Joel (; he, יוֹאֵל – ''Yōʾēl''; gr, Ἰωήλ – ''Iōḗl''; syr, ܝܘܐܝܠ – ''Yu'il'') was a prophet of
ancient Israel
The history of ancient Israel and Judah begins in the Southern Levant during the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age. "Israel" as a people or tribal confederation (see Israelites) appears for the first time in the Merneptah Stele, an inscri ...
, the second of the twelve
minor prophets
The Minor Prophets or Twelve Prophets ( he, שנים עשר, ''Shneim Asar''; arc, תרי עשר, ''Trei Asar'', "Twelve") ( grc, δωδεκαπρόφητον, "the Twelve Prophets"), occasionally Book of the Twelve, is a collection of propheti ...
and according to the book itself the author of the
Book of Joel
The Book of Joel is collected as one of the twelve minor prophets of the Nevi'im ("Prophets") in the Hebrew Bible, and as a book in its own right in the Christian Old Testament.
Content
After a superscription ascribing the prophecy to Joel (s ...
. He is mentioned by name only once in the
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach" '' Joel 1:1). The name Joel combines the covenant name of God,
YHWH
The Tetragrammaton (; ), or Tetragram, is the four-letter Hebrew theonym (transliterated as YHWH), the name of God in the Hebrew Bible. The four letters, written and read from right to left (in Hebrew), are ''yodh'', '' he'', '' waw'', and ...
(or Yahweh), and
El (god)
(also Il, uga, 𐎛𐎍 ''ʾīlu''; phn, 𐤀𐤋 ''ʾīl''; he, אֵל ''ʾēl''; syr, ܐܺܝܠ ''ʾīyl''; ar, إيل or ; cognate to akk, 𒀭, ilu) is a Northwest Semitic word meaning "god" or "deity", or referring (as a prope ...
, and has been translated as "
YHWH
The Tetragrammaton (; ), or Tetragram, is the four-letter Hebrew theonym (transliterated as YHWH), the name of God in the Hebrew Bible. The four letters, written and read from right to left (in Hebrew), are ''yodh'', '' he'', '' waw'', and ...
is God" or "one to whom
YHWH
The Tetragrammaton (; ), or Tetragram, is the four-letter Hebrew theonym (transliterated as YHWH), the name of God in the Hebrew Bible. The four letters, written and read from right to left (in Hebrew), are ''yodh'', '' he'', '' waw'', and ...
is God," that is, a worshiper of YHWH.
Life
Some commentators suggest that Joel lived in the 9th century BCE, whereas others assign him to the 5th or 4th century BCE.Anderson, B.W. (1988), ''The living world of the Old Testament'', 4th edition. Harlow, UK: Longman. p.524 The dating of his book is similarly debated; there are no mentions of kings that might help locate it in time. The book's mention of
Greeks
The Greeks or Hellenes (; el, Έλληνες, ''Éllines'' ) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, namely Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and, to a lesser extent, oth ...
has not given scholars any help in dating the text since the Greeks were known to have had access to Judah from Mycenaean times (c. 1600–1100 BC). However, the book's mention of Judah's suffering and to the standing temple have led some scholars to place the date of the book in the post-exilic period, after the construction of the Second Temple. Joel was originally from Judah/
Judea
Judea or Judaea ( or ; from he, יהודה, Standard ''Yəhūda'', Tiberian ''Yehūḏā''; el, Ἰουδαία, ; la, Iūdaea) is an ancient, historic, Biblical Hebrew, contemporaneous Latin, and the modern-day name of the mountainous sou ...
, and, judging from its prominence in his prophecy, was quite possibly a prophet associated with the ritual of either Solomon's or the Second temple, depending on the date when he lived.
According to a long-standing tradition, Joel was buried in
Gush Halav
Jish ( ar, الجش; he, גִ'שׁ, גּוּשׁ חָלָב, Jish, Gush Halav) is a local council in Upper Galilee, located on the northeastern slopes of Mount Meron, north of Safed, in Israel's Northern District. In it had a population of , w ...
.
In Christianity
On the
Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar
The Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar describes and dictates the rhythm of the life of the Eastern Orthodox Church. Passages of Holy Scripture, saints and events for commemoration are associated with each date, as are many times special rule ...
, his feast day is
October 19
Events Pre-1600
* 202 BC – Second Punic War: At the Battle of Zama, Roman legions under Scipio Africanus defeat Hannibal Barca, leader of the army defending Carthage.
* 439 – The Vandals, led by King Gaiseric, take Carthage in ...
.
In the Roman Martyrology, the prophet is commemorated on
July 13
Events Pre-1600
* 1174 – William I of Scotland, a key rebel in the Revolt of 1173–74, is captured at Alnwick by forces loyal to Henry II of England.
* 1249 – Coronation of Alexander III as King of Scots.
*1260 – The Livon ...
.
He is commemorated with the other
minor prophet
The Minor Prophets or Twelve Prophets ( he, שנים עשר, ''Shneim Asar''; arc, תרי עשר, ''Trei Asar'', "Twelve") ( grc, δωδεκαπρόφητον, "the Twelve Prophets"), occasionally Book of the Twelve, is a collection of propheti ...
s in the
Calendar of saints
The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context d ...
of the
Armenian Apostolic Church
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, a ...
on July 31.
Joel's statement that "I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions" was applied by St Peter in his sermon at Pentecost to the events of that day. Since then, other religious figures have interpreted the words as having special significance for their own time.
According to the Eastern Orthodox Christian hymns, the ancient hymnographer Anatolius links Joel's prophecy to the birth of Christ. In Joel 2:30, he says that the blood refers to the incarnation of Jesus Christ, the fire to the
Divinity of Christ
In Christianity, Christology (from the Greek grc, Χριστός, Khristós, label=none and grc, -λογία, -logia, label=none), translated literally from Greek as "the study of Christ", is a branch of theology that concerns Jesus. Differ ...
minor prophet
The Minor Prophets or Twelve Prophets ( he, שנים עשר, ''Shneim Asar''; arc, תרי עשר, ''Trei Asar'', "Twelve") ( grc, δωδεκαπρόφητον, "the Twelve Prophets"), occasionally Book of the Twelve, is a collection of propheti ...
in the Baha'i Faith. In the Kitab-i-Iqan, Baha'ullah states that previous prophecies by minor prophets such as Joel have symbolic meanings and significance and therefore should not be understood literally.