Minor Prophets · Old Testament
Joel
c. 835 BC (date debated)
- Section
- Minor Prophets · Old Testament
- Events span
- c. 835 BC (date debated)
- Written
- c. 835 BC
- Author
- Joel son of Pethuel
A devastating locust plague becomes for Joel a picture of the coming “day of the LORD.” He calls Judah to repent, promises restoration, and foretells the day when God will pour out his Spirit on all people, the prophecy Peter quotes at Pentecost.
Historical setting: Kingdom of Judah, called to repentance after a devastating locust plague (the book's date is debated).
Chronological placement: The date is uncertain; traditionally placed early (c. 835 BC), so it is positioned here among the earlier prophets.
Key themes
- The day of the LORD
- Repentance
- The locust plague
- Outpouring of the Spirit
- Restoration and blessing
Key events
- A locust plague devastates the land, a foretaste of the day of the LORD
- Joel calls the nation to fast and weep: "rend your heart, and not your garments"
- God promises to restore "the years that the locust hath eaten"
- God will pour out his Spirit on all flesh, with signs before the day of the LORD
- God will judge the nations in the valley of decision and dwell with his people
Key lessons
- God can use disaster to wake a complacent people; the locust plague becomes a summons to repent before a far greater day of reckoning. Joel 1
- True repentance is inward, not just outward: “rend your heart, and not your garments,” turning to a God who is gracious and merciful. Joel 2:12–13
- God restores what sin and judgment have devoured, promising to repay “the years that the locust hath eaten” and to pour out his Spirit on all flesh. Joel 2:25–28
“And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:”
Critical scholarship view
Where mainstream critical scholarship dates or attributes this book differently from the traditional view above.
- Written
- c. 400 BC (post-exilic)
- Author
- Joel; date and setting uncertain