{"id":76773,"date":"2020-07-01T15:34:13","date_gmt":"2020-07-01T12:34:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=76773"},"modified":"2020-07-01T15:34:13","modified_gmt":"2020-07-01T12:34:13","slug":"the-quintessential-prophet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/the-quintessential-prophet\/","title":{"rendered":"The Quintessential Prophet\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Perhaps no prophet encapsulates the Tanakh’s prophetic message better than Joel. We know little about Joel\u2013 yet we can easily close our eyes and envision dark clouds of locusts slowly approaching on the horizon, quietly blotting out the sun. Listen carefully and we hear the distant echo of approaching hooves and chariots, a dull, deep rhythmic sound that slowly gets louder.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Joel contains a terrifying portrayal of approaching terrors, but he also manages to reinforce our belief in God’s mercy, using some of the most magnificent expressions of comfort found in the prophetic works. Both philosophical and practical, Joel dares to ask the fundamental question – when catastrophe strikes, how do we react? Do we give in to despair in times of trouble, or do we find new reservoirs of faith, persevere, and grow? His 73 verses contain 43 separate commands to his listeners – weep, awake, lament, assemble, repent, sound an alarm, fast, return, and rejoice.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Joel is traditionally read in synagogues worldwide on the Shabbat after Rosh HaShanah \u2013 <\/span>Shabbat Shuvah<\/span><\/i> \u2013 the Sabbath of Repentance. Our previous chapter in Trei Asar, Hosea 14, assures us that repentance is possible \u2013 Joel challenges us to seize that opportunity when it comes.<\/span><\/p>\n

Joel ranks among the hardest prophets to determine when he prophesied \u2013 the book references no specific historical event or figure. Rabbinic thought (TB Taanit 5a) equates the locust plague that Joel so vividly describes in chapter 1 with the famine depicted in 2 Kings 6:24-8:1 (between 850-800 BCE). This is the Radak’s view as well:<\/span><\/p>\n

[He] prophesied first about the locusts, [and then] about the future, the days of Messiah. Some say he presented this prophecy in the days of Jehoram ben Ahab, when there was a famine in the land, as it is written (Melachim II 8:1), “For God has called for a famine, and it has come to the land for seven years.” Four years were the four types of locusts, and three years were of drought.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, the trend among modern commentators and scholars is to date Joel much later. In his commentary in <\/span>Daat Mikra<\/span><\/i>, Amos Hakham observes:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2026 Some say that Joel prophesied soon after the construction of the second Temple. There is evidence for this view: Joel used the name Judah even where the intent was certainly for the entire, promised land of Israel (4:20).<\/span><\/p>\n

Also, in his appeal to the people to repent, he does not enumerate specific sins, neither does he mention idolatry – regarding which the prophets rebuked at length in the first Temple, but which was uprooted from Israel in the second Temple. Joel does not mention the king when he speaks about the nation gathering to pray in the house of God\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

Fortunately, the lack of certainty of when Joel lived does not hamper us from appreciating Joel’s message \u2013 and possibly helps makes that message even more timeless.<\/span><\/p>\n","image":false,"embedded_video":"","video_duration":"","show_fb_comments":true,"credit_media":""},"tile":{"top_caption":"The Quintessential Prophet\u00a0","main_caption":"Joel asks the fundamental question: how do we react when catastrophe strikes? Do we give in to despair, or do we find new reservoirs of faith, persevere, and grow?","main_caption_size":"1","sub_caption":"","preview_embedded":"","preview_image":false,"preview_video":"","external_link":"","link_for_pay":false,"tile_gallery_items":false,"credits":""},"alternate_tile":{"top_caption":"","main_caption":"","main_caption_size":"1","sub_caption":"","hide_media":false},"tile_group":{"preview_image_url":false,"main_caption":"","sub_caption":"","":null,"popup_package_extra_content":"","read_time":""},"home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo":{"seo_title":"","seo_description":"","seo_default_title":"","seo_default_description":""},"links":false},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76773"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=76773"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76773\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":76774,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76773\/revisions\/76774"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76773"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76773"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76773"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}