Historical background book of joel

Most scholars date the book after the exile to babylon 586 b. The historical background of joels prophecy is difficult to ascertain. Joel sets his message up by pointing to a literal locust plague which he poetically morphs into a eschatological day of the lord. Amos the prophet the historical background a wandering people at the start of what is a series looking at some of the prophets of israel, it might be helpful to do a little history which gives us a feel of the background. The book of joel has striking linguistic parallels to the language of amos, micah, zephaniah, jeremiah and ezekiel. He warned the people of judah that the devastation was going to sweep across the land very soon. More than half of the book is built around a description of the locust plague. Joel sets his message up by pointing to a literal locust plague which he poetically morphs into a. A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains. God gave these children to rebecca and told her before they were born that the elder shall serve the younger. Ascertaining the historical background of job is vital for understanding the meaning of the book.

A huge plague of locusts connected with a great drought gave the occasion for writing this book. The supposed legendary character of some of the events e. God will roar with a loud cry from zion and cause the earth to tremble before him. The book of joel states that its author was the prophet joel joel 1. In greek the title is simply a transliteration of the hebrew iwhl ii. Judah, the setting for the book, is devastated by a vast horde of locusts. In this video i give you some brief comments about the minor prophetic book, joel. The term indicates the short length of the text in relation to longer prophetic texts known as the major prophets. All of this points to a date of approximately 835 bc or soon after, making joel one of the earliest writing prophets, as well as a contemporary of the prophet elisha. May 07, 2016 watch our overview video on the book of joel, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. Indirect references throughout the book have been claimed in support of dates that have differed from each other by as much as half a millennium.

The book of joel was likely written between 835 and 800 b. He was the son of a man named pethuel or bethuel in the septuagint which means the openheartedness or sincerity of god. A major problem they often imagine is centered in the salvation prophecies e. Amos the prophet the historical background a wandering. Paul tanner introductory comments the following notes are intendedtosupply the student withsuffic ient informationonthe historical developments that relate tothe book of daniel. Yuil was a prophet of ancient israel, the second of the twelve minor prophets and according to the book itself the author of the book of joel. Joels day of the lord is referring to the coming destruction in 586 b. Book of joel overview insight for living ministries. The historical background to the book of daniel by dr.

Whether joel received his name at birth, or was given this name later as a. Outlines of the book vary, but there are several obvious transitions in the book which center on a. With an increased level of intensity, joel utilized the metaphor of the locust plague and drought as a backdrop from which to launch an intensified call to repent in view of the coming invasion of judah and. He identified himself as the son of pethuel, preached to the people of.

The book of joel is part of the hebrew bible, one of twelve prophetic books known as the twelve minor prophets. Joel prophetically identified a current crisis as gods judgment on the community. The book contains no references to datable historical events. With an increased level of intensity, joel utilized the metaphor of the locust plague and drought as a backdrop from which to launch an intensified call to repent in view of the coming invasion of judah and the day of the lord, present and future. Nothing other than his name is known about the prophet. Because the book of amos is a prophetic book and not an ancient history, such as ones that were written by the likes of herodotus and thucydides, it contains little recorded history to examine as a background for its events. Joel came and prophesied to the land of judah before the plague came. Book of joel encyclopedia of the bible bible gateway. Amos the prophet the historical background a wandering people. Tyre, sidon and philistia had made frequent military incursions into israel 3. Lament over a great locust plague and a severe drought 1.

The genre, historical context, and purpose of genesis 111. Intro to joel biblica the international bible society. Background and outline job bible commentary theology. But, there isnt any other information about the author in the bible.

He is mentioned by name only once in the hebrew bible. He is mentioned by name only once in the hebrew bible, in the introduction to that. Josiah brought about the final spiritual revival for judah when he came to the throne in 622 b. In any case, its message is not significantly affected by its dating. This invasion of locusts destroys everythingthe fields of grain, the vineyards, the gardens and the trees. Some scientists say the book has been written around 400 bc or even later. Background and outline job bible commentary theology of. Intro to jonah biblica the international bible society. This chapter provides a general introduction to the topic. But when jehoiada, the high priest who mentored him died, he turned away from the lord. This is the day in which god reveals his attributes of wrath, power, and holiness, and it is a terrifying day to his enemies. The book of joel is a prophecy divided into three chapters. Little is known about joel, a prophet from judah perhaps jerusalem. It provides definitions of terms used by practitioners e.

After a superscription ascribing the prophecy to joel son of pethuel, the book may be broken down into the. Now even though all of it is pretty much narrative, the fact is genesis 111 is considerably different than genesis 1250. The book of joel, a prophetic book of the old testament of the bible, derives its name from the prophet joel. Joel reflects on the day of the lord and how true repentance will bring. Joels prophecy is to turn the nation back to god in preparation for the great day of the lord, the theme of his prophecy. Many interpreters date it somewhere between the late seventh and early fifth centuries b. This relationship began with the two sons of isaac and rebecca, jacob and esau gen. Joel calls the inhabitants of judah and jerusalem to lament and return to the lord during a time of national disaster. The book contains a wide variety of literary genres narrative, poetry, visions, dialogue and others woven together into a literary masterpiece. Watch our overview video on the book of joel, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. The second major problem in the book concerns the fulfillment of.

Baker describes the ancient literary techniques used in poetry and prophecy so you gain more appreciation for these. Basically, it is that, the day of the lord is coming to bring judgment for gods enemies and restoration for gods people. Aug 21, 2019 in this video i give you some brief comments about the minor prophetic book, joel. Historical background joel lived during the reign of king joashwho ascended to the throne at the age of 7. Joel takes this as a sign that people should lament and repent. The date of composition was probably between 400 and 350 bc, although some scholars place it much earlier 9th 7th century bc. After a superscription ascribing the prophecy to joel son of pethuel, the book may be broken down into the following sections. Joel calls the inhabitants of judah and jerusalem to lament and return to the lord.

As with many of the hebrew prophets, virtually nothing is known of joel aside from the contestable details that. Genesis 111 known as the primordial history and genesis 1250 the stories of the patriarchs. The book of joel is apocalyptic in nature, referring to the day of the lord. This theory of an early date of composition was, above all, strongly supported by the fact that no mention is made of. The book of joel introduction to the book of joel in the bible. The date the book of joel was written has aroused a good deal of discussion among biblical scholars. There are different ways to divide the book of acts.

But the author of this book, joel distinguishes himself by giving us a name of his father. His frequent calls to blow a trumpet in zion, to consecrate a fast, to proclaim a solemn assembly, and to gather the. Many have questioned whether the book of jonah is historical. Introduction and historical background oxford scholarship. The book of joel is quoted by peter in his message on the day of pentecost.

Whether joel received his name at birth, or was given this name later as a result of his ministry, is unknown. Indirect references throughout the book have been claimed in support of dates that have differed from each other by as much as half a. Ultimately the book of joel will find its fulfillment in the great tribulation, the time of jacobs trouble, preceding the judgment of the nations 3. Historical background in general, the background for the book of obadiah is the relationship between israel and edom. The book of genesis essentially comes in two parts. Joel was a prophet in the southern kingdom of judah during the period of the divided kingdom 930722 bc. There can be no doubt as to the factual nature of the successive insect plagues that formed one of the principal themes of joel, although the absence of the customary dating formula in the superscription, as well as the timeless nature of the contents of the book make the question of the date of composition, and therefore. Joel is mentioned several times in the old testament outside of the book of joel. Negative critics are usually content to let most of the book to stand as a unit and concede a historical background for the information given. From references in his writings it is presumed that he was an inhabitant of jerusalem, and he addressed most of his prophecies to judah. Why the book of joel is second in the order of the 12 minor prophets overall, the sequence of books in the twelve conforms to the historical periods of the prophets, beginning with hosea and amos from the mideighth century b. Discover the beauty of old testament poetry and prophecy from one of the worlds foremost hebrew scholarsdr. Following a foray into the statistics of the occurrence of polymorphism, the criteria for determining if a material is polymorphic are presented, and then a survey of the historical. In the last few verses of the book, god says that he will avenge his people while all of this is going on he will protect his people from any harm.

We know little of the prophet joel beyond a few personal details contained in the book itself. Book of joel, second of 12 old testament books that bear the names of the minor prophets. Joel goes on to say that in those days darkness will cover the sun. As it is expected, the book of acts has a similar literary style as the gospel of luke because it is the second volume of lukes account. The slave trade between the phoenicians and greeks fits with this historical period cf. He distills the message, theme, and structure of each book in poetic and prophetic genres into concentrated video lecture segments. As the holy scriptures are silent as to the time of writing we ought to respect this. The prophet begins by describing an event so singularly extreme that it has never happened before, one that demands to be related to succeeding generations, as it will never occur again. The book of joel also makes ample mention of priests, temple rituals, and nations, such as phoenicia, philistia, egypt, and edom, that were prominent in the late ninth century bc. Joel intro to joel biblica the international bible society. Joel 1 background information with maps and images. Amos testified boldly at bethel, a main worship center of the northern kingdom, until amaziah, chief priest at bethel, reported him to jeroboam ii as a traitor.

It is a warning to the people about the dangers of turning from god. There can be no doubt as to the factual nature of the successive insect plagues that formed one of the principal themes of joel, although the. Such incidents however are so frequent in wide parts of the east that one cannot draw any conclusions from it as to the historical background. Aug 24, 2012 joel goes on to say that in those days darkness will cover the sun. In the first chapter, the day of the lord is experienced historically by the plague of locusts upon the land.

No other details of his personal history or background are recorded. As there are no explicit references in the book to datable persons or events, scholars have. The second major problem in the book concerns the fulfillment of joel 2. The book of joel is without the customary dating formula used by the prophets hos. Joel old testament prophet amazing bible timeline with. Historical background of the minor prophets northern kingdom consisted of ten tribes called israel. May 02, 2020 the overriding theme of the book of joel is the day of the lord, a day of gods wrath and judgment. There have been many guesses as to the time of when joel lived. He is believed to have lived in the 9th century bce, but the dating of his book is still debated. Summary of the book of joel the story of the bible. Chapters 12 refer to a plague of locusts which ravaged judah at the time. The prophet joel showed up in israel during a time of the most terrible plague of locusts in the nations history.