1. The prophet opens his commission by announcing an extraordinary plague of locusts, accompanied with extreme drought, which he depicts in a strain of ani- mated and sublime poetry under the image of an in- vaiUiig armv (i, 1-ii, H)- The fidelity of his highly- wrouiTht description is corroborated and illustrated by tlie testimonies of Shaw, Volney, Forbes, and other em- inent travellers, who have been eye-witnesses of the ravages committed by this most terrible of the insect tril)e? See Locust. " It is to be observed that locusts are named bv Moses as instruments of the divine justice (Deut. xxviii, 38, 39), and by Solomon in his prayer at the dedication of the Temple (1 Kings viii, 37). In the second chapter the formidable aspect of the locusts, their rajiid progress, their sweeping devastation, the awful murmur of tlieir countless throngs, tlieir instinctive marshalling, the irresistible perseverance with which they make their way over every obstacle and through every aperture, are delineated with the utmost graphic force (Justi, Die Heuschrecken - V'erwUstunff Joel ii, in Eichhorn's Bibliotheh, iv, 30-79). Dr. Hengstenberg calls ill question the reality of their flight, but, as it ap- pears to us, without adequate reason. Other particu- lars are mentioned which literally can apply only to lo- custs, and wliich, on the supposition that the language is allegorical, are explicable only as being accessory traits for filling up the picture (Davidson, Sacred Her- meneutics, p. 310).
Maurice {Prophets and Kings, p. 180) strongly main- tains the literal interpretation of this j udgment. Yet the plague contained a parable in it which it was the proph- et's mission to unfold (comp. '• heathen," i, G). Hence a figurative interpretation was adopted by an early par- aphrast, Ephrem the SjTian (A.D. 350), who supposes that by the four different denominations of the locusts were intended Tiglath-pileser, Shalmaneser, Sennache- rib, and Nebuchadnezzar. The .Jews, in the time of
eousness," with margin of A. Y., Hengstenberg, and oth- ers. The allusion to the Messiah -which Hengstenberg finds ui this word, or to the ideal teacher (Deut. xviii, 18), of whom Messiah was the chief, scarcely accords with the immediate context.
2. The prophet, after describing the approaching judg- ments, calls on his comitryTnen to repent, assuring them of the divine placability and readiness to forgive (ii, 12-17). He foretells the restoration of the land to its former fertility, and declares that Jehovah would stiU be their God (ii, 18-26 ; comp. Mlilter, Anrmrh. iih. ii, 16, in Brem. and Verd. Biblioth. ii, 161).
3. The ■i?"'^"!!^' of iii, 1 in the Hebrew, "afterwards," ii, 27 of the A. V., raises us to a higher level of vision, and brings into view Messianic times and scenes (comp. Tyschen, Illustratio vatidnii Joelis Hi [Gott. 1788]; Steudel, Disq. in Joelis iii [Tubing. 1820]). Here, says Steudel, we have a Messianic prophecy altogether. If this prediction has ever yet been fulfilled, we must cer- tainly refer the event to Acts ii. The best commenta- tors are agreed upon this. We must not, however, in- terpret it thus to the exclusion of all reference to pre- paratory events under the earlier dispensation, and still less to the exclusion of later Messianic times. Acts ii virtually contained the whole subsequent development. The outpouring of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost was the c'nrapxif while the full accomplishment and the final reality are yet to come. But here both are blend- ed in one, and the whole passage has therefore a double aspect (see Dresde, Proph. Joelis de effusioneSp.S. [Witt. 1782]). The passage is well quoted by Peter from the first prophet to the Jewish Idngdom. His quoting it shows that the Jlessianic reference was the prevailing one in his day, though Acts ii, 39 proves that he extend- ed his reference to the end of the dispensation. The expression " all flesh" (Acts ii, 17) is explained by the following clauses, by which no principle of distribution is meant, but only that all classes, without respect of persons, will be the subjects of the Spirit's influences. AU distinction of races, too, will be done away (comp.
Jerome (A.D. 400), understood by the first term the .\s- ^
Syrians and Chalda-ans ; by the second, the Medes and j Joel iTs"'' "with Roin x l'^ 13)
Persians; by the third, Alexander the Great and his | 4, {^^^^^ ^^^ accompanying portents and judgments
successors, ^andbj^the fourth, the Ro^^^^^^ ^^^ ^^^^^^^^ ^^ ^^^y (ch. iii, A. Y. ; iv, Heb.), and
however, the prophecy was interpreted literally, and
i their various solutions, according to the interpreters, m
Jerome himself appears to have fluctuated between the J ^^e repeated deportations of the Jews by neighboring two opinions, though more inclmed to the allegorical , „ierchants, and sale to the Macedonians (1 Mace, iii, 41;
view. Grotius applies the description to the invasions | gzek. xxyii, 13), followed by the_ sweeping away of the
by I'ul and Shalmaneser. Hi 1 both modes of interpretation, literally to the locusts, and m ians. It is singular, however
be intended, not the least hint is given of personal injury sustained by the inliabitants; the immediate effects are confined entirely to the vegetable productions and the cattle. Dr. Hengstenberg, while strongly averse from the literal sense, is not disposed to limit the metaphor- ical meaning to any one event or class of invaders. '■ The enemy," he remarks, " are designated only as north coun- tries. From the north, however, from Syria, all the principal invasions of Palestine proceeded.' We have, therefore, no reason to think exclusively of any one of tlicni ; nor ought we to limit the prophecy to the peo- ple of the old covenant. Throughout all centuries there is l)ut one Church of God existing in unbroken connec- tion. That tliis Cliurch, during the first period of its existence, was concentrated in a land into which hiistile irruptions were made from the north was jnirely acci- dental. To make this circumstance the boundary-stone of the fulfilment of prophecy were just as absurd as if one were to assert that the threatening of Amos, ' By the sword shall all sinners of my people die,' has not been fulfiUed in those who perished alter another manner" {C/iru^tohf,;,, Keith's translation, iii. 104). In accordance with the literal (and certainly the primary* interpreta- tion of the prophecy, we should render rrni-sn-rx as in our .\.V.,"tlie former rain," with Posciiinidkr .-md the lexicographers, rather than " a (or the) teacher of right-