We shall not dwell here for any length of time upon the history of the
expositions of this passage. It has been given with sufficient
minuteness by _Pococke_ and _Marckius_ among older writers, and by
_Credner_ among the more modern. We content ourselves with remarking
that the figurative exposition is the more ancient, having been adopted
by the Chaldee Paraphrast, and by the Jews mentioned by _Jerome_, and
that we cannot by any means, as _Credner_ does, derive it from
doctrinal considerations only; for many, with whom such considerations
weighed, as _Bochart_, _Pococke_, and _J. D. Michaelis_, do not approve
of it; whilst, on the other hand, there are among its defenders not a
few who were guided by just the opposite motives, such as _Grotius_,
_Eckermann_, _Berthold_ (Einl. S. 1607 ff.), and _Theiner_. Two
preliminary questions, however, require to be answered, before we can
proceed to the main investigation.
1. Does Joel here describe a present, or a future calamity? The former
has been asserted, in former times, by _Luther_ and _Calvin_ (compare,
especially, his commentary on chap. i. 4), and in more recent times,
with special confidence, by _Credner_. But there is nothing to favour
this view. The frequent use of the Preterites would prove something in
support of it, provided only we were not standing on prophetical
ground. They are, moreover, found quite in the same manner in chap.
iv.--in that portion which, by all interpreters unanimously, is
referred to the future. And yet, if this view were to be acknowledged
as sound, it ought to commend itself by stringent considerations,
inasmuch as the prophetic analogy is, _a priori_, against it. There is
not found anywhere in the prophets so long and so detailed a
description of the present or the past. But, moreover, if we once give
up the reference to the future, we could think of the past only; for in
chap; ii. 18, 19, the description of the salvation following upon the
misery, is connected with the preceding context by the Future with _vav
conversivum_. If, then, the scene of inward vision be forsaken, and
everything referred to external reality, the calamity described in the
preceding context must likewise be viewed as one already entirely past,
and the salvation as already actually existing. It can be proved,
however, [Pg 303] from the contents, by incontrovertible special
reasons, that the reference to the future is alone the correct one. The
day of the Lord is several times spoken of as being at hand, which may
be explained from the circumstance, that God's judgment upon His Church
is a necessary effect of His justice, which never rests, but always
shows itself as active. When, therefore, its object--the sinful
apostasy of the people--is already in existence, its manifestation must
also of necessity be expected; and although not the last and highest
manifestation, yet such an one as serves for a prelude to it. The day
of the Lord is, therefore, continually coming, is never absolutely
distant; and its being spoken of as _at hand_ is a necessary
consequence of the saying, "Whereseover the carcase is, there will the
eagles be gathered together,"--a declaration founded upon the divine
nature, and therefore ever true. (Compare my _Commentary on the
Apocalypse_ i. 1.) This designation is first found in i. 15: "Alas! for
the day, for the day of the Lord is _at hand_, and as a destruction
from the Almighty does it come." Here, two expedients for evasion have
been tried. _Justi_ maintained that "the day is at hand" was equivalent
to "the day is there,"--an opinion which does not deserve any further
refutation. _Holzhausen_, _Credner_, and _Hitzig_ suppose that, by "the
day of the Lord," we are not to understand the devastation by the
locusts, but some severe judgment, to which that served as a prelude.
This supposition is, however, opposed, first of all, by the verbal
parallel passage in Isa. xiii. 6: "Howl ye, for the day of the Lord is
at hand; it cometh as a destruction from the Almighty,"--where the day
of the Lord cannot be any other than that which is described in the
preceding context. But this opinion is further opposed by the
circumstance, that, in the subsequent context, there is not the
slightest trace of any other judgment than that of the devastation by
the locusts; on the contrary, with its termination, the whole period of
suffering comes to an end, as regards the Covenant-people, and the time
of blessing upon them and of judgment upon their enemies begins. But
the necessity for understanding, by "the day of the Lord at hand," the
devastation by the locusts, and hence, for viewing the latter as still
future, is even more clearly seen from the second passage, chap. ii. 1,
2: "Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in My holy
mountain; let all the [Pg 304] inhabitants of the land tremble, for the
day of the Lord _hath come_, for _nigh at hand_, a day of darkness and
gloominess, a day of clouds and fogs, as the morning-red spread upon
the mountains, a people numerous and strong; there hath not been the
like from eternity, neither shall there be any more after it, even
through the years of all generations." That, by "the day of the Lord,"
which the prophet, from the standing-point of his inward vision, here
speaks of as having already come, and as being in reality nigh at hand,
we must understand the same day as that which is minutely described in
the preceding and subsequent context, viz., the devastation by the
locusts, appears, in the first place, from the verbal parallel passage,
Ezek. xxx. 2, which likewise speaks of one day only: "Thou son of man,
prophesy and say. Thus saith the Lord, Howl ye, woe for the day! For
the day is near, a day to the Lord, a day of clouds, the time of the
heathen it shall be." But what places the matter beyond all doubt are
the words: "A people numerous and strong." These words, by which,
according to what follows, the locusts only can be understood, form an
explanatory apposition to "the day of the Lord," "the day of darkness,"
etc. To this we may further add, that, by the last words, this judgment
is represented as the most formidable, and the last by which Judea
shall be visited; so that we cannot by any means think of a subsequent
later day of the Lord. 2. Are the different names of the locusts
designations of various species of locusts, or are these, beside the
common name of the locusts, only poetical names, which denote the
qualities coming into consideration? _Credner_ has attempted to prove
the former. He maintains that Joel's description has to do with two
generations of locusts,--the first belonging to the end of one
year,--the second, to the beginning of the year following. The latter
he thinks to be the offspring of the former. In accordance with this
hypothesis, he explains the different names, גזם is, according to him,
the migratory locust, which visits Palestine chiefly in autumn; ארבה,
elsewhere the general name of locusts, here the young brood; ילק, the
young locust in the last stage of its transformation, or between the
third and fourth casting of the skin; חסיל, the perfect locust,
proceeding from the last transformation, and, hence, as the brood
proceeded from the חסיל ,גזם would be the same גזם.
[Pg 305]
It forms a general argument against this hypothesis, that, according to
it, the prophet should enter so deeply and minutely into the natural
history of locusts, that a Professor of that science might learn from
him. There is nothing analogous to this, either in Scripture generally,
or in the Prophets particularly. The difficulty, moreover, increases,
when we assume--what has been already proved--that the description
refers to the future. The religious impression which the prophet has,
after all, solely in view, would not gain, but suffer by such a minute
detail in the description of a future natural event,--especially such
as a devastation by locusts.
A closer examination proves that the whole explanation of the names of
the locusts, upon which the hypothesis is built, is untenable. It
appears, then, that the prophet knows of only one kind of locusts,
which he divides into four hosts; and that, with the exception of ארבה,
the names are not those of natural history, but poetical, and taken
from the qualities of the locusts.
Let us first demonstrate that the interpretation of ילק, upon which
_Credner_ founds that of the other names, is inadmissible. This
interpretation, he maintains (S. 295), is put beyond all doubt by the
passage, Nah. iii. 16: "The ילק casts its skin and flies away." The
merchants, who constituted the principal part of the population of
Nineveh, are, according to him, compared to a ילק which flies away,
after having cast his skin for the third or last time. But this passage
of Nahum, when minutely examined and correctly interpreted, is by
itself sufficient to refute that opinion concerning the ילק. In ver.
15, it is said concerning Nineveh: "There shall the fire devour thee,
the sword shall cut thee off, it shall eat thee up, as the _licker_
(כילק): make thyself many as the _lickers_, make thyself many as the
locusts. Ver. 16: Thou hast multiplied thy merchants like the stars of
heaven; _lickers broke through and flew away_. Ver. 17: Thy princes are
like locusts, and thy captains are as a host of grasshoppers, which
camp on the hedges in the day of cold. The sun has risen, and they flee
away, and their place is not known where they are." This passage just
proves that ילק must be _winged_ locusts. The inhabitants of Nineveh
are numerous like the locusts; numerous are her rich merchants; but
suddenly there cometh upon them a numberless host of locusts, who rob
[Pg 306] them of everything, and fly away. They who rob and fly away,
in ver. 16, are not the merchants, but the enemies. This becomes quite
evident from the comparison of ver. 15, where quite the same antithesis
is found between--"The sword shall eat thee up as the lickers"
(Nominat.), and "Make thyself many as the lickers." The verb פשט, in
its common signification, _irruit_, _invasit ad praedam agendam_, is
here, in reference to the merchants, very significant. But what is
decisive against the explanation of _Credner_ is this:--that the
signification "to cast the skin" cannot be established at all, and that
the whole sense is utterly unsuitable. For the discourse is not here,
by any means, of mercenaries or foreign traders, but of the native
merchants of Nineveh, just as, in the subsequent verses, the discourse
is about her own nobles. How then could that image be suitable, which
must certainly denote a safe transition from one state into a
better?--_Credner_ moreover refers to Jer. li. 27, where to ילק the
quality סמר, _horridus_, is ascribed. This, according to him, is to be
referred to the rough, horn-like coverings of the wings of the young
locusts. But, according to the context, and to the analogy of the
parallel passage, li. 14, we should rather expect that "horrid" is here
a designation of the multitude. (Compare the ὡς ἀκρίδων πλῆθος of the
LXX.) But it is still more natural to give to סמר the signification of
"awful," "terrible." (Compare Ps. cxix. 120, where the verb occurs with
the meaning "to shudder.")--That by ילק, not the young brood, but the
winged locusts are to be understood, appears also from a comparison of
Ps. cv. 34 with Exod. x. 12 ff. In Exod. a single army of _flying_
locusts overspread Egypt; the Psalmist, in recalling this event to
memory, says: "He spake, and the locusts came, and ילק without number."
From this passage, especially when compared with Ps. lxxvii. 46, where,
instead of חסיל ,ילק is interchanged with ארבה, which alone is found in
Exod., it is very clearly seen that ילק, the _licker_, is nothing else
than a poetical epithet of the locusts. It never occurs, indeed, in
prose; and this can be the less accidental, as גזם, the _gnawer_, is
also never found in prose writings, and חסיל only once, in the prayer
of Solomon, 1 Kings viii. 37--as that which it is in reality, as a mere
attribute to ארבה. That ילק has its name from the eating, is shown by
Nah. iii. 15: "The sword shall eat thee up as the ילק." And, in
addition to this, we may [Pg 307] further urge, that the exposition
of ארבה is altogether fictitious, and contradicted by all the
passages;--that the prophet in ii. 25 inverts the order, and puts the
גזם last, from which it is certainly to be safely inferred that the
arrangement in i. 4 is not a chronological one;--that _Credner_
himself, by his being obliged to grant that גזם and חסיל do not signify
a particular kind of locusts, raises suspicions against his
interpreting the two other names of particular kinds;--and that if this
interpretation were to be considered as correct, גזם and חסיל must
denote the locusts as fully grown. But that is by no means the case.
The origin of the name גזם is, moreover, clearly shown by Amos iv. 9:
"Your vineyards, your fig-trees, and your olive-trees,--הגזם devours
them." As regards the corn, other divine means of destruction had been
mentioned immediately before; the trees alone then remained for the
locusts, and they received a name corresponding to this special
destination, viz., הגזם, the _gnawer_.--The verb חסל is, in Deut.
xxviii. 38, used of the devouring of the locusts, and חסיל never occurs
excepting where the locusts are viewed in this capacity. (Besides the
passages already quoted, compare Is. xxxiii. 4.)
The following also may be considered. The description of the ravages of
the second brood is, according to _Credner_, to begin in chap. ii. 4.
But the suffix in ver. 4 refers directly to the winged locusts spoken
of in vers. 1-3; and in the verb ירוצון they are the subject.
And now, every one may judge what value is to be attached to a
hypothesis which has everything against it, and nothing in its favour,
and the essential suppositions of which--such as the departure of the
swarms, their leaving their eggs behind, their death in the Red
Sea--are, as the author of the hypothesis himself confesses, passed
over in silence by the prophet.
We may now proceed to the solution of our proper problem. There are no
general reasons, either against the figurative, or against the literal
interpretation; neither of them has any unfavourable prejudice which
can be urged against it. A devastation by real locusts is threatened,
in the Pentateuch, against the transgressors of the law, Deut. xxviii.
38, 39; against the Egyptians, the Lord actually made use of this,
among other methods of punishment; and a devastation in Israel by
locusts is, in Amos iv. 9, represented as an effect of divine
anger.--[Pg 308]On the other hand, figurative representations of that
kind are of very common occurrence. In Isaiah, _e.g._, the invading
Assyrians and Egyptians appear, in a continuous description, as swarms
of flies and bees. The comparison of hostile armies with locusts is
very common, not only on account of their multitude (from which
circumstance the locusts received their name in Hebrew), but also on
account of the sudden surprise, and the devastation: compare Judges vi.
5; Jer. xlvi. 23, li. 27; Judith ii. 11. Several times a hostile
invasion also is represented under the _image_ and _symbol_ of the
plague of the locusts. In Nah. iii. 15-17, the Assyrians appear in
the form of locusts,--and that this is not only on account of their
numbers, but also on account of the devastations which they make, is
shown by the comparison with the ילק in ver. 15;--and just in the same
manner are the enemies described who accomplish their overthrow.
And,--what is completely analogous,--in Amos vii. 1-3, the prophet
beholds the approaching divine judgment under the image of a swarm of
locusts, just as, in ver. 4, under that of a fire, and in ver. 7, under
that of a plumb-line. All these three images are in substance
identical; their meaning is expressed in ver. 9 by the words: "The high
places of Isaac shall be desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall
be destroyed." The locusts denote destroying hostile armies; the fire
denotes war; and the plumb-line, the destruction to be accomplished by
the enemies. It was so much the more natural to represent the divine
judgment under the image of a devastation by locusts--as is done also
in Rev. ix. 3 ff.--because, formerly, it had actually manifested itself
in this way in Egypt. The figurative representation had therefore a
significant substratum in the history of the past. But it is,
throughout, the custom of the prophets to describe the future under the
image of the analogous past, which, as it were, is revived in it.--It
ought to be still further remarked, that we must, _a priori_, be the
less indisposed to admit a detailed symbolical representation in Joel,
as the two prophets, betwixt whom he is placed, have likewise such
symbolical portions.
The decision depends, therefore, upon the internal character of the
description itself. An allegory must betray itself as such, by
significant hints; where these are wanting, it is arbitrary to assume
its existence. Following the order of the [Pg 309] text, we shall bring
together everything of this kind which we find in it.
The words, even, of the introduction,--"Hath any such thing happened in
your days, and in the days of your fathers? Of it you shall tell your
sons, and your sons to their sons, and their sons to the succeeding
generation,"--scarcely permit us to think of a devastation by locusts
in the literal sense. It could only be by means of the grossest
exaggeration--which, if it were far from any prophet, was certainly so
from the simple and mild Joel--that he could represent, as the greatest
disaster which ever befell, or should ever befall the nation, a
devastation by locusts which was, after all, only a transitory evil.
For it is the greatness of the disaster which is implied in the call to
relate it to the latest posterity; no later suffering should be so
great as to cause this one to be forgotten.
We must not overlook the expression in ver. 6: "_For a nation_ (גוי)
has come up over my land." "Nation," according to most interpreters, is
thought to signify the mere multitude; but in that case, עם would
certainly have been used, as is done in Prov. xxx. 25, 26, concerning
the ants. In גוי there is implied not only the idea of what is
hostile--this _Credner_ too acknowledges--but also of what is profane.
This, indeed, is the principal idea; and, on this account, even the
degenerate Covenant-people several times receive the name גוי. That
this principal idea is here likewise applicable, is evident from the
antithesis: "Over my land." It is true, that the suffix cannot be
referred to Jehovah, as is done by _J. H. Michaelis_ and others,
although the antithesis would thus most strikingly appear; but as
little can we refer it, as is done by modern interpreters, to the
prophet as an individual; for, in this case the antithesis would be
lost altogether. The comparison of vers. 7 and 19 clearly shows that,
according to a common practice (compare the Introduction to Micah, and
the whole prophecy of Habakkuk), the prophet speaks in the name of the
people of God. A strange, unheard-of event! A heathen host has invaded
the land of the people of God! The antithesis is in ii. 18: "Then the
Lord was jealous for His land, and spared His people." We do not think
that the prophet loses sight of his image. He designates the locust as
the heathen host; but he would not have chosen this designation, which,
when literally [Pg 310] understood, is very strange, unless the matter
had induced him to do so. If it be understood figuratively, Amos vi. 14
entirely harmonizes with it.--In the same verse (Joel i. 6) it is said:
"His teeth, the teeth of a lion, cheek teeth of a lion to him;" on
which Rev. ix. 8 is to be compared. This comparison is quite suitable
to figurative locusts, to furious enemies (compare Is. v. 29; Nah. ii.
12, 13; Jer. ii. 15, iv. 7, xlix. 19; Ezek. xxxii. 2; Dan. vii. 4), but
not to natural locusts; for the lion cannot possibly be the symbol of
mere voracity.
It is remarkable, that in the description of the locusts in this verse,
and throughout, their flying is not mentioned at all. It is only in
chap. ii. 2, "Day of darkness and gloominess, day of clouds and thick
darkness," that _Credner_ supposes such an allusion to exist. The
darkness is, according to him, in consequence of the swarm of locusts
coming up in the skies. But the incorrectness of such a supposition is
immediately perceived, upon a comparison of chap. ii. 10. Before the
host, and before it arrives, the earth quakes, the heavens tremble, sun
and moon cover themselves with darkness, and the stars withdraw their
shining. It is only after all this has happened, that the Lord
approaches at the head of His host. It is not from this host,
therefore, that the darkness can proceed. On the contrary, the
darkening of the heavens, as is quite conclusively shown by the
numerous almost literally agreeing parallel passages (compare the
remarks on Zech. xiv. 6), is the symbol of the anger of God, the sign
that He approaches as a Judge, and an Avenger. But in what way could
the omission of every reference to the flying of the locusts, in a
description so minute, be accounted for other than this: that the
reality presented nothing corresponding to this feature?
It is only the heaviest and most continuous suffering, and not a
transitory plague by locusts, which can justify the call in i. 8: "Howl
like a virgin girded with sackcloth for the husband of her youth." This
verse forms the transition to ver. 9, where the sacrifice in the house
of Jehovah appears as cut off, and connects Joel with Hosea, in whom
the image, of which the outlines only are given here, appears finished.
Zion has also lost the friend of her youth--the Lord; compare Prov. ii.
17: "Who forsaketh the friend of her youth, and forgot the covenant of
her God;" Is. liv. 6; Jer. ii. 2, iii. 4.--Of great [Pg 311] importance
for the question under consideration are ver. 9: "The meat-offering and
drink-offering are cut off from the house of the Lord;" and ver. 13:
"Gird yourselves and lament, ye priests, howl ye ministers of the
altar, come, spend all night in sackcloth, ye ministers of my God; for
the meat-offering and drink-offering are withholden from the house of
your God." It is quite inconceivable that the want of provisions,
resulting from a natural devastation by real locusts, could have been
the reason that the meat-offering and drink-offering, which, in a
material point of view, were of so little value, should have been
withheld from the Lord; inasmuch as the cessation of it appears in
these passages as the consummation of the national calamity. During the
siege of Jerusalem by Pompey, the legal sacrifices existed, according
to _Josephus_ (_Arch._ xiv. 4, § 3), even amidst the greatest dangers
to life, during the irruption of the enemies into the city, and in the
midst of the carnage. It is true that, during the last siege by the
Romans, when matters had come to an extremity, _Johannes_ ordered the
sacrifices to be discontinued. But this was done, not from want of
materials, but because there were none to offer them--from ἀνδρῶν
ἀπορίᾳ, as _Josephus_ says (_Bell. Jud._ vi. 2, § 1; compare _Reland_
in _Havercamp_ on this passage)--and to the great dissatisfaction of
the people in the city, ὁ δῆμοσ δεινῶς ἀθυμεῖ. The national view is
expressed in what _Josephus_ says on this occasion to Johannes, to whom
he had been sent by Titus on account of this event: "If any man should
rob thee of thy daily food, thou, most wicked man, wouldst certainly
consider him as thine enemy. Dost thou then think that thou wilt have
for thine associate in this war, God, whom thou hast robbed of His
eternal worship?" But the sound explanation readily suggests itself, as
soon as it is admitted that behind the locusts the Gentiles are
concealed. In that case, Dan. ix. 27, where the destroyer makes
sacrifice and oblation to cease, is parallel. The destruction of the
temple is also announced by the contemporary Amos in chap. ix.; compare
ii. 5: "And I send fire upon Judah, and it devours the palaces of
Jerusalem." Of a similar purport, in the time after Joel, is the
passage in Micah, chap. iii. 12.
The words in ver. 15--"Woe, for the day, for the day of the Lord is at
hand, and as destruction from the Almighty does it come,"--point to
something infinitely higher than a mere [Pg 312] desolation by locusts
in the literal sense. This appears from a comparison of Is. xiii. 6,
where they are taken, almost verbatim, from Joel, and used with a
reference to the judgment of the Lord upon the whole earth. This is
granted even by _Credner_ himself, when he makes the vain attempt
(compare S. 345) to refer them to a judgment different from the
devastation by the locust. The same is the case with _Maurer_ and
_Hitzig_. How, indeed, is it at all conceivable that a national
calamity, so small and transient as a devastation by real locusts would
have been, should have been considered by the prophet as the day of the
Lord of the people in the city, κατ᾽ ἐξοχῄν, as the conclusion and
completion of all the judgments upon the Covenant-people? A conception
like this would imply such low notions of God's justice, and such a
total misapprehension of the greatness of human guilt, as we find in
none of the Old Testament prophets, and, generally, in none of the
writers of Holy Scripture. That which the men of God under the Old
Testament, from the first--Moses--to the last, announce, is the total
expulsion of the people from the country which they defiled by their
sins.
The image suddenly changes in vers. 19 and 20: "To thee, O Lord, do I
cry. For fire devoureth the pastures of the wilderness, and flame
burneth all the trees of the field. Even the beasts of the field desire
for Thee; for the fountains of waters are dried up, and fire devoureth
the pastures of the wilderness." The divine punishment appears under
the image of an all-devouring fire. Now, since we cannot here think of
a literal fire, it is certain that, in the preceding verses also, a
figurative representation prevails. _Holzhausen_ and _Credner_ (S.
163), and others, attempt to evade this troublesome inference, by
asserting that fire and flame are here used instead of the heat of the
sun, scorching everything. But this assertion is, at all events,
expressed in a distorted and awkward manner. Fire and flame are never
used of the heat of the sun. According to this view, it ought rather to
be said that the prophet represents the consuming heat, under the image
of fire poured down from heaven. But even this cannot be entertained.
For the parallel passage chap. ii. 3, "Before him fire devoureth, and
after him flame burneth," shows that the fire, being immediately
connected with the locusts, cannot be a cause of destruction
independent of, and co-ordinate with, them. That the locusts are the
sole cause of [Pg 313] the devastation, and that there is not another
cause besides them, viz., the heat, is evident also from the words: "As
the garden of Eden is the land before them, and behind them a desolate
wilderness, and nothing is left by them." The burning anger of God is
represented under the image of a consuming and destroying fire, with a
reference to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, in which the divine
wrath really manifested itself in that way. Under the image of fire,
_war_ also, one of the principal punishments of God, is often
represented. Thus, fire means the fire of war in Num. xxi. 28: Amos i.
4, 7, 10, etc.; Jer. xlix. 27; Rev. viii. 8, 10. On the latter of these
passages, my Commentary may be compared. If, then, the fire spoken of
in this passage mean likewise the fire of war, and the locusts, the
heathen enemies, the difficulty presented by the connection of these
two things is solved. The comparison of Amos vii. here serves as a key.
In vers. 1-3, the divine punishment is represented by the prophet under
the image of a great army of locusts laying waste the country, which is
just beginning to recover under Jeroboam II. after the former
calamities inflicted by the Syrians; and then in ver. 4, under the
image of a great fire devouring the sea (_i.e._, the world), and eating
up the holy land. This analogy is so much the more important, the more
impossible it is to overlook, in other passages also, the points of
agreement betwixt Joel and Amos. But the symbolical representation goes
still further; it extends even to the details. The beasts of the field
are the barbarous, heathen nations. In ver. 19, the desolations are
described which the fire of war accomplishes among Israel; in ver. 20,
those which it effects among the Gentiles: compare the antithesis
between the beasts of the field and the sons of Zion in ii. 22. In Is.
lvi. 9, the beasts of the field likewise occur as a figurative
designation of the heathen. In Jer. xiv.--a prophecy which has been
distorted by expositors through a too literal interpretation--the image
is, in vers. 5, 6, individualized by the mention of particular wild
beasts--the hind and the wild ass. Joel himself indicates that the
beasts in this description must, in general, be understood
figuratively, by using in ver. 18 the word נאשמו, which can be
explained only by "become guilty," "suffer punishment." (Compare Is.
xxiv. 6: "Therefore curse devoureth the land, and they that dwell in it
become guilty;" and [Pg 314] Hos. xiv. 1.) The word נאנחה, which is
never used of beasts, likewise leads us to think of men. "How do the
beasts groan," is explained by "All the merry-hearted do groan," in Is.
xxiv. 7. The words תערג אליך, in which there is an evident allusion to
Ps. xlii. 2, must likewise appear strange, if the description be
understood literally. But what is decisive in favour of the figurative
interpretation is ii. 22: "Be not afraid, ye beasts of the field, for
the pastures of the wilderness are green with grass, for the tree
beareth her fruit, the fig-tree and vine do yield their strength." The
object of joy is here described, first, figuratively, and then,
literally. The pastures of the wilderness are green with grass, _i.e._,
the tree, etc. It is only thus that the כי can be accounted for; it
states the reason, only when the pastures of the wilderness are not
understood literally. _The fruits of the trees are mentioned here as
the ordinary food of the beasts of the field._ _Hitzig_, it is true,
remarks on this: "That many beasts of the field feed upon fruits of
trees which they gather up, and that, _e.g._, foxes eat grapes also."
But the point at issue here is the ordinary food; and Gen. i. 29, 30,
where the trees are given to man, and the grass to the beasts, is
decisive as to the literal or figurative interpretation. Under the
image of unclean beasts--especially wild beasts--the Gentiles appear
also in Acts xi. 6.--Nor can "the rivers of water" (ver. 20) be
understood literally. The water of rivers, brooks, and fountains, is,
in Scripture, the ordinary figure for the sources of sustenance, of
thriving, wealth, and prosperity; compare remarks on Rev. viii. 10.
Chap. ii. 2 is to be considered as indicating the reason which induced
Joel to choose this figurative representation. The words, "There hath
not been anything the like from eternity, neither may there be any more
after it, even to the years of all generations," are borrowed, almost
verbally, from Exod. x. 14. The prophet thereby indicates that he
transfers the past, in its individual definiteness, to the future,
which bears a substantial resemblance to it. What was then said of the
plague of locusts especially, is here applied to the calamity thereby
prefigured. From among all the judgments upon the Covenant-people (for
these alone are spoken of), this judgment is the highest and the last;
and such the prophet could say, only if the whole sum of divine
judgments, up to their consummation, represented [Pg 315] itself to his
inner vision under the image of the devastation by locusts. The
absurdities into which men are led by the hypothesis of a later origin
of the Pentateuch, are here seen in a remarkable instance--viz., in the
assertion of _Credner_, that the passage in Exodus is an imitation of
that of Joel. The verse immediately following, "As the garden of Eden
(_i.e._, Paradise) the land is before him," has an obvious reference to
Genesis, not only to Gen. ii. 8, but also to xiii. 10, where the vale
of Siddim, before the divine judgment, is compared to the garden of
Jehovah--to Paradise.
In chap. ii. 6 it is said, "Before him nations tremble." That the
mention of the _nations_ here is but ill adapted to the literal
interpretation, appears from the circumstance, that while _Credner_
understands by the עמים, Judah and Benjamin, _Hitzig_ attempts to
explain it by people. But if, by the locusts, the heathen conquerors
are designated, the עמים is quite in its place. When the powerful
heathen empires overflowed the land, Israel always formed only a part
of a large whole of nations; compare i. 19, ii. 22. Amos describes how
the fire of war and of the desire of conquest raged, not only in
Israel, but among all the nations round about, and consumed them. In
addition to Amos chap. i. compare especially Amos vii. 4, 5, where, as
objects of hostile visitation, are pointed out, first, the sea, _i.e._,
the world, and then, the heritage of the Lord. According to Is. x. 6,
the mission of Asshur was a very comprehensive one. In Habakkuk and
Jer. chap. xxv. the judgments which the Chaldeans inflicted upon Judah,
appear only as a part of a universal judgment upon all nations.
According to chap. ii. 7-9, the locusts take the city by storm. They
cannot be warded off by force of arms. They climb the wall. They fill
the streets, and enter by force into the houses. Peal locusts are not
dangerous to towns, but only to the fields.
In chap. ii. 11, every feature is against the literal explanation. "And
the Lord giveth His voice before His army; for His camp is very
numerous, for he is strong that executeth His word; for the day of the
Lord is great and very terrible, who can comprehend it?" There is not
the remotest analogy in favour of the supposition which would represent
an army of locusts as the host and camp of God, at the head of which He
[Pg 316] Himself marches as a general, and before which He causes His
thunders to resound like trumpets. It is true that, in some Arabic
writer, this is mentioned as a Mosaic command: "You shall not kill
locusts, for they are the host of God, the Most High;" see _Bochart_
ii. p. 482, ed. _Rosenmüller_ iii. p. 318. But who does not see that
this sentence owes its origin to the passage under consideration? Is.
xiii. 2-5, where the Lord marches at the head of a great army to
destroy the whole earth, may here be compared; and on Joel ii. 10,
"Before him the earth quaketh, the heavens tremble, the sun and the
moon mourn, and the stars withdraw their shining," Is xiii. 10 and Jer.
iv. 28 may be compared, where, in the view of threatening hostile
inundation, the earth laments, and the heavens above mourn.
In ii. 17, "Give not Thine heritage to reproach, _that the heathen
should rule over them_" (למשל־בם גוים), the prophet drops the figure
altogether, and allows the reality--the devastation of the country by
heathen enemies--to appear in all its nakedness. (It is worthy of
notice that by the term גוים in this verse, our remarks on גיו in ii. 6
receive a confirmation.) The defenders of the literal explanation have
tried a twofold mode of escaping from this difficulty. _Michaelis_
explains thus: "Spare Thy people, and deliver them from that plague of
locusts. For if they should continue to swarm any longer, the greatest
famine would arise, and Thy people, in order to satisfy the cravings of
hunger, would be compelled to flee into the territories of heathen
nations to serve them for bread, and to submit not only to their sway,
but to ignominy." But every one must at once see how far-fetched this
explanation is. In all history we do not find any instance in which a
devastation by locusts--which affects the produce of one year only, and
even this never completely and throughout the whole country--has
reduced a people to the necessity of placing themselves under the
dominion of foreign nations. Modern interpreters--and especially
_Credner_--take refuge in another explanation: "Give not up Thine
heritage to the mockery of heathens over them." They assert that the
signification "to mock" is required by the parallelism. But we cannot
see how, and why. The ignominy of Israel consisted just in this, that
they, the heritage of the Lord, were brought under the dominion of the
Gentiles, It is Just by the parallelism that the signification "to
rule" is required. For it is the heritage [Pg 317] of the Lord, and the
dominion of the Gentiles, which form a striking contrast, and not their
mockery. The very same contrast is implied in ver. 18, in the words:
"Then the Lord was jealous for His land." In these, the prophet reports
the manner in which the Lord put away that glaring contradiction. They
are not natural locusts, but only the heathen enemies, who can be the
objects of the jealousy of the Lord; _His_ land. _His_ people, He
cannot give up as a prey to heathen nations. But _further_--and this
alone is sufficient to settle the question--the explanation is
altogether unphilological. The verb משל never has the signification "to
mock;" the phrase מָשַׁל מָשָׁל, "to form a proverb," is altogether peculiar
to Ezekiel, in whose prophecies it several times occurs. In the other
books, nothing occurs which would be, even in the smallest degree, to
the purpose, except that in the ancient language of the Pentateuch
משלים occurs once, in Num. xxi. 27, in the signification "poets."
The verb משל with ב means always, and without exception, "to rule
over"--properly, "to rule by entering into any one." Thus it occurs
especially in that passage which the prophet had in view, Deut.
xv. 5, 6: "If thou wait hearken unto the voice of Jehovah thy God ...
thou shalt rule over many nations, and they shall not rule over
thee," לא ימשלו ומשלת בגוים רבים ובך. Compare also the very similar
passages, Ps. cvi. 41: "And He gave them into the hand of the heathen,
and they that hated them ruled over them," וימשלו בם; and Lament, v. 8:
"Servants rule over us,"בנו משלו. That it is from prejudice alone that
the selection of the signification "to mock" can be accounted for,
appears also from the circumstance that all the old Translators (the
LXX., _Jonath._, _Syr._, _Vulg._) render it by "to rule."
More than one proof is offered by ver. 20: "And I will remove from you
the Northman, and will drive him into the land dry and desolate; his
van into the fore sea, and his rear into the hinder sea; and his stench
shall come up, and his ill-savour shall arise, for he has magnified to
do."
1. If we understand this literally, and refer it to real locusts, then
the designation by הצפוני, _i.e._, "one from the North," "a Northman,"
is inexplicable. It is true that there is no foundation for the common
assertion, that locusts move only from the South to the North (compare
_Credner_, S. 284); but in all history there is not one instance known
of locusts having come [Pg 318] to Palestine from the North--from
Syria. But even although occasionally single swarms, after having come
to Syria from their native country, the hot and dry South, may have
strayed thence to Palestine, such is not conceivable of so enormous a
swarm as is here described, which, with youthful strength, devastated
the whole of Palestine from one end to the other. Is it, moreover,
probable that the prophet, who, as we have already seen, prophesies
things future, would mention a circumstance so accidental as the
transient abode of a swarm of locusts in Syria? Such a residence,
_besides_, would not justify the assertion. The termination ־ִ־י added
to common names, indicates origin and descent. An inhabitant of a town,
for example, who should reside for a short time in a village, could not
for that reason be called a פרזי.--_Finally_--The native country of the
real locusts is plainly enough indicated by the words: "And I will
drive him into the land dry and desolate." Who does not see that, by
these words, the hot and dry southern countries are marked out, and
that the prophet expresses the thought, "The enemies will be driven
back to the place whence they came," by mentioning the country from
which the real locusts used to come? Our opponents are here greatly
embarrassed. Some explain: "The locusts marching northward,"--_Hezel_
and _Justi_, without the slightest countenance from the _usus
loquendi_: "The dark and fearful host." This opinion was approved of by
_Gesenius_ in the _Thesaurus_; but in opposition to it _Hitzig_ may be
compared, who himself gives the explanation, "The Typhonic." _V. Cöln_
(_de Joelis aetate_, Marb. 1811, p. 10). _Ewald_ and _Meier_ propose a
change in the text. With the reasons preventing us from referring the
expression to the locusts In a literal sense, we may combine the fact
that the North is constantly mentioned as the native land of the most
dangerous enemies of Israel, viz., the Assyrians and Chaldeans. And
although this designation be. In a geographical point of view.
Inaccurate, this is outweighed by the circumstance, that enemies always
Invaded Palestine from Syria, after having previously made that land a
part of their dominions. Compare Zeph. ii. 13: "And the Lord stretches
out His hand over the _North_, and destroys Assyria, and makes Nineveh
a desolation--a dry wilderness;" Jer. i. 14: "And the Lord said unto
me, Out of the _North_ the evil shall break forth upon all the
inhabitants of the land;" Jer. iii. 18, where [Pg 319] the land of the
North is mentioned as the land of the captivity of Judah and Israel;
Jer. iv. 6, vi. 1, 22, x. 22, xlvi. 24, where the people of the North
form the antithesis to Egypt, the African power; and Zech. ii. 10.
_Jerome_ long ago remarked: "The prophet mentions the North, that we
might not think of real locusts, which are wont to come from the South,
but might, by the locusts, understand the Assyrians and Chaldeans."
2. That we have here to do with a poetical description, and not with
one of natural history, appears from a designation of the places to
which the locusts are to be driven. Among these, the dry and hot
southern country--the Arabian desert--is first mentioned; then, the
anterior sea, _i.e._, the Dead Sea, situated eastward of Jerusalem; and
lastly, the hinder, or Mediterranean Sea. That, according to the view
of the prophet, the dispersion in these different directions was to
take place in a moment, appears from the circumstance that, according
to his description, the van of the same army is driven into one sea,
and the rear, into the other sea. Now, every one very easily sees that
this is a physical impossibility, inasmuch as opposite winds cannot
blow at the same time. _Credner's_ explanation, according to which the
פנים of the locusts is intended to be the swarm of those who first
invaded Palestine, while סופו is their brood, deserves mention in so
far only as it affords a proof of the greatness of the absurdities into
which one may be deluded, after he has once adopted a groundless
hypothesis.
3. The words, "For he has magnified to do," state the reason of the
destruction of the locusts. They are _punished_ in this manner, because
they have _committed sin_ by their proud haughtiness. Because they have
magnified to do, the Lord now magnifies Himself to do against them,
ver. 21; He glorifies Himself in their destruction, since, at the time
of their power, they glorified themselves, and trampled God under foot.
But sin and punishment necessarily imply responsibility; and it would
be indeed difficult to prove that, in the way of a poetical figure, any
prophet would ascribe such to irrational creatures; while, as regards
the heathen enemies of Israel, the thought here expressed is of
constant occurrence.
In chap. ii. 25, "And I restore to you the years (השנים) which the
locusts have eaten," etc., _several_ years of calamity are spoken of.
But we cannot agree with _Ewald_ in thinking that [Pg 320] the land
was, for several years, laid waste by locusts: we are prevented from
doing so by the single word יתר in chap. i. 4. _Bochart_ rightly
remarks: "The produce of the new year cannot be called the residue of
the former year. That word is much more applicable to the fruits of
some fields, which are passed by, or to the residue left in a field,
which should be eaten up in the same year." As little can we suppose,
with _Ewald_, that the plural is here used with reference to the
effects produced, by the devastation of one year, upon the ensuing
years; for it is not a possible loss which is here spoken of, but one
which has actually taken place. The prophet then passes, here also,
from the image to the thing itself,--to the hostile invasions extending
over longer periods, which he describes under the image of a
devastation by locusts which, at one time, took place.
Very strong arguments in favour of the figurative explanation are
furnished, in addition, by chap. iv. (iii.). The whole announcement of
punishment and judgment upon the heathen nations has sense and meaning,
only when, in the preceding context, there has been mention made of the
crime which they committed against the Lord and His people. In that
case, we have before us the three main subjects of prophecy,--God's
judgments upon His people by heathen enemies, their obtaining mercy,
and the punishment of the enemies. At the very beginning of chap. iv.
(iii.) the sufferings of Israel, described in chap. i. and ii., and the
judgment upon the heathen, are brought into the closest connection.
According to chap. iv. 1, 2, the gathering of the Gentiles is to take
place at a time when the Lord will return to the captivity of Judah and
Jerusalem, _i.e._, according to the constant _usus loquendi_ (compare
my Commentary on Ps. xiv. 7), when He will grant them, mercy, and
deliver them from their misery.[1] But that this misery can be none
other than that described in chap. i. and ii. appears simply from the
fact, that this has been declared to be the close of all the judgments
of God.--We must, _further_, not overlook the article [Pg 321] in
את־כל־הגוים in chap. iv. 2, and, accordingly, must not translate, "I
will gather all nations," but "all _the_ nations." And how could this
be explained in any other way than--all the nations which are spoken of
in the preceding chapters under the image of locusts? But of special
importance is the second part of the verse: "And I plead there with
them concerning My people, and My heritage Israel, whom they have
scattered among the nations, and distributed My land."[2] It is quite
impossible that there should here be the mention of anything which
happened before the time of Joel. Whatever period we may assign to him,
he belongs, at all events, to a time in which a scattering of Israel
among the Gentiles, and a distribution of their land, had not as yet
taken place. _Credner_, indeed, believes that the calamities under
Jehoram are sufficient to account for these expressions. "At that
time," he says, "the Edomites revolted from Judah; Libnah, which
belonged to Judah In the stricter sense, rebelled; the Arabs and
Philistines invaded the kingdom and plundered its capital; those
inroads did then not terminate without a diminution of the territory of
Judah." But all this is irrelevant; the discourse concerns the
distribution of the land of the _Lord_. The rebellion of a heathen
tributary people does not, therefore, here come under consideration.
Just as little can we see what Libnah has to do here. It belonged, it
is true, to the kingdom of Judah; but the heathen nations had nothing
to do with its rebellion;--for this, according to 2 Kings viii. 22, and
2 Chron. xxi. 10, proceeded from the inhabitants, who were dissatisfied
with the bad government of the king, and was speedily brought to a
close. It cannot then be proved, that even some small portion of the
territory was lost at that time; far less, that the whole country was
apportioned anew. It is quite the same as regards the dispersion among
the Gentiles. The invasion of the Philistines cannot [Pg 322] here come
into consideration, because, in ver. 4, these enemies are expressly
distinguished from those who had effected the dispersion of the people,
and the distribution of the land: "And ye also, what have ye to do with
Me, O Tyre and Sidon, and all the borders of Palestine?" The prophet
can thus not be speaking of something which had taken place at his
time; but as little can he speak of something still future, which had
not been touched upon by him when he threatened punishment upon the
Covenant-people; for the devastation by the locusts appears as the
highest and last calamity of the future. Nothing, therefore, remains
but to suppose, that under the image of the devastation by locusts, the
devastation of the country by heathen enemies, and the dispersion of
its inhabitants, are described,--a supposition which is confirmed by
the great resemblance of the passage under consideration to chap. ii.
17-19. _Vatke_ (_Theol. des A. Th._ i. S. 462) founded upon the fact
that the general exile is here predicted, the assertion that Joel had
prophesied only after the captivity. No one, of course, has been
willing to agree with him in this; but as long as the devastation by
the locusts is understood literally, it will not be possible to
undermine the grounds upon which he supports his views. It is
altogether in vain that people spend their labour in disputing the
fact, so obvious and evident, that the discourse here concerns the
total occupation of the land by the heathen, the total carrying away of
its inhabitants.
It may be further remarked, that this passage at the same time
considerably strengthens the proof already adduced, that Joel foretells
future things in chap. i. and ii. A devastation by the locusts is
described in these chapters; but the substance of this figure does not
refer to the time of Joel.
_Finally_--We must still direct attention to the words in iv. 17:--"And
Jerusalem shall be a sanctuary, and there shall no strangers pass
through her any more." This promise stands in evident contrast to the
former threatening, and becomes intelligible only by it. In it,
therefore, the _strangers_ must be represented under the figure of the
locusts.
And now, after all these single proofs have been enumerated--proofs
which, if necessary, might easily have been strengthened and
increased--let us look back to this survey of the contents of the book,
and we shall see how, according to our view, [Pg 323] and according to
it alone, the prophecy of Joel forms an harmonious, complete, and well
finished whole, and that the prophet adheres closely to the outlines
already given by Moses, with the filling up and finishing of which all
other prophets also are employed. And let us, finally, add, that
exegetical tradition also bears a favourable testimony to the
figurative interpretation.
We need not spend much time in considering the arguments advanced
against the figurative interpretation by _Credner_ (S. 27 ff.),
_Hitzig_, and others. They all rest upon an almost incomprehensible
ignoring of the nature of poetry, of the metaphor, and of the allegory.
Thus, _e.g._, _Credner_ says, "What man of sound sense will ever be
able to say of horses, horsemen and warriors, that they resemble horses
and horsemen? Who has ever seen horses and horsemen climbing over
walls? What shall we say concerning chap. ii. 20? Do land armies ever
perish in the sea, and, moreover, in two different seas? What is the
use of foretelling, in chap. ii. 22, 23, the ceasing of the drought, if
the prophet here thought of real enemies?" But in opposition to all
these and similar objections, let us simply keep in mind, that the
prophet does not by any means view the enemies as such, and only
incidentally compares them with locusts; but that in his inward vision
they represented themselves to him as locusts. It is just the
characteristic feature of the allegory, that the image becomes in it
substantial, and has the thing represented, not _beside_ it, but _in_,
_with_, and _under_ it. But it is just for this reason that many a
feature must be introduced which does not belong to the _real_ subject,
_i.e._, the figure, but to the _ideal_ only, _i.e._, the thing
represented thereby. It is for this very reason also, that the
metaphor, raised to the _ideal_ subject, may again be compared with the
_real_ subject. After all this we may well judge what right _Ewald_ has
to call the figurative explanation "an error, which, in consideration
of our present knowledge, becomes from day to day less pardonable."
We remark further, that, in chap. i. 4, it is distinctly indicated that
Israel's visitation by the world's power will not be a simple one, but
will present various aspects: "That which the _gnawer_ has left, the
_locust_ devoureth; and that which the _locust_ hath left, the _licker_
devoureth; and that which the _licker_ hath left, the _eater_
devoureth." The opinion has been entertained, that "the prophet does
not say, one cloud of locusts after [Pg 324] another, or swarms of
locusts of every description have come up; but, on the contrary, that
they are all contemporary, and that all of them devour the same
things." But a succession is quite obvious. The four parties do not
devour at the same time; but the second devours what the first has
left. It is true that the succession appears as very rapid; but that is
a peculiarity belonging only to the vision. If there be _at all_ a
succession of those extensive empires representing the world's power,
there must in reality be considerable intervals between them. The
question then arises, however, whether the number _four_ is to be
considered as a round number, so that the thought would only be this,
that several nations are to visit the people of the Lord, or whether,
on the contrary, importance is to be attached to the number _four_ as
such. According to _Jerome_, the Jews followed the latter view. In
accordance with their view, the first swarm denotes the Assyrians,
together with the Chaldeans; the second, the Medo-Persians; the third,
the Grecian kingdoms; the fourth, the Romans. The analogies of the four
horns in Zech. ii. 1-4 (i. 18-21), the four beasts in Daniel, the seven
heads of the beast in Revelation--denoting the seven phases of the
world's power opposed to God--are decisive in favour of the latter
view; compare my _Commentary on Rev._ xii. 18, xiii. 1. Now, if we
follow this view at all, we must, in determining the four swarms,
certainly assent to the opinion of the Jews, as given in _Jerome_; and
this so much the more, as the four swarms are, in that case, exactly
parallel to the four beasts in Daniel, which denote the Chaldean,
Medo-Persian, Grecian, and Roman monarchies. The fact that the
Assyrians are taken together with the Chaldeans can be the less
strange, because, so early as in the prophecy of Balaam, Asshur and
Babylon are comprehended under the common name עבר, _i.e._, "that which
is on the other side,"--the power on the other side of the Euphrates;
and are contrasted with the new empire which pressed on from the
West--from Europe. (Compare my _Dissertation on Balaam_, p. 593 ff.)[3]
It was the less possible to ascribe to the Assyrians an independent
position here, as Joel has to do mainly with Judah, upon which no
judgment of real importance was inflicted by the Assyrians.
Footnote 1: The well ascertained _usus loquendi_ must be here the less
given up, as, in the preceding context, to which this verse carries us
back, we are, it is true, told that the Lord will return and bestow
mercy; but the bringing back of the people is as little spoken of as
the carrying of them away, inasmuch as the express mention of which did
not suit the image of the devastation by locusts.
Footnote 2: חִלֵּק means, not "to divide among themselves," but "to effect
a new division," "to apportion the land anew," as, _e.g._, Asshur
distributed the territory of the ten tribes among the Aramean
Colonists, חלק is used of the distribution of the land by Joshua, in
Josh. xiii. 7, xix. 51. In Mic. ii. 4, when the captivity was
impending, the people, in anticipation of it, utter their lamentation
in the words, "He distributes our fields;" compare Ps. lx. 8.
Footnote 3: In the volume containing the "_Dissertations on the
Genuineness of Daniel_, etc.," published by T. and T. Clark.
[Pg 325]