"_And, ye sons of Zion, exult and rejoice in Jehovah your God; for He
giveth you the Teacher of righteousness, and then He poureth down upon
you rain, the former rain and the latter rain, for the first time._"
The words, "In Jehovah your God," are an addition peculiar to the sons
of Zion. In reference to the _earth_, which the locusts had devastated,
it was in ver. 21 said only, "Fear not, exult and rejoice." In
reference to the beasts, _i.e._, to the heathen world, which was kept
in subjection by the conquerors of the world, but which is delivered by
the great deeds of the Lord, it is in ver. 22 said only: "Fear not."
They are only the sons of Zion who know and love the Author of
Salvation, and who receive from Him special gifts, besides the general
ones.
There is considerable difference in the interpretations of this verse.
The words, את־המורה לצדקה, are, by the greater number of interpreters,
translated, "The Teacher of righteousness." Thus, _Jonathan_, the
_Vulgate_, _Jarchi_, _Abarbanel_, _Grotius_, and almost all the
interpreters of the early Lutheran Church translate them. Others take
מורה in the signification of "rain," and לצדקה as qualifying its nature
more accurately. Even in ancient times, this explanation was not at all
uncommon. Among the Rabbinical interpreters, it was held by _Kimchi_,
_Abenezra_, _S. B. Melech_, who explain it of a _timely_ rain.
_Calvin_, who rendered the לצדקה by _justa mensura_, defends it with
great decision, and declares the other explanations to be forced, and
unsuitable to the connection. It is translated by "rain" in the
English[1] and Genevan versions, and by many Calvinistic interpreters,
who differ, however, in the translation of לצדקה, and render it either:
"In right time," or "in right measure," or "in the right place," or
"for His righteousness," or "according to your righteousness."
_Marckius_ is of opinion that "rain" is necessarily required by the
context; but that, on account of לצדקה, this rain must be understood
spiritually of the Messiah with His saving doctrine, and His Spirit.
Among the interpreters of the Lutheran Church, _Seb. Schmid_ thinks of
"a rain in due season." [Pg 326] Among modern interpreters, the
explanation by "rain" has become altogether so prevalent, that it is
considered scarcely of any importance even to mention the other. לצדקה
is explained by _Eckermann_: "In proof of His good pleasure;" by
_Ewald_, _Meier_, and _Umbreit_: "For justification;" by _Justi_: "For
fruitfulness;" and by the others (_Rosenmüller_, _Holzhausen_,
_Credner_, _Rückert_, _Maurer_, and _Hitzig_) by: "In right measure."
We consider this explanation to be decidedly erroneous, and the other
to be the sound one; and this for the following reasons:--1. The great
difference, on the part of the defenders of the current opinion, as
regards the explanation of לצדקה certainly indicates, with sufficient
clearness, that, by this addition, a considerable obstruction is put in
its way. The most current explanation, by "_justa mensura_," "in right
measure," "sufficiently," is certainly quite untenable. Even the fact,
that it is not צדק but צדקה which is used here, must excite suspicion.
(On the difference betwixt these two words, compare _Ewald_ in the
first edition of his Grammar, S. 312-13.) But what is quite decisive is
the fact that these two words, which occur with such extraordinary
frequency, are never found in a physical, but always in a moral sense
only. The only passage in which, according to _Winer_, צדק signifies
"rectitude" in a physical sense, is Ps. xxiii. 3: מעגלי צדק which,
according to him, means: "Straight, right ways." But that verse runs
thus: "He restoreth my soul, He leadeth me in the paths of
righteousness for His name's sake." The path is a spiritual one; it is
righteousness itself, which consists in the actual declaration of being
just, and in justification, which are implied in the gift of salvation.
With regard to צדקה, _Holzhausen_ (S. 120) maintains that it is used of
a measure which has its due size in Lev. xix. 35, 36. The words are
these: "Ye shall not do _unrighteousness_ in judgment, in measure, in
division. Balances of righteousness, weights of righteousness, ephas of
righteousness, shall ye have: I am the Lord your God who brought you
out of the land of Egypt." Even the contrast--so evident--with the
_unrighteousness_, shows distinctly that balances, measures, and
weights of righteousness are here such as belong to righteousness--are
in harmony with it. Even the root צדק never occurs in a physical sense,
but always, only in a moral sense. To this it must be added, that the
explanation, "Teacher of righteousness," [Pg 327] is recommended by the
parallel passage in Hos. x. 12, where, also, teaching occurs in
connection with righteousness: וירה צדק לכם, "And the Lord will come
and teach you righteousness." This parallel passage is also opposed to
_Ewald's_ explanation, "for justification,"--the only explanation among
those mentioned to which, it must be admitted, no philological
objection can be raised. But the thought, "The early rain an actual
justification of Israel," would be rather strange, and so much the more
so, because the wrath of God had not manifested itself in a drought and
want of water, but rather in the sending of the army of locusts.
2. That the giving of the מורה, in the first hemistich of the verse,
must denote a divine blessing different from the giving of the מורה in
the second, is evident for this reason:--that, otherwise, there would
arise a somewhat meaningless tautology. They who assigned to מורה in
the first hemistich, the signification of "rain in general," have felt
how very unsuitable is the twofold mention of the early rain. To this
must be added the use of the _Fut._ with _Vav convers._, ויורד. By this
form, an action is denoted which _follows_ from the preceding one; but
according to the current explanation, one and the same action would
here be expressed, only in different words. It cannot be denied,
indeed, that the form occurs by no means rarely in a weakened sense,
and is used only to express a connection; and that for this reason,
this argument is not, _per se_, conclusive. Yet the original
signification so generally holds, that we can abandon it only for
distinct and forcible reasons. In addition to this, it must be
considered that the addition of גשם to the second מורה distinctly marks
out the latter as being different in its meaning from the former. It
must also be kept in mind that it is one of the peculiarities of Joel
to use the same words and phrases, after brief intervals, in a
different sense; compare _Credner's_ remarks on ii. 20, iii. 5.
3. The explanation by "Teacher" is far more obvious for the reason that
מורה always occurs with the signification of "teacher" (even in Ps.
lxxxiv. 7, where the right translation is: "With blessing also the
teacher covereth himself"), and never with that of "rain," or "early
rain." This is rather the meaning of יורה; and the verb also never
occurs in _Hiphil_, as it does in _Kal_, with the signification "to
sprinkle," "to water." [Pg 328] By this we are led to the supposition
that Joel, in the second hemistich, made use of the uncommon form מורה
with the meaning of "early rain," solely on account of the resemblance
of the sound to the מורה occurring immediately before, with its usual
signification; and that, at the same time, he added גשם for the purpose
of avoiding ambiguity. What serves to confirm this supposition, is the
circumstance that Jeremiah, alluding to the passage under
consideration, has, in chap. v. 24, put יורה in the place of מורה;
which proves that the second מורה in Joel ii. 23 has originated only
from its connection with the first, which is altogether wanting in
Jeremiah.
4. A causal connection, similar to that which exists here betwixt the
sending of the Teacher of righteousness and the pouring out of the
rain, occurs also in that passage of the Pentateuch which the prophet
seems to have had in view, viz., Deut. xi. 13, 14: "And it shall come
to pass, _if ye shall hearken unto my commandments_ which I command you
this day, that ye love the Lord your God, and serve Him with all your
heart and with all your soul, that I will give you the rain of your
land in due season, the first rain and the latter rain (יורה ומלקוש),
and thou shalt gather in thy corn, and thy must, and thine oil." Here,
as well as there, the righteousness of the people is the _antecedens_;
the divine mercies and blessings are the _consequens_. Since the former
does not exist, God begins the course of His mercies by sending Him who
calls it forth. This remark removes, at the same time, the objection,
that the mention of the Teacher of righteousness is unsuitable in a
connection where the prophet speaks of temporal blessings only, and
rises to spiritual blessings only afterwards, in chap. iii. There
existed for the Covenant-people no benefits which were purely temporal;
these were always, at the same time, signs and pledges of the divine
favour, which depended upon the righteousness of the people, and this,
in turn, upon the divine mission of a Teacher of righteousness.
5. The בראשון is also in favour of our explanation. It stands in close
relation to אחרי־כן in chap. iii. 1, ii. 28. The sending of the Teacher
of righteousness has two consequences;--_first_, the pouring out of the
temporal rain--an individualizing designation of every kind of outward
blessings, and chosen with a reference to the passage of the Pentateuch
which we have just [Pg 329] cited, but with special reference to the
description of the calamity, under the figure of a devastation by
locusts;--and, _secondly_, the outpouring of the spiritual rain--the
sending of the Holy Ghost. It needs only the pointing out of this
reference, which has been overlooked by interpreters,[2] to set aside
the manifold and different explanations of בראשון which are, all of
them, unphilological, or give an unsuitable sense.[3]
But if any doubt should still remain, it would be removed by a parallel
passage in Isaiah, which depends upon the text under review, in a
manner not to be mistaken, and which, therefore, must be regarded as
the oldest commentary upon it. Isaiah is describing the condition of
the people subsequent to their having obtained mercy, after a long time
of deep misery, in chap. xxx 20: "And the Lord gives you the bread of
adversity, and the water of affliction; and then thy _teacher_ (מוריך
is _singular_) shall no longer hide himself, and thine eyes shall see
thy teacher; Ver. 21: And thine ears hear a word behind thee, This is
the way, walk ye in it; do not turn to the right hand, nor to the
left." Accordingly, after they have put away what was evil, ver. 22:
"The Lord giveth the rain of thy seed, with which thou sowest thy
land," etc., ver. 23. The teacher is not a human teacher, but God.
_Human_ teachers had not concealed themselves; but that the Lord had
concealed Himself, is affirmed in the preceding verses. The words,
"Behind thee" (ver. 21), suggest the idea of a teacher of such a glory
that they could not look in his face (compare Rev. i. 10); and the
words, "Thine eyes see thy teacher," ver. 20, imply the idea of the
high majesty of the teacher, and suggest the idea of a revelation of
the glory of the Lord; compare Is. xl. 5, lii. 8. The Lord must first
manifest Himself as a Teacher, before He appears as a Saviour. In
Isaiah, the Lord Himself appears as the Teacher; as also in Hos. x. 12:
"It is time to seek the Lord, till He [Pg 330] come and teach you
righteousness;" while in Joel, on the contrary, it is the Lord who
giveth the Teacher. Both may be reconciled by the consideration, that
in the Teacher whom the Lord gives, the glory of the Lord becomes
manifest.
It now only remains to inquire who is to be understood by the Teacher
of righteousness. (Teacher of righteousness is equivalent to: "Teaching
them how they should fear the Lord," 2 Kings xvii. 28.) It is referred
to the Messiah, not only by almost all those Christian interpreters who
follow this explanation, with the exception of _Grotius_, who
conjectures that Isaiah or some other prophet is to be thereby
understood; but also, after the example of _Jonathan_, by several
Jewish commentators; _e.g._, _Abarbanel_, who says: "This teacher of
righteousness, however, is the King Messiah, who will show the way in
which we must walk, and the works which we must do." Even on account of
the article, it is not possible to refer it to a single human teacher;
and this argument may, at the same time, be added to those which oppose
the explanation of מורה by "an early rain." There can be only the
choice betwixt the Messiah as the long promised Teacher κατ᾽ ἐξοχήν,
and the _ideal_ teacher,--the collective body of all divine teachers.
But the latter view requires to be somewhat raised, before it can be
allowed to enter into the competition. That we have not here before us
an ordinary collective body, is shown by the parallel passage in
Isaiah, according to which the glory of the Lord is to be manifested in
the Teacher. And this is as little applicable to a plurality of human
teachers, as to a single individual. It is _further_ proved by the
fundamental passage in Deut. xviii. 18, 19, where, indeed, the
prophetic order is comprehended in an _ideal_ person. This, however,
has its reason only in the circumstance, that the idea of prophetism
was, at some future time, to find its realization in a _real_ person.
It is _further_ seen from the state of the Messianic hopes at the time
of Joel, and from the exceeding greatness of what is here connected
with the appearance of the Teacher of righteousness. In addition to the
allusion in Gen. xlix. 10 and Deut. xviii., the Messiah appears as a
Teacher in the Song of Solomon also, chap. viii. 2; and in Is. lv. 4:
"Behold, I give Him for a witness to the people, for a prince and a
lawgiver to the people;" as also in those passages of the second part
of Isaiah, in which He is declared to be the Prophet κατ᾽ ἐξοχήν. [Pg
331] When thus understood, the explanation of the _ideal_ teacher may
be preferable to the reference to Christ exclusively. In favour of such
a reference, there is the comprehensive character and the _ideal_
import which are, in general, peculiar to the prophecies of Joel. Such
a reference is, moreover, favoured by the expression itself, which
points out only that which Christ has in common with the former
servants of God, viz., the teaching of righteousness, and especially by
a comparison with the fundamental passages, Deut. xviii.
Footnote 1: The English version has "a teacher of righteousness," as a
marginal reading.--Tr.
Footnote 2: Since the appearance of the first edition of this work, it
has been acknowledged also by _Ewald_, _Meier_, and _Umbreit_.
Footnote 3: _Hitzig_ explains it: "In the first month." But altogether
apart from the consideration that it is only in a chronological
connection that "in the first" can stand for "in the first _month_,"
this explanation is objectionable on the ground that the early rain and
the latter rain cannot, by any means, belong to the same month. There
is the less difficulty in explaining it by "first," as בראשונה
undeniably occurs, several times, in this signification; compare,
_e.g._, Zech. xii. 7.