Joel 2

Last updated
Joel 2
  chapter 1
chapter 3  
Leningrad-codex-13-twelve-minor-prophets.pdf
Leningrad Codex (1008 CE) contains the complete copy of Book of Joel in Hebrew.
Book Book of Joel
Category Nevi'im
Christian Bible part Old Testament
Order in the Christian part29

Joel 2 is the second chapter of the Book of Joel in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. [1] [2] This book contains the prophecies attributed to the prophet Joel from the seventh century BCE, [3] and is a part of the Book of the Twelve Minor Prophets. [4] [5] This chapter contains the allusions to "the Day of the LORD" as an awesome and terrifying manifestation of God and his army, described as locusts, followed by "thick darkness" with "the sun turned to darkness and the moon to blood" and other terrible signs. [6]

Contents

Text

The original text was written in Hebrew language. This chapter is divided into 32 verses.

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in Hebrew are of the Masoretic Text tradition, which includes the Codex Cairensis (895), the Petersburg Codex of the Prophets (916), Aleppo Codex (10th century), Codex Leningradensis (1008). [7] Fragments containing parts of this chapter in Hebrew were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, including 4Q78 (4QXIIc; 75–50 BCE) with extant verses 1, 8–23; [8] [9] [10] [11] 4Q82 (4QXIIg; 25 BCE) with extant verses 2–13; [12] [9] [13] [14] and Wadi Murabba'at Minor Prophets (Mur88; MurXIIProph; 75–100 CE) with extand verses 20, 26–27, 28–32 (verses 28–32 = 3:1–5 in Masoretic Text). [9] [15]

Ancient manuscripts in Koine Greek containing this chapter are mainly of the Septuagint version, including Codex Vaticanus (B; B; 4th century), Codex Sinaiticus (S; BHK: S; 4th century), Codex Alexandrinus (A; A; 5th century) and Codex Marchalianus (Q; Q; 6th century). [16]

Chapter and verse numbering

The division of chapters and verses in the English Bibles (following Greek translations) differ from the traditional Hebrew text, as follows: [17]

English/GreekHebrew
Joel 2:1–27Joel 2:1–27
Joel 2:28–32Joel 3:1–5
Joel 3:1–21Joel 4:1–21

The locust plague, an act of God (2:1–11)

It gives the "image of the dense locust cloud" accompanying God's coming. [18]

A call to repent (2:12–17)

The Lord calls the people to repentance, so the calamity could be averted. [18]

An oracle of salvation (2:18–27)

The announcement of God's promises for the "remission of the plague" (verses 20, 25), "the return of fertility" (verses 19, 21–24), "the removal of shame" (verses 26–27), and "the restoration of the covenantal blessing" (verses 26–27). [19]

Verse 25

So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten,
The crawling locust,
The consuming locust,
And the chewing locust,
My great army which I sent among you. [20]

Cross reference: Joel 1:4

Exact identity of these locusts is unknown, whether they represents "four varieties of insect" or "four various stages in the insect development" or "vernacular differences". [3]

Hebrew; transliterationEnglishAppearance in Hebrew BibleOther Bible verses
גזם, gā·zāmchewing locust; gnawing locust; palmerworm; caterpillar3 Joel 1:4; Amos 4:9
ארבה, 'ar·behswarming locust; locusts; grasshoppers24 Exodus 10:4, 12–14, 19 ; Leviticus 11:22 ; Deuteronomy 28:38 ; Judges 6:5; 7:12 ; 1 Kings 8:37 ; 2 Chronicles 6:28 ; Job 39:20 ; Psalm 78:46; 105:34; 109:23 ; Proverb 30:27 ; Jeremiah 46:23 ; Joel 1:4; Nahum 3:15, 17
ילק, yā·leqcrawling locust; creeping locust ; locusts; young locusts; cankerworm9 Psalm 105:34 ; Jeremiah 51:14, 27 ;
Joel 1:4; Nahum 3:15, 16
חסיל, khā·sîlconsuming locust; stripping locust; caterpillar; grasshopper6 1 Kings 8:37 ; 2 Chronicles 6:28 ; Psalm 78:46 ;
Isaiah 33:4 ; Joel 1:4

The Day of the Lord: The faithful are delivered (2:28–32; 3:1–5 in Masoretic Text)

The section extends to chapter 3, dealing with the Day of the Lord which brings the deliverance and the ultimate vindication of God's people in Judah. [21]

Verse 28

And it shall come to pass afterward
That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh;
Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
Your old men shall dream dreams,
Your young men shall see visions.<ref> Joel 2:28 NKJV</ref>

Verse 29

And also on My menservants and on My maidservants
I will pour out My Spirit in those days.<ref> Joel 2:29 NKJV</ref>

Verse 30

And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth:
Blood and fire and pillars of smoke.<ref> Joel 2:30 NKJV</ref>

Verse 31

The sun shall be turned into darkness,
And the moon into blood,
Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord.<ref> Joel 2:31 NKJV</ref>

The imagery of judgment day in verses 30–31 influences New Testament's descriptions in Mark 13:24 and Revelation 6:12. [21]

Verse 32

And it shall come to pass
That whoever calls on the name of the Lord
Shall be saved.
For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance,
As the Lord has said,
Among the remnant whom the Lord calls.<ref> Joel 2:32 NKJV</ref>

Cross reference for verse 28–32: Acts 2:16–21

On the day of Pentecost, 50 days after the resurrection of Jesus, Apostle Peter stood up with the eleven and proclaimed to the crowd that miraculous events happened on that day were the fulfillment of the prophecy of Joel: "I will pour out my spirit". [22] In Acts 2:17, it reads: "'And in the last days,' God says, 'I will pour out my spirit upon every sort of flesh, and your sons and your daughters will prophesy and your young men will see visions and your old men will dream dreams." [23] He also mentions (Acts 2:15) that it was the third hour of the day (about 9:00 am). Acts 2:41 then reports: "Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls." [24] Paul the Apostle quotes this verse in Romans 10:13, "transferring the reference to the Messianic advent", to describe the universality of Jesus' deliverance without difference between Jew and Greek, that is, "salvation for all who call upon the name of the Lord", to become "citizens of Zion". [23]

See also

Related Research Articles

Zephaniah 3

Zephaniah 3 is the third chapter of the Book of Zephaniah in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. This book contains the prophecies attributed to the prophet Zephaniah, and is a part of the Book of the Twelve Minor Prophets. This chapter contains further indictments against the Jerusalem community, a prophecy of salvation for Judah and the Nations with Yahweh reigning victoriously as king in Jerusalem.

Joel 1

Joel 1 is the first chapter of the Book of Joel in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. This book contains the prophecies attributed to the prophet Joel from the seventh century BCE, and is a part of the Book of the Twelve Minor Prophets.

Lamentations 5

Lamentations 5 is the fifth chapter of the Book of Lamentations in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible, part of the Ketuvim ("Writings"). This chapter contains the elegies of the prophet Jeremiah as a humble prayer, presenting to the Lord their great misery, confessing their sins and imploring deliverance.

Ezekiel 4

Ezekiel 4 is the fourth chapter of the Book of Ezekiel in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. This book is one of the Books of the Prophets and contains the prophecies attributed to the prophet/priest Ezekiel. In this chapter, following God's command, Ezekiel performs a sign-act, a symbolic representation of the siege of Jerusalem and resulting famine.

Ezekiel 5

Ezekiel 5 is the fifth chapter of the Book of Ezekiel in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. This book contains the prophecies attributed to the prophet/priest Ezekiel, and is one of the Prophetic Books. This chapter contains the prophecies using the division of the prophet's shaved hair as a sign, showing God's judgment upon Jerusalem, by pestilence, by famine, by the sword, and by dispersion. The siege is described again in chapter 6.

Jeremiah 8

Jeremiah 8 is the eighth chapter of the Book of Jeremiah in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. This book contains prophecies attributed to the prophet Jeremiah and is one of the Books of the Prophets. Chapters 7 to 10 constitute an address delivered by Jeremiah at the gate of the Temple in Jerusalem.

Jeremiah 9

Jeremiah 9 is the ninth chapter of the Book of Jeremiah in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. This book contains prophecies attributed to the prophet Jeremiah, and is one of the Books of the Prophets.

Jeremiah 10

Jeremiah 10 is the tenth chapter of the Book of Jeremiah in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. This book contains prophecies attributed to the prophet Jeremiah, and is one of the Books of the Prophets.

Jeremiah 11 Book of Jeremiah, chapter 11

Jeremiah 11 is the eleventh chapter of the Book of Jeremiah in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. This book contains prophecies attributed to the prophet Jeremiah, and is one of the Books of the Prophets. This chapter includes the first of the passages known as the "Confessions of Jeremiah".

Jeremiah 13

Jeremiah 13 is the thirteenth chapter of the Book of Jeremiah in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. This book contains prophecies attributed to the prophet Jeremiah, and is one of the Books of the Prophets.

Jeremiah 14

Jeremiah 14 is the fourteenth chapter of the Book of Jeremiah in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. This book contains prophecies attributed to the prophet Jeremiah, and is one of the Books of the Prophets.

Jeremiah 17

Jeremiah 17 is the seventeenth chapter of the Book of Jeremiah in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. This book contains prophecies attributed to the prophet Jeremiah, and is one of the Books of the Prophets. This chapter includes the third of the passages known as the "Confessions of Jeremiah".

Jeremiah 19

Jeremiah 19 is the nineteenth chapter of the Book of Jeremiah in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. This book contains prophecies attributed the prophet Jeremiah, and is one of the Books of the Prophets.

Jeremiah 21

Jeremiah 21 is the twenty-first chapter of the Book of Jeremiah in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. This book contains prophecies attributed to the prophet Jeremiah, and is one of the Books of the Prophets. This chapter contains a record of Jeremiah's message to King Zedekiah's emissaries and a warning to the House of David.

Jeremiah 33

Jeremiah 33 is the thirty-third chapter of the Book of Jeremiah in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. It is numbered as Jeremiah 40 in the Septuagint. This book contains prophecies attributed to the prophet Jeremiah, and is one of the Books of the Prophets.

Jeremiah 25

Jeremiah 25 is the twenty-fifth chapter of the Book of Jeremiah in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. This book contains prophecies attributed to the prophet Jeremiah, and is one of the Books of the Prophets. Chapter 25 is the final chapter in the first section of the Book of Jeremiah, which deals with the earliest and main core of Jeremiah's message. In this chapter, Jeremiah identified the length of the time of exile as seventy years.

Jeremiah 27

Jeremiah 27 is the twenty-seventh chapter of the Book of Jeremiah in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. The material found in Jeremiah 27 is found in Jeremiah 34 and Jeremiah 50 in the Septuagint, which orders some material differently. This book contains prophecies attributed to the prophet Jeremiah, and is one of the Books of the Prophets. The New American Bible (NABRE) describes chapters 27-29 as "a special collection of Jeremiah’s prophecies dealing with false prophets", and suggests that "stylistic peculiarities evident in the Hebrew suggest that these three chapters once existed as an independent work".

Jeremiah 50

Jeremiah 50 is the fiftieth chapter of the Book of Jeremiah in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. This book contains prophecies attributed to the prophet Jeremiah, and is one of the Books of the Prophets. This chapter is part of a series of "oracles against foreign nations", consisting of chapters 46 to 51. Chapters 50 and 51 focus on Babylon. The New American Bible denotes chapter 50 as "the first oracle against Babylon" and chapter 51 as "the second oracle". An unnamed "enemy from the North" is predicted to reduce imperial Babylon "to a wasteland".

Jeremiah 48

Jeremiah 48 is the forty-eighth chapter of the Book of Jeremiah in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. This book contains prophecies attributed to the prophet Jeremiah, and is one of the Books of the Prophets. This chapter is part of a series of "oracles against foreign nations", consisting of chapters 46 to 51. In particular, chapters 46-49 focus on Judah's neighbors. This chapter contains the poetic oracles against Moab.

Jeremiah 43

Jeremiah 43 is the forty-third chapter of the Book of Jeremiah in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. This book contains prophecies attributed to the prophet Jeremiah, and is one of the Books of the Prophets. This chapter is part of a narrative section consisting of chapters 37 to 44. Chapters 42-44 describe the emigration to Egypt involving the remnant who remained in Judah after much of the population was exiled to Babylon. In this chapter, Jeremiah performs in Egypt one of the sign-acts distinctive of his prophetic style.

References

  1. Collins 2014.
  2. Hayes 2015.
  3. 1 2 Keller 2007, p. 579.
  4. Metzger, Bruce M., et al. The Oxford Companion to the Bible. New York: Oxford University Press, 1993.
  5. Keck, Leander E. 1996. The New Interpreter's Bible: Volume: VII. Nashville: Abingdon.
  6. Keller 2007, pp. 578–579.
  7. Würthwein 1995, pp. 35–37.
  8. Ulrich 2010, p. 600.
  9. 1 2 3 Dead sea scrolls – Joel
  10. Fitzmyer 2008, p. 38.
  11. 4Q78 at the Leon Levy Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Library
  12. Ulrich 2010, p. 599.
  13. Fitzmyer 2008, p. 39.
  14. 4Q82 at the Leon Levy Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Library
  15. Fitzmyer 2008, pp. 140–141.
  16. Würthwein 1995, pp. 73–74.
  17. Kee, Howard Clark; Meyers, Eric M.; Rogerson, John; Levine, Amy-Jill; Saldarini, Anthony J. (2008). Chilton, Bruce (ed.). The Cambridge Companion to the Bible (2, revised ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 217. ISBN   978-0521691406.
  18. 1 2 Coogan 2007, p. 1297 Hebrew Bible.
  19. Coogan 2007, p. 1298 Hebrew Bible.
  20. Joel 2:25 NKJV
  21. 1 2 Coogan 2007, p. 1299 Hebrew Bible.
  22. "Joel 2:28–29". Biblegateway.com. Retrieved 2013-12-21.
  23. 1 2 Ellicott, C. J. (Ed.) (1905). Ellicott's Bible Commentary for English Readers. Joel 2. London : Cassell and Company, Limited, [1905–1906]. OCLC   929526708. Diakses 2018.
  24. "Acts 2:41". Biblegateway.com. Retrieved 2013-12-21.

Sources