The Pulpit Commentary — Joel — Section 8

tin 11. fire• i nt<>rnlc-<I. t;o impros1 on the pC'Ople lic.kinp; tho herb; nnd ckasil, hccnueo It outa th,· wnrk of (,n,I in this visitittion its se- the whole, from 'And tho locusf: Hh1tll con- ,,,.rity, the sin thitt onuaed it, e.nd the call sume it' (Dcut. xxviii. 88)." When, how- to repnntRn<>e conveyed by it. ever, Kimchi rlistrlbutos the cominp;s of the Ver. 4.-That whioh the palmer-worm locusts into four sepam.t.o nnd HUCCcssivo hath left hath the loout eaten; and that years, we must reject his lntorprota.tion in whioh the loouat bath left hath the oanker- thnt rospect. Ho snys, "What tho puzam worm eaten; and that whioh the canker-worm left in tho fil'Bt yeo.r, tho locust ate m the bath left hath the oaterpillar eaten. Some second yoar; for tho four kinds did not como interpreters consider, anrl rightly, we think, in ono yea,r, but ono nftcr another in fout· that th,, prophet enumerate!! in thi1 vel'l!e years; and be says, 'I will restore to you four different epooies of locusts. The com- the yoara the locust hath ea.ten.'" mon or general ne.me is arbek, from rabhah, Ver. 5.-Throe classes a.re co.lied on to t.o be m,my; the gazam, or palmer-worm, is lament-the winebibbcre, the husbnndmen, t.hc gn«UJer, or biter, from a root (guzam) nnd the priests. Tbo verses before us (vere. which signifies "l;o gnaw, bite, or cut off;" the 5-7) contain the prophet's appeal to the yel,,_,q. or canker-worm, is the licker, from drunkards. Their sin had not alarmed them; yalaqlaqaq, t.o lick, or lick oft'; the chasil, or the rlnngcr with which their soul was im- ,,,.terpillar. is the devourer, from ch.a.sal, t.o perilled ho.d not aroused them; now, how- cut off. Thus we have the loc118t, or multi- ever, the heavy visitation that a.waited them turl inous one, the gillljllfer, the licker. e.nd would affect them more vehemently, touch- the devourer, either ~ .(1) four different ing the,m more nearly. Deprived of the species of l00118t; or (2) tlie gnawer, licker, means of, their favourite indulgence, they and devourer are poetioal epithets of the are urged t;o awake fro!D their stupid slumber locust, or multitudinous one. These no.mes and perilous day-dream. They are sum- do not denote the looust (1) at different moned to weep, shedding silent but bitter at.ages, according to Creclner. Nor (2) can we tea.re, and howl, venting their sorrow and with propriety understand them allegori- disappointment in loud and long lamenta- cally, with Jerome, Cyril, and Theodoret, of tion: Awake, ye drunkards, e.nd weep; and the: enemies of the Jews, whether (a) the howl, all ye drinkers of wine ! He backs this Aesyrians, Babylomans, e.nd Che.ldea.ns, exhortation by a. most cogent and unanswer- (b) Medes and Persians, (c) lllaceclouians able rcason-bepe.use of the new wine ; for it and successors of Alexander, especially An- u cut off from your mouth. The word aa1s tiochus, and ( d) the Romans; or the hostile is explained by Kimobi thus : "Wine is kings, (a) Shalnuweeer, (b) Nebuchadnezzar, called O'OJI, and so every kind of drink·thiit (c) Antioohus, and (d) the Romans; or those goes out (is preese_d out) by bruising and other kings, (a) Tiglath-Pileeer, (b) Sha!me,. treading is called o•op, • according to the nc:eer, (c) Sennacherib, e.nd (d) Nebuoha.d~ meaning of the root OOJI in Mai. iii. 21. nezza.r. The most celebrated Hebrew com- Ver. 6.-For a. nation is oome up upon my men tatore understand the pa.sea.ge of looaste land, strong and without number. 'fhe lose in the proper and literal sense. Thus Ro.sbi of the wine and of the sweet' juice of the ea.ye, " The palmer-worm locust, canker- grape would be a source of genuine sorrow worm, and caterpillar are species of locusts ; to the drinkers of wine; thO:t lose would be e.nd the prophet prophesies about them that occasioned by the deBtruction of the vines. they will come; e.nd they came in those days, In this and the following verse the prophet and they devoured e.ll the fruit of the trees explains the instrumentality by which that and every herb of the field." Aben Ezra. destruction would be brought about. The says, "'l'hie the prophet prophesied in refer- prophet, fully identifying jlimself with his ence to the locust which should come to countrymen, speaking in their name and as destroy tlie land. In the days of Moses their representative, says "my land." Kimohi there wa.s one kind of lOCUflt alone, hut now, understands the suffix to "land," like "my wit!, the, arl,eh, there are the gazam and 11e~ vino" and "my fig tree " in the next verse, and cluuil, and these three kinds a.re joined. ' as rererring either to the prophet himself or He also guott,s Japhet as sa.ying"thatgazam to the people of the land; while some refer is equin.lent to gozez, cutting, and the mem it ro Jehovah, the great Proprietor, who bed iH like mem in chirunam reykam; and yel,eq, given the land to his people for their inherit- tkt which licks (J/iloq) with its tongue ... ance while they observed his covenant and at1d clUUlil of some signification (yachsde- obeyed his commandments. The locusts nre rumu) as shall consume it." In like manner calJed a nation, just as the "ants are a people Kimchi gives the derivation of the words a11 not Btrong," and the "conics are" said to follows: "Some say that gazam is so called be "but a. feeble folk." Kimchi says thijt becauBC it cuts (gozez) the increue; and "every coll00tion of living things is called a nrbch, because it is numerous in Bpeoiell; and nation (goy) ; accordingly the prophet applies yelcq, because it licks and clepastnree by 'nation' to the locust." Nor does the word llrt, I. 1-20,] THE BOOK OF' JOEL. 3