present translation has transliterated the Hebrew terms in combination with the word “locust.”

¹⁴ sn The word drunkards has a double edge here. Those accustomed to drinking too much must now lament the unavailability of wine. It also may hint that the people in general have become religiously inebriated and are unresponsive to the Lord. They are, as it were, drunkards from a spiritual standpoint.

¹⁵ sn Joel addresses the first of three groups particularly affected by the locust plague. In v. 5 he describes the effects on the drunkards, who no longer have a ready supply of intoxicating wine; in vv. 11-12 he describes the effects on the farmers, who have watched their labors come to naught because of the insect infestation; and in vv. 13-14 he describes the effects on the priests, who are no longer able to offer grain sacrifices and libations in the temple.

¹⁶ tn Heb “over the sweet wine, because it.” Cf. KJV, NIV, TEV, NLT “new wine.”

¹⁷ tn Heb “cut off” (so KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV); NAB “will be withheld.”

¹⁸ tn Heb “your mouth.” This is a synecdoche of part (the mouth) for whole (the person).

¹⁹ sn As becomes increasingly clear in what follows, this nation is to be understood figuratively. It refers to the locust invasion as viewed from the standpoint of its methodical, destructive advance across the land (BDB 156 s.v. גּוֹי 2). This term is used figuratively to refer to animals one other time (Zeph 2:14).

²⁰ tn Heb “has come up against.”

²¹ tn Heb “my.”

²² tn Heb “[It] is huge and there is not number.”

²³ tn Heb “its teeth are the teeth of a lion.”

²⁴ tn Heb “its incisors are those of a lioness.” The sharp, cutting teeth are metonymical for the action of tearing apart and eating prey. The language is clearly hyperbolic. Neither locusts nor human invaders literally have teeth of this size. The prophet is using exaggerated and picturesque language to portray in vivid terms the enormity of the calamity. English versions vary greatly on the specifics: KJV “cheek teeth”; ASV “jaw-teeth”; NAB “molars”; NASB, NIV, NRSV “fangs.”

²⁵ tn Heb “it.” Throughout vv. 6-7 the Hebrew uses singular forms to describe the locust swarm, but the translation uses plural forms because several details of the text make more sense in English as if they are describing the appearance and effects of individual locusts.

²⁶ tn Heb “my.”

²⁷ tn Both “vines” and “fig trees” are singular in the Hebrew text, but are regarded as collective singulars.

²⁸ tn Heb “my.”

²⁹ tn Heb “it has completely stripped her.”

³⁰ tn Heb “her.”

³¹ tn Heb “grow white.”

³² sn The verb is feminine singular, raising a question concerning its intended antecedent. A plural verb would be expected here, the idea being that all the inhabitants of the land should grieve. Perhaps Joel is thinking specifically of the city of Jerusalem, albeit in a representative sense. The choice of the feminine singular verb form has probably been influenced to some extent by the allusion to the young widow in the simile of v. 8.

³³ tn Or “a young woman” (TEV, CEV). See the note on the phrase “husband-to-be” in the next line.

³⁴ tn Heb “over the death of.” The term “lamenting” does not appear in the Hebrew, but is supplied in the translation for smoothness.

³⁵ sn Heb “the husband of her youth.” The woman described here may already be married, so the reference is to the death of a husband rather than a fiancé (a husband-to-be). Either way, the simile describes a painful and unexpected loss to which the national tragedy Joel is describing may be compared.

³⁶ tn Heb “house.” So also in vv. 13, 14, 16.

³⁷ tn Heb “grain offering and drink offering are cut off from the house of the Lord,”

³⁸ tn Heb “the field has been utterly destroyed.” The term “field,” a collective singular for “fields,” is a metonymy for crops produced by the fields.

³⁹ tn Joel uses intentionally alliterative language in the phrases שֻׁדַּד שָׂדֶה (shuddad sadeh, “the field is destroyed”) and אֲבְלָה אֲדָמָה (’avlah ’adamah, “the ground is in mourning”).

⁴⁰ tn Heb “embarrassed”; or “be ashamed.”

⁴¹ 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.

⁴² tn These words are not in the Hebrew text but are supplied in the translation for clarity.

⁴³ tn Heb “the sons of man.”

⁴⁴ tn Heb “put on.” There is no object present in the Hebrew text, but many translations assume “sackcloth” to be the understood object of the verb “put on.” Its absence in the Hebrew text of v. 13 is probably due to metrical considerations. The meter here is 3 + 3, and that has probably influenced the prophet’s choice of words.

⁴⁵ tn Heb “for grain offering and drink offering are withheld from the house of your God.”

⁴⁶ tn Heb “consecrate a fast” (so NASB).

⁴⁷ tc The conjunction “and” does not appear in MT or LXX, but does appear in some Qumran texts (4QXII^c and 4QXII^g).