The Book of Joel
Background of Joel
Time: UNKNOWN
Place: Judah
Kings: UNKNOWN
Political Backdrop: UNKNOWN
Pre-Exilic Work:
·
Oncoming day of destruction could be Babylonian
exile
·
Joel doesn’t need to identify the Babylonians –
because it’s obvious?
·
References the Temple – is the Temple still
standing? (1:14)
Post-Exilic Work:
·
Against Edom (4:19), who aided in the
destruction of the First Temple.
·
Mention of Ionians in 4:6 – Greek inhabitants
from Ionia (today’s Turkey), implies quite late.
·
Intertextuality implies later than other books,
e.g. Jonah, Amos, Ezekiel.
·
Is Joel prophetic or apocalyptic?
Primary Themes of Joel:
·
Famine and/or Invasion / the ‘Day of the Lord’
(Natural/Supernatural)
o
Real or imagined?
o
Past or present?
·
Intertextuality
o
Joel refers to: Torah, Jeremiah, Amos, Jonah,
etc
·
Unknown Sin of Israel/Judah
·
Disaster, repentance, redemption
Structure
of Joel
Content
|
Verses
|
Section
1: Natural Disaster (Famine)
|
Chapter
1
|
Description
of disaster
Real/imagined, past/present/future?
|
1:1-12
|
Call
to Repentance
|
1:13-14
|
Description
of disaster, now entitled ‘the Day of the Lord’
Still in natural mode
|
1:15-18
|
Call
to Repentance
|
1:19-20
|
|
|
Section
2: Unnatural Disaster (Day of the Lord)
|
2:1-17
|
Description
of disaster
Supernatural – God leads army
|
2:1-11
v.11
|
Call
to repentance
|
2:12-17
|
|
|
Section
3: Redemption
|
2:18-4:21
|
God
responds to repentance with compassion
|
2:18
|
God
restores natural harmony
|
2:19-27
|
God
gifts prophecy
Mentions of terrible Day of the Lord
Mentions of remnant
|
Chapter
3
|
God
restores political harmony
Return from exile
|
4:1-3
|
God judges
the foreign nations
|
4:4-12
|
The
land will be plentiful, and the enemy lands will be desolate
|
4:13-21
|
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