Discovery BoxJoel 1:6-8
Context1:6 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
1:7 They 7 have destroyed our 8 vines; 9
they have turned our 10 fig trees into mere splinters.
They have completely stripped off the bark 11 and thrown them aside;
the 12 twigs are stripped bare. 13
[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] 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.”
[1:7] 7 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.
[1:7] 9 tn Both “vines” and “fig trees” are singular in the Hebrew text, but are regarded as collective singulars.
[1:7] 11 tn Heb “it has completely stripped her.”
[1:8] 14 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.
[1:8] 15 tn Or “a young woman” (TEV, CEV). See the note on the phrase “husband-to-be” in the next line.
[1:8] 16 tn Heb “over the death of.” The term “lamenting” does not appear in the Hebrew, but is supplied in the translation for smoothness.
[1:8] 17 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.
