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 1:4

1:4 What the gazam-locust left the ‘arbeh-locust consumed, ⁵ 

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

and what the yeleq-locust left the hasil-locust consumed! ⁶ 

Joel 1:11

1:11 Be distressed, ⁷  farmers;

wail, vinedressers, over the wheat and the barley.

For the harvest of the field has perished.

Joel 2:11

2:11 The voice of the Lord thunders ⁸  as he leads his army. ⁹ 

Indeed, his warriors ¹⁰  are innumerable; ¹¹ 

Surely his command is carried out! ¹² 

Yes, the day of the Lord is awesome ¹³ 

and very terrifying – who can survive ¹⁴  it?

Joel 2:25-26

2:25 I will make up for the years ¹⁵ 

that the ‘arbeh-locust ¹⁶  consumed your crops ¹⁷  –

the yeleq-locust, the hasil-locust, and the gazam-locust –

my great army ¹⁸  that I sent against you.

2:26 You will have plenty to eat,

and your hunger will be fully satisfied; ¹⁹ 

you will praise the name of the Lord your God,

who has acted wondrously in your behalf.

My people will never again be put to shame.

Joel 3:2

3:2 Then I will gather all the nations,

and bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat. ²⁰ 

I will enter into judgment ²¹  against them there

concerning my people Israel who are my inheritance, ²² 

whom they scattered among the nations.

They partitioned my land,

Joel 3:13

3:13 Rush forth with ²³  the sickle, for the harvest is ripe!

Come, stomp the grapes, ²⁴  for the winepress is full!

The vats overflow.

Indeed, their evil is great! ²⁵ 

[1:1]  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.

[1:1]  ² tn Heb “the word of the Lord.”

[1:1]  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.

[1:1]  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.

[1:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “eaten.” This verb is repeated three times in v. 4 to emphasize the total devastation of the crops by this locust invasion.

[1:4]  ⁶ 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.”

[1:11]  ⁹ tn Heb “embarrassed”; or “be ashamed.”

[2:11]  ¹³ tn Heb “the Lord gives his voice.”

[2:11]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “before his army.”

[2:11]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “military encampment.”

[2:11]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “very large.”

[2:11]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “he makes his word powerful.”

[2:11]  ¹⁸ tn Or “powerful.” Heb “great.”

[2:11]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “endure.” The MT and LXX read “endure,” while one of the Qumran manuscripts (4QXXII^c) has “bear.”

[2:25]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “I will restore to you the years.”

[2:25]  ¹⁸ sn The same four terms for locust are used here as in 1:4, but in a different order. This fact creates some difficulty for the notion that the four words refer to four distinct stages of locust development.

[2:25]  ¹⁹ tn The term “your crops” does not appear in the Hebrew, but has been supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity and smoothness.

[2:25]  ²⁰ sn Here Joel employs military language to describe the locusts. In the prophet’s thinking this invasion was far from being a freak accident. Rather, the Lord is pictured here as a divine warrior who leads his army into the land as a punishment for past sin and as a means of bringing about spiritual renewal on the part of the people.

[2:26]  ²¹ tn Heb “you will surely eat and be satisfied.”

[3:2]  ²⁵ sn There is a play on words here. Jehoshaphat in Hebrew means “the Lord has judged,” and the next line in v. 2 further explicates this thought. The location of this valley is uncertain (cf. v. 12). Many interpreters have understood the Valley of Jehoshaphat to be the Kidron Valley, located on the east side of old Jerusalem. Since this is described as a scene of future messianic activity and judgment, many Jews and Muslims have desired to be buried in the vicinity, a fact attested to in modern times by the presence of many graves in the area. A variation of this view is mentioned by Eusebius, Onomasticon 1:10. According to this view, the Valley of Jehoshaphat is located in the Hinnom Valley, on the south side of the old city. Yet another view is held by many modern scholars, who understand the reference to this valley to be one of an idealized and nonliteral scene of judgment.

[3:2]  ²⁶ tn Heb “I will execute judgment.”

[3:2]  ²⁷ tn Heb “concerning my people and my inheritance Israel.”

[3:13]  ²⁹ tn Heb “send.”

[3:13]  ³⁰ tn Heb “go down” or “tread.” The Hebrew term רְדוּ (rÿdu) may be from יָרַד (yarad, “to go down”) or from רָדָה (radah, “have dominion,” here in the sense of “to tread”). If it means “go down,” the reference would be to entering the vat to squash the grapes. If it means “tread,” the verb would refer specifically to the action of those who walk over the grapes to press out their juice. The phrase “the grapes” is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[3:13]  ³¹ sn The immediacy of judgment upon wickedness is likened to the urgency required for a harvest that has reached its pinnacle of development. When the harvest is completely ripe, there can be no delay by the reapers in gathering the harvest. In a similar way, Joel envisions a time when human wickedness will reach such a heightened degree that there can be no further stay of divine judgment (cf. the “fullness of time” language in Gal 4:4).