by Stephen Rodgers

JOEL IN 10 WORDS OR LESS

“Locust plague pictures God’s judgment on His sinful people.”

TITLE

Like almost all the other prophetic books, the book of Joel takes its name from the prophet respon­si­ble for its con­tent.

AUTHOR & AUDIENCE

While we certainly know the author to be Joel (Joel 1:1), we know very little about him.

Per the MSB:

The author identified himself only as “Joel the son of Pethuel” (Joel 1:1). The prophecy provides little else about the man. Even the name of his father is not mentioned elsewhere in the OT. Although he displayed a profound zeal for the temple sacrifices (Joel 1:9; 2:13–16), his familiarity with pastoral and agricultural life and his separation from the priests (Joel 1:13,14; 2:17) suggest he was not a Levite. Extrabiblical tradition records that he was from the tribe of Reuben, from the town of Bethom or Bethharam, located NE of the Dead Sea on the border of Reuben and Gad. The context of the prophecy, however, hints that he was a Judean from the Jerusalem vicinity, since the tone of a stranger is absent.

Furthermore, Joel is a fairly common name in the OT writings (1 Sam. 8:2; 1 Chron. 4:35; 5:4; 7:3; 11:38; 15:7; 26:22; 27:20; 2 Chron. 29:12; Ezra 10:43; Neh. 11:9).

DATE

See INTERPRETIVE CHALLENGES.

Yes, really…it gets its own section. It’s complicated.

BACKGROUND & SETTING

See INTERPRETIVE CHALLENGES.

Depending on WHEN you think Joel was written is going to determine WHAT was happening at that time.

HISTORICAL & THEOLOGICAL THEMES

There are two major themes running through the book of Joel:

• Judgment. Joel compares and contrasts two different judgments: the more-immediate judgment of Israel (Joel 2:31), and the more-future judgment of Israel’s enemies (Joel 3:2-16, 19).
• Repentance and Salvation. The book of Joel is actually a great study on the characteristics and need for repentance. Joel calls on everyone to repent, regardless of age (Joel 1:2-3; 2:16), sin (Joel 1:5), or profession (Joel 1:11; 1:13; 2:17). External repentance is not enough (Joel 2:12); God requires sincerity, and trust in Him (Joel 2:13). Then and only then will God forgive and restore (Joel 2:18-32), pour out His Spirit (Joel 2:28-29), and give salvation to everyone who calls on His name (Joel 2:32).

INTERPRETIVE CHALLENGES

There are really two issues that need to be settled in order to interpret Joel. The minor issue is the locust plague, which is informed by (and in turn informs) the major issue, the dating of the book.

There is some controversy among scholars and theologians as to exactly how to interpret the locust plague in Joel: literal, symbolic, and/or metaphorical. Combinations and variations of these are possible as well, for example, the ESVSB gives the following helpful outline of the four major interpretive views:

• IF chapter 1 describes an actual locust infestation, THEN chapter 2 presents a heightened description of the same invasion.
• IF chapter 1 describes an actual locust infestation, THEN chapter 2 issues a warning about a coming military offensive.
• IF chapter 1 describes an actual locust infestation functioning as a prophetic forerunner, THEN chapter 2 uses that imagery to portray a human army in terms of a decisive conflict on the day of the Lord.
• IF chapter 1 describes a military attack in terms of the metaphor of a locust invasion, THEN chapter 2 represents the coming of an enemy usually viewed as the Assyrians or Babylonians.

One’s interpretation of the locust plague is also going to factor heavily into how one dates the book, which is probably the most significant and oft-disputed element of Joel. I’m going to actually quote Constable at considerable length, simply because I think he does a stellar job of summarizing the various positions:

The date of Joel is its largest introductory problem, as is the case with Obadiah. There are four most likely possibilities. First, some scholars advocate an early pre-exilic date during the reign of King Jehoshaphat (872-848 B.C.) or possibly his grandson, King Joash (835-796 B.C.). Arguments in favor of this period include the position of Joel in the Hebrew canon; it appears among other prophetic writings of this period. Also the enemies of Israel that Joel named (Tyre, Sidon, Philistia [cf. 2 Chron. 21:16-17], Egypt [cf. 1 Kings 14:25-26], and Edom [cf. 2 Kings 8:20-22; 3:2-7, 19]) were enemies of Israel during this time. The prominence Joel gave to Judah’s priests and elders rather than to her king—Joash was a boy king under the influence of Jehoiada, the high priest, early in his reign—is a further argument for this view. However, all these conclusions are open to other interpretations. [Advocates of this view include Hobart E. Freeman, An Introduction to the Old Testament Prophets, p. 148; Gleason A. Archer Jr., A Survey of Old Testament Introduction, p. 305; E. J. Young, An Introduction to the Old Testament, pp. 271-72; C. F. Keil, The Twelve Minor Prophets, 1:169-70; Walter C. Kaiser Jr., Toward an Old Testament Theology, p. 188; Charles H. Dyer, The Old Testament Explorer, p. 737; Warren W. Wiersbe, “Joel,” in The Bible Exposition Commentary/Prophets, p. 333; and Leon J. Wood, The Prophets of Israel, p. 268.]

Second, some authorities believe a mid-pre-exilic date of composition, probably during the reign of Joash’s grandson, King Uzziah (792-740 B.C.), fits the evidence best. Supporters of this view also claim the first two arguments cited in favor of the early pre-exilic view above. They argue, in addition, that the absence of references to Assyria, Babylonia, and Persia make a later date, when these nations were the major ancient Near Eastern superpowers, unlikely. Joel’s reference to Greece in Joel 3:6 may fit this period since the Ionian Greeks were at this time expanding their commercial influence in Asia Minor. Joel’s reference to the Sabeans in Joel 3:8 is appropriate for this period as well. Internal references and linguistic characteristics may also reflect Uzziah’s times and are similar to the writings of the other eighth-century prophets (i.e., Amos, Hosea, Micah, and Isaiah). However, again, much of the same evidence can fit other periods of Judah’s history.[Advocates include Richard D. Patterson, “Joel,” in Daniel-Malachi, vol. 7 of The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, pp. 231-33.]

Third, some interpreters opt for a late pre-exilic date. Statements in Joel could fit this period, and some of his statements are similar to those of Jeremiah and Ezekiel and may reflect conditions before the destruction of Jerusalem, perhaps between 597 and 587 B.C. If true, Joel would have been a contemporary of Jeremiah, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah. Yet Joel 2:18-19 seems to imply that God had been merciful to Joel’s generation, suggesting that the people had repented, but there is no record of this happening during this period.[Advocates include Wilhelm Rudolph, Joel-Amos-Obadja-Jona, pp. 14-15; and Arvid S. Kapelrud, Joel Studies, pp. 154-58.]

The fourth view is that Joel wrote at a postexilic date, perhaps 515-500 B.C. or even as late as sometime in the 400s B.C. Interpreters who see Joel 3:1-2 and 17 as references to the destruction of Jerusalem and the Babylonian captivity take the references to the temple in Joel 1:9, 13 and 2:17 as applying to the second temple (completed in 515 B.C.). Yet all these texts could apply to earlier periods. Generally scholars who view apocalyptic writing as a late development in Judaism tend to date Joel quite late. [Advocates include Robert B. Chisholm Jr., “Joel,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: Old Testament, p. 1410; idem, “A Theology of the Minor Prophets,” in A Biblical Theology of the Old Testament, p. 387; idem, Handbook on the Prophets, p. 368; Raymond B. Dillard, “Joel,” in The Minor Prophets, pp. 240-42 (though see pp. 301-2); David A. Hubbard, Joel and Amos, p. 27; and John Bright, A History of Israel, p. 417.]

For those of you keeping score at home, the sources that I typically refer to you in constructing these articles are also divided along the following lines:

• Early Pre-Exilic: MacArthur Study Bible, NET Study Bible (first choice)
• Mid Pre-Exilic: Archaeological Study Bible, NET Study Bible (second choice)
• Late Pre-Exilic: Baker Illustrated Bible Handbook
• Post-Exilic: Apologetics Study Bible, ESV Study Bible, Reformation Study Bible

LITERARY FEATURES

Per the ESVSB:

As a work of prophecy, the book of Joel relies on the staples of the oracle of judgment and the oracle of salvation. Poetry counts for a lot in the book of Joel, whose author is particularly adept at description. By the time Joel’s imagination amplifies the killer locusts into more-than-literal creatures, the book of Joel emerges as almost a horror story. The technique of apostrophe (direct address to entities that are literally absent but treated as though they can hear and respond) is prominent in the first two chapters. Even though the writer is a prophet rather than a nature writer, there are so many pictures of nature in the book that it does rank as nature writing, in a prophetic mode.

OBJECTIONS

There are no significant objections to Joel that I am aware of; the vast bulk of the issues are interpretive, and scholars tend to agree the Joel contains certain timeless messages regardless of what dating scheme is subscribed to.

NOTABLE QUOTABLES

• Joel 2:32
• Joel 3:14

DID YOU KNOW?

•  Unlike the other prophets, Joel almost never mentions the particular sins he is calling the Israelites to repent of, rather he focuses on calling them to repentence. The one exception to this would be the sin of drunkenness (Joel 1:5).
• Remember that “trumpets” (Joel 2:1) in the OT (and the NT for that matter), actually refer to more generic horns (often made from actual horns in the ANE), since the modern trumpet requires tubular valves, which have only existed for the last couple centuries.

Other Works Referenced

• Apologetics Study Bible, “Joel”
• Archaeological Study Bible, “Introduction to Joel”
• ESV Study Bible, “Introduction to Joel”
• MacArthur Study Bible, “Joel”
• NET Bible, Joel
• NIV Study Bible, Joel
• Reformation Study Bible, “Joel”
• The Baker Illustrated Bible Handbook, “Joel”
• Know Your Bible
• Dever, The Message of the Old Testament
• Driscoll, A Book You’ll Actually Read On the Old Testament
• Knight, The Layman’s Bible Handbook