Yoel 2:25

2:25 I will make up for the years ¹ 

that the ‘arbeh-locust ²  consumed your crops ³  –

the yeleq-locust, the hasil-locust, and the gazam-locust –

my great army ⁴  that I sent against you.

Yoel 1:1

Introduction

1:1 This ⁵  is the Lord’s message ⁶  that was given ⁷ 

to Joel ⁸  the son of Pethuel:

Yoel 3:5

3:5 For you took my silver and my gold

and brought my precious valuables to your own palaces. ⁹ 

Yoel 3:1

The Lord Plans to Judge the Nations

3:1 (4:1) ¹⁰  For look! In those ¹¹  days and at that time

I will return the exiles ¹²  to Judah and Jerusalem. ¹³ 

Yoel 3:7

3:7 Look! I am rousing them from that place to which you sold them.

I will repay you for what you have done! ¹⁴ 

Yoel 2:32

2:32 It will so happen that

everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be delivered. ¹⁵ 

For on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem ¹⁶  there will be those who survive, ¹⁷ 

just as the Lord has promised;

the remnant ¹⁸  will be those whom the Lord will call. ¹⁹ 

Yoel 2:26

2:26 You will have plenty to eat,

and your hunger will be fully satisfied; ²⁰ 

you will praise the name of the Lord your God,

who has acted wondrously in your behalf.

My people will never again be put to shame.

Yoel 3:19

3:19 Egypt will be desolate

and Edom will be a desolate wilderness,

because of the violence they did to the people of Judah, ²¹ 

in whose land they shed innocent blood.

Yoel 3:2

3:2 Then I will gather all the nations,

and bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat. ²² 

I will enter into judgment ²³  against them there

concerning my people Israel who are my inheritance, ²⁴ 

whom they scattered among the nations.

They partitioned my land,

[2:25]  ¹ tn Heb “I will restore to you the years.”

[2:25]  sn The plural years suggests that the plague to which Joel refers was not limited to a single season. Apparently the locusts were a major problem over several successive years. One season of drought and locust invasion would have been bad enough. Several such years would have been devastating.

[2:25]  ² sn The same four terms for locust are used here as in 1:4, but in a different order. This fact creates some difficulty for the notion that the four words refer to four distinct stages of locust development.

[2:25]  ³ tn The term “your crops” does not appear in the Hebrew, but has been supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity and smoothness.

[2:25]  ⁴ sn Here Joel employs military language to describe the locusts. In the prophet’s thinking this invasion was far from being a freak accident. Rather, the Lord is pictured here as a divine warrior who leads his army into the land as a punishment for past sin and as a means of bringing about spiritual renewal on the part of the people.

[1:1]  ⁵ sn The dating of the book of Joel is a matter of dispute. Some scholars date the book as early as the ninth century b.c., during the reign of the boy-king Joash. This view is largely based on the following factors: an argument from silence (e.g., the book of Joel does not mention a king, perhaps because other officials de facto carried out his responsibilities, and there is no direct mention in the book of such later Israelite enemies as the Assyrians, Babylonians, and Persians); inconclusive literary assumptions (e.g., the eighth-century prophet Amos in Amos 9:13 alludes to Joel 3:18); the canonical position of the book (i.e., it is the second book of the Minor Prophets); and literary style (i.e., the book is thought to differ in style from the postexilic prophetic writings). While such an early date for the book is not impossible, none of the arguments used to support it is compelling. Later dates for the book that have been defended by various scholars are, for example, the late seventh century or early sixth century or sometime in the postexilic period (anytime from late sixth century to late fourth century). Most modern scholars seem to date the book of Joel sometime between 400 and 350 b.c. For a helpful discussion of date see J. A. Thompson, “The Date of the Book of Joel,” A Light unto My Path, 453-64. Related to the question of date is a major exegetical issue: Is the army of chapter two to be understood figuratively as describing the locust invasion of chapter one, or is the topic of chapter two an invasion of human armies, either the Babylonians or an eschatological foe? If the enemy could be conclusively identified as the Babylonians, for example, this would support a sixth-century date for the book.

[1:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “the word of the Lord.”

[1:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “that was.” The term “given” does not appear in the Hebrew, but is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity and smoothness.

[1:1]  ⁸ sn The name Joel means in Hebrew “the Lord is God.” There are a dozen or so individuals with this name in the OT.

[3:5]  ⁹ tn Or perhaps, “temples.”

[3:1]  ¹⁰ sn Joel 3:1 in the English Bible is 4:1 in the Hebrew text (BHS). See also the note at 2:28.

[3:1]  ¹¹ tc The MT and LXX read “in those days,” while MurXII reads “in that day.”

[3:1]  ¹² tc The Kethib reads אָשִׁיב (’ashiv, “return the captivity [captives]), while the Qere is אָשׁוּב (’ashuv, “restore the fortunes”). Many modern English versions follow the Qere reading. Either reading seems to fit the context. Joel refers to an exile of the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem in 3:2-6 and their return from exile in 3:7. On the other hand, 2:25-26 describes the reversal of judgment and restoration of the covenant blessings. However, the former seems to be the concern of the immediate context.

[3:1]  ¹³ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[3:7]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “I will return your recompense on your head.”

[2:32]  ¹⁵ tn While a number of English versions render this as “saved” (e.g., NIV, NRSV, NLT), this can suggest a “spiritual” or “theological” salvation rather than the physical deliverance from the cataclysmic events of the day of the Lord described in the context.

[2:32]  ¹⁶ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[2:32]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “deliverance”; or “escape.” The abstract noun “deliverance” or “escape” probably functions here as an example of antimeria, referring to those who experience deliverance or escape with their lives: “escaped remnant” or “surviving remnant” (Gen 32:8; 45:7; Judg 21:17; 2 Kgs 19:30, 31; Isa 4:2; 10:20; 15:9; 37:31, 32; Ezek 14:22; Obad 1:17; Ezra 9:8, 13-15; Neh 1:2; 1 Chr 4:43; 2 Chr 30:6).

[2:32]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “and among the remnant.”

[2:32]  ¹⁹ tn The participle used in the Hebrew text seems to indicate action in the imminent future.

[2:26]  ²⁰ tn Heb “you will surely eat and be satisfied.”

[3:19]  ²¹ tn Heb “violence of the sons of Judah.” The phrase “of the sons of Judah” is an objective genitive (cf. KJV “the violence against the children of Judah”; NAB, NIV, NRSV “violence done to the people of Judah”). It refers to injustices committed against the Judeans, not violence that the Judeans themselves had committed against others.

[3:2]  ²² sn There is a play on words here. Jehoshaphat in Hebrew means “the Lord has judged,” and the next line in v. 2 further explicates this thought. The location of this valley is uncertain (cf. v. 12). Many interpreters have understood the Valley of Jehoshaphat to be the Kidron Valley, located on the east side of old Jerusalem. Since this is described as a scene of future messianic activity and judgment, many Jews and Muslims have desired to be buried in the vicinity, a fact attested to in modern times by the presence of many graves in the area. A variation of this view is mentioned by Eusebius, Onomasticon 1:10. According to this view, the Valley of Jehoshaphat is located in the Hinnom Valley, on the south side of the old city. Yet another view is held by many modern scholars, who understand the reference to this valley to be one of an idealized and nonliteral scene of judgment.

[3:2]  ²³ tn Heb “I will execute judgment.”

[3:2]  ²⁴ tn Heb “concerning my people and my inheritance Israel.”