I. Introduction 1:1

Yahweh's word (message) came to Joel (lit. "Yahweh is God"), the son of Pethuel.⁷Therefore what follows demands careful attention and appropriate response. We do not know anything about Joel or Pethuel's personal backgrounds, even when they lived. This title does not tell where they lived either, though references that follow suggest that Joel lived in Judah. Hosea, Micah, and Zephaniah introduced their prophecies similarly.