Lesson 151 - Joel
LESSON PREP
From the Online Lesson - Background on the Imagery of Joel 1:1-14
The Use of Imagery in Hebrew Literature
Hebrew literature is noted for its rich imagery. In these verses and those that follow, Joel used the figure of a famine to portray Judah’s future.
The palmerworm is the Hebrew gazam, which means “gnawer.”
The locust is in Hebrew arbeth, which means “many.”
The cankerworm is the Hebrew yeleq, which means “licker”;
and the caterpillar is the Hebrew chasil, which means “consumer”
(see Adam Clarke, The Holy Bible … with a Commentary and Critical Notes, 4:658).
These Hebrew terms refer to the stages of development in the life of a locust. Such imagery fixed forever in the minds of the Jews the devastation prophesied by Joel for the latter days.
Looking at what happened to Judah in Joel’s day, many scholars feel that
the palmerworm was a metaphor for the Assyrian-Babylonian invasions of the Holy Land.
What these two empires left, the Medes and Persians “ate” during their invasions.
the cankerworm could also represent the invasions and suppression of the Holy Land by Greece under Alexander the Great and his successors. hen the caterpillar would represent the invasion that consumed Judah when she was overrun by Rome and eventually destroyed by Titus.
These references seem also to apply to the coming battle of Armageddon, when armies from the north will gather and fight just before the Millennium.
The Use of Imagery in Hebrew Literature
Hebrew literature is noted for its rich imagery. In these verses and those that follow, Joel used the figure of a famine to portray Judah’s future.
The palmerworm is the Hebrew gazam, which means “gnawer.”
The locust is in Hebrew arbeth, which means “many.”
The cankerworm is the Hebrew yeleq, which means “licker”;
and the caterpillar is the Hebrew chasil, which means “consumer”
(see Adam Clarke, The Holy Bible … with a Commentary and Critical Notes, 4:658).
These Hebrew terms refer to the stages of development in the life of a locust. Such imagery fixed forever in the minds of the Jews the devastation prophesied by Joel for the latter days.
Looking at what happened to Judah in Joel’s day, many scholars feel that
the palmerworm was a metaphor for the Assyrian-Babylonian invasions of the Holy Land.
What these two empires left, the Medes and Persians “ate” during their invasions.
the cankerworm could also represent the invasions and suppression of the Holy Land by Greece under Alexander the Great and his successors. hen the caterpillar would represent the invasion that consumed Judah when she was overrun by Rome and eventually destroyed by Titus.
These references seem also to apply to the coming battle of Armageddon, when armies from the north will gather and fight just before the Millennium.
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Clip from Oct 2022 General Conference
Download MP4: CLICK HERE
Download MP4: CLICK HERE