Joel 1:6

1:6 For a nation ¹  has invaded ²  our ³  land.

There are so many of them they are too numerous to count. ⁴ 

Their teeth are like those ⁵  of a lion;

they tear apart their prey like a lioness. ⁶ 

Joel 2:5

2:5 They sound like ⁷  chariots rumbling ⁸  over mountain tops,

like the crackling ⁹  of blazing fire consuming stubble,

like the noise of ¹⁰  a mighty army ¹¹  being drawn up for battle. ¹² 

[1:6]  ¹ 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).

[1:6]  ² tn Heb “has come up against.”

[1:6]  ³ tn Heb “my.”

[1:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “[It] is huge and there is not number.”

[1:6]  ⁵ tn Heb “its teeth are the teeth of a lion.”

[1:6]  ⁶ 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.”

[2:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “like the sound of.”

[2:5]  ⁸ tn Heb “jostling” or “leaping.” There is question whether this pictures chariots rumbling over the mountains (e.g., 2 Sam 6:14,16; 1 Chr 15:29; Nah 3:2) or the locusts flying – or “leaping” – over the mountains (e.g., Job 21:11); see BDB 955 s.v. רָקַד.

[2:5]  ⁹ tn Heb “sound.”

[2:5]  ¹⁰ tn The phrase “the noise of” does not appear in the Hebrew, but is implied by the parallelism, so it has been supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.

[2:5]  ¹¹ tn Heb “people.”

[2:5]  ¹² tn Heb “being arrayed of battle.”