INTRODUCTION TO

Joel

JOEL WARNED HIS PEOPLE of the coming Day of the Lord. Unless repentance was forthcoming, God’s judgment would come against them. The Scriptures indicate that the Day of the Lord that Joel’s contemporaries faced was just a foretaste of a final, universal judgment: In the future, God will deal with all sinful nations and people. He will then establish for himself a redeemed, purified people upon whom he will pour out his blessings. Peter’s use of Joel’s prophecy (cf. Acts 2:17-21 with Joel 2:28-32) gives assurance that all believers in Christ can experience the blessings of spiritual life prior to the great judgment of God.

AUTHOR

Modern scholarship largely accepts the unity of the book of Joel and has agreed that Joel was its author. Beyond his name (meaning “Yahweh is God”) and patrilineage (the son of Pethuel [Bathouel in the LXX]), little is known of his personal circumstances. Although some have suggested the possibility that Joel might have been a priest, due to his strong interest in ritual fasting and prayer (Finley 1990:2), all that can be said with certainty is that the prophet was a man of vitality and maturity who understood the spiritual significance of contemporary issues.

DATE AND OCCASION OF WRITING

When an unprecedented locust infestation blanketed the land, Joel understood it as nothing less than the Day of the Lord’s judgment, a foretaste of an even greater judgment if the people did not mend their ways. Accordingly, Joel wrote to call the people to repentance and restoration to God’s favor so as to avoid that coming divine punishment. The issues concerning the Day of the Lord would afford the prophet the opportunity to reveal God’s intentions for the great Day of the Lord in the eschatological future.

The date of the book’s composition must coincide with the time of a terrible locust plague. But this is a matter of heated scholarly debate. Conjectures have ranged from the ninth century BC to the time of the Maccabees in the second century BC. Some (e.g., Keil) have found evidence for the time of the boy-king Joash (835–796 BC) in the fact that Joel does not mention any king and because prominence is given to the Temple and priesthood. Some (e.g., Pusey) have opted for an early eighth-century date, citing correspondences between Joel’s material and that of Amos, as well as the locust plague itself (cf. Amos 1:2; 4:9; 7:1-3 with Zech 14:5). Others opt for a late preexilic time, stressing either Joel’s supposed receptivity to Jeremiah’s influence (e.g., Kapelrud) or the actions in 3:2b as being best explained as reflecting a time between the Babylonian invasions of Jerusalem in 597 and 586 BC (e.g., Rudolph). Still others favor an exilic setting (e.g., Reicke) or an early (e.g., Allen) or later (e.g., Wolff) postexilic date (400 BC and later).

In addition to these data, scholars have noted that Joel often speaks in terms that are paralleled in other prophets. The question, of course, is whether Joel has drawn upon others for his text, or whether they have utilized his prophecy, or whether all have drawn upon a common prophetic repertoire. Wolff (1977:10-11) avers that Joel is a debtor to other prophets, some as late as Malachi (cf. 2:11b; 3:4 with Mal 3:2; 4:5). Because of this, Joel must have been written “in the century between 445 and 343 BC” (Wolff 1977:15). But, as Chisholm (1990:53) notes, “Arguments based on verbal parallels are notoriously subjective and inconclusive.” Indeed, one could just as easily point to a rather strong case for Zephaniah’s use of Joel (cf. 2:1-2, 11 with Zeph 1:14-18), as well as dozens of lexical and theological correspondences that Joel has in common with the other eighth-century prophets, making Joel a spokesman of that era.

The complexities of the data and arguments preclude any dogmatic decision, but there is much to commend the traditional conservative preference for a preexilic date. Perhaps most telling is the plague itself. While such incursions are common enough in the ancient Near East, the late eighth-century Assyrian hymn to Nanaya, which bears specific literary and linguistic parallels to Joel,[22] and the utilization of the plague motif by Amos (Amos 4:9; 7:1-3), who also has phraseology (Amos 1:2; 9:13; cf. 3:17-18) and subject matter (Amos 1:6, 9; cf. 3:2-4) in common with Joel, make the theory of an eighth-century date at least an attractive possibility.

In the first half of that century, Israel and Judah enjoyed a time of great prosperity. Together the two kingdoms managed to acquire nearly the same territorial dimensions that Solomon held. Both Jeroboam II in the north and Uzziah in the south were strong monarchs who expanded and strengthened their kingdoms (2 Kgs 14:25; 2 Chr 26:6-15).

The kings who followed in the latter half of the eighth century were not of the same caliber as these two, however. Moreover, they found themselves caught up in the rising power of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, beginning with Tiglath-pileser III (745–727 BC), who fought two western campaigns (744–743 BC; 734–732 BC), the second of which saw the capture of age-old Damascus, to Israel’s north. Around that time, the northern kingdom was being led by a series of weak kings and finally fell to the Assyrians in 722 BC. Although Judah managed to survive, it did so at the cost of vassalage in the days of the wicked Ahaz (735–720 BC). Some degree of independence was achieved with the withdrawal of Sennacherib’s forces from Jerusalem in the face of divine intervention during the reign of the godly Hezekiah (Sennacherib’s third campaign—701 BC; cf. 2 Kgs 18:13–19:37).

Thus, accepting a date for Joel sometime during the eighth century BC, we may say that Joel prophesied in exciting and pivotal times. Whatever the exact period in this century of change, Joel would have ministered to a southern kingdom beset by great spiritual problems. The first half of the century saw an empty formalism grip the people, while outright apostasy set in with the reign of Ahaz, a condition that remained rampant until the reforming efforts of Hezekiah (2 Kgs 18:3-6; 2 Chr 29–31). Despite the best efforts of that king, however, a spiritual vacuum that already existed in Judah (2 Kgs 17:18-20) would resurface even more vehemently in the days of the evil Manasseh (698/697–642 BC). To such a people, Joel’s message of imminent judgment and the need of immediate repentance was both timely and necessary. The danger was real. How would the people respond to the divine message given through his faithful prophet?

AUDIENCE

Whatever the time period involved, it is clear that Joel wrote to the citizens of Judah. He often refers to Judah and Jerusalem (2:32; 3:1, 17-18, 20) and their leaders (1:9, 13-14; 2:17) and citizens (3:6, 8, 19), or to Zion (2:1, 15, 23; 3:17, 21) and its people (2:15-17, 23). He was familiar with their history and geography (1:2; 3:2-8, 12, 14, 18) and was fully aware of the Temple and its services (1:9, 13-16; 2:14, 17; 3:18).

CANONICITY AND TEXTUAL HISTORY

The canonicity of Joel seems never to have been in question. Allen (1976:32-33) suggests that it enjoyed authoritative acceptance from the start. Certainly by the onset of the second century BC, such was the case for all of the Minor Prophets, as attested by Ben Sirach (Sir 49:10). Although Joel stands in a different order in the Septuagint (between Micah and Obadiah), the Septuagint’s textual variations from the Masoretic Text are few and of questionable value (1:5, 8, 18; 2:12; 3:1). The second-century AD manuscript of portions of 2:20–3:21 found at Wadi Murabba’at, which reflects a proto-Masoretic tradition, underscores the fact that the text of the book has been well preserved.[23] The necessity for proposed emendations is minimal at best.

LITERARY STYLE

Thematically, Joel builds his prophecy around the Day of the Lord, every chapter being marked by that theme. In proclaiming that message, Joel employs strategically placed oracles of judgment (e.g., 2:1-11), interspersed with lament oracles featuring a call to mourning together, followed by a reason for doing so (1:5-7, 8-10, 11-12, 13-18, 19-20; 2:12-14, 15-17)—all aimed at bringing the populace to repentance. All of this culminates in what may be termed “kingdom oracles” (Patterson 1993:302-303), messages designed for the eschatological future, which blend together pronouncements of universal judgment and salvation oracles promising hope for God’s long-beleaguered people (e.g., 2:28-32; 3:9-17, 18-21).

Scholars have inquired as to whether Joel’s prophecies are at times apocalyptic in nature. He speaks of wonders in the sky accompanied by upheaval on earth (e.g., 2:2-3, 10, 30-31; 3:14-16). And he speaks of the intervention of the Divine Warrior himself into the affairs of men so as to bring earth’s history to its final resolution (2:11, 28-32; 3:1-21). Like Zephaniah, however, Joel’s prophecy appears to make use of themes and terms that would only later emerge as markers of full-blown apocalyptic literature in the intertestamental period. As with the other Old Testament prophets, Joel’s vision of the future is one that arises out of the present, whereas the apocalyptists foretold that the future would make a dramatic intrusion into the present, which was at times viewed as the culmination of episodic happenings (Morris 1972:62; Sandy and Abegg 1995:178-181).[24]

Joel adds vividness to a basic theme by drawing upon familiar scenes from the natural and agrarian worlds around him. He speaks freely of vine and fig tree (1:7, 12), ruined harvests (1:2-4, 10-12, 16-17; 2:25) and the resultant suffering of men (1:11-12) and animals (1:18-20) alike. He reinforces it all by several striking literary devices, including simile and metaphor. For example, the devastating locusts are compared to a nation (1:6, NLT mg) and an invading army (2:3-11, 20, 25), while the coming universal judgment is called a ripe harvest and a full winepress (3:13). In brilliant apostrophes, Joel pictures God addressing the citizens of Tyre and Sidon (3:4) and calls on him to bring down his celestial warriors (3:11). In such a vivid and impassioned book, the careful reader will encounter several examples of metaphor and simile (e.g., 1:6, 19, 20; 2:2-11, 20, 25; 3:16), metonymy (1:11), allegory (2:1-11), hyperbole (3:12), personification (2:21-23), merism (2:16, 23), rhetorical questions (1:2, 16; 2:11, 14; 3:4, cf. NASB), hendiadys (1:16; cf. NASB), and numerous instances of verbal and thematic repetition and recapitulation (cf. 1:4 with 2:25; 1:5 with 3:18; 1:6 with 2:2, 5; 3:9). Joel’s “whole composition has been constructed as an intricate literary mosaic with remarkable skill and care” (Allen 1976:42).[25]

MAJOR THEMES

As noted above, the dominant theme of Joel is the Day of the Lord, about which “no other Old Testament witness gives . . . as detailed and systematic a treatment” (Wolff 1977:12). Building on the well-known Divine Warrior theme,[26] the present judgment of Israel (ch 1) is viewed as a precursor to one impending in the near future (1:15; 2:1-11), both being preparatory to God’s later intention to judge all the nations in the eschatological future (ch 3). Whatever the time, that dreadful day (2:11) is described as one of darkness and gloom, clouds and blackness (2:2), darkened luminaries (2:10; 3:15), and upheaval of nature (2:10, 30; 3:16). It is sent by the Almighty himself (1:15) whose forces (2:2, 11; 3:11b) effect widespread destruction (1:15) upon the countryside (1:19-20; 2:3-5), cities (2:6-9), and nations (3:2-8, 12-14, 19), leaving all terrified in its wake (2:6, 11). Because the nations have sinned against God and his people, judgment must inevitably come (3:1-8, 19, 21).

Moreover, Israel itself had been brought to shame for its treatment of God (2:27). Accordingly, a second theme emerges in Joel’s prophecies—that of repentance. Israel must turn to God in unswerving faithfulness if it hopes to ameliorate or avoid the impending catastrophe it faces (1:14; 2:12-17). These two themes provide the basis for yet a third: God’s judgment and his people’s faithfulness will ultimately result in Israel’s full deliverance and everlasting felicity (2:27, 32; 3:16-20).

Several other themes are also present: (1) Judgment takes the form of an invasion in all three chapters. (2) The people are warned of danger by the sound of the shofar (2:1, 15). (3) The valley is the scene of the nations’ defeat (3:2, 12, 14). (4) Mount Zion is the place of salvation and final blessing (2:32; 3:17, 21). It may be noted, as well, that the person (2:13-14) and works (e.g., 2:18-32) of Yahweh, Israel’s covenant God, undergird the whole of Joel’s prophecy.

THEOLOGICAL CONCERNS

Joel participates in the Zion theology so prevalent in the book of Psalms.[27] Zion theology has its focus on the only true God (2:27), who is Israel’s God (2:17), the eternal Divine Warrior (1:15; 2:11; 3:11-16) who punishes his foes (3:1-8, 12, 19, 21), while protecting (3:16) and caring for (2:18-27) his own. A patient, gracious, and merciful God (2:13, 17), he deals with all people justly (2:23; 3:1-8) and receives all who call upon him in faith (2:28). A sovereign God, he expects his followers to submit willingly to him and worship him (1:13-14; 2:15-17) from the heart (2:12-13) in order that they may live in his righteousness and goodness (2:23-27), while looking forward to his blessed presence forever (3:17-21).

OUTLINE

I.   Joel’s Present Instructions (1:1–2:27)

A.   Lessons from the Locust Plague (1:1-20)

1.   The prospect: the locust invasion (1:1-4)

2.   A plea for personal penitence (1:5-13)

3.   A call for worship (1:14-15)

4.   The resultant scene (1:16-20)

B.   Warnings Based on the Locust Plague (2:1-27)

1.   The prospect: the coming invasion (2:1-11)

2.   A plea for communal repentance (2:12-14)

3.   A call for worship (2:15-17)

4.   The resultant scene (2:18-27)

II.   God’s Future Intentions (2:28–3:21)

A.   The Prospect: The Outpoured Spirit (2:28-32)

B.   The Coming Judgment (3:1-8)

C.   The Climactic Battle (3:9-17)

D.   The Resultant Scene (3:18-21)