Ver. 1. "_And it shall come to pass, afterwards, I will pour out My
Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy;
your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see
visions._"
The communication of the Spirit of God was the constant prerogative of
the Covenant-people. Indeed, the very idea of such a people necessarily
requires it. For the Spirit of God is the only inward bond betwixt Him
and that which is created; a Covenant-people, therefore, without such
an inward connection, is an impossibility. As a constant possession of
the Covenant-people, the Spirit of God appears in Isaiah lxiii. 11,
where the people, in the condition of the deepest abandonment, say, in
the remembrance of the divine mercies, "Where is He that put His Holy
Spirit within him?" But it was peculiar to the nature of the Old
Testament dispensation, that the effusion of the Spirit of God was less
rich. His effects less powerful, and a participation in them less
general. It was only after God's relation to the world had been
changed by the death of Christ that the Spirit of _Christ_ could be
bestowed,--a higher power of the Spirit of God, standing to Him in the
same relation as the Angel of the Lord to the incarnate Word. The
conditions of the bestowal of the Holy Spirit were, under the Old
Testament, far more difficult to obtain. The view of Christ in His
historical personality, in His life, suffering, and death, was wanting.
God, although infinitely nearer to the Jews than to the Gentiles, yet
ever remained a God relatively [Pg 332] distant. Since the procuring
cause of the mercy of God--the merit of Christ--was not yet so clearly
seen, it was far more difficult to lay hold of it, and the by-path of
legalism was far nearer. It was thus only upon a few--especially upon
the prophets--that the direct possession of the Spirit of God was
concentrated; while the greater number, even among those of a better
disposition, enjoyed a spiritual life derived only from a union with
them, and hence it was less strong. It arose from the nature of the
case that, at some future time, there must take place a richer and more
powerful effusion of the Spirit of God; and it was just for this reason
that it was the desire of Moses, that such might take place, and that
the whole people might prophesy. Num. xi. 29, besides expressing such a
desire, is, at the same time, a prophecy. He wished nothing else than
that the people of God might attain to such a degree as to realize the
idea of a people of God; and this must come to pass at some future
time, because the omnipotent and faithful God could not leave His work
unfinished. But Moses himself immediately subjoins the prophecy to the
wish, as a clear proof, that behind the wish the prophecy is concealed:
"Would God that all the Lord's people were prophets! for the Lord will
give His Spirit upon them," etc.; which is equivalent to: "At some
future time, the whole people of the Lord shall be prophets, not
against, but agreeably to, my wish; for," etc. It is this promise of
Moses which is here resumed by Joel, with whom, subsequently. Is. in
chap. xxxii. 15, "Until the Spirit be poured upon us from on high;"
chap. xi. 9, liv. 13; Jer. xxxi. 33, 34; Ezek. xxxvi. 26 ff., and Zech.
xii. 10, connect themselves. The ultimate reference of the promise is
to the Messianic time; but the reference to the preparatory steps must
not, for this reason, be by any means excluded. The announcement of the
pouring out of the Spirit rests upon the insight into the nature of
God's relation to His kingdom. God's judgments, in which He draws near
to His people, in which the abstract God becomes a concrete God, excite
in the people a longing for a union with Him. Teachers sent by God give
a right direction to this longing, and then an outpouring of the Spirit
takes place. This proceeding does, and must continually, repeat itself
in the history of the Covenant-people. The perfect fulfilment at the
time of Christ could [Pg 333] not at all have taken place, unless the
imperfect fulfilment had already pervaded their whole earlier history;
and that there is, in the prophecy under consideration, no reference at
all to such imperfect fulfilments, could be maintained only, if there
existed in the text any hint that the prophet intended to speak of only
the last realization of the idea. But as the exclusion of all the
preliminary stages is entirely arbitrary, it is just as arbitrary to
separate, from the events which make up the main fulfilment in the
Messianic time, one particular event, viz., that which took place on
the first day of Pentecost. It is only to a certain extent that we can
affirm that the prophecy found its final fulfilment in this event,
viz., in as far as it formed the pledge of it,--in as far as the whole
succeeding development and progress were already contained in it,--in
as far as Joel's prophecy in words was then changed into an infinitely
more powerful prophecy in deeds. It is from overlooking the relation of
the prophecy to the thought which animates it, and from the error
arising from this, viz., that the fulfilment must necessarily fall
within a particular, limited period, that the various opposite
interpretations had their rise (compare the copious enumeration and
representation of these in _Dresde_, _Comparatio Joelis de Effusione
Spir. S. vatic. c. Petrina interpret._ _Wittemb._ 1782, _Spec._ 2), all
of which are partially true, and are false only by their one-sidedness
and exclusiveness. 1. Several interpreters think of an event at the
time of Joel. Thus Rabbi _Moses Hakkohen_, according to _Abenezra_,
_Teller_ on _Turrettine de interpret._ p. 59, _Cramer_ on the
_Scythische Denkmäler_, p. 221.--2. Others insist on an exclusive
reference to the first Pentecost. Thus do almost all the Fathers of the
Church--among whom, however, _Jerome_ (on Joel iii. 1) felt the great
difficulties in the way of this view, arising from the context--and
most of the later Christian interpreters.--3. Others would refer it at
the same time to the events in Joel's time, and to those at the first
Pentecost. Of this opinion are _Ephraem Syr._, _Grotius_, and
_Turrettine_.--4. Others place the fulfilment altogether in the future.
Thus did the Jews as early as in the time of _Jerome_, and afterwards
Jarchi, Kimchi, and Abarbanel.--5. Others, finally, find in the first
Pentecost the beginning only of the fulfilment, and regard it as
pervading the whole Christian time. Thus, _e.g._, _Calovius_ (_Bibl.
illustr. ad. h. l._) says: "Although [Pg 334] that prophecy began to be
fulfilled in a remarkable manner on that feast of the Pentecost, yet
its reference is not to that solemn event only, but to the whole state
of these last, or New Testament times, _just after the manner of other
general promises_." These last words show that _Calovius_ was very near
the truth. But if the promise be a general one, by what are we entitled
to place the beginning of its fulfilment only at the times of the New
Testament, and to exclude all of that same gift which God bestowed in
Old Testament times? The insufficiency of the foundation for such a
limitation in the text itself is proved by the following confession of
_Dresde_ (l. c. p. 8), who even believes himself obliged to defend such
a limitation from the authority of the Apostle Peter, and to whom it
did not at all occur, that any other reference than to some particular
event was even possible: "It appears, therefore," he says, "that the
prophecy, considered in itself, is so expressed, that no one, except
the first author of the prophecy, will be able convincingly to define
the exact event to which it really refers." We shall afterwards see
that the testimony of the New Testament to which _Dresde_ here alludes,
does not by any means demand such a limitation. We have seen that Joel
points to a fourfold oppression of Israel by the world's power. The
_main_ fulfilment we must then expect at the time of the fourth; but
this can scarcely be the first fulfilment; for we cannot imagine that
the former calamities should have passed over the people altogether
without effect; and the divine gift of the Spirit goes always hand in
hand with the susceptibility of the people. By proving that fourfold
oppression, we have also furnished the proof that the prophecy of the
outpouring of the Spirit has a comprehensive character.--From the
already established reference of the אחרי־כן to the בראשון in chap. ii.
23, it is obvious that it is not so much a determination of the
succession of time, as of a succession in point of importance, which is
thereby given. Among the two effects of the mission of the Teacher of
righteousness, first, the lower, and then, the higher, presents itself
to the view of the prophet. The determination of time is not the
essential point; that serves only to illustrate the internal relation
of these two events, the gradation of these divine blessings; although
we are able to demonstrate that, even as regards time, the prophecy was
fulfilled in this order. For after the destruction by the [Pg 335]
Chaldeans, the temporal blessings were restored to the people, before
the main fulfilment of the promise of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit
took place; compare Ps. cvii. 33-42 with Joel ii. 25-27.--The words, "I
shall pour out," refer to the rain in ver. 23. The idea of copiousness,
opposed to the former scantiness, is indeed implied in it. Yet it must
not be exclusively considered; the qualities of the rain alluded to in
ver. 24 ff.--viz., the quickening of what was previously dead, the
fructifying power--must not be overlooked.--The words, "Upon all
flesh," are, by most of the Jewish interpreters (_e.g._, _Kimchi_,
_Abenezra_; compare _Lightfoot_ and _Schöttgen_ on Acts ii. 16, 17),
referred to the members of the Covenant-people only; but by the
Christian interpreters, whom even Abarbanel joins, to all men. So,
still, does _Steudel_ in the _Tübinger Pfingst-Programm_, 1820, p. 11.
But in this latter explanation, one thing has been overlooked--as,
among the older interpreters, has been well shown by _Calvin_,[1] and
among the more recent, by _Tychsen_ (_progr. ad h. l._ p. 5)--viz.,
that the subsequent words, "Your sons, your daughters, your old men,
your young men, the servants, the handmaids," contain a specification
of the בשר; so that the _all_, by which it is qualified, does not do
away with the limitation to a particular people, but only with the
limits of sex, age, and rank, among the people themselves. The
participation of the Gentiles in the outpouring of the Holy Ghost did
not, in the first instance, come into consideration in this place,
inasmuch as the threatening of punishment, with which the proclamation
of salvation is connected, had respect to the Covenant-people only.
_Credner_ has been led into a strange error, by pressing the words
כל־בושר without any regard to the connection. He imputes to the prophet
the monstrous idea, that the Spirit of God, the fountain of all which
is good and great, well pleasing to God, and divine, is to be poured
out upon all animals also, even upon the locusts.--The foundation for
the promise of the Holy Spirit is formed by Gen. ii. 7, compared with
i. 26. It supposes that the spirit of man, as distinguished from all
other living things [Pg 336] on earth, is a breath from God.--There is
here, moreover, the same contrast betwixt בשר and רוח as in Gen. vi. 3
and Is. xxxi. 3: "The Egyptians are men, and not God; their horses are
flesh, and not spirit." (Compare other passages in _Gesenius'_
_Thesaurus_, _s. v._ p. 249.) _Flesh_, in this contrast, signifies
human nature with respect to its weakness and helplessness; the
_spirit_ is the principle of life and strength. As "your sons," etc.,
is a specification of all flesh, so, the words, "They prophesy, they
dream dreams, they see visions," are a specification of: "I pour out My
Spirit." From this, it is evident that the particular gifts do not here
come into consideration according to their individual nature, but
according to that essential character which is common to them as
effects of the Spirit of God. Hence it is obvious also, that we are not
at liberty to ask why it is just to the sons and daughters that the
prophesying is ascribed, etc. The prophet, whose object it is only to
individualize and expand the fundamental thought, _i.e._, the
universality of the effects of the Spirit, chooses for this purpose the
extraordinary gifts of the Spirit,[2] because these are more obvious
than the ordinary ones; and from among the extraordinary ones, again,
those which were common under the Old Testament; without thereby
excluding the others, or, as regards the real import, adding anything
to the declaration, "I will pour out My Spirit." This appears also from
ver. 2, where, in reference to the servants and handmaids, the
expression returns to the former generality. In distributing the gifts
of the Spirit among the particular classes, the prophet has been as
little guided by any internal considerations, as, _e.g._, Zechariah,
when in chap. ix. 17 he uses the words, "Corn maketh the young men grow
up, and must, the maids." The remark made by _Credner_ and _Hitzig_,
after the example of _Tychsen_, that visions are ascribed to vigorous
youth, but dreams to feebler age, appears at once, from an examination
of the historical [Pg 337] instances, and from the comparison of Num.
xii. 6, to be unfounded. "Your sons and your daughters prophesy," etc.,
is equivalent to: "Your sons and your daughters, your old men and your
young men, prophesy, have _divine_ dreams (a limitation to such is
implied in their being the effects of the outpouring of the Spirit),
and see visions;" and this again is equivalent to: "They will enjoy the
Spirit of God, with all His gifts and blessings." In this, and in no
other way, has the passage been constantly understood among the Jews.
If it had been otherwise, how could Peter have so confidently declared
the events on the feast of Pentecost, where there occurred neither
dreams nor visions, to be a fulfilment of the prophecy of Joel? It is
implied, however, in the nature of the case, that, in the principal
fulfilments of the prophecy of Joel, the extraordinary gifts of the
Spirit should be accompanied by the ordinary ones; for the former are
the witnesses and means of the latter, although, at the same time, the
basis also on which they rest; so that times like those which are
described in 1 Sam. iii. 1, where the Word of God is precious in the
country, and there is no prophecy spread abroad, must necessarily be
poor in the ordinary gifts of grace also. It is not in the essence, but
only in the form of manifestation, that the extraordinary gifts differ
from the ordinary ones,--just as Christ's outward miracles differ from
His inward ones.
Ver. 2. "_And upon the servants also, and upon the handmaids, I will
pour out My Spirit in those days._"
_Credner_ refers this to the Hebrew prisoners of war, living as
servants and handmaids among heathen nations, far away from the Holy
Land. But if the prophet had this in view, he must necessarily have
expressed himself with greater distinctness. Moreover, the relation to
the preceding verse requires that, as the difference of sex and age was
there done away with, so no allowance should here be made for the
difference of rank. The גם shows that the extension of the gifts of the
Spirit even to servants and handmaids, who, to the carnal eye, appeared
to be unworthy of such distinction, is to be considered as something
unexpected and extraordinary. That there is very little correctness in
the assertion of _Credner_, that "there could have been scarcely any
doubt as regards the participation of the Hebrew [Pg 338] slaves," is
sufficiently shown by the fact, that Jewish interpreters have
attempted, in various ways, to lessen the blessing here promised to the
servants and handmaids. Even the translation of the LXX. by, ἐπὶ τοὺσ
δούλουσ μου καὶ ἐπὶ τὰσ δούλασ μου, may be considered as such an
attempt. In the place of the servants of men, who appeared to them
unworthy of such honour, they put the servants of God. _Abarbanel_
asserts that the Spirit of God here means something inferior to the
gift of prophecy, which is bestowed only upon the free people. Instead
of regarding the Spirit of God as the root and fountain of the
particular gifts mentioned in the preceding verse, he sees in Him only
an isolated gift,--that of an indefinite knowledge of God. But such a
view is opposed even by the relation of the words, "I will pour out My
Spirit," in ver. 2, to the same words in ver. 1; and also by Is. xi. 2,
where "Spirit of God" is likewise used in a general sense, and
comprehends within itself all that follows. It is not without design
that the fact is so prominently brought out in the New Testament, that
the Gospel is preached to the poor, and that God chooses that which is
mean and despised in the eye of the world. The natural man is always
inclined to suppose that that which is esteemed by the world must be so
by God also. This is sufficiently evident from the deep contempt of the
Pharisees for the ὄχλοι; compare, _e.g._, John vii. 49.
Ver. 3. "_And I give wonders in the heavens, and on earth; blood, and
fire, and vapour of smoke._"
The mercy bestowed upon the Congregation of God is accompanied by the
judgment upon her enemies. Since the Congregation has again become the
object of His favour, especially in consequence of the Holy Spirit
being poured out upon her, it cannot be but that He will protect her
against the persecution of the world, and avenge her upon it. In vers.
3 and 4, the _precursors_ of the judgment (_before_ cometh, ver. 4) are
described, and in chap. iv. throughout, the judgment itself. There is
here an allusion to an event of former times, and which is now to be
repeated on a larger scale, viz., the plagues inflicted upon Egypt in
consequence of the same law. The prophet had specially in view the
passage, Deut. vi. 22: "And the Lord gave signs and wonders, great and
sore, upon Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his household before our
eyes."--The wonders are divided [Pg 339] into those which are in
heaven, and those which are on earth; then those which are on earth are
in this verse designated individually; and afterwards, in ver. 4, those
which are in heaven. With regard to the former, many interpreters (the
last of whom is _Credner_) understand by the "blood," bloody defeats of
the enemies of Israel; by "fire and smoke," their towns and habitations
consumed by fire. But this interpretation cannot be entertained. The
very designation by מופתים indicates that we have here to think of
extraordinary phenomena of nature, the symbolical language of which is
interpreted by the evil conscience, which recognises in them the
precursors of coming judgment. This is confirmed also by the more
particular statement of the signs in heaven, in ver. 4; for the signs
on earth must certainly be of the same class as these. It is confirmed
likewise by a comparison with the type of former times, which we have
pointed out; for it is from this, that the blood is directly taken. The
first plague is thus announced in Exod. vii. 17: "Behold, I smite with
the rod in mine hand upon the waters in the river, and they are turned
into blood." _Jalkut Simeoni_ (in _Schöttgen_, p. 210) remarks: "The
Lord brought blood upon the enemies in Egypt: thus also shall it be in
future times; for it is written, I will give wonders, blood and fire."
The same is the case as respects the fire. Exod. ix. 24: "And there
came hail, and _fire mingled_ with the hail." It is more natural to
suppose that the prophet borrowed these features, as, in the former
description of the judgment upon Israel, the plague of the locusts lies
at the foundation, and as the contents of the following verse have
likewise their prototype in those events. Compare Exod. x. 21: "And the
Lord said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand toward the heaven, and let
there be darkness over the land of Egypt." That it is not real blood
which is here meant, but that only which, by its blood-red colour,
reminds of blood (comp. _e.g._, "Waters red as blood," 2 Kings iii.
22), is shown by the fundamental passage, Exod. vii. 17, where the
water which had become red is called simply blood; compare my work on
_Egypt and the Books of Moses_, p. 106. Blood brings into view the
shedding of blood; the fiery phenomena announce that the fire of the
anger of God, and the fire of war, will be enkindled; compare remarks
on i. 19, 20.--The word תימרות requires a renewed investigation.
Interpreters [Pg 340] uniformly explain it by "pillars,"--a
signification which is altogether destitute of any foundation; for the
Chaldee תלרה, to which they refer, is not found with the signification
"pillar." Such a meaning is quite inappropriate in the single passage
quoted by _Buxtorf_; the signification "smoke," or "cloud of smoke," is
necessarily required in that place. As little are we at liberty to
appeal to תמר, "palm," with which תימרה has nothing at all to do. The
י, which would be without any analogy if derived from תמר (compare
_Ewald_ on _Song of Sol._ iii. 6), requires the derivation from ימר.
The word תימרה is a noun formed from the 3d pers. _fem. Fut._ of this
verb with ה affixed (compare, on these nouns, the remarks on Hos. ii.
14, and my work on _Balaam_, p. 434), and, as to its form, it
corresponds exactly with תמורה, derived from the 3d _fem. Fut._ of the
verb מור. There cannot now be any doubt regarding the signification of
ימר. Is. lxi. 6, and Jer. ii. 11, where המיר and הימיר occur in the
same verse, show that it corresponds entirely with מור. Hence _Ewald_
(l. c.) is wrong in identifying it with אמר, the alleged meaning of
which is "to be high." Now in Hebrew, מור and ימר occur only in the
derived signification of "to transform," "to change," "to exchange;"
but the primary signification is furnished by the Arabic, where it
means: _huc illuc latus, agitatus fuit,--fluctuavit._ (Compare the
thorough demonstration by _Scheid_, _ad cant. Hisk._ p. 159 sqq.)
תימרות can accordingly signify only "clouds" or "_vortices_." (In
Arabic, מור means "dust agitated by the wind.") The connection of this
signification with that of "_palpehrae_," "eye-lids," in which it
occurs in the Talmudic and Rabbinical languages, is very obvious. They
were so called from their continual motion hither and thither. Such a
connection, however, we must the more easily be able to prove, because
that Talmudic and Rabbinical use of the word cannot be derived from any
other root than an ancient Hebrew one. The ἀτμίς of the LXX. likewise
leads to our interpretation, rather than to the prevailing one. The
former is, in the only passage in which תימרות occurs, besides the one
under consideration, and where it likewise occurs in the connection
with עשן, viz., in Song of Sol. iii. 6, at least as suitable as the
latter. We have to think here of such phenomena as those which are
described in Exod. xix. 18: "And Mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke,
because the Lord had descended upon [Pg 341] it in fire, and the smoke
thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace." Here, as well as there,
the fire, and the accompanying smoke, represent, in a visible manner,
the truth that God is πῦρ καταναλισκον, Heb. xii. 29. The clouds of
smoke are the sad forerunners of the clouds of smoke of the divine
judgments upon the enemies, and of the fire of war, in the form of
which the former commonly appear. Compare Is. ix. 18, 19: "And they
mount up like the lifting up of smoke.... And the people became as the
fuel of fire; no man spareth his brother." The belief--which pervades
all antiquity--that the angry Deity announced the breaking in of
judgments through the symbolical language of nature, is very
remarkable. This belief cannot be a mere delusion, but must have a deep
root in the heart. Nature is the echo and the reflection of the
disposition of man. If there prevail within him a fearful expectation
of things to come, because he feels his own sin, and that of his
people, all things external harmonize with that expectation; and, most
of all, that which is the natural image and symbol of divine punitive
justice, which would not, however, be acknowledged as such, were it not
for the interpreting voice within. Having regard to this relation of
the mind to nature, God, previous to great catastrophes, often causes
those precursors of them to appear more frequently and vividly, than in
the ordinary course of nature. In a manner especially remarkable, this
took place previous to the destruction of Jerusalem. Compare
_Josephus_, _d. Bell. Jud._ iv. 4, 5. "For during the night, a fearful
storm arose,--there arose boisterous winds with the most violent
showers, continual lightnings and awful thunders, and tremendous
noises, while the earth was shaken. It was, however, quite evident that
the condition of the universe was put into such disorder for the
destruction of men, and almost every one conjectured that these were
the signs of impending calamity." A great number of other signs and
precursors are mentioned by him in _B. J._ vi. 5, § 3. These will never
be altogether absent, as certainly as punishment never comes without
sin, and sin never exists without the consciousness, without the
expectation, of deserved judgment. But the chief point in this mode of
viewing things, is not the sign itself, but the disposition of mind
which interprets it,--the consciousness of guilt, which fills the soul
with the thought of an avenging God,--the [Pg 342] _condition of
filings which brings into view the infliction of the judgment._ It is
by this that we can account for the circumstance that; in the Old
Testament, the darkening of the sun and moon, and other things,
frequently appear as _direct images_ of sad and heavy times.
Ver. 4. "_The sun is turned into darkness, and the moon into blood,
before there cometh the great and terrible day of the Lord._"
Among all interpreters, _Calvin_ has given the most admirable
interpretation of this verse: "When the prophet says that the sun shall
be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, these are
metaphorical expressions, by which he indicates that the Lord will show
signs of His wrath to all the ends of the earth, as if a whole
revolution of nature were to take place, in order that men may be
stirred up by terror. For, as sun and moon are witnesses of God's
fatherly kindness towards us, as long as, in their changes, they
provide the earth with light, so will they, on the other hand, says the
prophet, be the messengers of the angry and offended God.--By the
darkness of the sun, by the bloody appearance of the moon, by the black
cloud of smoke, the prophet intended to express the idea, that
wheresoever men should turn their eyes, upwards or downwards, many
things would appear to fill them with terror. Hence the language of the
prophet amounts to this:--that never had the state of things in the
world been so miserable,--that never had there appeared so many and so
terrible signs of the anger of God."--We have already seen that the
prophet has before his eye the Egyptian type. The darkness upon the
whole land of Egypt, while there was light in the dwellings of the
Israelites, represented, in a deeply impressive manner, the anger of
God in contrast with His grace, of which the symbol is the shining of
His heavenly lights. The extinction of these is, in Scripture,
frequently the forerunner of coming divine judgments, or an image of
those which have been already inflicted; compare the remarks on Zech.
xiv. 6. Thus it has already occurred in the Book of Joel itself, in the
description of the former judgment; compare ii. 2: "Day of darkness and
gloominess, day of clouds and mist;" ii. 10: "Before Him quaketh the
earth, and trembleth the heaven; the sun and the moon mourn, and the
stars withdraw their shining." Thus it returns in iv. [Pg 343] 14, 15:
"The day of the Lord is near in the valley of judgment. The sun and the
moon mourn, and the stars withdraw their shining." The passages in
which, as in the one before us, the extinction has not a _figurative_,
but a _typical_ character, must not be limited to a single phenomenon.
Everything by which the brightness of the heavenly luminaries is
clouded or darkened, eclipses of the sun or moon, earthquakes,
thunderstorms, etc., fill with fear those in whose hearts the sun of
grace has set.
Ver. 5. "_And it comes to pass, every one who calls on the name of the
Lord is saved; for in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be such as have
escaped, as the Lord hath said, and amongst those who are spared is
whomsoever the Lord calleth._"
We must first determine the signification of פליטה. The greater number
of interpreters explain it by "deliverance;" but it means rather "that
which has escaped." This appears, 1. from the form. It is the fem. of
the Adj. פליט, the ־־ִ־י of which has arisen from ־־ֵ־ by means of
lengthening; hence it is that פְלֵיטָה is thrice formed without ־־ִ־י. It
is, then, an adjective of intransitive signification. Now it is true
that, by means of the feminine termination, adjectives are changed into
abstract nouns, but never into such as indicate an action; but always
into such only for which, in Latin and Greek, the neuter of the
adjective might be used. This, however, is here inadmissible. 2. To
this must be added the constant use; as in Is. xxxvii. 31, 32: "And
_that which has escaped_ (פליטת) of the house of Judah, the _remnant_,
taketh root downward, and beareth fruit upward. For out of Jerusalem
shall go forth a _remnant_ (שארית), and _that which has escaped_ out of
Mount Zion,"--a passage exactly parallel to the one under consideration
(compare also the following words in Is. xxxvii. 32: "For the zeal of
the Lord will do this," with "As the Lord hath said," here). Is. iv. 2:
"To that which has escaped," with which, "That which is left in Zion,
and that which remaineth in Jerusalem," in the following verse, is
identical; Is. x. 20: "The remnant (שאר) of Israel, and that which has
escaped of the house of Jacob;" Obad. ver. 17: "And upon Mount Zion
shall be that which has escaped,"--which forms an antithesis to ver. 9:
"And man shall be cut off from the Mount of Esau;" and _finally_--Gen.
xxxii. 9 (8): "And the camp which has been left is for [Pg 344] the
escaped." There does not thus remain a single passage in which the
signification "deliverance" is even the probable one. The passages in
Jeremiah, where שריד ופליט occur together (xlii. 17, xliv. 14; Lam. ii.
2), show that פליטה here is not different from שרידים in the subsequent
clause of the verse.--The expression קרא בשם יהוה never is used of a
merely outward invocation, but always of such as is the external
expression of the faith of the heart; compare the remarks on Zech. xiv.
9. Even on account of this stated condition, it is not possible to
think of the deliverance of the promiscuous multitude of Israel, in
contrast with that of the Gentiles; for the condition is one which is
purely internal, and it affords an important hint for the right
understanding of what follows. The כי by which it is connected remains
inexplicable, if Mount Zion and Jerusalem be considered as a place of
safety and deliverance for all who are there externally. The same thing
is evident from פליטה. The sense is not by any means that all the
inhabitants of Zion and Jerusalem shall be delivered; but that there
shall be some who have escaped--viz., those who call on the name of the
Lord; while those who do not, shall be consumed by the divine judgment.
The second condition stated by the prophet--that of being called by the
Lord--is in like manner internal. The words אֲשֶׁר יְהוָֹה קֹרֵא have so
evident a reference to אֲשֶׁר־יִקְרָא בְּשֵׁם יְהוָה, that we cannot at all
suppose, as _Credner_ does, that they refer to other subjects. On the
contrary, they who _call on_ the Lord, are also they whom _He calls_
from the general calamity into His protecting presence; and the prophet
has endeavoured, by the choice of the words, to bring out into view the
close connection of these two parties. They who call on the Lord, and
they whom the Lord calls (_Maurer's_ explanation: "And among those who
have escaped is every one who calls on the Lord" [compare Ps. xiv. 4],
gives a very feeble tautology), are the very same upon whom, according
to vers, 1 and 2, the fulness of the Spirit has been poured out.--The
words, "As the Lord has said," indicate, that the faithful ones may
safely take comfort from this promise; inasmuch as it is not the word
of men, but of God. We may see, from such parallel passages as Is. i.
20, xiv. 5, lviii. 14, how little reason we have for thinking that the
prophet here refers to some other prophecy. That the prophet, and not
the Lord Himself, is speaking in this verse, [Pg 345] is evident from
the words: "Who calls on the name _of the Lord_." It was, therefore,
very suitable to show, that it was by Immediate, divine commission that
the prophet had given utterance to the consolatory promise, that the
people of God would escape in these great and heavy judgments which
were to come upon the world. That it is very natural for believers to
fear that the punishments which threaten the world should fall upon
them also who are living _in_ the world, is shown by Rev. vii., the aim
of which is, throughout, to allay the anxious fear which might arise in
believers when considering the judgments which threaten the world. The
relation of the whole verse to what precedes and follows is this:--In
vers. 3 and 4, the prophet had stated the signs and forerunners of the
great and fearful day of the Lord. Now he points to the only, and the
absolutely sure means of standing on that day. Then, in chap. iv.,
which is connected by כי, he describes the judgment itself.
If, now, we endeavour to discover the historical reference of vers.
3-5, we are met by a great variety of opinions. It is referred to the
destruction of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans, by _Grotius_, _Cramer_,
_Turrettine_ (_de Scrip, s. interpret._ p. 331); among the Socinians,
in the _Raccovian Catechism_, p. 22, and by _Oeder_; and among the
Arminians, by _Episcopius_ in the _Instit. Theol._ p. 198. Others (as
_Jerome_) think of the resurrection of the Lord; others (as _Luther_)
of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit; others (as _Münster_, _Capell_,
_Lightfoot_, _Dresde_, l.c. p. 22) of the destruction by the Romans. It
is referred to the judgment upon the enemies of the Covenant-people
soon after the return from the Babylonish captivity, by _Ephraem
Syrus_; to the impending overthrow of Gog, at the time of the Messiah,
by the Jewish interpreters; to the general judgment, by _Tertullian_,
_Theodoret_, and _Crusius_, In _Theol. Prophet._ i. p. 621; and to the
destruction of Jerusalem, and the general judgment at the same time, by
_Chrysostom_ and others.
The great variety of these references has arisen solely from the
circumstance, that the prophecy has not been reduced to its fundamental
idea. This fundamental idea is:--The manifestation of God's punitive
justice upon all which is hostile to His kingdom, which runs parallel
with the manifestation of His grace towards the subjects of His
kingdom. This idea appears here, in all its generality, without any
temporal limitation [Pg 346] whatsoever. Not one of these
interpretations, therefore, can be absolutely right. They differ only
in this, that some of them are altogether false, inasmuch as they
assume a reference to events which do not at all fall under the
fundamental idea; while others are only limited and partial views of
the truth.
To the first of these classes belong evidently the references to the
resurrection, and to the outpouring of the Holy Ghost. It is only by
detaching these verses from the following chapter that such a view
could arise. These events stand in no relation whatsoever to the
animating thought of the passage. There is a certain relation to that
thought in the reference to the destruction by the Chaldeans, in so far
as this was really a manifestation of divine punitive justice. But the
reference to this event would be admissible here, only if the prophet
were describing the manifestation of divine punitive justice _in
general_. But such is not the case. The comparison of chap. i. and ii.
shows that the subject of the prophecy is rather the manifestation of
divine justice in reference to those who are enemies to the kingdom of
God. The defenders of such a view have altogether misunderstood the
structure of the prophecy of Joel; for, otherwise, they would have seen
that that event belongs to the threatening of judgment in chap. i. and
ii., where the judgment upon the house of God is described; while,
here, there is a description of the judgment upon those who are
without.
The same argument seems, at first sight, to apply also to the
destruction by the Romans. But on a closer examination, there appears
to be a difference betwixt these two events, and one which brings the
latter far more within the scope of the prophecy. The destruction by
the Romans was much more intimately connected with a total apostasy and
rejection, than was that by the Chaldeans. Even before the former
destruction, and immediately after the death of Christ, the former
Covenant-people had sunk down to the rank of the Gentiles. They were no
more apostate children, who were, by means of punishment, to be brought
to reformation, but enemies, who were judged on account of their
hostile disposition towards the kingdom of God. Malachi, in chap. iii.
23 (iv. 5), shows that such a time would come when that, which they
imagined to be intended only for the heathen by descent, should be
realized upon Israel after the flesh. The verbal repetition of the
words, "Before there [Pg 347] cometh the great and dreadful day of the
Lord," and their application to the judgment upon Israel, can be
accounted for only by his intention to oppose the prevailing carnal
interpretation of the prophecy under consideration.
It will now be seen also, what the relation is which the phenomena at
the death of Christ, the darkening of the sun, the quaking of the
earth, the rending of the rocks (compare Matt. xxvii. 45, 51; Luke
xxiii. 44), occupy to the passage before us. They were like the מופתים
here, actual declarations of the divine wrath, and forerunners of the
approaching judgment; and they were recognised as such by the guilty,
to whom this symbolical language was interpreted by their consciences;
compare Luke xxiii. 48: Καὶ πάντες οἱ συμπαραγενόμενοι ὄχλοι; ἐπὶ τὴν
θεωρίαν ταύτην, θεωροῦντες τὰ γενόμενα, τύπτοντες ἑαυτῶν τὰ στήθη,
ὑπέστρεφον.
But we must not limit ourselves to the obduracy of the Covenant-people.
This we are taught, not only by the relation of chap. i. and ii. to iv.
2, but, with especial distinctness, by the renewal of this threatening
in Rev. xiv. 14-20, where the image of the vintage and winepress, in
particular, is borrowed from Joel; see iv. 12, 13. The objects of
judgment are there the heathen nations on account of their hostility to
the people of God, who, by Christ, and by the outpouring of the Spirit
procured by Him, have fully attained to that dignity. Nor is the
judgment there an isolated one. On the contrary, all which, in history,
is realized in an entire series of judicial acts, to be at last
consummated in the final judgment, is there comprehended in one great
harvest--in one great vintage.
We have still to make a few remarks upon the quotation in Acts ii. 16
ff. Nothing but narrow-mindedness and prejudice could deny that Peter
found, in the miracle of Pentecost, an actual fulfilment of the promise
in vers. 1 and 2. This becomes probable, not only from the
circumstance, that the reference of this prophecy to the Messianic time
was the prevailing one among the Jews (compare the passages in
_Schöttgen_, S. 413), but also from the translation of אחרי־כן by ἐν
ταῖς ἐσχάταις ἡμέραις, by which, in the New Testament, the Messianic
time is always designated. To this must also be added the express
declaration in ver. 39, that the promise was unto the generation then
present. How could Peter have uttered such a declaration, [Pg 348] if
his view had been that the promise had found its fulfilment in a time
long gone past? At the same time, it is equally certain, that Peter was
so far from considering all the riches of the promise to be completely
exhausted by that Pentecostal miracle, that he rather considered it to
be only a beginning of the fulfilment,--a beginning, indeed, which
implies the consummation, as the germ contains the tree. This is quite
obvious from ver. 38: μετανοήσατε καὶ βαπτισθήτω ἕκαστοσ ὑμῶν.... καὶ
λήψεσθε τὴν δωρεὰν τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος. How could Peter, referring to
the prophecy, promise the gift of the Holy Spirit, promised in the
prophecy to those who should be converted, if the prophecy was already
completely fulfilled? But it is still more apparent from ver. 39: Ὑμῖν
γάρ ἐστιν ἡ ἐπαγγελία καὶ τοῖς τέκνοις ὑμῶν, καὶ πᾶσι τοῖς εἰς μακρὰν,
ὄσους ἂν προσκαλέσηται Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς ἡμῶν. The question is, who are to
be understood by those εἰς μακρὰν? No one could have doubted that the
Gentiles are thereby to be understood, unless two things altogether
heterogeneous had been confounded, viz., the uncertainty of Peter
concerning the _fact_ of the reception of the Gentiles into the kingdom
of God, and his uncertainty concerning the _mode_ of their reception.
Considering the condition of the Old Testament prophecy, the latter is
easily accounted for; but the former cannot. To state only one from
among the mass of arguments which prove that Peter could not be
ignorant of the _fact_, we observe that the very manner in which, in
Acts iii. 25, he quotes the promise given to Abraham, that by his seed
the nations should be blessed, proves that he regarded the Gentiles as
partakers of the kingdom of Christ. This is rendered still more
incontrovertible by the πρῶτον in ver. 26. To understand, by εἰς
μακρὰν, foreign Jews, is inadmissible, for the single reason that these
were present in great numbers, and hence, were included in the term
ὑμῖν. Now Peter, throughout, addresses all those who were present. How
then could he have here confined himself, all at once, to a portion of
these I There is, moreover, a plain allusion to the close of Joel iii.
5, which the LXX. translate οὓς Κύριος προσκέκληται. This allusion
contains, at the same time, a proof of the concurrent reference to the
Gentiles, which is not in express words contained in the prophecy,
provided we do not put an arbitrary interpretation upon בשר. Attention
is thereby directed [Pg 349] to the fact, that, In that passage,
salvation, which requires, as its condition, a participation in the
outpouring of the Spirit, does not depend upon any human cause, but
solely upon the call of God--upon His free grace. In a manner entirely
similar, does St Paul, in Rom. x. 12, 13, prove, from the beginning of
Joel iii. 5, the participation of the Gentiles in the Messianic
kingdom: Οὐ γάρ ἐστι διαστολὴ Ἰουδαίου τε καὶ Ἕλληνος· ὁ γὰρ αὐτὸς
Κύριος πάντων, πλουτῶν εἰς πάντας τοὺς ἐπικαλουμένους αὐτόν. Πᾶς γὰρ ὃς
ἂν ἐπικαλέσηται τὸ ὄνομα Κυρίου, σωθήσεται. If the calling on God were
the condition of salvation, access to it was as free to the Gentiles as
to the Jews. But if the prophecy has a distinct reference to the still
unconverted Jews, their children and the Gentiles, it is then evident,
that, according to the view of the Apostle, it did not terminate in
that one instance of Its fulfilment, but that, on the contrary, it
extends just as far as the thing promised--as the outpouring itself of
the Holy Spirit. This clearly appears, also, from the allusions to the
passage under consideration. In the accounts of later outpourings of
the Spirit; compare, _e.g._, Acts x. 45, xi. 15, xv. 8. How, then, was
it even possible that Peter should have limited to the few who had
already, at that time, received the Spirit, a prophecy, in which the
idea of generality is, intentionally, made so prominent? But, even if
the universal character of the prophecy had been less distinct, Peter
would certainly not have thought of confining it in such a manner. Such
a gross and superficial view of the prophecies was far from Peter, as
well as from the other Apostles.
Another question remains to be answered. For what purpose does the
Apostle quote verses 3-5 also, inasmuch as, apparently, verses 1 and 2
alone properly served his purpose; and what sense did he put upon them?
The answer Is given In ver. 40: Ἑτέροις τε λόγοις πλείοσι διεμαρτύρετο,
καὶ παρεκάλει, λέγων· Σώθητε ἀπὸ τῆς γενεᾶς τῆς σκολιᾶς ταύτης. Even in
the few words In which Luke communicates to us the brief summary of
what Peter spoke In this respect, a reference to the passage under
consideration has been preserved to us. Peter made use of the
threatening which was, in the first Instance, to be fulfilled upon the
dark refuse of the Covenant-people, In order to Induce them, by terror,
to seek a participation in the promise which alone could deliver them
[Pg 350] from the threatened judgment. That he succeeded in this, is
shown by the words, Ἐγένετο δὲ πάσῃ φόβος, in ver. 43. Several
interpreters have, by ver. 22, been led into a total misconception of
the sense in which Peter quotes vers. 3-5. It is true, certainly, that
the words τέρασι καὶ σημείοις are not used without reference to the
passage in Joel. Peter directs attention to the circumstance, that they
who, from their hardness of heart, do not acknowledge the τέρατα and
σημεῖα with which God accompanied the manifestation of His grace, shall
be visited by τέρατα and σημεῖα of a totally different nature, from the
fearful impression of which they shall not be able to escape.
But let us now in addition consider some of the particulars. In
substance, the quotation by Peter agrees with the LXX.; but deviations
occur on particular points. At the very beginning, the LXX., adhering
more closely to the Hebrew text, have: καὶ ἔσται μετὰ ταῦτα; whereas
Peter says: καὶ ἔσται ἐν ταῖς ἐσχάταις ἡμέραις. The reason of this
deviation is, that the Apostle intends to determine, by this deviation,
the expression, which in itself is wider and more indefinite, in such a
manner that the period to which the prophecy specially refers, and
hence also its application to the case in question, should be rendered
more obvious. In a case entirely similar, Jeremiah, in chap. xlix. 6,
employs the wider term אחרי־כן, while in xlviii. 47 he makes use of the
more definite באחרית הימים. By the latter term, _Kimchi_ also explains
the אחרי־כן in the passage before us; while _Jarchi_ (compare
_Schöttgen_, S. 210) explains it by the equivalent term לעתיד לבא. The
words λέγει ὁ Θεός are wanting in the LXX., as well as in the original
Hebrew text. They have been taken from ver. 5, and, contrasted with τὸ
εἰρημένον διὰ τοῦ προφήτου Ἰωήλ, they direct attention to the divine
source of prophecy, and hence to the necessity of its fulfilment. The
two members, καὶ οἱ πρεσβύτεροι ὑμῶν ἐνύπνια ἐνυπνιασθήσονται, καὶ οἱ
νεανίσκοι ὑμῶν ὀράσεις ὄψονται, Peter has reversed; probably in order
to place the young men together with the sons and daughters, and to
assign the place of honour to the old men. In the δούλους μου and
δούλας μου, Peter follows the LXX., and that in a sense which only
expressly makes prominent a point really contained in the prophecy,
whether such was intended by the translators, or not; for the
circumstance that the servants of men were, at the same [Pg 351]time,
servants of God, formed the ground of their participation in the
promise. The same contrast is found, _e.g._, in 1 Cor. vii. 22, 23: Ὁ
γὰρ ἐν Κυρίῳ κληθεὶς δοῦλος ἀπελεύθερος Κυρίου ἐστίν· ὁμοίως καὶ ὁ
ἐλεύθερος κληθεὶς, δοῦλός ἐστι Χριστοῦ. Τιμῆς ἠγοράσθητε· μὴ γίνεσθε
δοῦλοι ἀνθρώπων; compare Gal. iii. 28; Philem. 10. Hence it is
equivalent to: Upon servants and handmaids of men who are, at the same
time, my servants and handmaids, and, therefore, in spiritual things of
equal rank with those who are free. To give prominence to this perfect
equality, is also the design of the additional clause: καὶ
προφητεύσουσι, subjoined after ἐκχεῶ ἀπὸ τοῦ πνεύματός μου. The
circumstance that Peter thought it necessary to add this clause, which,
as we have proved, quite harmonizes with the design of the prophet,
seems to prove that, even at his time, interpretations were current, in
which an attempt was made to diminish, or altogether to take away, in
the case of servants and handmaids, their participation in those
blessings;--interpretations similar to those of _Abarbanel_, and even
of _Grotius_, who thus paraphrases the verse: "Even to those who seem
to be lowest, I will certainly impart, although not prophesying and
dreaming dreams, yet certain extraordinary and heavenly motions." The
antiquity of this false interpretation is attested by _Jerome_ also,
who probably was, in this respect, altogether dependent upon his Jewish
teachers. He interprets, indeed, the servants and handmaids
spiritually, and of such as have not the spirit of freedom he says:
"They shall neither have prophecies, nor dreams nor visions, but,
satisfied with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, they shall possess
only the grace of faith and salvation."--In ver. 3, Peter adds ἄνω to
ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ, and κάτω to ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, in order to make the contrast
more obvious and striking. All the deviations from the LXX., and the
original text, are thus of the same kind, and intended to bring out
more distinctly what is implied in the passage itself. Not one of them
need to be accounted for by the circumstance, that the Apostle quoted
from memory.
Footnote 1: He says: "The sense in which the universality must be
understood is clearly indicated by what follows. For, it is first said,
in general, 'All flesh,' and afterwards, a specification is added, by
which the prophet intimates, that age or sex will not constitute any
difference, but that God will bring them all, without any distinction,
into the communion of His grace."
Footnote 2: The two parallel members prove, in opposition to _Redslob_
and others, that the verb נבא here, as everywhere else, has reference
to an ecstatic condition, to the speaking in the Spirit, although this
is by no means limited to a revelation of the future. The closeness of
the connection between prophesying, dreaming dreams, and seeing
visions, is evident from Num. xii. 6, where visions and dreams appear
as the two principal forms of revelation to the נביא.
[Pg 352]