Yoel 1:8

A Call to Lament

1:8 Wail ¹  like a young virgin ²  clothed in sackcloth,

lamenting the death of ³  her husband-to-be. ⁴ 

Yoel 2:23

2:23 Citizens of Zion, ⁵  rejoice!

Be glad because of what the Lord your God has done! ⁶ 

For he has given to you the early rains ⁷  as vindication.

He has sent ⁸  to you the rains –

both the early and the late rains ⁹  as formerly.

[1:8]  ¹ 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]  ² tn Or “a young woman” (TEV, CEV). See the note on the phrase “husband-to-be” in the next line.

[1:8]  ³ 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]  ⁴ 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.

[2:23]  ⁵ tn Heb “sons of Zion.”

[2:23]  ⁶ tn Heb “be glad in the Lord your God.”

[2:23]  ⁷ tn Normally the Hebrew word הַמּוֹרֶה (hammoreh) means “the teacher,” but here and in Ps 84:7 it refers to “early rains.” Elsewhere the word for “early rains” is יוֹרֶה (yoreh). The phrase here הַמּוֹרֶה לִצְדָקָה (hammoreh litsdaqah) is similar to the expression “teacher of righteousness” (Heb., מוֹרֶה הַצֶּדֶק , moreh hatsedeq) found in the Dead Sea Scrolls referring to a particular charismatic leader, although the Qumran community seems not to have invoked this text in support of that notion.

[2:23]  ⁸ tn Heb “caused to come down.”

[2:23]  ⁹ sn For half the year Palestine is generally dry. The rainy season begins with the early rains usually in late October to early December, followed by the latter rains in March and April. Without these rains productive farming would not be possible, as Joel’s original readers knew only too well.