Introduction

On the Book of the Prophet Joel

The prophet Joel (Hebrew Joel yehovah el means “Jehovah is God”), as is evident from the inscription of his book, was the son of Pethuel (Hebrew pethuel). No other information is given about the person of the prophet and the circumstances of his life either in the book of Joel itself or in other records of biblical literature. The Bible mentions several persons named Joel (1 Sam 8:2; 1 Chr 5:4 and others). But Joel, the writer of the prophetic book, cannot be identified with any of these persons, nor is there reason to identify, along with the rabbis, Pethuel (pethuel) the father of Joel with Samuel or with Petahiah, mentioned in 1 Chr 24:16, the chief of the 19th priestly order. Some scholars, on the ground that the Book of Joel repeatedly mentions priests (Joel 1:9), the temple (Joel 1:9), and sacrifices, conclude that the prophet belonged to the priestly class. But in the speeches of prophets, who were guardians of the theocracy, such mentions are quite understandable even without supposing that the prophet belonged to the priesthood. The church fathers (Epiphanius and Dorotheus) report a tradition that Joel came from the tribe of Reuben or Gad and lived in the city of Betharan or Bethara beyond the Jordan. But this tradition also has no guarantee of its reliability. From the Book of Joel itself it rather follows that the prophet carried out his ministry in the kingdom of Judah, namely in Jerusalem (Joel 1:9), since his speech is addressed to the sons of Zion, to the inhabitants of Judea and Jerusalem.

The time of life and activity of the prophet Joel is determined exclusively on the basis of the content of his book. But this content is not everywhere clear and does not contain any characteristic and completely precise historical indications. Hence the question of the time of life of the prophet Joel and the origin of his book is controversial and is resolved differently both in Western literature and in ours. Joel was considered a contemporary of Rehoboam (Karl, Pearson), his activity was attributed to the first years of the king of Judah Joash and specifically to 868–838 BC (Credner, Ewald, Hitzig, Orelli, Dobronravov, Yungerov), to the time of Jeroboam II, when Amos carried out his ministry (Schmolper, Knabenbauer, Pokrovsky), to the postexilic period (Hoonacker) and specifically to the 6th century (Scholz), to the middle of the 5th century (Hilgenfeld, Kuenen, Merx), to the end of the 5th and beginning of the 6th century (Nowack, Wellhausen, Marti). Modern researchers of the Book of Joel usually attribute the time of life of the prophet and the origin of his book to the postexilic period. This view is based on the following data:

1) The features of the political, social, and religious state of the people that appear in the Book of Joel correspond to the postexilic time. The prophet says nothing about a king or princes, but only about priests and elders (Joel 2:16-17). Joel presents the Jerusalem temple as the only sanctuary, mentioning neither idolatry nor worship on high places. The prophet speaks only of Judah (Joel 3:1), to which he assigns the name Israel (Joel 3:2), and makes no mention of the ten-tribe kingdom. At the same time, Joel points to the scattering of Israel-Judah among the nations and even to the division by the nations of the land of Israel (Joel 3:2).

2) The Book of Joel has many parallel passages with other books (cf. Joel 3:16 and Amos 1:2; Joel 3 and Amos 9:13; Joel 1:1-4 and Amos 7:1-6; Joel 2:11 and Zeph 1:14-15; Joel 2:14 and Job 3:9; Joel 2:11, 3 and Mal 3:2-3 and others) and especially with the Book of Ezekiel (cf. Joel 3:18 and Ezek 47:1). The general character of the Book of Joel, meanwhile, according to Hoonacker, suggests that the parallel passages were borrowed by the prophet Joel, who consequently must have lived after Ezekiel.

3) Finally, the views expressed in the Book of Joel correspond to the postexilic period. Thus, in the spirit of postexilic time, the prophet attaches great importance to sacrifices and regrets nothing more than the cessation of sacrifices. Meanwhile, the pre-exilic prophets attach secondary importance to sacrifices. Likewise, they say, the view of the “Day of the Lord” as a day of judgment over all nations could arise only in the epoch of Assyrian-Babylonian conquests, but not in ancient times.

It cannot be denied that some features of the Book of Joel, indeed, correspond well to the postexilic period (see items 1 and 2). But on the other hand, the ancient view of the Book of Joel as a pre-exilic book also has sufficiently solid foundations, the evidential force of which is recognized even by representatives of modern critical scholarship (Baudissin, Gautier). The main argument in favor of the antiquity of the Book of Joel and its pre-exilic origin is the place of the book among the earliest prophetic books (Hosea, Joel, Amos). In the very content of the book there are features more understandable in pre-exilic time than in postexilic. Thus, as enemies of Judah in the Book of Joel are mentioned peoples who had relations with Judah in ancient time—namely, Tyre, Sidon, the Philistines, Edom. According to the testimony (2 Chr 21:16) in the time of King Joram (9th century), the Philistines and Arabs indeed attacked the Judean territory, and the sons and wives of the king were captured. Also under Joram the Edomites revolted from the Judeans and the city of Libnah was captured (2 Sam 8:20-22), probably by the Philistines. On the other hand, many features indicated by commentators in the Book of Joel as characteristic of postexilic time can be explained from the perspective of pre-exilic history. Thus, the representation of the people of God, Israel, only as Judeans and the silence about the ten-tribe kingdom is permissible also for the time before the destruction of Samaria: it can be explained by the ten-tribe kingdom’s deviation into the worship of calves. Mention of the temple as the only lawful place of worship is understandable also in pre-exilic time. The Book of Joel’s speech about the scattering of Israel among the nations, about the division of the land of Israel, about the selling into captivity of the Judeans is undoubtedly more understandable in postexilic time; but the facts noted in 2 Chr 21:16; 2 Sam 8:20-22 also could have provided sufficient occasion for such speech. The prophet’s silence about idolatry, about high places, in which some see a feature of postexilic time, would be nothing particularly surprising if we take into account that in the Book of Joel individual sins of the people are not named at all. The non-mention by the Book of Joel of a king, without doubt, appears surprising for pre-exilic time. But on the other hand, if one were to recognize the Book of Joel as a postexilic work, it would be no less surprising not to mention the high priest during a general calamity.

As for the evidence of the postexilic origin of the Book of Joel set forth above, derived from the views of the prophet and from the fact of the similarity of many passages of his book with other prophetic writings, these proofs cannot be considered especially strong. Joel’s view of the significance of sacrifices does not contradict the view of the pre-exilic prophets on sacrifices, since they too did not deny the significance of sacrifices, but struggled against only an external, formal approach to sacrifices (cf. Amos 5:21-24; Isa 1:11). The idea of the “Day of the Lord” is known also to pre-exilic prophets (Amos 5:18). And the fact that many passages of the Book of Joel have parallels with other books can be explained as well by the borrowing on the part of the prophet Joel from other writers as by the assumption that the parallel passages in the Book of Joel served as the original.

From what has been said it follows that the question of the time of life of the prophet Joel and the origin of his book is difficult to resolve with certainty. But it is certain that the ancient view of the Book of Joel as a pre-exilic book has sufficiently solid foundations. If we regard the Book of Joel as a pre-exilic work, then its origin should be attributed to the first years of the reign of Joash, king of Judah, that is, approximately to the middle of the 9th century (868–838). The prophet’s mention of the attack by the Philistines (Joel 3:4), we may suppose, has in mind the fact of the attack by the Philistines on Judea under Joram (2 Chr 21:10). Consequently, the prophet wrote his book after this fact, that is, approximately after 879 BC. On the other hand, the silence about the Assyrians and Syrians in the depiction of judgment on the nations gives reason to conclude that the prophet wrote his book before the invasion of the Assyrians (746) and before the plundering of Jerusalem by the Syrians (2 Chr 24:23), which took place in 828 BC. The supposition of the origin of the Book of Joel in the first years of King Joash, when the pious high priest Jehoiada guided him during his minority, well explains both the non-mention of the book about the king, and its silence about idolatry, and the recognition of particular significance for priests and elders.

The content of the Book of Joel. The Book of Joel in our Bible consists of three chapters, and in the Hebrew Bible of four, so Joel 2:27-32 is separated there into a special chapter. The Book of Joel, besides the inscription, contains, it seems, two speeches, divided by a brief historical note in Joel 2:18-19. The book represents something whole and contains a prophecy about the great “Day of the Lord,” that is, a day of judgment of the Lord over the nations. The first speech of the prophet is pronounced by him on the occasion of a severe calamity that befell the country, namely the invasion of locusts (Joel 1:2-16) and drought (Joel 1:17-20). The prophet describes this calamity in detail and calls all to repentance and prayer for mercy (Joel 2:13-17). Regarding the first speech of the prophet Joel, the question has long been discussed in the exegetical literature of how the descriptions of calamity contained in the speech should be understood. Some ancient and modern commentators on the Book of Joel believe that the description of the invasion of locusts contained in Joel 1:4-2:11 should be understood in an allegorical sense, as a description of an invasion of enemies, and should be referred not to the present or past, but to the future. Thus, Saint Ephrem the Syrian interprets the descriptions of the invasion of locusts in Joel in relation to the Assyrians and Babylonians. “Into the land of Israel,” says the holy father, “different armies from Assyria and from Babylon invaded under the leadership of four leaders. The first invaded was Tiglath-Pileser, this is the caterpillars; the second was Shalmaneser, this is the winged locusts; the third Sennacherib is the palmerworms; the fourth Nebuchadnezzar, this is the grasshoppers. Therefore the meaning of the prophecy is this: the remnant of caterpillars, that is, what was left by Tiglath-Pileser was consumed by locusts, that is, by Shalmaneser; the remnant of locusts was consumed by palmerworms, that is, by Sennacherib, and the remnant of palmerworms was consumed by grasshoppers, that is, by Nebuchadnezzar” (Works of Saint Ephrem the Syrian, vol. 8, Moscow 1853, p. 131–132). Blessed Jerome, while not denying also the literal sense in the description of locusts in the prophet Joel, at the same time interprets this description allegorically, understanding under the different types of locusts the Assyrians, Babylonians, Medes, Persians and Romans. In modern times the allegorical interpretation of the first speech of Joel was held by Hengstenberg and Hilgenfeld, the latter finding in the name of four types of locusts an indication of four Persian armies that ravaged Palestine during campaigns to Egypt (under Cambyses in 525 BC, under Xerxes 484 and under Artaxerxes in 460 and 458 BC). By modern commentators both Western and Russian (Dobronravov, Book of Joel, p. 82) the first speech of the prophet Joel is usually understood literally, and one should agree with such understanding. If the prophet had in mind in his description an invasion of enemies, he would have named them directly, as is done in Joel 3. Moreover, the description of the devastation of the country made by the prophet corresponds precisely to devastation from the invasion of locusts ((Joel 1:7)—“the branches became white”; (Joel 1:12)—“the grapevine withered and the fig tree withered”). And in Joel 2:7 the locust is compared with an army, which suggests that the speech is not about an army. The description of the destruction of the locust is not applicable to an army (Joel 2:20). To what has been said should be added that the description of the calamity refers to a fact that has already occurred, not to the future. All the verbs encountered in the description are used in the form of the perfect.

In Joel 1:16 the prophet says: “Is not the food taken away before our eyes,” that is, he clearly represents himself and his listeners as witnesses of the calamity. If the prophet were speaking of the future, then his appeal to the elders “was there such a thing in your days, or in the days of your fathers?” (Joel 1:2) would have no sense.

Thus, the first speech was pronounced by Joel on the occasion of the invasion of locusts that had befallen the country. This severe calamity, contrary to the opinion of defenders of the allegorical understanding (Joel 1-2), was sufficient occasion for the prophet to come forward with a call to repentance. But in the eyes of the prophet this calamity has, moreover, special significance: it is an image and a herald of the dreadful Day of the Lord, a day of judgment. Therefore, in the description of the prophet the image merges with what is depicted, the features of the “Day of the Lord” are transferred to the calamity that has befallen the country, and the latter he describes partly hyperbolically (Joel 2:2-3).

The people heeded the prophet’s call to repentance and prayer. Then the Lord became jealous for his land and spared his people (Joel 2:18). After this the prophet turned to the people with a second, comforting speech (Joel 2:19-3:1). The prophet announces in this speech that the Lord will send the people an abundance of grain, wine and oil, will destroy the locusts and will send both the early and the late rain (Joel 2:19-26). But the abundance of earthly blessings is only an image of spiritual blessings that will be sent to the people at some time. The prophet announces that some day the Holy Spirit will be poured out upon all flesh and the fruit of this will be that all will become prophets (Joel 2:27-30). With the fulfillment of this will come the Day of the Lord, which will be preceded by fearful phenomena in heaven and on earth (Joel 2:30-31), and in which only those who call upon the name of the Lord will be saved (Joel 2:32). The Day of the Lord will be a day of judgment. The prophet in Joel 3 depicts this judgment of the Lord in a series of magnificent images. On this day something will happen similar to what once happened in the valley of blessing, where Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, defeated the enemies who had attacked Judah (2 Chr 20:1-30). The Lord will punish the Phoenicians and Philistines, oppressors of his people (Joel 3:1-8), and then will execute judgment also over all other nations. But the Day of the Lord’s judgment will not be terrible for Israel: for it will be the beginning of a blessed life, when “the mountains will flow with sweet wine, and the hills will flow with milk, the springs will be filled with water, and from the house of the Lord will flow a stream, which will water the barren valley of Shittim” (Joel 3:18).

The language of the Book of Joel is distinguished by purity, simplicity and clarity. His speech flows with consistency, without digressions and abrupt transitions encountered in other prophets. The images of the prophet are distinguished by beauty and vividness (Joel 1:6). In general, by its literary qualities the Book of Joel is ranked by researchers among the most perfect works of biblical literature. The text has been preserved in purity and without significant variations, is transmitted in the original and in ancient translations.

Literature on the Book of Joel

1) Foreign.

Credner, Der Prophet Joel Ubersetz. und erklart. 1831.

Merx. Die Praphetie Joel und ihre Austeger. 1879.

Scholz, Commentar zum Buche Joel. 1885.

Driver, The books of Joel and Amos. 1801.

2) Russian.

E. Palladius, Commentary on the Holy Prophet Joel, 1872.

Smirnov, The Holy Prophet Joel. 1873.

Pokrovsky. The Time of Activity of the Prophet Joel and the Composition of His Book. Christian Reading 1876, vols. I-II.

N. Dobronravov. The Book of the Prophet Joel. 1885 (Master’s dissertation). See Gante general works on the books of the minor prophets.