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Joel Chapter
One
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO JOEL 1
This
chapter describes a dreadful calamity upon the people of the Jews
by locusts
and
caterpillars
and drought. After the title of the book
Joel 1:1; old men
are called upon to observe this sore judgment to their children
that it might
be transmitted to the latest posterity
as that the like to which had not been
seen and heard of
Joel 1:2; and
drunkards to awake and weep
because the vines were destroyed
and no wine
could be made for them
Joel 1:5; and not
only husbandmen and vinedressers
but the priests of the Lord
are called to
mourn
because such destruction
was made in the fields and vineyards
that
there were no meat nor drink offering brought into the house of the Lord
Joel 1:8; wherefore
a general and solemn fast is required throughout the land
because of the
distress of man and beast
Joel 1:14; and the
chapter is concluded with the resolution of the prophet to cry unto the Lord
on account of this calamity
Joel 1:19.
Joel 1:1 The word of the
Lord that came to
Joel the son of Pethuel.
YLT 1A word of Jehovah that hath
been unto Joel
son of Pethuel:
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
1 Samuel 8:2; and
gives this reason for his being called Pethuel
because in his prayer he
persuaded God; but the long span of time will by no means admit of this
nor
the character of Samuel's son agree with Joel; and therefore is rightly denied
by Aben Ezra
who observes
however
that this man was an honourable man
and
therefore his name is mentioned; and gives this as a rule
that whenever any
prophet mentions the name of his father
he was honourable. Perhaps
it is here
observed
to distinguish him from another of the same name; and there was one
of this name
Joel
a high priest in the reigns of Uzziah and Jotham
according
to Seder Olam ZutaF9Fol. 104. and AbarbinelF11In Meyer.
Anotat. in ib. p
626. ; in whose time Joel is by some thought to prophesy.
Joel 1:2 2 Hear
this
you elders
And give ear
all you inhabitants of the land! Has anything
like this happened in your days
Or even in the days of your fathers?
YLT 2Hear this
ye aged ones
And give ear
all ye inhabitants of the land
Hath this been in your days? Or
in the days of your fathers?
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 opportunities of knowledge of this sort
and
could remember what they had heard or seen
and would faithfully relate it:
this maybe understood of elders in office
as well as in age;
and give ear
all ye inhabitants of the land; or
"earth"
not of the whole earth; but of the land of Judea; who were
more particularly concerned in this affair
and therefore are required to
listen attentively to it:
hath this been in your days
or even in the days of your fathers? that is
not
the selfsame thing
but anything equal to it; a judgment of the same kind and
nature
and of the same degree. By this question it seems the like had never
been in the memory of any man living; nor in former times
in the days of their
ancestors
as could be averted upon report; or attested on the credit of
annals
chronicles
or other methods of conveying the history of ages past. As
for the plague of locusts in Egypt
though they were such as; never find been
nor would be there any more; yet such or greater
and more in number than
those
might be in Judea; besides
they continued but a few
lays at most
these four years successively
as Kimchi observes; and who thinks that in Egypt
there was but one sort of locusts
here four; but the passage he quotes in Psalm 78:46;
contradicts him; to which may be added Psalm 105:34.
Joel 1:3 3 Tell
your children about it
Let your children tell their children
And
their children another generation.
YLT 3Concerning it to your sons
talk ye
And your sons to their sons
And their sons to another generation.
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 your children tell their children
and their
children other generation; or
"to the generation following"F12לדור אחר "posteritati
sequenti"
Vatablus; "generationi posterae"
Junius &
Tremellius
Piscator
Tarnovius. ; let it be handed down from one generation to
another that it may be a caution to future posterity how they behave and lest
they bring down the like awful judgments on them. What this referred to was as
follows:
Joel 1:4 4 What
the chewing locust[a] left
the
swarming locust has eaten; What the swarming locust left
the crawling locust
has eaten; And what the crawling locust left
the consuming locust has eaten.
YLT 4What is left of the
palmer-worm
eaten hath the locust
And what is left of the locust
Eaten hath
the cankerworm
And what is left of the cankerworm
Eaten hath the caterpillar.
That which the palmer worm
hath left hath the locust eaten
.... 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 of these from their sheering or
cropping off the fruits and leaves of trees; and the second from the vast
increase of them
the multitude they bring forth and the large numbers they
appear in:
and that which the locust hath left hath the canker worm eaten; which in the
Hebrew language is called from its licking up the fruits of the earth
by which
it becomes barren:
and that which the canker worm hath left hath the caterpillar
eaten; which has its name from wasting and consuming all that comes in
its way: now these came not together
but followed one another; not one one
year
and another the second
and so on throughout four years
as Kimchi
thinks; for though the calamity lasted some years as is manifest from Joel 2:25; yet it
is not reasonable
that
for instance what the palmer worm left the first year
should remain in the fields and vineyards
on the fig trees and vines till the
next year for the locust to consume and is on:
but rather these all appeared
in succession in one and the same year; and so what the palmer worm left having
eaten up what was most agreeable to them
the locust came and devoured what
they had left; and then what they left was destroyed by the canker worm
which
fed on that which was most grateful to them; and last of all came the
caterpillar
and consumed all the others had left; and this might be continued
for years successively: when this calamity was
we have no account in sacred
history; whether it was in the seven years' famine in the days of Elisha
or
the same with what Amos speaks of
Amos 4:6; is not
easy to say: and though it seems to be literally understood
as the drought
later mentioned
yet might be typical of the enemies of the Jews succeeding one
another in the destruction of them. Not of the four monarchies
the
Babylonians
Persians
Grecians
and Romans
as Lyra and Abarbinel; since the
Persians particularly never entered into the land of Judea and wasted it;
though this is the sense of the ancient Jews
as Jerom relates; for he says the
Hebrews interpret the "palmer worm" of the Assyrians
Babylonians
and Chaldeans
who
coming from one climate of the world
destroyed both the ten
and the two tribes
that is
all the people of Israel: the locust they
interpret of the Medes and Persians
who
having overturned the Chaldean
empire
carried the Jews captive: the "canker worm" is the
Macedonians
and all the successors of Alexander; especially King Antiochus
surnamed Epiphanes
who like a canker worm sat in Judea
and devoured all the
remains of the former kings
under whom were the wars of the Maccabees: the
"caterpillar" they refer to the Roman empire
the fourth and last
that oppressed the Jews
and drove them out of their borders. Nor of the
several kings of Assyria and Babylon
who followed one another
and wasted
first the ten tribes
and then the other two
as Tiglathpileser
Shalmaneser
Sennacherib
and Nebuchadnezzar
so Theodoret; since this prophecy only relates
to the two tribes. Rather therefore this may point at the several invasions and
incursions of the Chaldean army into Judea
under Nebuchadnezzar and his
generals; first
when he came up against Jerusalem
and made Jehoiakim
tributary to him; a second time
when he carried Jehoiachin and his family into
Babylon
with a multitude of the Jews
and their wealth; a third time
when he
besieged Jerusalem
and took it
and Zedekiah the king
and carried him
captive; and a fourth time
when Nebuzaradan came and burnt the temple
and the
houses of Jerusalem
and broke down the walls of it
and cleared the land of
its inhabitants and riches; see 2 Kings 24:1.
Joel 1:5 5 Awake
you drunkards
and weep; And wail
all you drinkers of wine
Because of the new
wine
For it has been cut off from your mouth.
YLT 5Awake
ye drunkards
and
weep
And howl all drinking wine
because of the juice
For it hath been cut
off from your mouth.
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 want of wine; and for
the same reason should howl
as follows:
because of the new wine
for it is cut off from your mouth; the locusts
having spoiled the vines and eaten the grapes
no new wine could be made
and
so none could be brought in cups to their mouths; nor they drink it in bowls
as they had used to do; and which
being sweet and grateful to their taste
they were wont to drink in great abundance
till they were inebriated with it;
but now there was a scarcity
their lips were dry
but not their eyes. The
word
Kimchi says
signifies all liquor which is squeezed by bruising or
treading.
Joel 1:6 6 For
a nation has come up against My land
Strong
and without number;
His teeth are the teeth of a lion
And he has the fangs
of a fierce lion.
YLT 6For a nation hath come up
on my land
Strong
and there is no number
Its teeth [are] the teeth of a
lion
And it hath the jaw-teeth of a lioness.
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"
Proverbs 30:25; and
which were an emblem of the nation of the Chaldeans
which came up from
Babylon
and invaded the land of Judea; called by the Lord "my land"
because he had chosen it for the habitation of his people; here he himself had
long dwelt
and had been served and worshipped in it: though Kimchi thinks
these are the words of the inhabitants of the land
or of the prophet; but if
it can be thought they are any other than the words of God
they rather seem to
be expressed by the drunkards in particular
howling for want of wine
and
observing the reason of it:
strong
and without number; this description seems
better to agree with the Assyrians or Chaldeans
who were a mighty and powerful
people
as well as numerous; though locusts
notwithstanding they are weak
singly taken
yet
coming in large bodies
carry all before them
and there is
no stopping them:
whose teeth are the teeth of a lion
and he hath the cheek
teeth of a great lion; or "the grinders"F13מתלעות
"molares"
Pagninus
Mercerus
Burkius. of such an one; being hard
strong
and sharp
to bite off the tops
boughs
and branches of trees: PlinyF14Nat.
Hist. l. 11. c. 29. says
locusts will gnaw with their teeth the doors of
houses; so the teeth of locusts are described in Revelation 9:8;
this may denote the strength
cruelty
and voraciousness of the Chaldean army.
Joel 1:7 7 He
has laid waste My vine
And ruined My fig tree; He has stripped it bare and
thrown it away; Its branches are made white.
YLT 7It hath made my vine become
a desolation
And my fig-tree become a chip
It hath made it thoroughly bare
and hath cast down
Made white have been its branches.
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 represent the Assyrians or Babylonians wasting
the land of Judea
the vine and vineyard of the Lord of hosts; see Isaiah 5:1;
and barked my fig tree; gnawed off the bark of
them; locusts are not only harmful to vines
as is hinted by TheocritusF15Idyll.
5.
but to fig trees also: PlinyF16Nat. Hist. l. 17. c. 25. speaks
of fig trees in Boeotia gnawn by locusts
which budded again; and mentions it
as something wonderful and miraculous that they should: and yet Sanctius
observes
that these words cannot be understood properly of the locusts
since
fig trees cannot be harmed by the bite or touch of them; which
besides their
roughness
have an insipid bitter juice
which preserves them from being gnawn
by such creatures; and the like is observed of the cypress by VitruviusF17De
Architectura
l. 2. c. 9. p. 70. ; but the passage out of Pliny shows the
contrary. Some interpret it of a from or scum they left upon the fig tree when
they gnawed it
such as Aben Ezra says is upon the face of the water; and
something like this is left by caterpillars on the leaves of trees
which
destroy them;
he hath made it clean bare; stripped it of its
leaves and fruit
and bark also:
and cast it away; having got out all the
juice they could:
the branches thereof are made white; the bark being gnawed
off
and all the greenness and verdure of them dried up; so trees look
when
this is their case: and thus the Jews were stripped by the Chaldeans of all
their wealth and treasure
and were left bare and naked
and as the scum and
offscouring of all things.
Joel 1:8 8 Lament
like a virgin girded with sackcloth For the husband of her youth.
YLT 8Wail
as a virgin girdeth
with sackcloth
For the husband of her youth.
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 concerned for the pure worship of God
and were as
a chaste virgin espoused to Christ
though not yet come
and for whom they were
waiting; these are called upon to lament the calamities of the times in doleful
strains
like a virgin:
girded with sackcloth for the husband of her youth; either as one
that had been betrothed to a young man
but not married
he dying after the
espousals
and before marriage; which must be greatly distressing to one that
passionately loved him; and therefore
instead of her nuptial robes
prepared
to meet him and be married in
girds herself with sackcloth; a coarse hairy
sort of cloth
as was usual
in the eastern countries
to put on in token of
mourning: or as one lately married to a young man she dearly loved
and was
excessively fond of
and lived extremely happy with; but
being suddenly
snatched away from her by death
puts on her widow's garments
and mourns not
in show only
but in reality; having lost in her youth her young husband
she
had the strongest affection for: this is used to express the great lamentation
the people are called unto in this time of their distress.
Joel 1:9 9 The
grain offering and the drink offering Have been cut off from the house of the Lord; The priests
mourn
who minister to the Lord.
YLT 9Cut off hath been present
and libation from the house of Jehovah
Mourned have the priests
ministrants
of Jehovah.
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 grief to religious
persons
and especially to the priests
as follows:
the priests
the Lord's ministers
mourn; partly
because they had no work to do
and could not answer to their character
the
ministers of the Lord
in ministering about holy things
and bringing the
sacrifices and offerings of the people to him; and partly because of their want
of food
their livelihood greatly depending on the offerings brought
part of
which belonged to them
and on which they and their families lived.
Joel 1:10 10 The
field is wasted
The land mourns; For the grain is ruined
The new wine is
dried up
The oil fails.
YLT 10Spoiled is the field
mourned hath the ground
For spoiled is the corn
Dried up hath been new wine
languish doth oil.
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 looked dismally
and of a horrid aspect; or the inhabitants of it
for
want of provision:
for the corn is wasted; by the locusts
and so
by the Assyrian or Chaldean army
before it came to perfection:
the new wine is dried up: in the grape
through
the drought after mentioned: or
"is ashamed"F18הוביש "erubuit"
Tigurine version
Mercer
Liveleus; "puduit"
Drusius
Tarnovius; "pudefit"
Cocceius. ; not answering the expectations of men
who saw it in the cluster
promising much
but failed:
the oil languisheth; or "sickens"F19אמלל "infirmatum est"
Montanus. So some in
Vatablus. ; the olive trees withered; the olives fell off
as the Targum
and
so the oil failed: the corn
wine
and oil
are particularly mentioned
not
only as being the chief support of human life
as Kimchi observes
and so the
loss of them must be matter of lamentation to the people in general; but
because of these the meat and drink offerings were
and therefore the priests
in particular had reason to mourn.
Joel 1:11 11 Be
ashamed
you farmers
Wail
you vinedressers
For the wheat and the barley; Because
the harvest of the field has perished.
YLT 11Be ashamed
ye husbandmen
Howl
vine-dressers
for wheat and for barley
For perished hath the harvest of
the field.
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 worked in the
vineyards
set the vines
watered and pruned them
and
when they had done all
they could to them
were dried up with the drought
or devoured by the locusts
as they were destroyed by the Assyrians or Chaldeans; and therefore had reason
to howl and lament
all their labour being lost:
for the wheat and for the barley: because the harvest of the field
is perished; this belongs to the husbandmen
is a reason for their shame and
blushing
because the wheat and barley were destroyed before they were ripe;
and so they had neither wheat nor barley harvest. The words
by a
transposition
would read better
and the sense be clearer
"thus
be ye
ashamed
O ye husbandmen
for the wheat and for the barley: because the
harvest"
&c. "howl
O ye vine dressers"; for what follows:
Joel 1:12 12 The
vine has dried up
And the fig tree has withered; The pomegranate tree
The
palm tree also
And the apple tree— All the trees of the field are withered; Surely
joy has withered away from the sons of men.
YLT 12The vine hath been dried
up
And the fig-tree doth languish
Pomegranate
also palm
and apple-tree
All
trees of the field have withered
For dried up hath been joy from the sons of
men.
The vine is dried up
.... Withered
away
stripped of its leaves and fruits
and its sap and moisture gone: or
"is ashamed"F20הובישה
"confusa est"
V. L. "pudefacta est"
Cocceius;
"pudet"
Drusius. ; 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 locusts:
the pomegranate tree: whose fruit is
delicious
and of which wine was made: the palm tree also; which bears dates:
and the apple tree; that looks so beautiful
when either in
bloom
or laden with fruit
and whose fruit is very grateful to the palate; so
that both what were for common use and necessary food
and what were for
delight and pleasure
were destroyed by these noisome creatures:
even all the trees
of the field are withered; for locusts not only devour the leaves and
fruits of trees
but hurt the trees themselves; burn them up by touching them
and cause them to wither away and die
both by the saliva and dung
which they
leave upon them
as Bochart
from various authors
has proved:
because joy is withered away from the sons of men; this is not
given as a reason of the above trees dried up and withered
but of the
lamentation of the vinedressers and husbandmen: or else the particle כי is merely expletive
or may be rendered
"therefore"
or "truly"
or "surely"F21כי "ideo"
Grotius; "imo"
Piscator;
"sane"
Mercer.
"joy is withered"
or
"ashamed"; it blushes to appear
as it used to do at the time of
harvest; but now there was no harvest
and so no joy expressed
as usually was
at such times; see Isaiah 9:3.
Joel 1:13 13 Gird
yourselves and lament
you priests; Wail
you who minister before the altar; Come
lie all night in sackcloth
You who minister to my God; For the grain offering
and the drink offering Are withheld from the house of your God.
YLT 13Gird
and lament
ye
priests
Howl
ye ministrants of the altar
Come in
lodge in sackcloth
ministrants of my God
For withheld from the house of your God hath been
present and libation.
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 Jeremiah 4:8;
howl
ye ministers of the altar; who served there
by
laying on and burning the sacrifices
or offering incense:
come
lie all night in sackcloth
ye ministers of my God; that is
come
into the house of the Lord
as Kimchi; into the court of the priests
and there
lie all night
in the sackcloth girded with; putting up prayers to God
with
weeping and lamentations
that he would avert the judgments that were come or
were coming upon theme:
for the meat offering and the drink offering are withholden from
the house of your God; See Gill on Joel 1:9.
Joel 1:14 14 Consecrate
a fast
Call a sacred assembly; Gather the elders And all the
inhabitants of the land Into the house of the Lord your God
And
cry out to the Lord.
YLT 14Sanctify a fast
proclaim a
restraint
Gather the elders -- all the inhabitants of the land
[Into] the
house of Jehovah your God
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 people for a fast; give them notice
of it
that they may be prepared for it:
call a solemn assembly; of all the people of the
land later mentioned: or
"proclaim a restraint"F23קראו עצרה "vocate
retentionem"
Montanus; "proclamate diem interdicti"
Junius
& Tremellius
Heb. "interdictum"
Piscator; "edicite coetum
cum cessatione"
Cocceius. ; a time of ceasing
as a fast day should be
from all servile work
that attendance may be given to the duties of it
prayer
and humiliation:
gather the elders: meaning not those in age
but in office:
and all the inhabitants of
the land; not the magistrates only
though first and principally
as
examples
who had been deeply concerned in guilt; but the common people also
even all of them:
into the house of
the Lord your God; the temple
the court of the Israelites
where they were to go
and supplicate the Lord
when such a calamity as this of locusts and
caterpillars were upon them; and where they might hope the Lord would hear
them
and remove his judgments from them
1 Kings 8:37;
and cry unto the Lord; in prayer
with
vehemence and earnestness of soul.
Joel 1:15 15 Alas
for the day! For the day of the Lord is at hand; It
shall come as destruction from the Almighty.
YLT 15And cry unto Jehovah
`Alas
for the day! For near [is] a day of Jehovah
And as destruction from the mighty
it cometh.
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
&c. 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:
and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come; unawares
suddenly
and irresistibly: there is in the Hebrew text an elegant play on
words
which may be rendered
as "wasting from the waster"
or "destruction
from the destroyer
shall it come"F24כשד
משדי "uti vastitas a Deo vastatore"
Drusius. ; even from the almighty God
who is able to save and destroy
and
none can deliver out of his hands; see Isaiah 13:6; the
word signifies one powerful and victorious
as Aben Ezra observes; and so it
does in the Arabic language.
Joel 1:16 16 Is
not the food cut off before our eyes
Joy and gladness from the house of our
God?
YLT 16Is not before our eyes food
cut off? From the house of our God joy and rejoicing?
Is not the meat cut off
before our eyes?.... 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 locusts
or the drought
or by the Assyrian
or Chaldean army:
yea
joy and gladness from
the house of our God; the harvest being perished
there were no firstfruits brought to
the temple
which used to be attended with great joy; and the corn and vines
being wasted
no meat offerings made of fine flour
nor drink offerings of
wine
were offered
which used to make glad God and man; nor any other
sacrifices
on which the priests and their families lived
and were matter of
joy to them; and these they ate of in the temple
or in courts adjoining to it.
So PhiloF25De Plantatione Noe
p. 237. the Jew says of the ancient
Jews
that
"having
prayed and offered sacrifices
and appeased the Deity
they washed their bodies
and souls; the one in lavers
the other in the streams of the laws
and right
instruction; and being cheerful
turned themselves to their food
not going
home oftentimes
but remaining in the holy places where they sacrificed; and as
mindful of the sacrifices
and reverencing the place
they kept a feast truly
holy
not shining either in word or deed.'
Joel 1:17 17 The
seed shrivels under the clods
Storehouses are in shambles; Barns are broken
down
For the grain has withered.
YLT 17Rotted have scattered
things under their clods
Desolated have been storehouses
Broken down have
been granaries
For withered hath the corn.
The seed is rotten under
their clods
.... Or "grains"F26פרדות
"grana"
Pagninus
Montanus
Mercerus
Tarnovius
Cocceius
Bochartus. So Ben Melech
who observes they are so called
because they are
separated and scattered under the earth. 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 which much of the seed
sown came to nothing
an extreme famine ensued: the Targum is
"casks
of wine rotted under their coverings:'
the garners are desolate; the
"treasuries"F1אצרות
"thesauri"
Pagninus
Montanus
Mercerus
Vatablus
Piscator.
or
storehouses
having nothing in them
and there being nothing to put into them;
Jarchi makes these to be peculiar for wine and oil
both which failed
Joel 1:10;
the barns are broken down; in which the wheat and
barley had used to be laid up; but this judgment of the locusts and drought
continuing year after year
the walls fell down
and
no care was taken to
repair them
there being no
use for them; these were the granaries
and
as
Jarchi
for wheat particularly:
for the corn is withered; that which sprung up
withered and dried away
through the heat and drought: or was
"ashamed"F2הוביש "confusum
est"
V. L. "puduit"
Drusius; "pudore afficit"
Cocceius. ; not answering the expectation of the sower.
Joel 1:18 18 How
the animals groan! The herds of cattle are restless
Because they have no
pasture; Even the flocks of sheep suffer punishment.[b]
YLT 18How have cattle sighed!
Perplexed have been droves of oxen
For there is no pasture for them
Also
droves of sheep have been desolated.
How do the beasts groan?.... 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
cattle
as oxen; these were in the utmost perplexity
not knowing where to go
for food or drink:
yea
the flocks of sheep are made desolate; which have
shepherds to lead and direct them to pastures
and can feed on commons
where
the grass is short
which other cattle cannot; yet even these were in great
distress
and wasted away
and were consumed for want of nourishment.
Joel 1:19 19 O
Lord
to You I cry
out; For fire has devoured the open pastures
And a flame has burned all the
trees of the field.
YLT 19Unto Thee
O Jehovah
I do
call
For fire hath consumed comely places of a wilderness
And a flame hath
set on fire all trees of the field.
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 pastures of the wilderness; or
"of
the plain"F3מדבר "non tantum
desertum significat sed et campum sativum"
Oecolampadius. "A place
of pasture for cattle"
Ben Melech. though in the wildernesses of Judea
there were pastures for cattle: Kimchi interprets them of the shepherds' tents
or cotes
as the wordF4נאות
"caulas"
Piscator. So Ben Melech. is sometimes used; which were will
not to be pitched where there were pastures for their flocks: and so the Targum
renders it
"the habitations of the wilderness"; these
whether
pastures or habitations
or both
were destroyed by fire
the pastures by the
locusts
as Kimchi; which
as PlinyF5Nat. Hist. l. 11. c. 29. says
by touching burn the trees
herbs
and fruits of the earth; see Joel 2:3; or by the
Assyrians or Chaldeans
who by fire and sword consumed all in their way; or by
a dry burning blasting wind
as Lyra; and so the Targum interprets it of a
strong east wind like fire: it seems rather to design extreme heat and
excessive drought
which burn up all the produce of the earth:
and the flame hath burnt all the trees of the field; which may be
understood of flashes of lightning
which are common in times of great heat and
drought; see Psalm 83:14.
Joel 1:20 20 The
beasts of the field also cry out to You
For the water brooks are dried up
And
fire has devoured the open pastures.
YLT 20Also the cattle of the
field long for Thee
For dried up have been streams of water
And fire hath
consumed comely places of a wilderness!'
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 made piteous moans
as for
food
so for drink; panting thorough excessive heat and vehement thirst
as the
hart
after the water brooks
of which this word is only used
Psalm 42:1; but in
vain:
for the rivers of waters are dried up; not only
springs
and rivulets and brooks of water
but rivers
places where were large
deep waters
as Aben Ezra explains it; either by the Assyrian army
the like
Sennacherib boasts Isaiah 37:25; and
is said to be done by the army of Xerxes
wherever it came; or rather by the
excessive heat and scorching beams of the sun
by which such effects are
produced:
and the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness; See Gill on Joel 1:19; and
whereas the word rendered pastures signifies both "them" and
"habitations" also; and
being repeated
it may be taken in one of
the senses in Joel 1:19; and in
the other here: and so Kimchi who interprets it before of "tents"
here explains it of grassy places in the wilderness
dried up
as if the sun
had consumed them.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version (NKJV)