LIBRARY OF THE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY PRINCETON. N. J. Presented by "^VieWidov^ or &eorpeI!i/\d'ein7 % Section..\.\z?..jL I <■? V^T^lfe—v COMMENTARY ON THE HOLY SCRIPTURES: CRITICAL, DOCTRINAL, AND HOMILETICAL WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO MINISTERS AND STUDENTS BT JOHN PETER VLANGE, D. D., ORDINARY PROFESSOR OP THEOLOGY IN THE UNIVERSITY OP BONH, or oowmotiok with a number of eminent ki hope an divotm TRANSLATED, ENLARGED, AND EDITED PHILIP SCHAFF, D. D., PROFESSOR OF THEOLOGY IN THE ONION THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY. NEW YORK, l» CONNECTION WITH AMERICA* SCHOLARS OF VARIOUS EVANOEL1CAL DENOMINATIONS. V01JOM& XIV. OV THE OLD TESTAMENT: CONTAINING THE MINOR PROPHETS MEW YORK: CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS, 18i)(J Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2010 with funding from Princeton Theological Seminary Library http://www.archive.org/details/bookofjoel143schm THE MINOR PROPHETS EXEGETICALLY, THEOLOGICALLY. AND HOMILETICALLY EXPOUNDED PAUL KLEINERT, OTTO SCHMOLLER, GEORGE R. BLISS, TALBOT W. CHAMBERS, CHARLES ELLICTT. JOHN FORSYTH, J. FREDERICK McCURDY, AND JOSEPH PACKARD. EDITED BY PHILIP SCHAFF, D. D. NEW YORK: CHARLES SORIBNER'S SONS, 1699 Atfered according to Act of Congress, in the vear 1874, fcr ScRiitNER, Armstrong, and Compant, a the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. Trow's Printing and Bookbinding Company, 205-213 East f2th St., NEW YORK. PREFACE BY THE GENERAL EDITOR The volume on the Minor Prophets is partly in advance of the German original, which has not yet reached the three post-exilian Prophets. The commentaries on the nun earlier Prophets by Professors Kleinert and Schmoller appeared in separate numberi some time ago 1 ; but for Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, Dr. Lange has not, to this date, been able to secure a suitable co-laborer.2 With his cordial approval I deem it better to complete the volume by original commentaries than indefinitely to postpone the publication. They were prepared by sound and able scholars, in conformity with the plan of the whole work. The volume accordingly contains the following parts, each one being paged separately : — 1. A General Introduction to the Prophets, especially the Minor Prophets, by Rev. Charles Elliott, D. D., Professor of Biblical Exegesis in Chicago, Illinois. The general introductions of Kleinert and Schmoller are too brief and incomplete for our purpose, and therefore I requested Dr. Elliott to prepare an independent essay on the subject. 2. Hosea. By Rev. Dr. Otto Schmoller. Translated from the German and en- larged by James Frederick McCurdy, M. A., of Princeton, N. J. 8. Joel. By Otto Schmoller. Translated and enlarged by Rev. John Forsyth, D. D., LL. D., Chaplain and Professor of Ethics and Law in the United States Military Academy, West Point, N. Y. 4. Amos. By Otto Schmoller. Translated and enlarged by Rev. Talbot W Chambers, D. D., Pastor of the Collegiate Reformed Dutch Church, New York. 5. Obadiah. By Rev. Paul Kleinert, Professor of Old Testament Theology in the University of Berlin. Translated and enlarged by Rev. George R. Bliss, D. D., Professor in the University of Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. 6. Jonah. By Prof. Paul Kleinert, of the University of Berlin. Translated and en- larged by Rev. Charles Elliott, Professor of Biblical Exegesis in Chicago.8 7. Micah. By Prof. Paul Kleinert, of Berlin, and Prof. George R. Bliss, of Lewie- burg. 8. Nahum. By Prof. Paul Kleinert, of Berlin, and Prof. Charles Elliott, of Chicago. 9. Habaeeue. By Professors Kleinert and Elliott. 1 Obadjah, Jonah, Mieha, Nahum, Habakuk, Zephanjak. Wissenshqftlieh undfUr den Oebrauch der Kirehe autgelegt con PUOL Kledjbbt, Pfarrer zu St. Gertraud unci a. Professor an der Universitdt zu Berlin. Bielefeld u. Leipzig, 1868. — Die Propheten Hosea, Joel und Amos. Theologiseh-homiletisch bearbeitet von Orro Sohmollxb, Lieent. der Theologie, Diaeonu* in Urach. Bielef. and Leipzig, 1872. 2 The commentary of Rev. W. Prbssel on these three Prophets (Die naehexiiisehen Propheten, Gotha, 1870) m originally prepared for Lange's Eible-woric, bnt was rejected by Dr. Lange mainly on account of Pressel's views on th» genuineness and integrity of Zechariah. It was, however, independently published, and was made use of, like other commentaries, by the authors of the respective sections in this volume. 8 Dr. Elliott desires to render his acknowledgments to the Rev. Reuben Bederiok, of Chicago, and the Rev. Jacob Lotke, of Faribault, Minnesota, for valuable assistance in translation some difficult passages In Kleinert'* Commentary to Jonah, Nahum, and Habakkuk. PREFACE BY THE GENERAL EDITOR. 10. Zephaniah. By Professors Kleinert and Elliott. 11. Haggai. By James Frederick McCurdy, M. A., Princeton, N. J. 12. Zechariah By Rev. Talbot W. Chambers, D. D., New York. (See special preface.) 13. Malachi. By Rev. Joseph Packard, D. D., Professor of Biblical Literature in the Theological Seminary at Alexandria, Virginia. The contributors to this volume were directed carefully to consult the entire ancient and modern literature on the Minor Prophets and to enrich it with the latest results of German and Anglo-American scholarship. The remaining parts of the Old Testament are all under way, and will be published ai fast as the nature of the work will permit. PHILIP SCHAFF. Dbtioh Thsolookim Skxwats, Ni"» Vom, .'jnuary, 1874. THE BOOK OF JOEL. EXPOUNDED / OTTO SCHMOLLER, Ph. D., URACH, WUKTEMBSBG TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN, WITH ADDITIONAL NOTES AND ANEW VEMB10S OF THE HEBREW TEXT, JOHN FORSYTH, D. D., LL. D., CHAPLAIN AST) PROFESSOR OF ETHICS AND LAW IN THE UNITED STATES ^MILITARY ACADEMY, WEST POINT, N. Y. NEW YORK: CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS, JHtared according to Act of Congress, in the year 1874* by Scbibner, Armstrong, and Company, Jb the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at W&shingtoa. JOEL. INTRODUCTION. I. Hie Person and Time of the Prcphzt. The name Joel, VSYS i. e., Jehovah is God, is one of frequent occurrence in the Old Testa- ment, having been borne by many persons mentioned in sacred history. For this reason our Prophet, whose name is found only in the title of this book, is distinguished as " The son of Pethuel." This is the only direct notice of him, and all the other incidents of his personal history must be inferred from the book that bears his name. He certainly lived in the kingdom of Judah, for in the call to the people to meet in the temple for the purpose of humiliation and repentance, Zion, and Jerusalem, and Judah alone are mentioned, ii. 15, 23, 32; iii. 1, 6, 16, 18. Of these localities he speaks not in the tone of a stranger, but as one who was personally identified with them. He makes no allusion whatever to the state of things in the kingdom of Israel. It is, therefore, highly probable that he resided and proph- esied not simply within the limits of the kingdom of Judah, but specially at Jerusalem. Again, the way in which he speaks of the temple, the sacrifices, and the priesthood, raises the presumption that he was himself a priest. The Time in which he lived is nowhere expressly stated, and cannot be fixed with ab- solute certainty. But we may determine it approximately from the relation between him and Amos. The latter begins his prophecy (i. 2) by a quotation from Joel iii. 16, and there is also a close resemblance between Amos ix. 13 and Joel iii. 18. Hence it may be inferred that Amos had the prophecy of Joel before him when he wrote his own. Now the time when Amos flourished may be easily fixed by the inscription and by the contents of his book, namely, in the days of the Judaic King Uzziah, and of the Israelitic King Jeroboam H. Joel, therefore, cannot belong to a later period. The design of his prophecy, and the condition of things which it implies, warrant the inference that he lived at an earlier day. Ewald justly says, " A later prophet would not have been so deeply moved as Joel was, by the terrible visitation of locusts and drought, as to call for a solemn act of national repentance on this ground alone. He would rather have seized the opportunity to point out and impress upon the people their spiritual defects, and while exhorting them to repentance, he would have told them specially of the sins from which they should break off, and return to the Lord." In Joel's days there is no evidence of the general corruption of manners that obtained in the times of Amos and Hosea. He makes no marked reference to par- ticular sins. He does not speak of idolatry ; on the contrary, the worship of Jehovah seems to have been maintained in the temple, at least in comparative purity. Israel, indeed, is exhorted to repent, but is at the same time encouraged by precious promises. He does not exhibit the heathen nations as the instruments of God's judgments on his own people ; on the contrary, he ever sides with the latter, and he predicts the evils that shall overtake the heathen for what they have done to Israel. He makes no allusion to Assyria. The captivity of Israel by that power was an event beyond the horizon of the prophet. This much then is certain : that as the worship of Jehovah was still kept up in his day, Joel could not have belonged to the times of Joram, nor Ahaziah, nor Athaliah. He must have lived before or after their day We cannot, however, place him very long before the** 4 JOEL. kings, as this would not consist with the reference to the invasion of Judah by the adjacent nations (iii. 3-6), which implied a weakened condition of the kingdom, nor with his probable allusion to the pillaging of Jerusalem by the Philistines and the Arabians in the rei^n of Joram. Again, the revolt of Edom, which did not occur earlier than the time of Joram, must be taken into account. Nor must Joel be separated too far from the days of Amos. For as Amos speaks of drought and locusts as judgments which God was about to inflict, we may infer that he had in view the same calamities as those described by Joel. It is natural to suppose that they came upon the kingdom of Judah to which Joel belonged, and that of Israel, which was the special field of Amos. Again, Amos speaks of the Philistines, the Tyrians, and Edom (ch. i.), and of their hostility to Israel, in a strain very similar to that employed by Joel (ch. iii.). Both prophets charge them with the same sin, and de- nounce against them the same punishment. Their sin was that of capturing Israelites and selling them as slaves ; and although Joel names the Grecians as guilty of this crime, and Amos the Edoraites, yet it is plain that they both had in view the same events. On this ground, Bleek holds that Joel, though older than Amos, was his contemporary, and places him in the time of Uzziah. Others think that as he nowhere alludes to Syria, whose capital Damascus is named by Amos (i. 3), nor to the invasion of Israel by that power under Hazael, in the days of Joasji, he must have flourished in the early part of that reign, be- tween b. c. 870-850. Certainly if he lived in the time of Joash it must have been in the early part of his reign, while he was still under the healthful influence of Joihada the high priest, for at a later day he introduced the worship of Baal. To this view Bleek objects that while Joel might have been expected to refer to the Syrian invasion if his book hau been written very soon after that event, there would be no reason for naming it if he wrote it in the days of Uzziah, fifty years after it happened, since Syria was remote from Judah, and separated from it by the then existing kingdom of Israel. But to this it may be re- plied that Tyre and Sidon were also separated from Judah in the same way. Hence as both prophets refer to the same heathen nations, while Damascus is mentioned by Amos alone, this difference becomes all the more remarkable, and seems to warrant the inference that Joel could not have lived during the Syrian invasion. Though the events detailed by Joel, on account of which the nations concerned in them would be punished, must have been in the view of Amos, yet there must also have been other occurrences, such as the war with Syria, nearer to his time, and more immediately affecting the kingdom of Israel to which he belonged. Hence if Amos prophesied about B. c. 810, Joel must have done so about b. c. 850. But while Joel was older than Amos, it does not follow that he is the oldest of the prophets whose writings we possess. He has many points of contact with Obadiah (comp. Ob. 10, Joel iii. 19 ; Ob. 11, Joel iii. 3 ; Ob. 15, Joel i. 15, ii. 1, iii. 12, 17 ; Ob. 18, Joel iii. 8). It is a question which of these two prophets is the elder. It is not im- probable, though by no means certain, that Joel had before him the book of Obadiah, when he wrote his prophecy. But we shall not pursue the discussion. [Wunsche, the most recent expositor of this book.1 fixes the time of Joel as somewhere between B. c. 860-850, and the grounds on which he bases his opinion are these : — 1. Joel charges the Philistines with having invaded Judah, captured the inhabitants, and sold them as slaves. Now according to 2 Chron. xxi. 10, this happened under Joram, b. c. 889-883. And they suffered the punishment predicted for their crime, under Uzziah, 2 Chron. xxvi. 6. Hence Joel could not have written this book before B. c. 889, nor later than 732. 2. The Phoenicians, i. e., those of Tyre and Sidon, who in the days of David and Solo- mon were the allies, had in later times become the enemies of Judah. They too had been guilty of selling Jewish prisoners to the Grecians. Joel predicts that they also shall be punished for this crime, — a prediction fulfilled in the time of Uzziah, b. c. 811-759. This proves that Joel must have prophesied before the days of Uzziah. 3. The Edomites (iii. 19), are ranked among the enemies of Judah. They came from the same stock as the Jews, and on account of their sin against their brethren, their country was to become a perpetual desolation. From 2 Kings viii. 20, comp. with 2 Chron. xxi. 8, we learn that they became independent of Judah in the time of Joram, B. c. 889-883. They were again subdued, and their capital city Petra captured, B. c. 838-811, though the southern and eastern parts of their territory were not conquered until the reign of Uzziah, about B. C. 830. The prophet must have exercised his ministry, therefore, prior to the latter date. 1 [Die Weisfagungrn des Propheten Joel, iibersetzt unit erkturi, von Dr. Aug. Wunsilie. Leipzig:, 1872. ' T«r» »1» borate work. — J. ¥.\ INTRODUCTION. 4. The fact that no mention is made of the invasion by the Syrians of Damascus, proves that Joel was one of the early prophets. This occurred in the latter part of the leign of Joash, B. C. 850-840. 5. The high antiquity of Joel is proved by the fact that he makes no reference to the Assyrian invasion of the two Jewish kingdoms in b. c. 790. On the other hand, Amoa clearly alludes to it (vi. 14). 6. Another proof is derived from the relation between Joel and Amos. The latter waa certainly well acquainted with and used the writings of the former. 7. The mention of the Valley of Jehoshaphat is a circumstance leading to the same conclu- sion. It took this name from the memorable victory there gained over Moab and Ammon. The way in which Joel refers to it shows that this event must have been a comparatively recent one, and that the memory of it was still fresh. On these grounds we conclude that in fixing the time of this prophet, we cannot take for our terminus a quo an earlier date than b. c. 890, nor for our terminus ad quern a later one than 840. It most probably falls between b. c. 860-850. Joel therefore is the oldest of the Minor Prophets. — F.] Of the Ministry of our Prophet, f. e., as to the way in which he exercised it, we know nothing beyond what may be gathered from this book. Whether he first appeared simply aa a preacher, or worked at the same time in other ways, cannot be determined. From what we know respecting the other prophets, it is more than probable that his prophetic teachinga were originally oral, but if so, they must have been soon reduced to writing in the form in which we now have them. That he exerted a commanding influence on the popular mind is clear from ch. ii. 18, especially if this verse be taken in a historical sense. But in any view of it the passage shows that the prophet was conscious of his power ; for he not only exhorts the nation to repentance, but imperatively demands it, and he does so with the evident assurance that he will be obeyed. For this reason we are inclined to think that he belonged to the order of the priesthood, and that his exhortations were, in the first instance, addressed to his brethren in that office. IL Of the Book. There can be no question that the book bearing the name of Joel was written by himself. Not only is there no ground for doubt on this head, but all the positive evidence in the case is strongly on the same side ; as, for example, the perfect unity that marks the book, one chapter fitting into another with the most complete exactness. Even if we admit, what some assert, that ch. ii. 10, etc., belongs to a later date than the other parts of the book, our remark holds good, for it is most closely connected with what precedes and follows it. Whether we have the discourses of the prophet precisely as they were delivered ( supposing it to have been orally), or only the substance of them, is a point which cannot be de- termined, and is really one of no practical importance. Most probably we have them in the latter form, as the high finish and poetical diction of the book, specially in the first two chapters, suggest the idea of literary elaboration, rather than that of a simple reporting of oral discourses. [Of the Style of the Prophet, the chief characteristic, says Dr. Pusey, is perhaps its sim- ple vividness. Everything is set before us, as though we ourselves saw it. This is alike the character of the description of the desolation in the first chapter, the advance of the locusts in the second, or that more awful gathering in the valley of Jehoshaphat described in the third. The prophet adds detail to detail ; each clear, brief, distinct, a picture in itself; yet adding to the effect of the whole. We can without an effort bring the whole of each pic- ture before our eyes. Sometimes he uses the very briefest form of words, two words, in his own language, sufficing for each feature in his picture. One verse consists of five such pairs of words, i. 10. Then again the discourse flows on in a soft and gentle cadence, like one of those longer sweeps of an .35olian harp. This blending of energy and softness is perhaps one secret why the diction also of this prophet has been at all times so winning and so touching. Deep and full, he pours out the tide of his words with an unbroken smoothness, carries all along with him, yea, like those rivers of the new world, bears back the bitter rest- less billows which oppose him, a pure strong stream amid the endless heavings and tossing of the world. Poetic as Joel's language is, he does not much use distinct imagery. For his whole picture is one image. They are God's chastemngs througr. inanimate nature, pic* 6 JOEL. turing the worse chastenings through man. Full of sorrow himself, he summons all with bim to repentance, priests and people, old and young, bride and bridegroom. The tender- ness of his soul is evinced by his lingering over the desolation which he foresees. It is like one counting over, one by one, the losses he endures in the privations of others. Na- ture to him seemed to mourn ; he had a fellow feeling of sympathy with the brute cattle which, in his ears, mourn so grievously ; and if none else would mourn for their own sins, he would himself mourn to Him who is full of compassion and mercy. Amid a wonderful beauty of language he employs words not found elsewhere in the Holy Scripture. In one verse (i. 16), he has three such words. The extent to which the prophecies of Joel reappear in the later prophets has been exaggerated. The subjects of the prophecy recur ; not, for the most part, in the form in which they were delivered. The great imagery of Joel is much more adopted and enforced in the New Testament than the Old, — of the locust, the out- pouring of the Spirit, the harvest, the wine-treading, the wine-press. To this unknown Prophet, whom in his writings we cannot but love, but of whose history, condition, rank, parentage, birthplace, nothing is known, nothing beyond his name, save the name of an un- known father, of whom, moreover, God has allowed nothing to remain save these few chap ters, — to him God reserved the prerogative, first to declare the outpouring of the Holy Ghost upon all flesh, the perpetual abiding of the Church, the final struggle of good and evil, the last rebellion against God, and the Day of Judgment. The tone of Joel's writings, says Wiinsche, indicates deep religious feelings, heartfelt ex- perience, and warm sympathy. His moral ideas are lofty and pure, and testify to the relig- ious knowledge and the holy life of the prophet. His poetry is distinguished by the soaring flight of his imagination, the originality, beauty, and variety of his images and similes. The conceptions are simple enough, but they are at the same time bold and grand. The perfect order in which they are arranged, the even flow and well compacted structure of the discourse, are quite remarkable. In his energy, power, and dignity, Joel reminds us of Micah ; in his vivacity and lifelike freshness he resembles Nahum ; in his originality and directness, in the bold range, and sublime strain of his ideas, he falls but a little below Isaiah : in his enthu- siastic zeal for true religion, and his clear, earnest, penetrating insight into the moral dis- orders of his times, he resembles Amos. Joel threatens and warns ; he descends into the innermost recesses of human nature, and he drags into the light of day, corruption, false- hood, and lukewarmness in the worship of Jehovah. Of our Prophet, Umbreit finely says : The Prophetic mantle which enrobed his lofty form, was worthy of his majestic spirit; its color is indeed dark and solemn, like the day of the Lord which he predicts, yet we see sparkling upon it the stars of the eternal lights of love and grace. — F.] The Occasion of this book was a terrible visitation of Judah by locusts and drought The prophet describes the devastation produced, and viewing it as the beginning of a great judgment day of the Lord, he calls upon the priests to appoint a day for national humiliation and prayer. This must have been done, since he, by divine authority, promises the people the richest blessings for the present and the future, as well as complete deliverance from all their enemies. The book consists of two Parts, which must be carefully distinguished. They are as follows : — Part I. includes chaps, i.-ii. 17; Part II. extends from ii. 19 to the end of eh. iii. They are connected together by the historical statement (ii. 18, 19). Part I. The plagues already named, are described as a divine judgment. The call to repentance. Ch. i. The unprecedented plague of locusts and drought is described, and those on whom it fell are called upon to lament over the desolation of the land caused by it; one of the worst results of it being the necessity for suspending the daily sacrifices. For this reason the priests are required to mourn themselves, and to summon all the inhabitants of the j.and to ioin with them in their lamentation. Ch. ii. This visitation is simply a token that a great judgment day of the Lord is com- ing. The army of locusts, of which a graphic picture is given, is the host of the Lord, sent to°do his will (vers. 1-11). Still the threatened judgment may be averted by timely re- pentance (vers. 12-14). Hence the priests should appoint a day of humiliation and prayer and should beseech the Lord to have mercy upon the nation as being his own people (vers 14-17). Part II. contains promises : (1 ) For the present (ii. 18-27). God will deliver his people INTRODUCTION. 7 from the plague and amply repair the evil done by it, by new blessings, and so prove that Israel is his people. (2.) For the future still greater things are promised. The day of the Lord is surely coming, but to Israel it shall be a day of salvation, and a day of terror only to Israel's foes. This day shall be introduced by the outpouring of God's Spirit upon the whole people. There shall be at the same time terrible signs in the heavens and the earth, from which there is safety only in Zion. But there, all will be perfectly secure (ch. iii. 1-8). The day itself is described as one of deliverance for Israel, and of destruction for their ene- mies, i. e., " the nations." These nations are reproached for their crimes against Israel, and shall be punished on account of them (vers. 9-16). Infliction of the punishment. The Lord assembles Israel and the nations, in the valley of Jehoshaphat. At first it seems as if the nations were on the point of storming the holy city, but then and there, amid terrible signs, they are annihilated by the Lord at one blow. The dawning of Israel's salvation described (vers. 17-20). Uninjured by their enemies, protected by their God, who dwells forever in the midst of them, his people enjoy the richest blessings. What Joel says of the locusts is not to be taken simply as an allegory, nor as a merely figurative description of the hosts of war. Nor is the first chapter a prediction ; on the contrary it describes his own experience. Importance of this Book. We find that it was held in high consideration by the latsr prophets. We have already mentioned the use made of it by Amos. It is also quite plain that Isaiah used it (comp. Is. xiii. 3, 6, 8, 10, 13, and Joel, ii. 1-11 ; iii. 15, 16). That other later prophets had the book before them will be obvious to any one who examines a Bible with parallel references. Delitzsch, therefore, justly says, " Among the prophets who flour- ished from the time of Uzziah to that of Jeroboam, Joel unquestionably holds the position of a type or model, and after Amos, there is not one whose writings do not remind us of him." We may even claim for Joel (and Obadiah also if we regard him as one of the earlier prophets), a sort of fundamental significance for the whole series of later prophets, not only on account of his clear and precise prediction of the coining of the day of the Lord, but also because of the way in which he connects Israel with it. Even God's cove- nant people must look well to see how they stand, for in that day, repentance alone can help them. If this is wanting, if Israel departs from God, escape from the coming judgment will be impossible, — a truth which the later prophets exhibit with an ever-growing emphasis and distinctness. The prophecies of Joel are, it seems to me, fundamental in another sense, namely, in the promises they give respecting Israel's future. Though Israel must first suffer on account of their sins, yet the prophet anticipates with confidence the time when they shall return in penitence to God, and predicts that they shall win a glorious triumph, while all their enemies, t. e., the world, shall be utterly destroyed. Thus Joel (uniting himself, as it were, with Obadiah in unfolding and confirming the prophetic promises on this head), fixes with an assured faith the position of Israel, as God's own people, and foretells their glorious victory over all their foes, though the latter may, for the present, bring upon them much shame and sorrow. What the eye sees cannot be an object of faith, which has to do irith things for the time being invisible. Accordingly Joel has given a key-note (much more full than that of Obadiah's), which was repeated by the later prophets ; he unfurled a standard, so to speak, which shall never cease to wave on high. The later prophets would witness the deep humiliation of God's people by the nations, t. e., the world power ; they would have to announce the total overthrow of the commonwealth of Israel, the annihilation of its political existence, as a well-deserved punishment for their sins. But notwithstand- ing this, all that Joel had promised would be realized ; the day of the Lord was surely coming for the heathen, — a day of fearful recompense to them, but to his own people a day of deliverance and eternal salvation. So we find that in spite of the denunciations against the chosen people on account of their apostasy, in spite of the judgments to be inflicted upon them through the agency of the heathen, the faith and hope of the prophets in regard to the future of Israel are never shaken. They perpetually recur to the promise that the uord will not cast off his people. A remnant shall survive. In this remnant Jehovah will be glorified, and will show that his ultimate design was not to destroy his people, but to bestow upon them fresh favors, yea far higher ones than their fathers enjoyed. This prom- ise becomes more and more closely allied to the hope of a Messiah, and gives to it a more and more positive shape. This hope of a Messiah is the solid basis of all other hopes of Israel's future and glorious destiny. Joel, indeed, does not in express terms describe this Messianic foundation, as it may be called, but he has a gent r il conception of it, and for this 8 JOEL. reason we have said that his prophecy may properly be called a fundamental one, i. e., with reference to those on the same subject, in later times. III. Literature of the Book (exclusive of Commentaries on ihe Minor Prophets as a whole) Sebast. Tuscaui, Eretn. Augustin. Comment, in Joel, Colon., 1556 ; Joel cum Adnot et Ver- sione trium Rabbin, per Gilb. Genebrand, Paris, 1563 ; Eli Schadaeus, Synopsis Joel, Ardent, 1588 ; F. Bunny, Enarratio in Joel, Lond., 1588, 1595 ; J. Mathia?, Pr&lectiones in Joel, Basil, 1590; S. Simonidis, Comm. in Joel, Cracov, 1593; Sol. Gesner, Comm. in Joel, Viteb., 1614 ; J. H. Ursinus, Comm. in Joel, Francov., 1641 ; Ed. Pocock, Comm. in Proph. Joel, Lips., 1695 ; Haseus, Joel Illustrata, Bremen, 1697; J. J. Schurrman, Proph. Joel, Wesel, 1700 (also Holland version, 1 703) ; Sam. Chandler, Paraphrase and Critical Comment, on Joel, London, 1735; C. F. Bauer, Introd. in Joel, Wittemb. 1741; G. N. Richter, in Joel, Viteb., 1747; Baumgarten, Auslegung des Joel, Halle, 1756; P. Conz, Dissert de Charact Poet Joels, Tub., 1783 ; J. Buttner, Joel olim Hebr&us, Coburg, 1784; J. R. Eckerman, Joel metrisch ubersetzi u nd erklart, Lubeck und Leipzig, 1786 ; Justi, Joel ubersetzt und erklart, Leipzig, 1792; A. Svanborg, Joel Latine Versus, et Notis philol. illustrata, Upsal, 1806 ; F. A. Holzhausen, Comment., 1829 ; K. A. Credner, 1831 ; A. Wunsche, Die Weissayungen des Propheten Joel, Ubersetzt und erklart, Leipzig, 1872. Among practical expositors, may be named, J. Died- rich, der Proph. Joel, kurz erklart, Leipzig, 1861. THE PROPHET JOEL. PART FIRST. THE JUDGMENT AND CALL TO REPENTANCE. Chapters I. l-II. 17. SECTION I. Complaint of the Desolation of Judah by Locusts and Drought. Chapter I. 1 The word of Jehovah which came to l Joel, the son of Pethuel. 2 Hear this, ye 2 old men, And give ear 8 all ye inhabitants of the land ! Hath such 4 a thing been in your days, Or even in the days of your fathers ? 3 Tell it 6 to your children, And your children to their children, And their children to another generation. 4 What the palmer worm 6 hath left, the locust hath eaten, And what the locust hath left, the beetle hath eaten, And what the beetle hath left, the caterpillar hath eaten. 5 Awake 7 ye drunkards,8 and weep, And cry out 9 all ye drinkers of wine On account of the new wine (or must),10 For it is cut off (removed) from your mouth. 6 For u a people u hath invaded 13 my land,14 Mighty and numberless ; Their teeth are the teeth of a lion, And they have the jaw teeth of a lioness. 7 They have laid waste my vine,15 And barked (or broken) my fig trees ; They have made it quite bare,16 and cast it away ; Its branches are made white. 8 Lament ir like a bride 18 Girded with sackcloth for the husband of her youth. 9 Cut off is the meat offering and the drink offering from the house of Jehovah | The priests mourn The ministers 19 of Jehovah. 10 The field is wasted,20 The land mourneth,21 For the corn is destroyed, The new wine is dried up, The oil22 fails. 11 Be ashamed ye husbandmen, Howl ye viue-dressers, 10 JOEL. For the wheat and for the barley 23 ; Because the harvest of the field hath perished. 12 The vine is dried up, And the fig tree faileth, The pomegranate, also the palm, and the apple tree (quince All the trees of the field are withered, So that joy is dried up24 from the sons of men. 13 Gird yourselves and lament, ye priests, Cry out ye ministers of the altar ; Come, lie ail night in sackcloth Ye ministers of my God, For the meat offering and the drink offering Are withheld from the house of your God. 14 Sanctify a fast, Appoint a solemn assembly, Gather the elders, And all the inhabitants of the land In the house of Jehovah your God ; And cry unto Jehovah. 15 Alas for the day ! Because the day of Jehovah is at hand ; It will come like25 a tempest from the Almighty (Shaddai). 16 Is not the food cut off before our eyes ? Joy and gladness from the house of our God ? 17 The grains27 (seeds) are rotten27 under their clods,2' The garners are destroyed, The barns27 are broken down, Because the corn is withered. 18 How the beasts groan ! The herds of cattle are perplexed, Because they have no pasture ; Even the flocks of sheep perish. 19 Unto Thee, O Jehovah, will I cry, For the fire hath devoured all the pastures of the plain, And the flame hath burned all the trees of the field. 20 Even28 the beasts of the field29 cry nnto Thee For the streams of water are dried up, And the fire hath devoured the pastures of the plain (wilderness) TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL. 1 Ver. 1. — The preposition vS indicates direction, and like the Arab. (J| includes ordinarily the temtntu ad pum. Sept. os iyevrfit) irpos 'I-|- The more usual form it 7 w^rj. Many expositors, without reason, take it as a denom. from ^S, God. 18 Ver. 8. — The proper Heb. word for virgin is !"Tft 7^ The word here used denotes a bride, i. «., a young woman Mpoused. See Is. vii. 14 ; Matt. i. 23. 19 Ver 9. — VY"ltt?t3. Ministers, from ri"1K7, to serve. It denotes free and honorable service, t. %., of the tempi* in contrast with "Ol? which denotes the enforced service of slaves. - T 20 Ver. 10. — mt?7 T"Ttt7. A paronomasia. The root *7*Ttt? has in Kal first the intrans. sense to be strong, next • t - ; - t the trans, sense, to use strength, ». «., to waste, to desolate. n7.tt? denotes specially wheat or barley fields, then woodland, Be. is where cattle fodder ; n£3"TS, farmland generally. 21 Ver. 10. — i"w3W, the Sept. and Arab, versions take this as an imper., and render it " Mourn ! 0 land." 22 Ver. 10. — "ln^'1, from the root "in^, to be clear, t. e., the oil newly pressed and clarified ; as distinguished1 from TE27, fat. 23 Ver. 11. — ni3rpb3?. The prep. bl7, as in vers. 5, 7, marks the cause. 77t3n and niil?tZ7 are the two T • ' T • t : kinds of f!!^ : the one kind of grain being used as food by men, the other chiefly by cattle, though the very poor used both 24 Ver. 12. — K7,,5^",,?• We have nere what is called constructs pregnans = TT^JX W^h "pEftP, joy ha* withered and fled away. 25 Ver. 15. — "Ftt?3. The expression is regarded by some as a sort of proverbial one. 3 is not pleonastic, nor th« lo-called 3 veriiatis, but indicates likeness in quality or degree. 26 Ver. 15. — " From Shaddai — the Almighty." The Rabbins, Raschi, Abarbanel, and Maimonides see in this name a profound mystery, because it is a noun compounded of the instp prnnoun, W, with pnttach notat, and ^^T, or "^T to hold. The rendering of the Sept., Kal us rakanriopCa. eic ToAatmopi'as jjfei, is wholly inadmissible. 27 Ver. 17. — The three an-af Aeyo/u,. words in this verse, render it both as to etymology and grammar, one of Mm moat difficult in the whole book. 5127^37. according to Aben Ezra and Kimchi, means " rotted ; " " perished," New come; "dried up," Pusey, Wdnsche. Some light is cast on the sense of HITS, by the Syr. JJ-I^D^ seed, com and the Chald. ~H3, grain. In form the word is the Paul participle of "HQ. The third word, DiCT? t>, " Vnb ably from the root f^3 — found only in Judg. v. 21, — which in all the dialects has the sense of to bear or carry away The Arab. . j^^ denotes the breaking up of the soil by the plough. HQTQ, therefore, may be a lump of soil, ^™ J"? " ' T TJ V a clod, such m is thrown up by the plough. So the old Jewish expositors have understood it. In iTl"12?31!2 we hav« another anal \fy. — yet there can be little doubt as to its meaning. The £3 local is prefixed. Newccm6 renders i* "slore-hoiuMw ' Tregelles, ' granaries, or cells for keeping grain." 12 JOEL. 21 Ver 20. — D3 here as in ver. 13, marks an increase of the general calamity. 29 Ver. 20. — The construction of the /em. sing, with the plur. noun is common in poetry, and is proper here tocaaM fTfflQrjD Is used in a collective sense. This term denotes domestic cattle. — F.] EXEGETICAL. Vers. 2-4. (Hear this ye old men, — ) the cater- pillar hath eaten. A call is made upon the inhab- itants of Judah, and especially the old men, to tes- tify that an unheard-of thing had happened, — an event to be told to their posterity, namely, the complete desolation of the land by successive swarms of locusts. Ver. 2. (Old men.) They are named because their memory goes back the farthest. The calam- ity might well be deemed extraordinary if they could recall nothing like it. Inhabitants of the land, I. e., of Judah, as is evident from what fol- lows ver. 14, ii. 1. fl'ST refers to what is stated in ver. 4. In vers. 2, 3 there is an allusion to Exod. x. 2-6, where the plague of locusts in Egypt is spoken of. Ver. 4. Swarms of locusts come, each one de- vouring what its predecessor had left. This, how- ever, is not described in a dry, prosaic way. As the locusts appear four times, they bear four dis- tinct names. Their proper name is '^5*nW> the others are poetic ones. These names are not used simply to denote the changes which the locusts undergo, nor their invasion of the land during successive years, as this would not consist with the statement that what one kind had left, another had eaten. The preterite ^?^ is to be taken in its proper sense. The whole chapter speaks of something that has actually happened. The des- olation is described in detail, one feature of it after another being depicted in such a way as to arouse those affected by it to earnest prayer. Verses 5-7. Awake ye drunkards. — Its branches are made white. The drunkards are tailed upon to mourn, to show poetically how complete is the desolation of the vineyards. At the same time, this is to be regarded as a punish- ment for the sins of the people, who are summoned to repent, though this last idea is not yet explicitly expressed. Ver. 6. The locusts are represented under the figure of a hostile army. They are not to be re- garded as a type of such an army, as if the pas- sage was simply allegorical. Yet the idea of en- mity to Israel implied in the word "^3 — a heathen people, — must not be lost sight of, for these locusts actually ravage the land of Israel. Hence there is no ground for taking H yV otherwise than as a preterite, nearly in the sense of a future, as pre- dicting something to come. ^-T^ is the land of the prophet as speaking in the name of the people. Jehovah himself does not speak directly, comp. v. 13. The arms of these invaders are their teeth, which grind like those of a lion. The jaw-teeth of the lioness protecting or avenging her young are added by way of climax. Ver. 7. The vine and fig tree. These are added because they are among the must valuable of fruit trees, comp. Hos. ii. 14. npTJp/ is properly that which is broken off, i. e., a fragment of wood, splinter, chip. i"T£ti?n, made bare, by barking or paring, so as to peel off. The bark is thrown ►way ; and the whole vine is made white or blanched bj the barking of it. Vers. 8-10. (Lament like a bride, — the oil fails.) The lamentation of the drunkards is sim- ply a prelude to what follows. It would be a mis- take to suppose that sensual pleasures and enjoy- ments alone are meant. The thing at stake was so much greater than these, that the whole land had cause to mourn. Ver. 8. Judah is here regarded as a wife, and hence the fitness of comparing this lamentation to that of a young bride mourning the husband of her youth. Certainly no judgment could be more severe than one that made it impossible to present " the meat and drink offerings." Hence the priests had reason to mourn ; and Judah, in danger of losing the visible emblems of the presence of his God, is fitly compared to the young wife who had lost her husband. These offerings could not be presented l>eeause everything was destroyed. [Tins corn, wine, and oil were essential ingredients of these offerings, and every sacrifice would be imper feet without them. The locusts and the drought combined must also have caused a great dearth of the animals used in sacrifice. — F.] Vers. 11-12. Be ashamed, ye husbandmen, — from the sons of men. The husbandmen and vinedressers are next addressed. The worst feat- ure of the desolation, already mentioned, is not again noticed until we come to ver. 13. In ver. 11, JlBJ^Qh, !)VV»n are imperfects. B^nh, from E*,;D (perhaps to distinguish it from tt7^2in the Hiphil of E?5*i here without the 1 which pre- cedes and follows it), to be ashamed, to grow pale. Going into their fields and finding nothing there, they are ashamed. Ver. 12 adds the reason for their lamentation. Besides the vine and the fig, other noble trees are mentioned which may have been under the special care of the vine-dresser ; as well as the trees of the field generally. ~\WW W'D.h here also the Hiph. of W^, to grow paler. Joy becomes, as it were, ashamed ; she withdraws herself, and is no more seen. Vers. 13-17. Gird yourselves and lament ye Priests, — the corn is withered. The discourse returns to what had been complained of in ver. 9, as the worst feature of the calamity, namely, the inability to offer sacrifices. Here (ver. 13) the priests are again called upon to lament the want of materials for the temple service. "Gird youi- selves," i. e., with sackcloth or hair-cloth. " Pass the night," t. p., even in the night-time their lamentations on this account should continue. [Thev should weep between the court and the ai tar. "See 1 Kings xxi. 27. There was nothing strange in this direction, for there -*as no inter- mission in the temple service by day or night. See Ps. exxxiv. 1. — E.| "Ministers of my God," the God whose prophet I am. [The suffix of the first person shows that the prophet, on the one hand, stood apart from the priests, and on the other, stood in a very near relation to God as his organ, and therefore elevated fir above all other ranks and conditions of men. — Wunschc.1 F.j 1 [Wiinsche thinks that this circumstance shows that Joel ce supposed that the prophet intended, or was obliged to separate himself wholly from the priests. There must be fasting as well as lamentation. This was to be observed not by the priests alone ; on the contrary, the whole people must be assem- bled in the temple, and there in the midst of these masses the priests should cry unto the Lord. " Sanctify a fast," because fasting was held to be, in the popular estimation, a holy, religious service. rm27 fcTTJJ. The word rHXg ordinarily de- notes a religious assembly, one to ohserve a great festival. Fiirst thinks that it comes from "1?37, tD fix, tc settle, i. EN is often connected with Tftt^n, to express a kind of climax. Ito km* U not used in Heb., but we find it in the Arab. . Ljf. « Ver. 2. — " Oouds and thick mists." ?D^V, formed apparently from Pp"}37, a cloud, and bDtf , to be dark, corresponding to the Greek bpfyvt). Here, too," a gradation is marked. 7 Ver. 2. — " Like the morning daivn," etc. The Vulg. renders it, « as the morning spread upon the mountains, a people much and mighty," but the accents will not admit of this. Newcome has it, " like the dusk," but this suggestj evening rather than morning. It properly means the gray of the morning, while the sun is still far below the horizon, tt is one of the names of the Nile, from the turbid color of its water. 8 Ver. S. — " Eden." \T2, an old Semit. word, found also in various dialects in the sense of pleasure, like the Or. i&ovti. In the sing, with zere on the penult., it always means Paradise. With seghol on the penult., it is the name of a •are of Mesopotamia. In the plur. form it denotes pleasures. Ps. xxxvi. 9 ; 2 Sam. i. 24. 8 Ver. 4. — " Is like." 3 is here used irapa/3oAt/eu« compar., and not, as Theodoret supposes, en-iTcm/cu; intens. 15 Ver. 5.—" On the tops of mountains," etc. ",LPSTv3J must be connected with fVTfyH'), they shall leap, an« pot with ^lp3 ; the latter union U forbidden by the accents, and by the use of the word « chariots," whose " note* ■ only heard on level groan 1. 18 JOEL. 11 Yer. 6. — " Peoples." The plural form Q^ffil? is used, not as Credner supposes, with reference to the two tribe* of Judah and Benjamin, but limply to denote people generally. 12 Ver. 6. " Paleness." ""11"7SQ i3 variously understood. The Sept. render the clause on n-pos Kaviiax^^K, ai the burning of a pot. The Chald., Syr., Vulg., Arab., " become like a pot or have the blackness of a pot." But there if nothing in the nature of the thing, or in the etymology of the word, to warrant the « blackness" of our E. V Cramer explains rather than translates the words : " all faces contract their muscles." The root of the word is ~)S2, to be beau- tiful to glow : and it literally means " ruddiness." This gathers, or withdraws itself, and the countenance becomes pale. 18 Ver. 7. " They shall not turn aside." 'J:1t0^3?,, is variously explained. Many expositors take it in the sense ol pervertere, as if it were "pFlT^?, to bend. Others get its meaning from the Arab. Ja^Lo, to split, or divide. On* MS. De Ross, has the reading, ^1103711'), they strike not out behind, like horses. The sense is, they move in a cnmpao' tnass, bending neither to the right nor the left, forwards nor backwards. 14 Ver. 8. — "Each one in his path," lit., the mighty one, "123, used here poetically for t£7N. 16 Ver. 8. — " Though they rush," etc. The meaning of this line is plain enough, f. e., nothing can arrest their march ; but the renderings of it are various, growing out of the senses given to IV 3. De Wette renders it : " Und zwischen Waffen stiirzen sie hindurch, brechen den Zug nicht ab." — Wiinsche : "Und hi'nter dem Wurfpiess fallen sie, nicht brechen tie ab." On the whole, I prefer the rendering of Tregelles : " Though they rush," etc. 16 Ver. 12. — " Yet even now." Credner, without reason, supplies a 512127 after n.Pll7 021. 17 Ver. 12. — " Saith Jehovah." DW3 is most frequently used as the part. pass, constr. = " the voice of Jehovah !».' 18 Ver. 14. — " Who knoweth." The interrogative particle QS is omitted here as in Jon. in. 9. The question U expressed only by the tone. Holzh. takes the phrase 37 TP *12 to = every one knows, t. e., it is quite certain ; bat this sense is too absolute. 19 Ver. 17. — " Rule over." The primary meaning of 7tt7tt is to make like, and in its nominal form it has the tense of similitude, parable, proverb, song. Scholars have been a good deal puzzled how to reconcile the signification ol making like and ruling, which last sense the word undoubtedly has in many places. When used in this last sense it is usually followed by 2, rarely (Wiinsche says never) by 737 or 7W. Tregelles renders it in this place, " to sing a song of derision," and De Wette, " spotter," which, I think, the context fovor*. Pusey and Wiinsche insist on the sense e. •or B. V. "role over." — F.] BXEQETICAL. This portion of the prophecy consists of two puns. The first is contained in vers. 1-11, in which the prophet explains more fully than he had before done, the misery that was coming on the land, a harbinger of the great and terrible day of the Lord. The second part includes vers. 12-17, and declares that timely repentance would secure God's gracious help, and therefore that the priests should earnestly deal with the people to this end. Ver. 1 . Blow the Trumpet in Zion. This is a call to the priests. They must give a signal of alarm from Zion, which is to be understood not in the local sense, but as including the whole of Jeru- salem. Then comes the more precise locality, " the holy mountain." The design of this signal is to arouse the inhabitants of the land, and to apprise them that an event of terrible magnitude is close at hand. The Day is the judgment day of the Lord. There is '. climax in the clauses announcing its approach, ' it is coming," " it is near," t. e., its coming is ot an event of the far distant future, but it will be very soon. Ver. 2. The Day is one of darkness. Four terms are used to show how intense it will be. See Ex. x. 22 ; Daut. iv. 11. It will be darker than that of Egypt, and than that of Sinai. Here the " darkness" is to be understood in a literal sense, for by the vast swarms of locusts, the sun would be obscured (ver. 10, and Exod. xiv. 15). That the prophet had these swarms of locusts in view is evident from what follows. "^L^S belongs to the following 2"2 D?. As the early morning aawns upon the mountains, so this " people " •omcs. " This," says Keil, " is to be understood »f the shining caused by the reflected rays of the mn from the wings of a swarm of locusts." [Some, says Dr. Pusey, have thought that there is here an allusion to the appearance which, the in habitants of Abyssinia well know, precedes the swarm of locusts. A sombre yellow light is cast upon the ground from the reflection, it is thought, of their yellow wings. But that appearance seems to be peculiar to that country. — F.] The image naturally exhibits the suddenness and universality of the darkness, when men looked for light. As to the meaning of Tlt^, expositors are greatly divided. Bauer thinks that the points of compari- son are the quickness with which, and the wide extent over which the dawn spreads itself. Cred- ner's view is, that as the morning light overspread- ing the hills is a symbol and pledge of life and joy, so these clouds shall come overspreading the land with darkness and misery. [Wiinsche takes it in the sense of the " morning gray," i. e., the time when the morning is wrapped in a sort of darkish or dusky gray ; the meaning being, that the nature of this " day " will be made known just as the gray dawn of morning proclaims the coming day. — F. | There hath not been ever the like. The phrase seems to have been borrowed from Exod. x. 14, — a passage on which the prophet, in a general way, seems to have had his eye, — where the same thing is said of the plague of locusts sent upon Egypt. Ver. 3. A fire devoureth. This description is based on what had been already experienced, namely, that the desolation caused by locusts had been attended usually by drought and terrible heat. But now the heat grows into a fierce flame, analogous to the awful displays when God re- vealed Himself at Sinai. So here, the army of locusts is God's host. H^bc. That which hat " escaped," namely, the " (ire," or the desolation caused by it, has not remained in the land. [This CHAPTER II. l-'~. iy to a strained sense. The exposition of Newcome, Pusey, and Wiinsche is more natural and sensible. " There is nothing that has escaped it, i. e., this army." Pusey adds, " the word being used else- where of the persons who escape, — captivity or captives, — suggests in itself that we should not linger by the type of the locusts only, but think cf enemies more terrible, wbo destroy men. — F.] Vers. 4, 5. Their appearance — in battle ar- ray. The entrance of this fearful host is de- scribed. The head of the locust has a certain resemblance to that of the horse. Their celerity of movement is compared to that of horsemen ; and in ver. 5, the noise caused by their leaping is likened to that made by chariots on rough moun- tain roads, so that their appearance is somewhat similar to that of an army advancing in battle ar- ray. Their noise in devouring plants and herbs is also compared to the crackling of flames in a field of stubble. [Pusey : The amazing noise of the flight of locusts is likened by those who have heard them, to all sorts of deep sharp rushing sounds. The prophet combines purposely things incompatible, the terrible heavy bounding of the scythed chariot, and the light speed with which these countless hosts should in their flight bound over the tops of the mountains where God had made no paths for man. — F.] Ver. 6. Before them the peoples, etc. D^p^ here has the usual sense of " peoples," " nations," since the day of the Lord would not be confined to one country. All faces lose their glowing color, t. e., the blood retires from the cheeks, so that they grow pale. V?i7 is here to be taken in the sense of HP^ in ver. 10 and iii. 15. Ver. 7. They shall run, etc. With resistless power they advance and march toward their goal. They run to attack. In like manner they climb the wall. t0337 = to change or shift the way, t. c, to turn from one's way and go into that of an- other, so that the latter is hindered. [Pusey : They are on God's message and they linger not. Men can mount a wall few at a time; the locusts scale it much more steadily, compactly, irresistibly. The picture unites the countless multitude, con- densed march, and entire security of the locusts with the might of warriors. — F.J Vers. 8-10. And no one shall press, etc. Those behind shall not press upon those before. No weapons can stop the advance of this host ; or arrest its march. They rush through, or between, or under the darts, or swords. They go forward as if no obstacles were in their way. Of course this does not mean that any attempt was actually made to oppose their progress, but simply that it would be vain to resist them, by the means ordi- narily used to arrest an army (ver. 9), comp. Ex. x. 6. The picture in vers. 7-9 is perfectly true to nature. Jerome (in loc.) says, " We have our- selves lately seen this very thing in this province (Palestine). When the locusts come and fill the whole space betweeen earth and sky, they fly in perfect order, as if obedient to a divine command, so that they look like the squares of a pavement. Each one holds its own place, not diverging from it even so much as by a finger's breadth. To these locusts nothing is impenetrable, fields, meadows, trees, cities, houses, even their most secret cham- bers." The accounts of more recent observers agree with this description. There is a design in this picture so elaborate in its details. The more ' terrible the visitation of locusts appears, the more eertain would it be, that when the day of the Lord came, this host would become God's instrument in the infliction of his judgment. What follows in ver. 10 is fully consonant with the fact, though there is some rhetorical amplification, as the prophet, once for all, sees in the swarm of locusts not a mere natural phenomenon, but an evidence of the coming of the day of the Lord. The view we take of an event naturally gives a certain col- oring to the picture of it, and a certain climactic amplication is proper, when the event is one that surpasses all previous experience. Before them, or it, i. e., this great and mighty people. The earth trembles. What more natural than that heaven and earth should be terrified by such a host, — one so dreadful in fact, so much more dreadful when viewed as the host of an avenging God 1 This most awful effect cannot, indeed, be ssen or heard, like these inarching hosts and the no:se they produce ; it can only be felt, and thus all the wider scope is given to the terrified imagination. The obscuration of the sun, moon, and stars is real, but this darkness becomes more fearfully impres- sive, since the locust swarms appear as a tempest cloud of divine wrath. (Comp. Jer. xiii. 10 ; Ezek. xii. 7 ; Mark xiii. 24.) Ver. 11. And Jehovah shall utter his voice. Probably a real event is referred to, — a thunder- storm in connection with the coming of the locusts. The prophet hears the thunder not so much with his outward ear as mentally, recognizing it as a manifestation of God. Only such displays of power as those described in vers. 10, 11, would be- fit the greatness of the host sent to do Jehovah's will, and the terribleness of the day of the Lord that was coming, — a day so terrible as to wring from the prophet the inquiry, " who can endure it 1 " See Jer. x. 10 ; Mai. iii. 1. Vers. 12-17. Yet even now, etc. Though the anger of God is so clearly revealed that men may see his day coming, yet He says, Turn unto me, and thus points out the way in which his an ger may be averted. If they repented, they would escape these judgments, and find God gracious With all your heart. This is the most essential thing, and so is named first, yet this hearty re- pentance will also manifest itself outwardly. But the prophet warns the people that a merely ex- ternal repentance will effect nothing (ver. 13), comp. Ps. li. 19 ; Ezek. xxxvi. 26. Such repent- ance, however, as that described in vers. 12, 13, will avail, because "He is gracious" (Ex. xxxiv. 6 ; 2 Sam. xxiv. 16). Therefore is there hope that He will avert his judgments. Who know- eth. That God is such as He is here described is beyond a doubt, but whether, under present cir- cumstances, He will display his mercy, is net so certain. This depends on the conduct of the peo- ple, and hence the prophet would have them to bear in mind, that pardon would not come to them as a matter of course, and that their repentance must not be of an easy and formal kind. He will return. Jehovah is conceived of as on his way from heaven for the purpose of judgment; but He may stop, and return to heaven. Leave behind Him, i.e., when He returns to heaven (Hos. v. 5) A blessing, t. e., an abundant harvest, so that there may be no lack of those offerings, the mate- rials of which had been destroyed by the locusts (L 9-13). Instead of a day of judgment (involving a greater desolation than any as yet experienced), there was hope that God would give another crop to replace the one destroyed (ver. 5). Since re pentance opened such prospects of blessing, the priests shou d s punon the people to meet for tin 20 JOEL. purpose of humiliation and prayer, and they should themselves, in the name of the people, im- plore God's mercy. Ver. 16 repeats what was said before in i. 14, tmt more in detail. Sanctify a congregation, i. i ., call a meeting of the congregation for sacred purposes. No age should be excepted, because the entire people deserved punishment and needed to repent. Even the joy of the bridegroom and the bride must give place to penitential mourning. What the priests should do, when the people were assembled, is defined in ver. 17. They shall stand between the porch and the altar, i. e., imme- diately before the entrance to the sanctuary and turning toward it, they should pray to God, ap- pealing to Him in behalf of the people as his own covenant people. [Pusey : The porch in this, Solomon's temple, .vas in fact a tower in front of the Holy of holies, of the same breadth with the temple. The brazen altar for burnt-offerings stood in front of it. The space between the porch and the altar, became an inner part of the court of the priests. It seems to have been a place of prayer for priests. It is spoken of as an aggravation of the sins of those twenty-five idolatrous priests, that here, where they ought to worship God, they turned their backs toward the temple of the Lord to worship the sun. Here Zechariah was standing, when the spirit of God came upon him, and he rebuked the people, and they stoned him. — F.] THEOLOGICAL. 1. The day of the Lord (i. 15 ; ii. 1 ; iii. 4-14), is a phrase used only by the prophets. If, as some think, Obadiah is the oldest, the phrase occurs first in Ob. 15, and next in the above marked places in Joel. If this view of the relative ages of these prophets be correct, we may assume that the phrase was introduced into prophetic language by Obadiah. Certainly Joel uses it in a way to show that he regarded the idea expressed by it as one well known to those for whom he prophesied, though, as Ewald suggests, the expression may be here presented in its oldest and simplest form. "As the king of a vast empire, — Ewald adds, — may for a time so completely disappear from the view of his subjects, as to be the same as if he had ceased to exist, and then suddenly reappear among them, in the fullness of his power to hold a long delayed assize, so the Invisible One may put off, nr seem to put off the day when He will appear as the Supreme Judge. The idea of the "day of the Lord" is closely connected with that of Jehovah as king, who as such has a " day " for men, — a day in the pregnant sense of the word, a day for judgment Jehovah as king must and will, in due time, suddenly and miraculously judge and Kiihdue all who are in rebellion against Him. He will subject all things to his own holy and right- eous control, thus showing that his will is the nly and absolute rule ; and will rectify all that is now disorderly in the condition of things on the earth. As Israel was then the kingdom of Jeho- ran in a special sense, " the day " for Israel as God's people, would be the epoch of their perfect and glorious deliverance from all their enemies. This appear? in ch. iii. The "day" is that one on which Jehovah sits in judgment <:T3n lit., "he has magnified to do." Schmoller renders it : " er hat groisge'.ha%." Thf same phrase occurs in'ver. 21, which shows that it cannot be taken in the sense of boasting. It is syuonyrr^us with th» miC^ MbSJS (Judg. xiii. 19), and S^Cftb tlWV, ii. 26. : Ver. 22. - « Fie'4 " "Ht£7 is not the plur. for D'HtP but the sing. = 717W, according to the analog of "Htl? P* «evt 12 CHAPTER II. 18-27. 25 8 V«r. 22. — 7sn 1H3, "?ive strength," like the Lat. edere fructum. The metaphor is one in which the oauM t* put for the effect. Only used here and in Ps. i. 4. 9 Ver. 23. — m"1Hi"T, " the early rain," from iT"V\ jecit, peitiaps beoause its season was post jactam sementem. V - TT Keil renders it " a teacher for righteousness." But the word when so used is followed by 2, more rarely by ,-S, 0* 1^2. Ewald and Uuibreit take TinlQ in the sense of "early rain," but render the phrase "rain for righteousness," i. e., as a sign of their being again received into the divine righteousness. But this is a strained sense ; better, " ac- cording to right," t. e., in just measure, as the ground requires. 10 Ver. 23. — " Aforetime." : Tlti'S^S. There seems to be an omission of 3. The Sept. render it kclBius ifj.npovik6s (Acts xxvii. 14). [This is a fanciful and groundless rendering. The word occurs in one hundred and fifty other places in O. T., and in all of them its sense is clearly that given to it here by our E. V. The term "^iD£J<7 Bays Wiinsche, according to the Masor. punctua- tion, can have no other sense than that of " north- ern," or " northerner." The allegorists use the word as a proof of their theory, that the Chal- daeans, or Syrians are meant. But there is not ?ither in what precedes or in what follows, the {lightest trace of a hostile invasion of Judah by lither of these nations. The word, therefore, must refer to the locusts. Nor is the designation of them as " northern " an arbitrary one, since their movements were wholly dependent on the wind. — F.] Into a land dry and desolate, one in which this army will find nothing to destroy, but will itself perish. The land referred to is the des- ert of Arabia, on the southern border of Judaea. The two ways in which the locusts would be d<*- stroyed are mentioned : they would be driven ii.io the desert, and into the sea. Two seas are named, in which this army should perish, namely, the vanguard in the east or Dead Sea, the rear in the west or Mediterranean. We need not, however, suppose that the destruction of these two divisions of the locust army occurred at the same time. [His stench. Jerome says of the locusts of Palestine, when the shores of both seas were filled with heaps of dead locusts which the waters had cast up, their stench and putrefaction were so nox- ious as to corrupt the air, so that a pestilence was produced among men and beasts. The same fact is attested by many modern travellers. — F.] Vers. 21-23. Fear not, O Land. As in ch. i. the land and its inhabitants were called upon to mourn in view of coming judgments, so now they are called upon to rejoice over the destruction of the hosts that had laid waste the country. Here, the address is that of the prophet; while in ver 25 the Lord himself speaks. The subject and ob ject of the joy are stated (ver. 21) in a general way. The latter is described in the words : Jeho- vah hath done great things. The perfect tense is here used like the German present, to denote an action, which being absolutely certain is thought of and presented as one already accomplished. What is here said of God's doings is not to be limited to that special time or occasion, but ex- presses a universal truth. Ver. 22. Even the beasts of the field should no longer be afraid of wanting their supplies of food. The picture of blessing which begins with verdant pastures, ends with trees laden with fruit. Ver. 23. Men are called upon to rejoice. Chil- dren of Zion may be taken in a general sense for the inhabitants of Judah, since Zion represented Judah. The former or early rain. It fell after autumn, and seems to be so called from <~l~£, jecit, because its season was post jactam sementem. It was the chief need after the devastation and drought, and hence is named with special emphasis The latter rain fell about harvest, towards the end of April. Hence its name from tZ?H!7' collegit jittftOg corresponds to the IP^HllW (iii. 1) 26 JOEL. the material blessings first, then the spiritual. |Pusey : It may be, at the first, i. e., as soon as ever it is needed, or in contrast to the more exten- sive gifts afterwards ; or, as at the first, i. e., all shall, upon their penitence, be restored as at the first. These lesser variations leave the sense of the whole the same, and all are supported by good authorities. It is still a reversal of the former sentence, that, whereas before the rivers of water were dried up, now the rains should come, each in his season. — F.] " The rain shall come down," here specially opposed to the drought, but, per- haps also a symbol of blessing in general. [So far as this special act may be generalized, it may rather be said that it begets and keeps alive the consciousness that the Giver of all good is again in the midst of his people. — F.] Vers. 24-27. And the threshing floors, — my people shall never be ashamed. The effects of the rain are first briefly, and then more fully described. The years, i. e., the prod- uct of the years which the locusts had devoured. The plural form of the word does not imply that the visitations of the locusts described in ch. i. were in successive years ; it only means that the results of a single visitation would be felt for several years, and that as long a time would be required to re- pair the mischief done by the locusts. The names of the four kinds of locusts given in ch. i. are re- peated here, only that the generic name nS~lW holds a prominent place. Vers. 26, 27. A beautiful conclusion ; it treats of the redemption of Israel from the heathen, and thereby of the vindication of God himself. This is the fundamental idea that repeatedly recurs. This conclusion forms the point of transition to the new and higher promises in ch. iii., which fully display the truth that " Jehovah is in the midst of Israel, that He is their God and none else," and therefore that his people can never be put to shame. While this promise is in a negative form, it really includes much more than the literal sense of the words ; it means that God's people shall not only not be ashamed, but that they shall be glorified forever, and that all the powers of this world that have opposed them shall be utterly con- founded. THEOLOGICAL. The greatness of the promise shows the power and importance of repentance, and the magnitude of God's grace. It is a confirmation of what is said (ii. 12). The punishment God inflicts is con- verted into a blessing ; his zeal against us is changed into zeal for us. God's dispensing bless- ing is the proof that He is in the midst of Israel ; that Jehovah and none else is their God. Jeho- vah is in the midst of Israel, the centre and source of spiritual life. It is solely through Him, that Israel is what he is. The proof that God dwells with Israel is his blessing him ; for the very object of his communion with Israel, and the choice of him to be his people, is to bless him. In dispens- ing blessings, God manifests his name, his power, his bounty, and distinguishes Himself from all false gods, who being dead cannot do that ; while Israel being thus blessed is distinguished from the heathen, standing far above them who have no mch God. Hence, too, the punishments inflicted jpon Israel are in strong contrast with those rhich overtake the heathen. If Israel is unfaith- ••il so that his God disowns him, it is quite natural that if he repents, he should regain the blessing the honor of God and of his people require this. Upon this fact, repentant Israel grounds his prayei for pardon, and the promise given corresponds to the prayer. When God sends blessings to his peo- ple, whom his judgments have brought to repent- ance, the right way is, to rejoice in and enjoy them, with humble gratitude indeed, but at the same time with the confession that they come wholly from Him. Then, the humiliation endured will have produced its proper fruits. HOMILETICAL. Ver. 18. And Jehovah was jealous for his people. Penitential and believing prayer secures a gracious answer ; sometimes in the way of warding off the temporal evils with which God visits men. Be- fore we call, God will answer, and while we are speaking, He will hear. [Henry: God will have an eye (1.) To his own honor, and the reputation of his covenant with Israel, by which He had conveyed to them that good land ; now He will not suffer it to be despised or disparaged, but will be jealous for the land and its inhabitants, who had been praised as a happy people, and therefore must not lie open to reproach as a miserable people. (2.) To their dis- tress. He will pity his people, and will restore them their former comforts. Pusey : Before, God seemed set upon their de- struction. It was his great army which was ready to destroy them ; He was at their head giving the word. Now, He is full of tender love for them, which resents injuries done to them, as done to Himself. — F.] Ver. 19. I will send — corn. It is God who averts the failure of crops, and scarcity of food. These evils neither come nor cease by accident. God gives us our daily bread. He opens his hand, and we are satisfied with food. Ver. 20. / will remove the northern. When God has alarmed his people and brought them to re- pentance, He often pours out his wrath upon those who were his instruments in the infliction of chas- tisement. Ver. 21. Fear not. How kindly God can speak to the heart ! How powerfully can He console ! It is easy for Him to do great things. [Posey : Before, they were bidden to tremble; now they are bidden fear not. The enemy had done great things ; now, the cause of joy is, that God had done great things ; the almightiness of God overwhelming and sweeping over the might put forth to destroy. — F.J Ver. 23. Rejoice in the Lord. Joy in God is the right kind of joy. From Him comes every bless ing. Yet how often do we receive joyfully enough the gift, without rejoicing in the Giver ? Certainly he who does not know God, cannot rejoice in Him, [Scott : The sons of Zion can never have so great a cause to fear, but they must still have a greater to " rejoice in the Lord." He gives us all our comforts, and enables us to use them with thankful hearts. The wisdom, truth, and love of his dispensations toward us deserve our highest admiration ; and He will never leave his people to be ashamed of their confidence in Him. — F.J Ver. 25. I will restore. How great is the bounty of God ! It seems as if He were anxious to re- pair some injury which his preceding judgment* had caused. Ver. 26. Ye shall be satisfied. What a blessed result ol humiliation when our being satisfied and CHAPTER II. 28-32. 27 praising the Lord become and remain so united in us, that we can never again misuse God's gifts to feed vain conceit, luxury, tyranny, but shall main- tain unmoved fear, love, and trust in God. [Pcset : It is of the punishment of God when men eat and are not satisfied ; it is man's sin that they are satisfied and do not praise God, but the more forget Him. And so God's blessings become a curse to him. God promises to restore his gifts, and to give grace withal, that they should own and thank Him. — F.] Ver. 27. 1 am in the midst of Israel. Blessed is the people in the midst of whom the Lord dwells. Every fresh blessing should be a proof to us that God is in the midst of us. But we must be God's people, if we would hope to have Him dwelling in the midst of us. He is only iu .he midst of Israel. God's people can never be put to shame ; therefore let us see that we belong to them. [Henry : We should labor to grow in our ac quaintance with God by all providences, both merciful and afflictive. When God gives to hii people plenty and peace, He thereby gives them to understand that He is pleased with their repent- ance, that He has pardoned their sins. — F.] SECTION n. Hereafter, on " the Day of the Lord" the Enemies of Israel shall be destroyed, while the Lord reigns in Zion guarding and blessing it. Chapter II. 28-32. [In the Hebrew text and in Schmoller, these verses form Chap. III., while Chap. HI. of E. V. is numbered Chap. IT We prefer to keep the order of the E. V. — P.] The promise, which up to this point has reference to the present and the near future, now takes a higher and wider range. It brings into view the day of the Lord, the result of the coming of which shall be, on the one hand, the overthrow of the world-power, and on the other, the full blessedness of God's people, through his dwelling in the midst of them. Ch. ii. 28-32 may be regarded as the intro- duction to the closing chapter, which describes the fulfillment of the promise. The grand events, which are the harbingers of the coming of the day of the Lord, are described. Zion is pointed out as the only place of safety ; but even amid the terrors of that day, God's people will have no reason to fear. The third chapter describes the judgments to be inflicted upon the enemies of God's people, while the latter •hall receive the richest blessings from the Lord, who sits enthroned on Zion. 28 And it shall come to pass afterward,1 That I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, And your sons and daughters shall prophesy ; Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions ; 29 Even 2 upon the men servants and the maid servant*, In those days, will I pour out my spirit. 30 And I will give signs 3 in heaven and on earth, Blood, and fire, and columns of smoke ; 31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the great and terrible day of the Lord come. 32 And it shall come to pass that whosoever calleth on the name of the Lord shall b« saved. For on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, As Jehovah hath said ; Even among the remnant 4 whom Jehovah shall call. CRITICAL AND TEXTUAL. 1 Tar. 38. — " Afterward." "Jp""^!^ is clearly identical with the formula used by the later prophet*. H^nSa D^H, " the last days." > Ver. 29. — " Even." The " also " of E. V. hardly expresses the emphasis of D3. 8 Ver. 30. — " Signs." C^P^^ denotes not " signs," but rather prodigies, miraculous signs of coming ertnta. 4 Ver 32. — " Remnant." ni^bD properly means " deliverance, escape." Here tha abst. is used for the eoatt khmoller and Wiins'-he render " the escaped." 2H JOEL. EXBQETICAXi. Ver. 28. And it shall come to pass, etc. What is here said of a general outpouring of the Spirit, while connected with the foregoing prom- ise, holds out to Israel the prospect of a grander dispensation of divine grace and of richer bless- ings than those promised in the preceding chapter, (rod will manifest Himself in such a manner as He has never done before. But this outpouring r>f the Spirit is viewed by the prophet as con- nected with the great day of the Lord, and as a ijgn of its coming. But he thus views it only be- cause he sees in that day, a day of judgment on Israel's enemies, and a day of salvation to Israel, through God's dwelling in Zion. If vers. 28, 29 be considered as containing a new promise, ver. 30 would begin a new subject, which would be contrary to the tenor of the prophet's discourse, as it is evident that these verses are closely connected. Ver. 28. Afterward, i. e., after what had been before announced in ver. 23 ; it is more indefi- nite than the last days, although, in general, the meaning is the same. Joel apparently imagines that the events which he here describes, will hap- pen in no very distant future. "7?B7, to pour, primarily refers to rain, or a heavy shower of rain ; it here denotes the communicating of something from above, and in great abundance. This last idea is illustrated in the extent of the gift, — to " all flesh," and the nature of the gift, — the spirit of prophecy in various forms. n^'lC'SH, In contrast with God, to whom the WH belongs, kot. <{., man appears as ""!t£Q " flesh." This term des- ignates man not simply as a being in want of this " Spirit," but also as one naturally fitted to re- ceive it, just as the dry ground is fitted to receive the rain. — All flesh. How is this general expres- sion to be understood 1 It is clear from what fol- lows that there is no limitation of sex, age, or condition, and that not merely particular individ- uals, but that all are to share in this divine gift, — a fulfillment of the wish of Moses (Num. xi. 29). The connection and the train of thought re- quire us to extend the " all " to mankind gener- ally. — Shall prophesy. This is explained by " prophesying," " dreaming dreams," " seeing vis- ions." In this enumeration the most important thing comes first, i. e., the proper prophetic func- tion or power. S23 means, not simply to predict future events, but generally to announce the reve- lations of God, The whole people will be the vehicle through which these highest spiritual utter- ances will be made, and as all barriers will be then fcroken down, woman is named by the side of man. To this prophesying are conjoined, in a sort of Becondary way, other modes of divine manifesta- tion, " dreams," " visions." As there is to be no difference of sex, so there is to be none of age, in regard to the sharing of this spirit. Even those who would seem to be unfitted for it shall receive it — "old men and children." Why, it may be asked, shall " old men dream dreams ? " Because they are better fitted for " dreams," just as young men, or children are for "visions," though the re- verse of this would seem to be more natural. But the condition of things predicted by the prophet nould be every way extraordinary. — And the ■ervants. This is added as something very sin- gular. C2|l ' and even." Nay, something unheard of shall then happen, namely, that slaves as well as fieemen shall partake of this Spirit. In othei words, this social distinction shall theu be abob ished. The Jewish interpreters could scarcely com- prehend how this could be, and hence the Sept. make the servants and hand-maidens, " God's," hri robs SovKous nal refcy 8ouA.o? fj.ov ; so too Acts ii. 16. Ver. 30. I will show wonders. What shall be the form of these phenomena of nature 1 It is idla to try to answer the question. They are evidently such as had never before been seen, though they may somewhat resemble the plagues of Egypt. There will be " blood " and " fire," and " pillars of smoke." The color of blood appears in the moon ; both sun and moon are obscured ; and there are signs of a hiding of the face of God who rules in heaven, and consequently of his anger. These signs will be of a nature to awaken terror, and all the more, as the day approaches, for it would seem from vers. 28, 29, 30, that there will be hardly an interval between the sign and the day. Its men- acing aspect becomes so much the more prominent inasmuch as God will theu manifest Himself, not merely in a general way, but as bringing on a special crisis. The obscuration of the stars is of- ten mentioned in connection with the day of judg- ment (Ezek. xxxii. 7; Am. viii. 9; Matt. xxiv. 29; Mark xiii. 24; Luke-xxi. 25). Before the day of the Lord come. Hence these appearances are signs of the coming of this day. Its actual coming and its importance are set forth in ch. iii. ; here it is described only in a general way. Ver. 32 goes on to state that for Zion it will bring neither judgment nor destruction. Here its tempest will cease. But there is, at the same time, an implied exhortation to comply with the condition of safety. Ver. 32. And it shall come to pass, — whom the Lord shall call. To call on the name of Jehovah is to confess Him, to worship Him who has revealed, and is revealing Himself to Israel. "Whosoever, 73 with a special emphasis, to teach that the day of the Lord will not bring destruc- tion to all, though it may have that look. There will be complete deliverance to those who call on the name of the Lord, and to none else. The rea- son is given, because in Mt. Zion is "deliverance." As Jehovah had said. This seems to point to some positive prophetic promise. This divine promise of safety to all who call on the name of the Lord, based on the promise concerning Zion and Jerusalem, shows how closely related were these two places. They are set forth as the place where the Lord dwelt in his sanctuary with his people, and where his name is known. The call- ing on the Lord is wholly confined to Zion and Jerusalem, though it would be of no avail to any one to be in Zion unless he called on the Lord. Deliverance. Many take this term in a concrete and collective sense, i. e., " the delivered," but the other is the more natural interpretation. The remnant, or " the escaped ; " there shall lie among them those whom the Lord calls. T*"?tP is one who has escaped from the field of battle, or one who has been saved from the fate of most others, and so implying that the number is small. This " remnant " is evidently to be ad led as a new class to those before mentioned as d slivered by calling on the name of the Lord, the idea being that thei had been overtaken by the calamitj, and though delivered, their escape had been a very narrow one, and hence noticed as the result of the Lord's spe cial and merciful call. Who are they ? Not ta6.-tc CHAPTER II. 28-32. 29 already in Zion and Jerusalem ; but those who were called to come there, t. e., not to these local- ities merely, but to communion with the God who calls and who is enthroned in Zion. This mani- festly means that some of those who would be properly liable to the judgment, would escape it and share in the salvation promised to Zion. Who are they ? Not the inhabitants of Judah living outside the walls of Jerusalem ; — a sense of the words entirely too limited and local. Besides, Zion and Jerusalem must be taken as including all the inhabitants of Judah wherever resident. It may, ferhaps, be inferred from eh. iii. that they are the sraelites scattered among the nations, whom the Lord promises (iii. 16) to bring again. Yet they can scarcely be described as the "remnant," or the " escaped," since their deliverance is the very object of the judgment which falls upon the heathen world. Why not understand by the "remnant," the heathen ? They are both far off, and liable to the judgment. It would still be true that while the heathen world in general will be the object of the judgment in the day of the Lord, some of them will escape through the mercy of Jehovah. This is certainly only a faint indication of the calling of the Gentiles. This last fact is not dis- tinctly announced, the heathen as such not having been as yet named. There is a close resemblance between ver. 32 and Ob. 17, so that if the latter was the earlier prophet, we might suppose that his words had been modified by Joel. Obadiah says. " there shall not be any remaining of the house of Esau," in the day of the Lord. Joel also says, that this day shall be one of judgment to all out- side of Zion, for all the heathen. But he does not mean that none of them shall escape, for he admits it to be possible that Jehovah might call some of them. Joel thus takes a step in advance of Obadiah, and indicates, though it may be ob- scurely, the work that should be done by later prophets. [Pusey : Ver. 28. All flesh is the name for all mankind. The words all flesh are in the Penta- teuch, and in one place in Daniel, used in a yet wider sense, of everything which has life ; but, in no one case, in any narrower sense. It does not include every individual in the race, but it includes the whole race, and individuals throughout it, in every nation, sex, or condition, Jew or Gentile, Greek or Barbarian, i. e., educated or uneducated, rich or poor, bond or free, male or female. On all was to be poured the Holy Spirit. — Ver. 29. St. Peter, in declaring that these words began to be fulfilled in the day of Pentecost, quotes them with two lesser differences: "I will pour out of my Spirit and upon My servants and My hand- maidens." The words declare something in addi- tion, but do not alter the meaning, and so St. Peter quotes them as they lay in the Greek, which, prob- ably, was the language known by most of the mixed multitude to whom he spake. The words " My Spirit," express the largeness and fullness of the gift. The words " of my Spirit," express, in part, that He who is infinite cannot be con- tained by us who are finite. The words " the ser- rants," mark the outward condition. The words " my servants," declare that there should be no yfference between bond and free. Ver 32. Call upon the name of the Lord. To tall on the name of the Lord is to worship Him »s He is, depending upon Him. The name of the Lord expresses his true Being, that which He is. For the name rendered, The Lord, expresses that He is and that He alone is, the self-same the un- changeable; the name rendered God is not th« special name of God. — F.] [Wiinsche : Ver. 28. My Spirit. The Spirit o. God is the divine analogue of the spirit of man. It is the true life principle of men ; the source of physical life in the world of nature, of spiritual life in the sphere of religion, of all goodness, truth, rectitude, and beauty. Whatever the human mind thinks, feels, wills, fashions, in regard to any one of these objects is, in one sense, an outflow of the Divine Spirit. The prayer that ascend^ to heaven from a devout heart, the self consecration, the holy enthusiasm which distinguished the prophets, and fitted them to proclaim to the people GodV judgment and his mercy, — all these are expres sions and gifts of the Divine Spirit. AH flesh The word is used in Heb. to denote the totality of living being on earth, beasts and men (Gen. vi. 13 ; vii. 15, etc.) ; and then in a more limited sense, for the human race. The connection shows that, here, it is taken in the latter sense. Cred- ner, however, gives it the wider meaning so as to include the irrational animals, and refers in con- firmation of his view to the prediction of Isaiab xi. 6-9, concerning the " wolf and the lamb, the leopard and the kid," etc. But this friendly union of wild and tame animals is not represented by the prophet as the result of men's enlarged knowl- edge of God. Man alone is the image of God ; he alone is a fit organ of the Divine Spirit ; ha alone has the capacity to receive the gift here de- scribed, which, therefore, cannot be extended to the lower forms of animal life. Ver. 32. As Jehovah hath said. There is no ref- erence here to a lost prophecy ( Meier) ; nor to an older writing of Joel (Ewald) ; nor to Obadiah (Keil). The meaning simply is that Joel, the per- son speaking, had a divine revelation of the fact, that where God's throne is, there his true worship- pers shall also be. Shall call. The word has a pregnant sense, conveying the idea that the " de- liverance " depends not on the worshippers of God alone, but also upon God himself. Only those whom the Lord calls or chooses, and who call upon or choose Him shall be saved. Most of the older and later expositors take " call " in a predes- tinative sense. The Chald. has quos dominus des- tinat. — F.] THEOLOGICAL. 1 . From the very first the prophets point to a great decisive Hereafter. In their being able to do this lay their strength. Living in the present, their eyes were ever turned to the future, or rather the end, the consummation of all things. Hence the power of their exhortations and promises to their contemporaries. Their influence would have been very frail and feeble, if they had not had a firm faith in a future, when the salvation of God should be fully realized. 2. Outpouring of the Spirit of God upon all flesh. It is evident from the context that the prophet himself did not suppose that this " out- pouring " would extend beyond the people of Is- rael. This was its field (ver. 27). Here God will reveal Himself; here in the day of the Lord the judgment will take place, here all nations shall ba gathered. The whole of ch. iii. shows that the prophet considered the heathen world as the en- emy of God's people. He does not put the heathen on the same footing- with Israel, but on the con trary he directs attention exclusively to the higk position of Israel as God's people. It presupjKkse SO JOEL,. the conversion of the heathen, and their reception among God's people. As he nowhere predicts such a conversion, his promise of an outpouring of the Spirit upon all flesh cannot here include the heathen ; even if we refer the phrase " whom the Lord shall call," to a selection of the heathen, it is all the more evident that the " all flesh " can- not include them. For the calling of individual heathen could not have the same prominence that would belong to the out-pouring of the Spirit on the whole heathen world. Joel might have as- sumed that some called out of the heathen world would partake of the blessing given to Israel. To Israel the promise was of something not only great but new, namely, the impartation of the Spirit to persons of all ages and conditions. Pour- ing out as a symbol of this impartation was never before used to denote the gift of the Spirit. Thus far only individuals in particular localities had re- ceived it. The gift was, indeed, a necessary result of the covenant relation in which Jehovah stood to Israel, but hitherto his Spirit had come only on individuals, fitting them to become divine messen- gers. Such a limitation, however, did not accord with the true idea of God's people, which implies that they should all be partakers of his Spirit. This should be fully realized in the future. Every barrier shall be broken down, and the reception of this Spirit shall be limited neither by age, sex, nor condition. It would come in the form of pro- phetic dreams and visions, giving those who re- ceived it a deeper insight into divine things, and make them organs of divine revelation. This promise, as given by the prophet, is two- fold. On the one hand, it will thus be seen that Jehovah is in the midst of Israel. On the other hand, this general outpouring of the Spirit will be a preparatory warning of the coming of the day of the Lord. That day will be one of immediate and decisive manifestation of God, and its ap- proach will be heralded by new and startling events fitted to excite in the minds of men eager expecta- tion, and to rouse them to seek salvation before it was too late. These warnings may consist of ex- traordinary phenomena in the world of nature, or of similar phenomena in the sphere of mind. From the spirituality of the religion of Jehovah we might expect that occurrences of the latter class would predominate. Perhaps we may go farther and say that the object of these remarkable events, of this prophesying, of these dreams and visions, is the day of the Lord itself. It is clear that by this gen- eral outpouring of the Spirit the way would be pre- pared for such a result of the day "of the Lord as must redound to the glory of Israel. Since Jeho- vah thus recognizes Israel as his people, by making them all individually organs of his revelation, He must, while blessing them, resist and punish their enemies. This double aspect of the day of the Lord, as one of judgment, and of redemption, is here very distinctly declared. The deliverance of individuals will not come to them as a matter of course. If they escape the terrors of that day, and share in the salvation of God's people, it can only be by their complying with the conditions on which it is secured. When shall this promise of a general outpour- ing of the Spirit be fulfilled? From the phrase " after this," the prophet seems to have regarded it as connected with the promise given in the earlier ,jart of the chapter. But it does not follow that ae looked upon it as near at hand. The prophets »ften connect promises relating to the present, very •.Icsely with those pertaining to the far distant fu- ture. In this respect Joel and the later propheta agree. The latter represent the gift of the Spirit in its fullness to the covenant people, as a promi- nent feature of the Messianic age, or of the New Covenant. Jer. xxxii. 15; lvi. 13; Ez. xxxvi. 26 ; Zech. xii. 10. Hence we should, perhaps, designate this prophecy as in a general way Messianic, though Joel does not speak directly of the Messiah, and we should look for its fulfillment after the advent of Messiah. Thus St. Peter (Acts ii. 17) saw its accomplishment in the miracle of Pentecost. He expressly refers the 75"Trj^ — eV rats cVxaTau fifiepuK, to the Messianic age. He distinctly recog- nizes the Messiah as the mediator through whom this rich and general bestowment of the Spirit should come. Like the prophet, he understood the " all flesh," to mean, in the first instance, the cov- enant people, though he declares that the promise extended also to those who were " afar off." Joel only intimates that the latter will escape, but does not say, in so many words, that the Spirit will be which at first predomi- nated, but gradually disappeared, giving place to a more natural and tranquil, a purer and deeper spiritual life. The condition of deliverance is stated in ver. 32, and all are exhorted to fulfill it. External membership with the people of Israel will not, of itself, secure salvation ; but the condition is one so simple and easy, so really within the power of every one, that the verse has more the aspect of a promise than an exhortation. There is no real need that any one should be afraid of the coming of the " terrible day." Its terrors may be escaped by simply calling on the Lord in Zion aud Jerusalem, the place of worship. Therefore no one need ask, Where shall I find the Lord on whom I must call ? for the Lord Himself has named the place of his abode. This alone is necessary, " to call on the Lord." To do this, it is not absolutely requisite that one should belong to Israel. This is plainly taught by the words just quoted. Hence Paul bases upon them the equal rights of Jews and Gentiles ? But ioes this exposition suit the context, in which the prophet so expressly connects the deliverance with Zion and Jerusalem1? If we look carefully into the matter, we shall find that it does. Zion is the place where God has revealed Himself. Without jnch a revelation as that made in Zion, neither tailing on the Lord, nor salvation, would have been possible. Zion then (not in the local sense) .« the seat and centre of salvation ; because here God has manifested Himself Paul knew that 9 Greek, simply as such, could not call upon the Lord, since he did not even know the Lord whc had revealed Himself in Israel. Those who would call upon Him, as Paul teaches, must believe in Him, and this implies that He had been preached to them, and this was done by those who made known to the heathen the God who has manifested Himself in Zion. Paul denies that conformity to the Jewish law is a condition of salvation. All this shows the Apostle's deep insight into the real meaning of Scripture. His heart beat for those afar off; he feels, and discovers instinctively, that the barriers which had separated Jew and Gentile were broken down by the very prophetic word which made salvation dependent on one thing alone, a thing within the reach equally of the Gen- tile and the Jew. He evidently took the words " whosoever shall call," etc., in a sense large enough to embrace the whole Gentile world. On exeget- ical grounds, as we have seen, we are authorized though not. compelled to give them this breadth of meaning. In the last clause of ver. 32 the phrase occurs, " whom the Lord shall call," and it con- veys the idea that salvation is not a matter of right, but of grace alone. With regard to all who are afar off this divine call is the cause of deliver- ance. If they had not been thus called they must certainly have perished, so that they owe their es- cape solely to the gracious call of God. But it is at the same time clearly implied that this call be- comes effective and saving only when the man him self turns to the Lord. HOMILETICAL. Ver. 28. Afterward. A prophetic word of pro- found meaning. When ? The prophets them selves did not know Yet these promises were, for the present, a light shining in a dark place. But what kings and prophets of old desired to see and saw not, we see, who live in the times of ful fillment. To us the Afterward has become Now. To many, it is only a Once, a Formerly. They forget that the fulfillment of these prophetic words never grows old, but has a perpetual Now, which it becomes us to comprehend and improve until the Lord comes. For as that Afterward has be- come a Now, in Him in whom all the promises are yea and amen, so He still points us to a more dis- tant Afterward, when there will be nothing new in distinction from the old, except as sight is distin- guished from faith, and the end from the begin- ning. / will pour out my Spirit. True fellowship with God implies the participation of the Spirit of God. So long as this privilege is confined to in- dividual communion with God, on the part of men, it must be simply an object of desire and hope, notwithstanding the means used to extend it. Blessed privilege of the Now Covenant, that in Christ every one may receive the Spirit of God. All special privileges are done away ; all separat- ing walls are broken down. The lowest as well as the loftiest can now aspire to be taught by the Spirit of God, and so to become a co-worker with God. How wonderful the condescension and the grace of God ! (See Gal. iii. 28.) How plain is it that the religion of the Old Testament, though it- self far from attaining this end, foreshadowed it, and revealed the way to it. [Henry : God hath reserved some better thing* for us, the kingdom of jjrace, and the kingdom of JOEL. glory, and the happiness of true believers in both. We often read in the Old Testament of the Spirit of the Lord coming like drops, as it were, upon the judges anl prophets whom God raised up for extraordinary services, but now, the Spirit shall be pouied out plentifully, in a full stream. Posey : God alone can be poured out into the soul, so as to possess it, enlighten it, teach, kindle, bend, move it as He wills, sanctify, satiate, fill it. The prophetic word circles round to that where- with it began, the all-containing promise of the large outpouring of the Spirit of God ; and that, upon those whom the carnal Jews at all times would least expect to receive it. It began with in- cluding the heathen ; it instances individual gifts, and then it ends by resting on the slaves. The order of the words is significant. He begins / trill pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and then in order to leave the mind resting on these same great words, He inverts the order and ends, and upon the servants, etc. It leaves the thoughts resting on the great words " / will pour out my Spirit." Robinson : A Christian even now, animated and influenced by the Holy Ghost is a wonderful being, as superior to the rest of mankind, as man is superior to the beasts of the field. But what will he be then ? There have been mighty men amongst us, a Milton, a Boyle, a Newton in a former age, and some in the present, who, with the highest gifts of genius, have been endowed with eminent gifts and graces of the Holy Spirit ; but who shall say in that future dispensation, to what heights of wisdom and knowledge and power man may be advanced ? Every discovery in science, every progressive improvement, such as the present age has developed, are prophecies and earnests of that glorious time here promised. — F.] Ver. 30. Show wonders. The New Covenant has brought salvation, but it also brings sifting judgments corresponding to the greatness of this salvation. The question now is, how men will deal with it ; and most certain is it that God will remove everything opposed to Him and his king- lom. Hence, with the salvation in Christ, there was need of this last separating judgment. Great displays of God's grace and great judgments often go together, the latter preparing the way for the former. So was it in Jerusalem. Those who despised the kindly tongues of flame on the day of Pentecost, had blood, fire, and vapor of .-moke as the symbols of destruction. So is it now. Those who quench the Spirit, despise proph- esyings, and give themselves up to the flesh and the world will find " that day " all the more terri- ble, and that their damnation slumbereth not. The best thing is to be always ready for that day of God. If we delay until it actually comes, it may be too late. [Henry: The judgments of God upon a sinful world, and the frequent destruction of wicked king- doms by fire and sword, are prefaces to and pres- ages of the judgment of the wo. Id in the last day. Pusey : Each revelation of God prepares th« way for another, until that last revelation of his love and of his wrath in the great day. — F.] Ver. 32. Whosoever calleth. Happy they who are found watching and praying when the Lord comes. We may escape the judgment, therefore we should not despair. All that is necessary is believing prayer to God. For every one who con- fesses God, He will confess. But such escape we must earnestly seek for ourselves. The coming of Christ has two aspects ; to the godless, it will be a day of condemnation and wrath : *o believers, a day of redemption and refreshing. In Zion and Jerusalem, i. e., in the God who is there revealed. is redemption. He who believes in Christ is in Zion, for he confesses Him as the God of Zion To Him belongs the glory of our salvation. Ex- amine thyself to see thy real condition. The abil- ity to stand in the judgment will come, not from any outward excellence, nor even from gracious privileges or preeminence. The remnant. God de- sires not to destroy, but to save. Hence his con- stant and gracious call to all who are afar off, to come and be saved. E\en the heathen, who be- long not to his chosen people, can obtain salvation Not indeed unless He calls them ; but if lie does call and they yield to it through his grace, they share in the gifts of his people. Art thou among the called ones of God ? Hast thou heard his call ? Thou mayest be called and yet perish as last. Many are called, few chosen. God calls aL, but He, in turn, will be called upon in faith. [Henry : This is ground of comfort and hope to sinners, that whatever danger there is in their case, there is also deliverance for them, if it be not their own fault. And if we would share in this deliverance we must apply ourselves to the Gospel Zion, to God's Jerusalem. It is the praying rem- nant that shall be the saved remnant. And it will aggravate the ruin of those who perish, that they might have been saved on such easy terms. Those only shall be delivered in the great day that are now effectually called from sin to God, from self to Christ, from things below to things above. Scott : The Gospel calls men in general to partake of its blessings, and of that salvation which is revealed and placed in the Church ; and " whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord " Jesus, as the Son of God and the Saviour of sin- ners, shall be delivered from the wrath to come. This is the happy case of that remnant of every age and people whom the Lord calls by his regen- erating Spirit ; all things shall work together for their good ; they may look forward with comfort for the day, when nature shall expire in convul- sions, assured that then their eternal redemption shall be perfected. — F.] SECTION III. The Day of the Lord brings /uU Salvation to Israel and the Destruction of his Enemies Chapter in. 1 For behold, iti those days,1 and at that time When I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem: CHAPTER III. 2 That I will gather all the nations, And will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat ; And there will I deal with (or judge) them,* for my people, and my heritage,3 Israel. Because they scattered them among the nations,4 And divided my land. 3 And they cast lots for my people, They bartered a boy for a harlot, And sold a maiden for wine,5 and drank it. 4 And, also, what have ye to do with me, Tyre and Sidon, And all the borders5 of Philistia? Would you retaliate 7 upon me, Or render me a recompense ? Soon and swiftly8 will 1 1 ring your recompense on your own head. 5 Because ye have taken away l. / silver and my gold, And have brought into your temjiles my goodly desirable things,9 6 And ye have sold the sons of Judah and Jerusalem to the sons of Javan, That ye might remove them far away from their border. 7 Behold, I will raise ,0 them up out of the place whore ye have sold them, And will return your retaliation on your own head. 8 And I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hands of the sons of Judab, And they shall sell them to the Sabeans, to a distant nation, For Jehovah hath spoken it. 9 Proclaim this among the nations, Declare (sanctify) a war, Arouse the mighty ones, Let all the men of war draw near, come up. 10 Beat your mattocks " into swords, And your pruning-hooks into spears, Let the weak say, I am strong. 11 Hasten I2 and come, All ye nations round about, and assemble yourselves ; Then Jehovah shall bring down 13 thy mighty ones. 12 Let the nations arise and come up To the valley of Jehoshaphat, For there will T sit to judge all the nations round about. 13 Putin the sickle,14 For the harvest is ripe ; Come, tread, For the wine-press is full, The vats overflow, For their wickedness is great. 14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision, For the day of Jehovah is near in the valley of decision. 15 The sun and the moon are darkened, And the stars withdraw their shining, 16 And 15 Johovah will thunder out of Zion, And from Jerusalem he will give forth his voice, So that the heavens and the earth shall shake ; But Jehovah will be a refuge for his people, And a stronerhold for the sons of Israel. 34 JOEL. 17 And ye shall know that I Jehovah am your God, Dwelling in Zion my holy mountain ; And Jerusalem shall be holy, And strangers shall no more pass through her. 18 And it shall come to pass that in that day the mountains shall drop down with new wine, And the hills shall flow with milk, And all the river beds of Judah shall be full of water, And a fountain shall flow forth from the house of Jehovah, And shall water the valley of Shittim. 19 Egypt shall be a desolation, And Edoni shall be a desolate wilderness, For their violence against Judah's sons ; Because they shed blood in their land. 20 But Judah shall dwell ,fi forever, And Jerusalem from generation to generation ; 21 And I will avenge their blood, which I have not avenged, And Jehovah will dwell in Zion. TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL. I Ver. 1. — Those days, i. e.. preeminently. In Heb. the personal and demonstrative pronouns sometimes take the article, thus rendering the expression all the stronger and more emphatic. 5 Ver. 2. — ^flOBfflSl. For the construction see Josh. iv. 2 : S Chron. xxii. 8 ; Is. iii. 14 ; Ezek. xxxviii. 22. In the latter place T.H is used for C5. 3 Ver. 2. — *"Ti;i my peculium. The word expresses more than ^J?, my people. Israel is in apposition with both terms. * Ver. 2. — The nations, i. e., the neighboring ones. See ver. 12. 6 Ver. 3. — For wine. 2 is here the 2 of price, and according to the rule is placed after verbs of buying and selling. * Ver. 4. — Borders, fni \j3 lit,, circles, referring to the five subdivisions of Philistia, namely, Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkalon, Gath, and Ekron. ' Ver. 4. — Would you retaliate. Wiinsche renders the clause, " WoVU ilir ein Thun mir vergelten," and adds that it is variously explained. The meaning depends on the sense attached to 2^3. The ground sense of its radical syllable C3 is fullness, accumulation. The primary meaning of 2?23 is the same. It is used — (1) Intrans., to be full, or complete, specially of fruit, to be ripe. (2) Trans., to complete, to make full, i. e. : (a) To wean, or to take from milk (Gen. rri. 8 ; 1 Sam. xxii. 24 ; Is. xxviii. !(). (b) To ripen with special reference to fruit, (c) To do something with the hands, »'. e., to finish it. (d) To recompense what has been done by another, so that its end aud aim is accomplished, — something done, in a moral sense, for which men are responsible. It is construed both with j and pj. * Ver. 4. — Soon and swiftly. See Is. v. 26. Pocock takes both the words adverbially. * Ver. 5. — Goodly desirable things. Newcome renders the phrase desirable and goodly. E^'ltSil = not simply "good things," but "good" in a pregnant sense, optima. 10 Ver. 7. — Twill raise. D"!*^^ Hiph. of the intrans. lISs to be hot, hence to be watchful. OneKenn.MSS. has UT^J^p I am calling, or will call them as witnesses. II Ver. 10. — Mattocks. fi!D*,frfct. This was an instrument of husbandry having an edge that needed to be sharp- ened from time to time (1 Sam. xxii. 20). All the older versions render it " ploughshares," which Tregelles favors. 1:1 Ver. 11. — ^IffiftS, a arro.% \cy, perhaps used for *,L"^n or "j*^- The Sept. renders it