other points of less importance have found a place in the discussion a3 to the date. No king is mentioned. The prophet app<*als to the priests as if tlie direction of affairs was jn tlieir hands. This is held to point to the condition of Judah after the return of the exiles from Babylon, when there was no king, and the administration of affairs, under the Pers. governor, was conducted by the priesta and elders. The conclusion seems reasonable. It is urged in reply that Joash was only seven years of age when he ascended tiie throne, and that, for a time, the afTairs of the kingdom would, of necessity, be left in the hands of Jehoiada the high priest. That is an imoortant consideration. But of greater importance is the obvious pur- pose of the book. The prophet makes no special reference to civil or political affairs, or to the social condition of the people. His object is to reach the heart and conscience of the nation through the calamity which has fallen on the country, — to bring his countrymeii as penitent suppliants before J". Id a matter of that kind it is the priests that should take the lead. And the projihet's appeal to the priestly party is appropriate.
Again, it IS urged that the prophet makes no mention of thn northern kingdom. But why should he? His \iew is conlineU to the disast«r which has overtaken Judah. Negative evidence — such as the non-mentioD of the northern kingdom, and of •
JOEL
klnf of Jadah — cannot counterbalance the positive evidence denved from the peoples named in the book, an<l the practical purpose of the prophet in behalf of his contemporaries. The question is, * Whether a judtpuent such as Joel depicts forms ft suitable theme for a prophetic book ? ' If it does, the absence of references found in other books of prophecy, which cover ft much wider field and deal with subjects of various kiiidd, cannot safely be pressed in discussing the question of the date.
The importance attached to the ritual is held to favour a late date. The question of the ritual is raised, generally, by the prominence a&ii^'ned to the priests, and. spccilicaUi/, by the mention of fasting, and of the daily offering. Fasting, in con- nexion with an unexpected calamity, was a common practice from an early period of Israel's history in Canaan (cf. 2S V^ 1218, 1 K 21» 11 27). The reference to fasting in Jl is quite consistent with an early date. The arrangements for the daily offering are found in P (E.v 293S-41). Wnatever date may be ftssi^'ned to P, the offering of the morning and evening sacrifice was an ancient practice, with the ritual of which tlie people would be familiar (cf. 2 K 1613-16). Xhe direct references to ritual in Jl are as consistent with an early as with a late date. Moreover, devotion to ceremonial was not a peculiarity of post- exilic times. It may be doubted if any generation of Israelites was more attentive to extiTnal observances than those ad- dressed hy Amos (cf. Am 4^-6 621-23). The same may bo said of Judah m the days of Isaiah (cf. Is 1), and, later, in the time ef Jeremiah ^cf. Jer 7). It is urged, however, that Joel attaclies quite a special importance to the ritual. The interruption of tne daily offering is equivalent to a breach of the covenant between J" and Israel. And it may be doubted whether such a view can be reasonably assigned to any period between Amoa J and the Exile. The question is, * Whether it is more reasonable to a8.sign such an estimate of the ritual to post-exilic times than to an early period of reformation like that under Jehoiada?' If Mai may be trusted, Pharisaism was as ummiritual in the 6th cent. B.C. as it was in the mo.st degenerate days before the £xile. The information available for the post-exilic period is ■canty ; such as it is, it can scarcely be said to support the ■imple, spiritual explanation of JoeL
In addition to the general cliaracter and teach- ing of the book, there are special expressions which are held to favour a late date. It is argued that ch. 3 [Heb. 4] '• " presuppose the exile of Judah. But the words rendered ' to bring again the cap- tivity of Judah ' do not necessarily mean that Jews are actually' to be brought back from exile. If this literal interpretation is insisted on, it follows that the restoration of the exiles has not yet taken place, and a date between B.C. 586 and 630 must be found — a most unlikely period for a prophet like Joel. To say that the restoration in li.c. 536 is inadequate, in view of the brilliant promises of the pre-exilic prophets, and that a restoration of a more glorious character must lie in the future, is simply to give up the literal interpretation of the words. In these circura- Btances, usage must be carefully considered. The words ' to bring again the captivity ' seem to be used in the sense of ' to reverse a line of pro- ceduie.' Chastisement is to have an end, and that is to be followed by proofs of the diWne favour (cf. Dt 303, Am 9'«,lIos 6", Jer 29" SO^- " [where the expression is applied to tlie tfnts of Jacob], 48" [where the words are applied to .Moab]). More- over, it should be noted that the turning of the captivity is to take place in the same period as the outpouring of the Spirit, and, chronologically, is a.s.sociated with the final iudgment of the nations hostile to the Church. 'I he prophet emphasizes this note of time, ch. 3 [Heb. 4] '•:—' behold, in those days, and in that time.' If this period was Dshcred in on the Day of Pentecost — as St. I'eter teaclies (Ac 2""'-) — the turning of the captivity and the judging of the nations are thrown into Christian times, and the reference to the IJab. exile falls to the ground. Nor does the mention of the lonians refpiire a date in the Pers. or Gr. period. The reference to the Phienicions and the Philis- tines (3' [Heb. 4'']) connects tlie prophet's message with his contemporaries; the charge against these peoples is that they .sold Jews as slaves to the loMiaiis. The loniiins were settled on the coast of Asia Minor before the 9th cent. B.C. And the ports of Asia Minor oM'ered the nearest market- place for tlio sale of slaves conveyed in Phien. vessels. I'pon the whole, the evidence available,