AMOS 1:2-12

 Allen labels verses 2-12 “Calls to Lamentation” and divides it into four sub-sections:

    a. general appeal and introduction (1:2-4)

    b. to drinkers (1:5-7)

    c. to Zion (1:8-10)

    d. to farmers (1:11-12)

Scholars Chisholm, Bullock and Stuart chose to conclude the overall passage at v. 20. Other commentators, such as Dorsey and Mobley prefer to end the section with verse 14, a decision which has strong support from the close relationship between the wording in verses 2 and 14:

    “Here this, O elders; give ear, all      inhabitants of the land.” (v. 2, NRSV)

    “Gather the elders            and all the inhabitants of the land.” (v. 14, NRSV)

As to the most appropriate title best describing this passage, there appear to be two types suggested. Allen highlights appropriate proper response of the people to conditions in Israel at the time by using the word “Lamentation,” as do the editors of the Jerusalem Bible and the NRSV. However, commentators such as Terry, Bourke, and Garrett chose to zero in on the conditions which gave rise to this lament, labeling the section with descriptions such as “Plague of locust,” “Agricultural curse,” and “Disruption of crops.”

Parallels between various sub-sections in terms of theme and specific vocabulary prompts one to propose the overall literary structure of this passage as shown in Figure 1 below:

                                           Figure 1: Organization of Joel 1:2-14

    A. Introductory Appeal (vv. 2-4)

            B. To Drinkers (vv. 5-7)

                    C. To Zion (vv. 8-10)

            B'.To Farmers (vv. 11-12)

    A'. Concluding Appeal (vv. 13-14)
We have already given adequate reasons above for A and A' to be paired up as in Figure 1.

Concerning B and B', one could say that thematically speaking B' addresses the producers while B deals with the consumers of agricultural products. In addition, both sub-sections specifically mention vines and fig trees. Schnittjer adds that “The combination of the vine and the fig tree of themselves reflects a commonplace figure of speech.”

That leaves section C, which is again, as in A and A', a more or less general call for the nation to mourn. Confirming its central position within this passage are its verbal parallels with the sub-sections directly flanking it: “wine” at vv. 5 and 10 and “dries up” at v. 10 and 12. Even more telling are the exact parallels between the center and the concluding general appeals. Thus, both priests and ministers appear in C and A' as well as the long passage reading “grain offerings and drink offerings are cut off / withheld from the house of the LORD” (vv. 9 and 13). And the phrase “house of the LORD” is repeated in v. 14.

As to the exact time frame to which the events in this passage occurs, Payne says that “while some scholars think of Joel as the oldest of the writing prophets and place him in the 9^th century B.C...others speak of Joel as the latest prophet to be named in the OT and date his book to the 4^th century...”

Schnittjer points out, “Joel's several references to the temple suggest he writes before the destruction of Solomon's temple or during the Second Temple period (see Joel 1:9,14,16; 2:17; 3:18). But this hardly narrows things down.” Leonard concludes, “There is no easy solution to the problem...the timelessness of the prophecy itself renders the need for a decision relatively unimportant.”

Joel 1:2-4

McKeown: “The book of Joel is written in the context of a cataclysmic plague of locusts which have ravaged the Judean countryside (1:2-4). The message of the book deals with the immediate circumstances but also looks beyond them to the eschatological 'Day of the Lord' when God will judge the nations.”

Mobley points out that in v. 2 “The elders appear to be the chief leaders, as was the case in the postexilic era (Ezra 5:9; 6.8,14; 10.8,14). No king is mentioned.”

Leonard says, “Because such infestations are not uncommon in the near-east, the special significance of this one related not only to its severity but also to the fact that it is seen as a prelude to the divine devastation the prophet envisions for the disobedient people of God and those nations which have oppressed her.”

“Four different words are used for locust.., but there is no need to assume four separate plagues. There are at least nine possible words for 'locust' in Hebrew; these four are doubtless chosen for poetic variety, and perhaps because they describe various stages of the locust's growth, and thus stages of the plague's onset...Hebrew often heaps up words in order to stress the total nature of an event (e.g. Is 3:1-3), and here means, so to say, a 'plague par excellence.' It well represents the completeness of the judgment of God; absolutely nothing can escape.” (Cole)

Interestingly, the order of these four words differs in Joel 2:25, possibly working against the theory that different stages of development are in mind.

“The portrayal in [Rev.] 9:7-9 is based on Joel 1-2...This judgment in Joel is modeled on the plague of locusts in Exodus 10 (note the clear allusions in Joel 1:2; 2:2 [=Exod. 10:6,14]; 1:3 [= Exod. 10:2]...” (Beale and McDonough)

Joel 1:5-7

“Here begins the call for response,the description of the tragedy having been concluded for the moment at v 4...It is drunks and 'drinkers of wine' who represent a heedless, incautious attitude; they are people capable of being unaware of what is happening around them. This sort of complacency is what Joel is attacking.” (Stuart) Douglas adds: “The first to be mentioned, perhaps in derision, is the loss to the drunkard of his solace.”

“Either the contentment resulting from drinking sweet wine under one's own fig tree or lethargy induced by constant consumption of intoxicating drink (cf. Hos 4:11) furnished an effective symbol for the national oblivion to divine action concealed in the locust hordes.” (Crenshaw)

Chisholm comments on v. 5 by staying, “With lion-like capacity to rip and tear, the innumerable swarms had devoured the vines and stripped even the bark from the fig trees, leaving the branches white (vv. 6-7).”

Mobley notes that Revelation 9:7-8 “draws on the imagery of Joel.” for the description of locust like lion's teeth.

Joel 1:8-10

Stuart says, “Betrothals in ancient Israel long preceded marriage. They might take place even before persons were born...here the wailing is to resemble the sort of bitter disappointment experienced by a woman who had long expected marriage to the one she now mourns.”

Wenham expresses another possible interpretation of verse 8 based on the fact “that betula alone never means virgin but refers to a young woman without specifying whether or not she has had any sexual experience...The wife of one's youth could also refer to the period between betrothal and wedding, but it more naturally recalls the early years of marriage.” (Crenshaw)

For grain and drink offerings utilized during sacrifices, see Numbers 29:12-16. “Without grain and drink, a vital mediation, the daily offering, is imperiled.” (Mobley)

The same combination of grain, new wine and oil appears in Haggai 1:11.

“The alliteration in suddad sadeh, 'abela 'adama, and vocalic inversion in hobis tiros cannot be reproduced in English. Joel's dirge-like language imitates the heavy blows being reported, falling with hammer-like force.” (Crenshaw on v. 10)

Joel 1:11-12

Chisholm: “Eight items are specified [in vv. 8-11a], suggesting that the locusts were more than thorough. A sevenfold list would have indicated completeness, but by adding an eighth item to the list, the prophet stressed utter and total destruction caused by the locust.” He explains that 'harvest of the field” in v. 11b refers to the wheat and barley previously mentioned and therefore should not be counted as a separate item.

Joel 1:13-14

Cole states that these verses “go further than v. 9. The priests are now summoning the people to solemn fast and prayer in the Temple, as was customary in days of national calamity.”

As Leonard says, “It is not enough that the leaders repent. They must gather the elders and all the people to the house of the Lord and beseech him for mercy. At this juncture the prophet warns that the present sadness is merely a prelude to an even more disastrous possibility.”

“Fasting was...frequently the response of sinners in their acts of confession (1 Sam. 7:6; Joel 1:14; 2:12-15).” (Pao and Schnabel)