Yoel 2:1

The Locusts’ Devastation

2:1 Blow the trumpet ¹  in Zion;

sound the alarm signal on my holy mountain!

Let all the inhabitants of the land shake with fear,

for the day of the Lord is about to come.

Indeed, ²  it is near! ³ 

Yoel 2:5

2:5 They sound like ⁴  chariots rumbling ⁵  over mountain tops,

like the crackling ⁶  of blazing fire consuming stubble,

like the noise of ⁷  a mighty army ⁸  being drawn up for battle. ⁹ 

Yoel 3:8

3:8 I will sell your sons and daughters to ¹⁰  the people of Judah. ¹¹ 

They will sell them to the Sabeans, ¹²  a nation far away.

Indeed, the Lord has spoken!

[2:1]  ¹ tn The word translated “trumpet” here (so most English versions) is the Hebrew שׁוֹפָר (shofar). The shophar was a wind instrument made from a cow or ram’s horn and used as a military instrument for calling people to attention in the face of danger or as a religious instrument for calling people to occasions of communal celebration.

[2:1]  ² tn Or “for.”

[2:1]  ³ sn The interpretation of 2:1-11 is very difficult. Four views may be mentioned here. (1) Some commentators understand this section to be describing a human invasion of Judah on the part of an ancient army. The exact identity of this army (e.g., Assyrian or Babylonian) varies among interpreters depending upon issues of dating for the book of Joel. (2) Some commentators take the section to describe an eschatological scene in which the army according to some is human, or according to others is nonhuman (i.e., angelic). (3) Some interpreters argue for taking the section to refer to the potential advent in the fall season of a severe east wind (i.e., Sirocco) that would further exacerbate the conditions of the land described in chapter one. (4) Finally, some interpreters understand the section to continue the discussion of locust invasion and drought described in chapter one, partly on the basis that there is no clear exegetical evidence in 2:1-11 to suggest a shift of referent from that of chapter one.

[2:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “like the sound of.”

[2:5]  sn The repetition of the word of comparison (“like”) in vv. 4-7 should not go unnoticed. The author is comparing the locust invasion to familiar aspects of human invasion. If the preposition has its normal force here, it is similarity and not identity that is intended. In other words, locusts are being likened to human armies, but human armies are not actually present. On the other hand, this Hebrew preposition is also on occasion used to indicate exactitude, a function described by grammarians as kaph veritatis.

[2:5]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ tn Heb “sound.”

[2:5]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ tn Heb “people.”

[2:5]  ⁹ tn Heb “being arrayed of battle.”

[3:8]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “into the hand of.”

[3:8]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the sons of Judah.”

[3:8]  ¹² sn The Sabeans were Arabian merchants who were influential along the ancient caravan routes that traveled through Arabia. See also Job 1:15; Isa 43:3; 45:14; Ps 72:10.