Reference: Joel
American
One of the minor prophets, of whom nothing is known beyond the few hints furnished in his brief but valuable prophecy. He lived in the kingdom of Judah, and at a time when the temple and temple-worship still existed, Joe 1:14; 2:1,15,32-3:1. Different authors assign to his prophecy different dates, but the prevailing opinion is that he prophesied in the reign of Uzziah, nearly 800 B. C.
The BOOK of JOEL opens with a most graphic and powerful description of the devastation caused by swarms of divers kinds of locusts, accompanied by a terrible drought. The plague of locusts, one of the most dreadful scourges of the East, (see LOCUSTS,) is highly suggestive of an invasion of hostile legions such as have often ravaged Judea; and many have understood, by the locusts of Joel, the Chaldeans, Persians, Greeks, or Romans. The prophet, however, adheres to his figure, if it be one; depicts the land as stripped of its verdure and parched with drought, summons the stricken people to fasting and penitence, and encourages them by promising the removal of the divine judgments and the return of fertility. While describing this returning plenty and prosperity, the prophet casts his view forward on a future still more remote, and predicts the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and the signs and wonders and spiritual prosperity of the Messiah's reign, Joe 2:28. This passage is quoted by the apostle Peter in Ac 2:16. The style of Joel is exceedingly poetical and elegant; his descriptions are vivid and sublime, and his prophecy ranks among the gems of Hebrew poetry. It is well fitted to cheer the church militant in all ages.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
Sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land in the house of the Lord, your God, and cry to the Lord [in penitent pleadings].
Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound an alarm on My holy Mount [Zion]. Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of [the judgment of] the Lord is coming; it is close at hand -- "
Blow the trumpet in Zion; set apart a fast [a day of restraint and humility]; call a solemn assembly.
And afterward I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions.
But [instead] this is [the beginning of] what was spoken through the prophet Joel:
Easton
Jehovah is his God. (1.) The oldest of Samuel's two sons appointed by him as judges in Beersheba (1Sa 8:2). (2.) A descendant of Reuben (1Ch 5:4,8). (3.) One of David's famous warriors (1Ch 11:38). (4.) A Levite of the family of Gershom (1Ch 15:7,11). (5.) 1Ch 7:3. (6.) 1Ch 27:20. (7.) The second of the twelve minor prophets. He was the son of Pethuel. His personal history is only known from his book.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
Now the name of his firstborn was Joel and the name of his second, Abijah. They were judges in Beersheba.
Bela son of Azaz, the son of Shema, the son of Joel, who dwelt in Aroer as far as Nebo and Baal-meon.
The son of Uzzi: Izrahiah. The sons of Izrahiah: Michael, Obadiah, Joel, Isshiah -- "five, all of them chief men.
And David called for Zadok and Abiathar the priests, and for the Levites -- "Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel, and Amminadab,
Of the Ephraimites: Hoshea son of Azaziah; of the half-tribe of Manasseh: Joel son of Pedaiah;
Fausets
("Jehovah is God".)
1. Samuel's oldest son (1Sa 8:2; 1Ch 6:28 (read "the firstborn (Joel) and the second (Vashni) Abiah"), 1Ch 6:33; 15:17). Father of Heman the singer. He and his brother Abiah were judges in Beersheba, when their father was too old to go on circuit. Their bribery and perversion of justice occasioned the cry for a monarchy.
2. Joel, a corruption of Shaul (1Ch 6:24,36).
3. Of the twelve minor prophets. Son of Pethuel. The many (Joe 1:14; 2:1,15,22; 3:1-2,6,16-21) references to Judah and Jerusalem and the temple imply that his ministry was in the southern kingdom. "Israel," when mentioned (Joe 3:2), represents the whole twelve tribes. Date. The position of his book in the Hebrew canon between Hosea and Amos implies that he was Hosea's contemporary, slightly preceding Amos who at Tekoa probably heard him, and so under the Spirit reproduces his words (Joe 3:16, compare Am 1:2). The sentiment and language of the three prophets correspond. The freshness of style, the absence of allusion to the great empires Assyria and Babylon, and the mention of Tyre, Sidon, and the Philistines (Joe 3:4) as God's executioners of judgment on Israel, accord with an early date, probably Uzziah's reign or even Joash's reign.
No mention is made of the Syrians who invaded Judah in the close of the reign of Joash of Judah (2Ki 12:17-18; 2Ch 24:23-25), but that was an isolated event and Syria was too far N. to trouble Judah permanently. The mention of "the valley of Jehoshaphat" (Joe 3:12) alludes to Jehoshaphat's victory (2 Chronicles 20), the earnest of Israel's future triumph over the pagan; though occurring long before, it was so great an event as to be ever after a pledge of God's favor to His people. Chap. 1 describes the ravages caused by locusts, a scourge foretold by Moses (De 28:38-39) and by Solomon (1Ki 8:37,46).
The second chapter makes them symbols of foreign foes who would destroy all before them. So Re 9:1-12; Am 7:1-4. Their teeth like those "of lions" (Joe 1:6), their assailing cities (Joe 2:6-9), and a flame of fire being their image (Joe 1:19-20; 2:3,5), and their finally being driven eastward, westward ("the utmost sea," the Mediterranean), and southward ("a land barren," etc.), whereas locusts are carried away by wind in one direction only, all favor the symbolical meaning. They are plainly called "the pagan" (Joe 2:17), "the northern (a quarter from whence locusts do not come) army" (Joe 2:20), "all the nations" (Joe 3:2), "strangers" (Joe 3:17). Their fourfold invasion is to be the last before Jehovah's glorious deliverance (Joe 2:18-20, etc.) in answer to His people's penitent prayer (Joe 2:12-17).
ARRANGEMENT.
I. Joel 1-2:17 the fourfold invasion answering to the four successive world empires, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome. Each of the four species of locusts in Hebrew letters represents the exact number of years that each empire oppressed, until they had deprived the Jews of all their glory (J. C. Reichardt). Gazare, the first, "the palmerworm," represents the 50 years of Babylon's oppression, from the temple's destruction by Nebuchadnezzar (588 B.C.) to Babylon's overthrow by Cyrus (538 B.C.). Arbeh, the second, "the locust," represents Persia's 208 years' sway over the Jews, from 538 to 330 B.C., when Persia fell before Alexander the Great.
Yelequ, the third, "the cankerworm," represents 140 years of the Graeco-Macedonian oppression, from 330 to 190 B.C., when Antiochus the Jews' great enemy was defeated by the Roman, Lucius Scipio. Chasil, "the caterpillar," the fourth, represents the 108 years of the Romans' oppression, beginning with their minion Herod the Great, an Idumean stranger, 38 B.C., and ending A.D. 70 with the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple. The whole period thus comprises that between the destruction of the first and the second temple; and the calamities which befell the Jews by the four world empires in that period are those precisely which produced the ruin under which they are still groaning, and form the theme of their Kinoth or songs of lamentation. This first portion ends in a call to thorough and universal repentance.
II. Joe 2:18-29. Salvation announced to the repentant people, and restoration of all they lost, and greater blessings added.
III. Joe 2:30-3:21. Destruction of the apostate nations confederate against Israel on the one hand; and Jehovah's dwelling as Israel's God in Zion, and Judah abiding for ever, on the other, so that fountains of blessing from His house shall flow, symbolized by waters, milk, and new wine. References to the law, on which all the prophets lean, occur: Joe 2:13, compare Ex 34:6; 32:14; 2:25, compare Nu 11:29, fulfilled in the pentecostal outpouring of the Spirit in part (Ac 2:16,21; 21:9; Joh 7:39), but awaiting a further fulfillment just before Israel's restoration, when "the Spirit shall be poured upon all flesh" (of which the outpouring on all classes without distinction of race is the earnest: Ac 2:28,38; Ro 10:12-13; Zec 12:10; Joe 2:23). Also Joe 3:19-21, compare De 32:42-43, the locusts, of which it is written "there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be" (Joe 2:2, compare Ex 10:14).
Pusey translates Joe 2:23 ("the former rain moderately") "He hath given you (in His purpose) the Teacher unto righteousness," namely, who" shall bring in everlasting righteousness" (Daniel 9). This translation is favored by the emphasis on et hamoreh, not found in the latter part of the verse where rain is meant; the promise of Christ's coming thus stands first, as the source of "rain" and all other blessings which follow; He is God's gift, "given" as in Isa 55:4. Joel's style is pure, smooth, rhythmical, periodic, and regular in its parallelisms; strong as Micah, tender as Jeremiah, vivid as Nathan, and sublime as Isaiah. Take as a specimen (Joel 2) his graphic picture of the terrible aspect of the locusts, their rapidity, irresistible progress, noisy din, and instinct-taught power of marshaling their forces for devastation.
5. 1Ch 5:4.
6. 1Ch 5:11-12.
7. 1Ch 7:3-4.
8. 1Ch 11:38; in 2Sa 23:36 IGAL.
9. 1Ch 15:7,11-12; 23:8; 26:22.
10. 1Ch 27:20.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
God saw the Israelites and took knowledge of them and concerned Himself about them [knowing all, understanding, remembering all].
And the locusts came up over all the land of Egypt and settled down on the whole country of Egypt, a very dreadful mass of them; never before were there such locusts as these, nor will there ever be again.
Then the Lord turned from the evil which He had thought to do to His people.
And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord! the Lord! a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abundant in loving-kindness and truth,
But Moses said to him, Are you envious or jealous for my sake? Would that all the Lord's people were prophets and that the Lord would put His Spirit upon them!
You shall carry much seed out into the field and shall gather little in, for the locust shall consume it. You shall plant vineyards and dress them but shall neither drink of the wine nor gather the grapes, for the worm shall eat them.
I will make My arrows drunk with blood, and My sword shall devour flesh, with the blood of the slain and the captives, from the long-haired heads of the foe. Rejoice [with] His people, O you nations, for He avenges the blood of His servants, and vengeance He inflicts on His foes and clears guilt from the land of His people.
Now the name of his firstborn was Joel and the name of his second, Abijah. They were judges in Beersheba.
If there is famine in the land or pestilence, blight, mildew, locust, or caterpillar, if their enemy besieges them in the land of their cities, whatever plague, whatever sickness there is,
If they sin against You -- "for there is no man who does not sin -- "and You are angry with them and deliver them to the enemy, so that they are carried away captive to the enemy's land, far or near;
Then Hazael king of Syria went up, fought against Gath [in Philistia], and took it. And Hazael set his face to go up to Jerusalem. And Joash king of Judah took all the hallowed things that Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, and Ahaziah, his [forefathers], kings of Judah, had dedicated and his own hallowed things and all the gold that was found in the treasuries of the house of the Lord and in the king's house, and sent them to Hazael king of Syria; and Hazael went away from Jerusalem.
And these registered by name came in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah and destroyed their tents and the Meunim [foreigners] who were found there and exterminated them to this day, and they settled in their stead, because there was pasture for their flocks. And some of them from the sons of Simeon, 500 men, went to Mount Seir, having for their leaders Pelatiah, and Neariah, Rephaiah, and Uzziel, the sons of Ishi. read more. They destroyed the remnant of the Amalekites who had escaped, and they have dwelt there to this day.
These and their sons served of the Kohathites: Heman, the singer, the son of Joel, the son of Samuel [the great prophet and judge],
And David called for Zadok and Abiathar the priests, and for the Levites -- "Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel, and Amminadab, And said to them, You are the heads of the fathers' houses of the Levites; sanctify yourselves, both you and your brethren, that you may bring up the ark of the Lord, the God of Israel, to the place that I have prepared for it.
So the Levites appointed Heman son of Joel; and of his brethren, Asaph son of Berechiah; and of the sons of Merari their brethren, Ethan son of Kushaiah;
The sons of Jehieli, Zetham and Joel his brother, who were over the treasuries of the house of the Lord.
They solemnly vowed to put away their [heathen] wives, and, being guilty, [each] offered a ram of the flock for [his] guilt.
Of the sons of Nebo: Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Iddo (Jaddai), Joel, and Benaiah.
These are the province chiefs who dwelt in Jerusalem, but in the towns of Judah everyone lived on his property there -- "Israelites, the priests, the Levites, the temple servants, and the descendants of Solomon's servants. And at Jerusalem dwelt certain of the sons of Judah and Benjamin. Of Judah: Athaiah son of Uzziah, the son of Zechariah, the son of Amariah, the son of Shephatiah, the son of Mahalalel, of the sons of Perez;
Joel son of Zichri was overseer, and Judah son of Hassenuah was second over the city.
Behold, I have appointed him (Him) [David, as a representative of the Messiah, or the Messiah Himself] to be a witness [one (One) who shall testify of salvation] to the nations, a prince (Prince) and commander (Commander) to the peoples.
For a [heathen and hostile] nation [of locusts, illustrative of a human foe] has invaded My land, mighty and without number; its teeth are the teeth of a lion, and it has the jaw teeth of a lioness.
Sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land in the house of the Lord, your God, and cry to the Lord [in penitent pleadings].
O Lord, to You will I cry, for the fire has devoured the pastures and folds of the plain and the wilderness, and flame has burned all the trees of the field. Even the wild beasts of the field pant and cry to You, for the water brooks are dried up and fire has consumed the pastures and folds of the wilderness and the plain.
Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound an alarm on My holy Mount [Zion]. Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of [the judgment of] the Lord is coming; it is close at hand -- " A day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and of thick mists and darkness, like the morning dawn spread upon the mountains; so there comes a [heathen, hostile] people numerous and mighty, the like of which has never been before and shall not be again even to the years of many generations. read more. A fire devours before them, and behind them a flame burns; the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yes, and none has escaped [the ravages of the devouring hordes].
Like the noise of chariots on the tops of the mountains they leap -- "like the noise of a flame of fire devouring the stubble, like a mighty people set in battle array. Before them the peoples are in anguish; all faces become pale. read more. They run like mighty men; they climb the wall like men of war. They march each one [straight ahead] on his ways, and they do not break their ranks. Neither does one thrust upon another; they walk every one in his path. And they burst through and upon the weapons, yet they are not wounded and do not change their course. They leap upon the city; they run upon the wall; they climb up on and into the houses; they enter in at the windows like a thief.
Therefore also now, says the Lord, turn and keep on coming to Me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning [until every hindrance is removed and the broken fellowship is restored]. Rend your hearts and not your garments and return to the Lord, your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in loving-kindness; and He revokes His sentence of evil [when His conditions are met].
Rend your hearts and not your garments and return to the Lord, your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in loving-kindness; and He revokes His sentence of evil [when His conditions are met]. Who knows but what He will turn, revoke your sentence [of evil], and leave a blessing behind Him [giving you the means with which to serve Him], even a cereal or meal offering and a drink offering for the Lord, your God? read more. Blow the trumpet in Zion; set apart a fast [a day of restraint and humility]; call a solemn assembly.
Blow the trumpet in Zion; set apart a fast [a day of restraint and humility]; call a solemn assembly. Gather the people, sanctify the congregation; assemble the elderly people, gather the children and the nursing infants; let the bridegroom [who is legally exempt from attending] go forth from his chamber and the bride out of her closet. [None is exempt from the humiliation.] read more. Let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep between the porch and the altar; and let them say, Have pity and spare Your people, O Lord, and give not Your heritage to reproach, that the [heathen] nations should rule over them or use a byword against them. Why should they say among the peoples, Where is their God?
Let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep between the porch and the altar; and let them say, Have pity and spare Your people, O Lord, and give not Your heritage to reproach, that the [heathen] nations should rule over them or use a byword against them. Why should they say among the peoples, Where is their God? Then was the Lord jealous for His land and had pity on His people.
Then was the Lord jealous for His land and had pity on His people. Yes, the Lord answered and said to His people, Behold, I am sending you grain and juice [of the grape] and oil, and you shall be satisfied with them; and I will no more make you a reproach among the [heathen] nations.
Yes, the Lord answered and said to His people, Behold, I am sending you grain and juice [of the grape] and oil, and you shall be satisfied with them; and I will no more make you a reproach among the [heathen] nations. But I will remove far off from you the northern [destroyer's] army and will drive it into a land barren and desolate, with its front toward the eastern [Dead] Sea and with its rear toward the western [Mediterranean] Sea. And its stench shall come up [like that of a decaying mass of locusts, a symbol and forecast of the fate of the northern army in the final day of the Lord], and its foul odor shall come up, because He has done great things [the Lord will have destroyed the invaders]!
But I will remove far off from you the northern [destroyer's] army and will drive it into a land barren and desolate, with its front toward the eastern [Dead] Sea and with its rear toward the western [Mediterranean] Sea. And its stench shall come up [like that of a decaying mass of locusts, a symbol and forecast of the fate of the northern army in the final day of the Lord], and its foul odor shall come up, because He has done great things [the Lord will have destroyed the invaders]!
But I will remove far off from you the northern [destroyer's] army and will drive it into a land barren and desolate, with its front toward the eastern [Dead] Sea and with its rear toward the western [Mediterranean] Sea. And its stench shall come up [like that of a decaying mass of locusts, a symbol and forecast of the fate of the northern army in the final day of the Lord], and its foul odor shall come up, because He has done great things [the Lord will have destroyed the invaders]! Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice, for the Lord has done great things! read more. Be not afraid, you wild beasts of the field, for the pastures of the wilderness have sprung up and are green; the tree bears its fruit, and the fig tree and the vine yield their [full] strength.
Be not afraid, you wild beasts of the field, for the pastures of the wilderness have sprung up and are green; the tree bears its fruit, and the fig tree and the vine yield their [full] strength. Be glad then, you children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord, your God; for He gives you the former or early rain in just measure and in righteousness, and He causes to come down for you the rain, the former rain and the latter rain, as before.
Be glad then, you children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord, your God; for He gives you the former or early rain in just measure and in righteousness, and He causes to come down for you the rain, the former rain and the latter rain, as before.
Be glad then, you children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord, your God; for He gives you the former or early rain in just measure and in righteousness, and He causes to come down for you the rain, the former rain and the latter rain, as before. And the [threshing] floors shall be full of grain and the vats shall overflow with juice [of the grape] and oil. read more. And I will restore or replace for you the years that the locust has eaten -- "the hopping locust, the stripping locust, and the crawling locust, My great army which I sent among you. And you shall eat in plenty and be satisfied and praise the name of the Lord, your God, Who has dealt wondrously with you. And My people shall never be put to shame. And you shall know, understand, and realize that I am in the midst of Israel and that I the Lord am your God and there is none else. My people shall never be put to shame. And afterward I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. Even upon the menservants and upon the maidservants in those days will I pour out My Spirit.
For behold, in those days and at that time when I shall reverse the captivity and restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, I will gather all nations and will bring them down into the Valley of Jehoshaphat, and there will I deal with and execute judgment upon them for [their treatment of] My people and of My heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations and [because] they have divided My land.
I will gather all nations and will bring them down into the Valley of Jehoshaphat, and there will I deal with and execute judgment upon them for [their treatment of] My people and of My heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations and [because] they have divided My land.
I will gather all nations and will bring them down into the Valley of Jehoshaphat, and there will I deal with and execute judgment upon them for [their treatment of] My people and of My heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations and [because] they have divided My land.
Yes, and what are you to Me, O Tyre and Sidon and all the [five small] divisions of Philistia? Will you pay Me back for something? Even if you pay Me back, swiftly and speedily I will return your deed [of retaliation] upon your own head,
And have sold the children of Judah and the children of Jerusalem to the sons of the Grecians, that you may remove them far from their border.
Let the nations bestir themselves and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat, for there will I sit to judge all the nations round about.
The Lord will thunder and roar from Zion and utter His voice from Jerusalem, and the heavens and the earth shall shake; but the Lord will be a refuge for His people and a stronghold to the children of Israel.
The Lord will thunder and roar from Zion and utter His voice from Jerusalem, and the heavens and the earth shall shake; but the Lord will be a refuge for His people and a stronghold to the children of Israel. So shall you know, understand, and realize that I am the Lord your God, dwelling in Zion, My holy mountain. Then shall Jerusalem be holy, and strangers and foreigners [not born into the family of God] shall no more pass through it.
So shall you know, understand, and realize that I am the Lord your God, dwelling in Zion, My holy mountain. Then shall Jerusalem be holy, and strangers and foreigners [not born into the family of God] shall no more pass through it. And in that day, the mountains shall drip with fresh juice [of the grape] and the hills shall flow with milk; and all the brooks and riverbeds of Judah shall flow with water, and a fountain shall come forth from the house of the Lord and shall water the Valley of Shittim. read more. Egypt shall be a desolation and Edom shall be a desolate wilderness for their violence against the children of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in their land.
Egypt shall be a desolation and Edom shall be a desolate wilderness for their violence against the children of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in their land. But Judah shall remain and be inhabited forever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation.
But Judah shall remain and be inhabited forever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation. And I will cleanse and hold as innocent their blood and avenge it, blood which I have not cleansed, held innocent, and avenged, for the Lord dwells in Zion.
And I will cleanse and hold as innocent their blood and avenge it, blood which I have not cleansed, held innocent, and avenged, for the Lord dwells in Zion.
And he said, The Lord roars out of Zion and utters His voice from Jerusalem; then the pastures of the shepherds mourn and the top of [Mount] Carmel dries up.
Thus the Lord God showed me [Amos], and behold, He formed locusts in the beginning of the shooting up of the second crop, and behold, it was the second crop after the king's mowings. And when [the locusts] had finished eating the plants of the land, then I said, O Lord God, forgive, I pray You. How can Jacob stand? For he is so small! read more. The Lord relented and revoked this sentence: It shall not take place, said the Lord [and He was eased and comforted concerning it]. Thus the Lord God showed me, and behold, the Lord God called for punishment with fire, and it devoured the great deep and would have eaten up the land.
And I will pour out upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace or unmerited favor and supplication. And they shall look [earnestly] upon Me Whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for Him as one who is in bitterness for his firstborn.
But He was speaking here of the Spirit, Whom those who believed (trusted, had faith) in Him were afterward to receive. For the [Holy] Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified (raised to honor).
But [instead] this is [the beginning of] what was spoken through the prophet Joel:
And it shall be that whoever shall call upon the name of the Lord [ invoking, adoring, and worshiping the Lord -- "Christ] shall be saved.
You have made known to me the ways of life; You will enrapture me [diffusing my soul with joy] with and in Your presence.
And Peter answered them, Repent (change your views and purpose to accept the will of God in your inner selves instead of rejecting it) and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of and release from your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
And he had four maiden daughters who had the gift of prophecy.
[No one] for there is no distinction between Jew and Greek. The same Lord is Lord over all [of us] and He generously bestows His riches upon all who call upon Him [in faith]. For everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord [invoking Him as Lord] will be saved.
Then the fifth angel blew [his] trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from the sky to the earth; and to the angel was given the key of the shaft of the Abyss (the bottomless pit). He opened the long shaft of the Abyss (the bottomless pit), and smoke like the smoke of a huge furnace puffed out of the long shaft, so that the sun and the atmosphere were darkened by the smoke from the long shaft. read more. Then out of the smoke locusts came forth on the earth, and such power was granted them as the power the earth's scorpions have. They were told not to injure the herbage of the earth nor any green thing nor any tree, but only [to attack] such human beings as do not have the seal (mark) of God on their foreheads. They were not permitted to kill them, but to torment (distress, vex) them for five months; and the pain caused them was like the torture of a scorpion when it stings a person. And in those days people will seek death and will not find it; and they will yearn to die, but death evades and flees from them. The locusts resembled horses equipped for battle. On their heads was something like golden crowns. Their faces resembled the faces of people. They had hair like the hair of women, and their teeth were like lions' teeth. Their breastplates (scales) resembled breastplates made of iron, and the [whirring] noise made by their wings was like the roar of a vast number of horse-drawn chariots going at full speed into battle. They have tails like scorpions, and they have stings, and in their tails lies their ability to hurt men for [the] five months. Over them as king they have the angel of the Abyss (of the bottomless pit). In Hebrew his name is Abaddon [destruction], but in Greek he is called Apollyon [destroyer]. The first woe (calamity) has passed; behold, two others are yet to follow.
Hastings
1. The prophet (see next article). Regarding his personal history we know nothing. 2. A son of Samuel (1Sa 8:2; 1Ch 6:28 [RV6:33). 3. An ancestor of Samuel (1Ch 6:36, called in v. 24 Shaul). 4. A Simeonite prince (1Ch 4:35). 5. A Reubenite (1Ch 5:4,8). 6. A Gadite chief (1Ch 5:12). 7. A chief man of Issachar (1Ch 7:3). 8. One of David's heroes (1Ch 11:38). 9, 10, 11. Levites (1Ch 15:7,11,17; 23:8; 26:22; 2Ch 29:12). 12. A Manassite chief (1Ch 27:20). 13. One of those who married a foreign wife (Ezr 10:43 [1Es 9:35 Juel]). 14. A Benjamite overseer after the Exile (Ne 11:9).
See Verses Found in Dictionary
Now the name of his firstborn was Joel and the name of his second, Abijah. They were judges in Beersheba.
Bela son of Azaz, the son of Shema, the son of Joel, who dwelt in Aroer as far as Nebo and Baal-meon.
The son of Uzzi: Izrahiah. The sons of Izrahiah: Michael, Obadiah, Joel, Isshiah -- "five, all of them chief men.
And David called for Zadok and Abiathar the priests, and for the Levites -- "Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel, and Amminadab,
So the Levites appointed Heman son of Joel; and of his brethren, Asaph son of Berechiah; and of the sons of Merari their brethren, Ethan son of Kushaiah;
The sons of Jehieli, Zetham and Joel his brother, who were over the treasuries of the house of the Lord.
Of the Ephraimites: Hoshea son of Azaziah; of the half-tribe of Manasseh: Joel son of Pedaiah;
Of the sons of Nebo: Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Iddo (Jaddai), Joel, and Benaiah.
Joel son of Zichri was overseer, and Judah son of Hassenuah was second over the city.
Morish
Joel. Jo'el
1. Eldest son of Samuel: he and his brother Abiah acted as judges; their corrupt practices were the plea upon which Israel demanded a king. 1Sa 8:2; 1Ch 6:33; 15:17. Apparently Joel is called VASHNI in 1Ch 6:28; but it is possible that the word Joel has dropped out: the passage would then read "the firstborn Joel, and 'the second' Abiah," as in the R.V.
2. Prince in the tribe of Simeon. 1Ch 4:35.
3. A Reubenite, father of Shemaiah, or Shema. 1Ch 5:4,8.
4. A chief man among the Gadites. 1Ch 5:12.
5. Son of Azariah, a Kohathite. 1Ch 6:36.
6. Son of Izrahiah, a descendant of Issachar. 1Ch 7:3.
7. One of David's mighty men. 1Ch 11:38.
8. A chief of the sons of Gershom. 1Ch 15:7,11.
9. Son of Jehieli, and descendant of Laadan, a Gershonite. 1Ch 23:8; 26:22.
10. Son of Pedaiah, of the tribe of Manasseh. 1Ch 27:20.
11. Son of Azariah, a Kohathite of Hezekiah's time. 2Ch 29:12.
12. One who had married a strange wife. Ezr 10:43.
13. Son of Zichri, and overseer of the Benjamites in Jerusalem. Ne 11:9.
14. Son of Pethuel: the prophet. Joe 1:1.
Joel, Jo'el Book of.
Of the minor Prophets, Joel is judged to be the earliest in connection with Judah, though there are no dates given in the prophecy itself. The key-note of the prophecy is 'the day of Jehovah,' which is five times mentioned in connection with the future judgements, which will bring in the full blessing of Israel and the earth, when the Lord also will have His portion, a meat offering, and a drink offering for Himself.
Joel 1. The Prophet takes occasion by the devastation wrought in his day by an army of insects to call the priests, the princes, and the people to a fast, and a solemn assembly in the house of the Lord, there to cry unto Jehovah. Then he adds, "Alas for the day! for the day of the Lord is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come." Here it is destruction, open judgement, as in the day when God will judge the world in righteousness. The army of insects was but a precursor, but as a present thing, instead of joy and gladness being in the house of God, God was judging. The prophet said 'is at hand;' but God's long-suffering deferred its full execution, and defers it still.
Joel 2. The day of Jehovah is nigh at hand, and the trumpet is to sound an alarm of war: cf. Nu 10:9. The army of insects is still alluded to, but it looks forward to the future, when God will bring His judgements upon the land. The army is His, and the camp is His: the day of Jehovah. is great and very terrible. The people are called to repentance, to rend their hearts and not their garments, for God is merciful and gracious. The trumpet was to be blown in Zion for a solemn assembly: cf. Nu 10:7. Priests and all are called to weep and pray. God will hear, and will destroy their enemies, especially the northern army (Joe 2:20, elsewhere alluded to as Assyria) and He will bring His people into great blessing. When they repent, the Holy Spirit will be poured out upon them and upon all flesh. This was quoted by Peter in Ac 2:16-21, but the nation did not then repent, it was only a remnant that turned to the Lord and entered into the blessing that God was bestowing
See Verses Found in Dictionary
When the congregation is to be assembled, you shall blow [the trumpets in short, sharp tones], but not the blast of an alarm.
When you go to war in your land against the enemy that oppresses you, then blow an alarm with the trumpets, that you may be remembered before the Lord your God, and you shall be saved from your enemies.
Now the name of his firstborn was Joel and the name of his second, Abijah. They were judges in Beersheba.
Bela son of Azaz, the son of Shema, the son of Joel, who dwelt in Aroer as far as Nebo and Baal-meon.
The son of Uzzi: Izrahiah. The sons of Izrahiah: Michael, Obadiah, Joel, Isshiah -- "five, all of them chief men.
And David called for Zadok and Abiathar the priests, and for the Levites -- "Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel, and Amminadab,
The sons of Jehieli, Zetham and Joel his brother, who were over the treasuries of the house of the Lord.
Of the Ephraimites: Hoshea son of Azaziah; of the half-tribe of Manasseh: Joel son of Pedaiah;
Then the Levites arose: Mahath son of Amasai, Joel son of Azariah, of the sons of the Kohathites; of the sons of Merari: Kish son of Abdi, Azariah son of Jehallelel; of the Gershonites: Joah son of Zimmah and Eden son of Joah;
Of the sons of Nebo: Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Iddo (Jaddai), Joel, and Benaiah.
Joel son of Zichri was overseer, and Judah son of Hassenuah was second over the city.
But I will remove far off from you the northern [destroyer's] army and will drive it into a land barren and desolate, with its front toward the eastern [Dead] Sea and with its rear toward the western [Mediterranean] Sea. And its stench shall come up [like that of a decaying mass of locusts, a symbol and forecast of the fate of the northern army in the final day of the Lord], and its foul odor shall come up, because He has done great things [the Lord will have destroyed the invaders]!
But [instead] this is [the beginning of] what was spoken through the prophet Joel: And it shall come to pass in the last days, God declares, that I will pour out of My Spirit upon all mankind, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy [ telling forth the divine counsels] and your young men shall see visions ( divinely granted appearances), and your old men shall dream [ divinely suggested] dreams. read more. Yes, and on My menservants also and on My maidservants in those days I will pour out of My Spirit, and they shall prophesy [ telling forth the divine counsels and predicting future events pertaining especially to God's kingdom]. And I will show wonders in the sky above and signs on the earth beneath, blood and fire and smoking vapor; The sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before the obvious day of the Lord comes -- "that great and notable and conspicuous and renowned [day]. And it shall be that whoever shall call upon the name of the Lord [ invoking, adoring, and worshiping the Lord -- "Christ] shall be saved.
Smith
Jo'el
(to whom Jehovah is God).
1. Eldest son of Samuel the prophet,
and father of Heman the singer. (B.C. 1094.)
2. In
Authorized Version, Joel seems to be merely a corruption of Shaul in ver. 24.
3. A Simeonite chief.
4. A descendant of Reuben. Junius and Tremellius make him the son of Hanoeh, while others trace his descent through Carmi.
(B.C. before 1092.)
5. Chief of the Gadites, who dwelt in the land of Bashan.
(B.C. 782.)
6. The son of Izrahiah, of the tribe of Issachar.
7. The brother of Nathan of Zobah,
and one of David's guard.
8. The chief of the Gershomites in the reign of David.
9. A Gershonite Levite in the reign of David, son of Jehiel, a descendant of Laadan, and probably the same as the preceding.
(B.C. 1014.)
10. The son of Pedaiah, and a chief of the half-tribe of Manasseh west of Jordan, in the reign of David.
(B.C. 1014.)
11. A Kohathite Levite in the reign of Hezekiah.
(B.C. 726.)
12. One of the sons of Nebo, who returned with Ezra, and had married a foreign wife.
(B.C. 459.)
13. The son of Zichri, a Benjamite.
14. The second of the twelve minor prophets, the son of Pethuel, probably prophesied in Judah in the reign of Uzziah, about B.C. 800. The book of Joel contains a grand outline of the whole terrible scene, which was to be depicted more and more in detail by subsequent prophets. The proximate event to which the prophecy related was a public calamity, then impending on Judah, of a two-plague of locusts --and continuing for several years. The prophet exhorts the people to turn to God with penitence, fasting and prayer; and then, he says, the plague shall cease, and the rain descendent in its season, and the land yield her accustomed fruit. Nay, the time will be a most joyful one; for God, by the outpouring of his Spirit, will extend the blessings of true religion to heathen lands. The prophecy is referred to in Acts 2.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
Now the name of his firstborn was Joel and the name of his second, Abijah. They were judges in Beersheba.
And David called for Zadok and Abiathar the priests, and for the Levites -- "Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel, and Amminadab,
The sons of Jehieli, Zetham and Joel his brother, who were over the treasuries of the house of the Lord.
Of the Ephraimites: Hoshea son of Azaziah; of the half-tribe of Manasseh: Joel son of Pedaiah;
Then the Levites arose: Mahath son of Amasai, Joel son of Azariah, of the sons of the Kohathites; of the sons of Merari: Kish son of Abdi, Azariah son of Jehallelel; of the Gershonites: Joah son of Zimmah and Eden son of Joah;
Of the sons of Nebo: Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Iddo (Jaddai), Joel, and Benaiah.
Watsons
JOEL, the second of the twelve lesser prophets. It is impossible to ascertain the age in which he lived, but it seems most probable that he was contemporary with Hosea. No particulars of his life or death are certainly known. His prophecies are confined to the kingdom of Judah. He inveighs against the sin's and impieties of the people, and threatens them with divine vengeance; he exhorts to repentance, fasting, and prayer; and promises the favour of God to those who should be obedient. The principal predictions contained in this book are the Chaldean invasion, under the figurative representation of locusts; the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus; the blessings of the Gospel dispensation; the conversion and restoration of the Jews to their own land; the overthrow of the enemies of God; and the glorious state of the Christian church in the end of the world. The style of Joel is perspicuous and elegant, and his descriptions are remarkably animated and poetical.