Book of Joel
The Book of Joel is part of the Hebrew Bible and Christian Old Testament, one of twelve prophetic books known as the Twelve Minor Prophets.
Content
After a superscription ascribing the prophecy to Joel, the book may be broken down into the following sections:- Lament over a great locust plague and a severe drought.
- * The effects of these events on agriculture, farmers, and on the supply of agricultural offerings for the Temple in Jerusalem, interspersed with a call to national lament.
- * A more apocalyptic passage comparing the locusts to an army, and revealing that they are God's army.
- * A call to national repentance in the face of God's judgment.
- Promise of future blessings.
- * Banishment of the locusts and restoration of agricultural productivity as a divine response to national penitence.
- * Future prophetic gifts to all God's people, and the safety of God's people in the face of cosmic cataclysm.
- Coming judgment on the Kingdom of Judah's enemies: the Philistines, the Kingdom of Edom, and the Kingdom of Egypt.
Chapters
- Jewish Publication Society's version of the Hebrew Bible
- Jerusalem Bible
- New American Bible
- Complete Jewish Bible
- Tree of Life Version
The differences of the division is as follows:
| English/Greek | Hebrew |
| Joel 1 | Joel 1 |
| Joel 2:1–27 | Joel 2 |
| Joel 2:28–32 | Joel 3 |
| Joel 3 | Joel 4 |
Historical context
As there are no explicit references in the book to datable persons or events, scholars have assigned a wide range of dates to the book. The main positions are:- Ninth century BC, particularly in the reign of Joash – a position especially popular among nineteenth-century scholars
- Early eighth century BC, during the reign of Uzziah
- c. 630–587 BC, in the last decades of the kingdom of Judah
- c. 520–500 BC, contemporary with the return of the exiles and the careers of Zechariah and Haggai.
- The decades around 400 BC, during the Persian period
Joel 1 and 2 are preserved in the Dead Sea Scrolls, in fragmentary manuscripts 4Q78, 4Q82, and the Scroll Wadi Muraba’at.
History of interpretation
The Masoretic text places Joel between Hosea and Amos, while the Septuagint order is Hosea–Amos–Micah–Joel–Obadiah–Jonah. The Hebrew text of Joel seems to have suffered little from scribal transmission, but is at a few points supplemented by the Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate versions, or by conjectural emendation. While the book purports to describe a plague of locusts, some ancient Jewish opinion saw the locusts as allegorical interpretations of Israel's enemies. This allegorical interpretation was applied to the church by many church fathers. Calvin took a literal interpretation of chapter 1, but allegorical view of chapter 2, a position echoed by some modern interpreters. Most modern interpreters, however, see Joel speaking of a literal locust plague given a prophetic/ apocalyptic interpretation.The traditional ascription of the whole book to the prophet Joel was challenged in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries by a theory of a three-stage process of composition: 1:1–2:27 were from the hand of Joel, and dealt with a contemporary issue; 2:28–3:21/3:1–4:21 were ascribed to a continuator with an apocalyptic outlook. Mentions in the first half of the book to the day of the Lord were also ascribed to this continuator. 3:4–8/4:4–8 could be seen as even later. Details of exact ascriptions differed between scholars.
This splitting of the book's composition began to be challenged in the mid-twentieth century, with scholars defending the unity of the book, the plausibility of the prophet combining a contemporary and apocalyptic outlook, and later additions by the prophet. The authenticity of 3:4–8 has presented more challenges, although a number of scholars still defend it.
Biblical quotes and allusions
There are many parallels of language between Joel and other Old Testament prophets. They may represent Joel's literary use of other prophets, or vice versa.In the New Testament, his prophecy of the outpouring of God's Holy Spirit upon all people was notably quoted by Saint Peter in his Pentecost sermon.
Joel 3:10 / 4:10 is a rare reversed reference to swords to plowshares.
The table below represents some of the more explicit quotes and allusions between specific passages in Joel and passages from the Old and New Testaments.
| Joel | Old Testament | New Testament |
| 1:6, 2:2–10 | Revelation 9:3, 7–9 | |
| 1:15 | Isaiah 13:6 Ezekiel 30:2–3 | |
| 2:1 | Zephaniah 1:14–16 | |
| 2:1–2 | Amos 5:18, 20 | |
| 2:11 | Malachi 3:2 | |
| 2:14 | Jonah 3:9 | |
| 2:20–21 | Psalm 126:2–3 | |
| 2:27 | Isaiah 45:5 Ezekiel 36:11 | |
| 2:28–32/3:1–5 | Acts | |
| 2:31/3:4 | Malachi 3:23/4:5 | |
| 2:32/3:5 | Obadiah 17 | Romans 10:13 |
| 3:1/4:1 | Psalm 126:1 | |
| 3:10/4:10 | Isaiah 2:4 Micah 4:3 | |
| 3:16/4:16 | Amos 1:2 | |
| 3:17/4:17 | Obadiah 17 | |
| 3:18/4:18 | Amos 9:13 |