Yoel 1:3

1:3 Tell your children ¹  about it,

have your children tell their children,

and their children the following generation. ² 

Yoel 1:6

1:6 For a nation ³  has invaded ⁴  our ⁵  land.

There are so many of them they are too numerous to count. ⁶ 

Their teeth are like those ⁷  of a lion;

they tear apart their prey like a lioness. ⁸ 

[1:3]  ¹ tn Heb “sons.” This word occurs several times in this verse.

[1:3]  ² 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.

[1:6]  ³ 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]  ⁴ tn Heb “has come up against.”

[1:6]  ⁵ tn Heb “my.”

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

[1:6]  ⁷ tn Heb “its teeth are the teeth of a lion.”

[1:6]  ⁸ 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.”