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Joel
Prophet Joel as imagined by Michelangelo (Fresco, Sistine Chapel Ceiling, 1508–1512).
Prophet
Venerated in	Judaism Christianity Islam Baháʼí Faith
Major shrine	Gush Halav, Israel
Feast	October 19 (Orthodox)
Attributes	Prophet
Major works	Book of Joel

Joel (/ˈdʒoʊəl/; Hebrew: יוֹאֵל – Yōʾēl; Greek: Ἰωήλ – Iōḗl; Syriac: ܝܘܐܝܠ – Yu'il) is a Biblical prophet, the second of the Twelve Minor Prophets, and, according to itself, the author of the Book of Joel, which is set in the early Assyrian period. Scholars meanwhile view the Book of Joel as having been completed in the Ptolemaic period (c. 301-201 BC) due to its use of earlier texts and perspective on Yahweh and the nations.

Name

Joel is mentioned by name only once in the Hebrew Bible, in the introduction to that book, as the son of Pethuel (Joel 1:1). The name combines the covenant name of God, YHWH (or Yahweh), and El (god), and has been translated as "YHWH is God" or "one to whom YHWH is God," that is, a worshiper of YHWH.

Life

Some commentators suggest that Joel lived in the 9th century BC, whereas others assign him to the 5th or 4th century BC. The dating of his book is similarly debated; there are no mentions of kings that might help locate it in time. The book's mention of Greeks has not given scholars any help in dating the text since the Greeks were known to have had access to Judah from Mycenaean times (c. 1600–1100 BC). However, the book's mention of Judah's suffering and to the standing temple have led some scholars to place the date of the book in the post-exilic period, after the construction of the Second Temple. Joel was originally from Judah/Judea, and, judging from its prominence in his prophecy, was quite possibly a prophet associated with the ritual of either Solomon's or the Second temple, depending on the date when he lived.

According to a long-standing tradition, Joel was buried in Gush Halav. In the western outskirts of the modern village, there is a structure that has long been considered Joel's tomb, which contains several ancient rock-cut tombs.

In Christianity

On the Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar, his feast day is 19 October.

In the Roman Martyrology, the prophet is commemorated on 13 July.

He is commemorated with the other minor prophets in the Calendar of saints of the Armenian Apostolic Church on 31 July.

Joel's statement 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" was applied by St Peter in his sermon at Pentecost to the events of that day.

According to the Eastern Orthodox Christian hymns, the ancient hymnographer Anatolius links Joel's prophecy to the birth of Christ. In Joel 2:30, he says that the blood refers to the incarnation of Jesus Christ, the fire to the Divinity of Christ, and the pillars of smoke to the Holy Spirit.

In the Baháʼí Faith

Joel is considered a minor prophet in the Baháʼí Faith. In the Kitab-i-Iqan, Baha'ullah states that previous prophecies by minor prophets such as Joel have symbolic meanings and significance and therefore should not be understood literally.

References

Citations

1. “Joel.” Hagedorn, Anselm C. The Oxford Handbook of the Minor Prophets. Edited by Julia M. O'Brien. pp. 411–423. “The book's engagement with earlier texts ( especially those relating to the ‘Day of Yahweh’) attests to its late origin, and its ending reflects late theological thinking about the relationship between Israel and the nations, portraying Yahweh as the ruler of the whole world…These theological debates point to a very late origin of Joel 2:28-3:21 . The universal judgment of the nations probably belongs to discourse of the late Persian period (Steck 1996), while the vision of Joel 2:28-32 may best be understood during the relative peace of Ptolemaic times.”
2. ^ "Commentary by A. R. Faussett". Jfb.biblecommenter.com. Archived from the original on 26 April 2009. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
3. Anderson 1968, p. 524.
4. Joel 3:6
5. Noegel & Wheeler 2010, p. 172.
6. Joel 3:19
7. Joel 1:14
8. Allen 1976, p. 31.
9. "Gush HaLav". Jewishvirtuallibrary.org. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
10. Cinamon, G. (2013). Gush Halav. Hadashot Arkheologiyot: Excavations and Surveys in Israel/חדשות ארכיאולוגיות: חפירות וסקרים בישראל.
11. ^ "Prophet Joel in the Eastern Orthodox Church". Orthodox Church of America. Archived from the original on October 10, 2018. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
12. "Roman Martyrology, Complete, July". Boston Catholic Journal. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
13. Acts 2:16–21
14. McLean 1997, p. 32.
15. Esslemont 2006, p. 251.

Sources

• Allen, Leslie C. (1976). The Books of Joel, Obadiah, Jonah, and Micah. Wm. B. Eerdmans. ISBN 978-0-8028-2531-5.
• Anderson, B.W. (1968). The Living World of the Old Testament. Longmans. ISBN 978-0-582-50941-2.
• Esslemont, J. E. (2006). Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era: An Introduction to the Baháʼí Faith. Baháʼí Publishing Trust. ISBN 978-1-931847-27-8.
• McLean, J. A. (1997). Revisioning the Sacred: New Perspectives on a Bahá'í Theology. Kalimat Press. ISBN 978-0-933770-96-6.
• Noegel, Scott B.; Wheeler, Brannon M. (2010). "Joel". The A to Z of Prophets in Islam and Judaism. Scarecrow. ISBN 978-1-4617-1895-6.

External links

• Four Prophets at Chabad.org

• Prophets in the Hebrew Bible
• 1st-millennium BC births
• 1st-millennium BC deaths
• Book of Joel
• Christian saints from the Old Testament