" Is. liv. 6; Jer. ii. 2, iii. 4.—Of great 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 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 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 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 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 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 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," ומשלת בגוים רבים ובך לא ימשלו. 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," משלו בנו. 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 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 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."