In some Hebrew Bibles this prophecy is called “Sepher Joel”, the Book of Joel; in the Vulgate Latin version, the Prophecy of Joel; and in the Syriac version, the Prophecy of the Prophet Joel; and the Arabic version, the Prophet Joel; and so the Apostle Peter quotes him, Acts 2:16.

The word of the Lord that came to Joel the son of Pethuel. ] Who this Pethuel was is not known; Jarchi takes him to be the same with Samuel the prophet, who had a son of this name, ; and gives this reason for his being called Pethuel, because in his prayer he persuaded God; but the long span of…

Hear this, ye old men What the prophet was about to relate, concerning the consumption of the fruits of the earth, by various sorts of creatures, and by a drought; and these are called upon to declare if ever the like had been known or heard of by them; who by reason of age had the greatest…

Tell ye your children of it Give them a particular account of it; describe the creatures and their number as near as you can; say when they begun and how long they continued, and what devastations they made, and what was the cause and reason of such a judgment, your sins and transgressions: and let…

That which the palmer worm hath left hath the locust eaten, &c.] These, with the two following, are four kinds of, locusts as Jarchi observes; though it is difficult to fix the particular species designed; they seem to have their names from some peculiar properties belonging to them; as the first…

Awake, ye drunkards, and weep: and howl, all ye drinkers of wine Who are used to neither, either to awake or to howl, being very prone to drowsiness upon their drinking bouts, and to mirth and jollity in them; but now should be awake, and sober enough, not as being a virtue in them, but through…

For a nation is come up upon my land A nation of locusts, so called from their great numbers, and coming from foreign parts; just as the ants are called a “people”, and the conies a “folk”, (Prov. 30:25, Prov.

He hath laid my vine waste That is, the locust, which spoiled the vines in Judea, the singular being put for the plural, by gnawing the branches, biting the tops of them, and devouring the leaves and the fruit; and so not only left them bare and barren, but destroyed them: this may emblematically…

Lament like a virgin This is not the continuation of the prophet’s speech to the drunkards; but, as Aben Ezra observes, he either speaks to himself, or to the land the Targum supplies it, O congregation of Israel; the more religious and godly part of the people are here addressed; who were…

The meat offering and the drink offering is cut off from the house of the Lord The meat offering was made of fine flour, oil, and frankincense; and the drink offering was of wine; and, because of the want of corn and wine, these were not brought to the temple as usual; and which was matter of great…

The field is wasted By the locust, that eat up all green things, the grass and herbs, the fruit and leaves of trees; and also by the Chaldeans trampling on it with their horses, and the increase of which became fodder for them: the land mourneth; being destitute, nothing growing upon it, and so…

Be ye ashamed, O ye husbandmen Tillers of the land, who have took a great deal of pains in cultivating the earth, dunging, ploughing, and sowing it; confusion may cover you, because of your disappointment, the increase not answering to your expectations and labours: howl, O ye vinedressers; that…

The vine is dried up Withered away, stripped of its leaves and fruits, and its sap and moisture gone: or, “is ashamed” [[18]]; to see itself in this condition, and not answer the expectation of its proprietor and dresser: and the fig tree languisheth; sickens and dies, through the bite of the…

Gird yourselves, and lament, ye priests Prepare and be ready to raise up lamentation and mourning; or gird yourselves with sackcloth, and mourn in that, as Aben Ezra and Kimchi supply the words; see ; howl, ye ministers of the altar; who served there, by laying on and burning the sacrifices, or…

Sanctify yea a fast This is spoken to the priests, whose business it was to appoint a fast, as the Targum renders it; or to set apart a time for such religious service, as the word signifies; and to keep it holy themselves, and see that it was so kept by others: Kimchi interprets it, prepare the…

Alas for the day! for the day of the Lord is at hand A time of severer and heavier judgments than these of the locusts, caterpillars which were a presage and emblem of greater ones, even of the total destruction of their city, temple, and nation, either by the Chaldeans, or by the Romans, or both:…

Is not the meat cut off before our eyes? &c.] Such an interrogation most strongly affirms; it was a matter out of all question, they could not but see it with their eyes; it was a plain case, and not to be denied, that every eatable thing, or that of which food was wont to be made, was cut off by…

The seed is rotten under their clods Or “grains” [[24]] of wheat or barley, which had been sown, and, for want of rain, putrefied and wasted away under the clods of earth, through the great drought; so that what with locusts, which cropped that that did bud forth, and with the drought, by reason of…

How do the beasts groan? &c.] For want of fodder, all green grass and herbs being eaten up by the locusts; or devoured, or trampled upon, and destroyed, by the Chaldeans; and also for want of water to quench their thirst: the herds of cattle are perplexed, because they have no pasture; the larger…

O Lord, to thee will I cry Or pray, as the Targum; with great vehemency and earnestness, commiserating the case of man and beast: these are the words of the prophet, resolving to use his interest at the through of grace in this time of distress, whatever others did: for the fire hath devoured the…

The beasts of the field cry also unto thee As well as the prophet, in their way; which may be mentioned, both as a rebuke to such who had no sense of the judgments upon them, and called not on the Lord; and to express the greatness of the calamity, of which the brute creatures were sensible, and…