_For_, &c. This particle shows the connection of this chapter with the latter part of the preceding: as if he had said, As an earnest of the accomplishment of these predictions, my people shall be restored to their own land, and then their enemies shall be humbled: see note on Joel 2:28. _In those d... [ Continue Reading ]
_They have cast lots for my people_ It was customary with conquerors, in those days, to divide the captives, taken in war, among themselves by lot, and so did these enemies of the Jews. _And have given a boy for a harlot_ By this is meant, that they exchanged, or gave away, Jewish boys, instead of m... [ Continue Reading ]
_O Tyre, and Zidon_, &c. “When the Babylonians, the appointed instruments of my vengeance, afflict my land, why do you also, and the bordering nations, assist them? Do you take this occasion of avenging the former victories of my people over you? If so, this your act of revenge shall be speedily pun... [ Continue Reading ]
_Because ye have taken my silver and my gold_ Have taken out of my temple the silver and golden vessels dedicated to my service; _and have carried into your temples my goodly pleasant things_ Hebrew, _my desirable goodly things._ God's temple was several times despoiled of its ornaments by the Chald... [ Continue Reading ]
_The children also of Judah, &c., have ye sold unto the Grecians _ The descendants of Javan, Genesis 10:2; Genesis 10:5. They trafficked with Tyre, and traded in slaves, Ezekiel 27:13. It was customary for the merchants of the neighbouring countries, particularly of Tyre and Sidon, to buy the childr... [ Continue Reading ]
_Behold, I will raise them_, &c. I will restore them, or their posterity, out of their several captivities whither their enemies have dispersed them. Grotius on this place mentions, that Alexander and his successors set at liberty many Jews, who were slaves in Greece. Many also, on occasion of Cyrus... [ Continue Reading ]
_Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles_ “God having foretold these judgments against Tyre and Sidon, the Philistines, and the neighbouring nations, who had used the Jews with injustice and cruelty, proceeds here to confirm his people in the belief of the certainty of their destruction; which he tells... [ Continue Reading ]
_Thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O Lord_ After the prophet has given warning, in the way of irony, to the nations to provide for their defence by all possible means, and to assemble themselves together from all parts, that they might strive with their united force; he, in the conclusion... [ Continue Reading ]
_Put ye in the sickle_ Ye executioners of divine vengeance: begin to reap; cut down sinners ripe for judgment; let the king of Assyria and his soldiers cut down Syria and its king, for their violence against my people. Let Cyaxares and his armies cut down Assyria. Let Nebuchadnezzar cut down Moab, A... [ Continue Reading ]
_Multitudes_, &c. These are Joel's words, exclaiming, with prophetic warmth and agitation, _Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision!_ As though he had said, See what astonishing numbers are brought together for their destruction! The sentence, thus abrupt and broken, is very strong and emph... [ Continue Reading ]
_The Lord shall roar out of Zion_ He shall strike the enemies of his people with astonishment, as the roaring of the lion astonishes the weaker beasts of the forest. _And the heavens and the earth shall shake_ The destruction shall be as certain and dreadful as though God's enemies were destroyed by... [ Continue Reading ]
_So shall ye know that I am the Lord dwelling in Zion_ Very graciously present with you, and ever watching over you and delighting to save you. _Then shall Jerusalem be holy_ After the church's enemies are destroyed, the Messiah is come, and the remnant saved, the people of God shall be holy. _There... [ Continue Reading ]
_The mountains shall drop down new wine_ Namely, the vines planted upon the mountains. _The hills shall flow with milk_ So fruitful shall the hills be, that milk shall abound everywhere. _And all the rivers_, &c. These expressions are all figurative, and highly poetical, and, according to Calmet, sy... [ Continue Reading ]
_Egypt shall be a desolation, and Edom_, &c. These two people were remarkable for the spite they bore to the Jews. The Egyptians were their oppressors when they first became a nation, and afterward exercised great cruelties upon them, during the reign of the Egyptian kings who were Alexander's succe... [ Continue Reading ]
_I will cleanse their blood_, &c. The word _blood_ seems here to signify pollution in general; and the promise implies, that God would perfectly purge away the guilt and defilement of all the sins of his people, by a free pardon and entire sanctification. Calmet, who applies this to the times of the... [ Continue Reading ]