In chap. ii. 25, "And I restore to you the years (השנים) which the locusts have eaten," etc., several years of calamity are spoken of. But we cannot agree with Ewald in thinking that the land was, for several years, laid waste by locusts: we are prevented from doing so by the single word יתר in chap. i. 4. Bochart rightly remarks: "The produce of the new year cannot be called the residue of the former year. That word is much more applicable to the fruits of some fields, which are passed by, or to the residue left in a field, which should be eaten up in the same year." As little can we suppose, with Ewald, that the plural is here used with reference to the effects produced, by the devastation of one year, upon the ensuing years; for it is not a possible loss which is here spoken of, but one which has actually taken place. The prophet then passes, here also, from the image to the thing itself,—to the hostile invasions extending over longer periods, which he describes under the image of a devastation by locusts which, at one time, took place.

Very strong arguments in favour of the figurative explanation are furnished, in addition, by chap. iv. (iii.). The whole announcement of punishment and judgment upon the heathen nations has sense and meaning, only when, in the preceding context, there has been mention made of the crime which they committed against the Lord and His people. In that case, we have before us the three main subjects of prophecy,—God's judgments upon His people by heathen enemies, their obtaining mercy, and the punishment of the enemies. At the very beginning of chap. iv. (iii.) the sufferings of Israel, described in chap. i. and ii., and the judgment upon the heathen, are brought into the closest connection. According to chap. iv. 1, 2, the gathering of the Gentiles is to take place at a time when the Lord will return to the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem, i.e., according to the constant usus loquendi (compare my Commentary on Ps. xiv. 7), when He will grant them, mercy, and deliver them from their misery.^[1] But that this misery can be none other than that described in chap. i. and ii. appears simply from the fact, that this has been declared to be the close of all the judgments of God.—We must, further, not overlook the article in את־כל־הגוים in chap. iv. 2, and, accordingly, must not translate, "I will gather all nations," but "all the nations." And how could this be explained in any other way than—all the nations which are spoken of in the preceding chapters under the image of locusts? But of special importance is the second part of the verse: "And I plead there with them concerning My people, and My heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and distributed My land."^[2] It is quite impossible that there should here be the mention of anything which happened before the time of Joel. Whatever period we may assign to him, he belongs, at all events, to a time in which a scattering of Israel among the Gentiles, and a distribution of their land, had not as yet taken place. Credner, indeed, believes that the calamities under Jehoram are sufficient to account for these expressions. "At that time," he says, "the Edomites revolted from Judah; Libnah, which belonged to Judah In the stricter sense, rebelled; the Arabs and Philistines invaded the kingdom and plundered its capital; those inroads did then not terminate without a diminution of the territory of Judah." But all this is irrelevant; the discourse concerns the distribution of the land of the Lord. The rebellion of a heathen tributary people does not, therefore, here come under consideration. Just as little can we see what Libnah has to do here. It belonged, it is true, to the kingdom of Judah; but the heathen nations had nothing to do with its rebellion;—for this, according to 2 Kings viii. 22, and 2 Chron. xxi. 10, proceeded from the inhabitants, who were dissatisfied with the bad government of the king, and was speedily brought to a close. It cannot then be proved, that even some small portion of the territory was lost at that time; far less, that the whole country was apportioned anew. It is quite the same as regards the dispersion among the Gentiles. The invasion of the Philistines cannot here come into consideration, because, in ver. 4, these enemies are expressly distinguished from those who had effected the dispersion of the people, and the distribution of the land: "And ye also, what have ye to do with Me, O Tyre and Sidon, and all the borders of Palestine?" The prophet can thus not be speaking of something which had taken place at his time; but as little can he speak of something still future, which had not been touched upon by him when he threatened punishment upon the Covenant-people; for the devastation by the locusts appears as the highest and last calamity of the future. Nothing, therefore, remains but to suppose, that under the image of the devastation by locusts, the devastation of the country by heathen enemies, and the dispersion of its inhabitants, are described,—a supposition which is confirmed by the great resemblance of the passage under consideration to chap. ii. 17-19. Vatke (Theol. des A. Th. i. S. 462) founded upon the fact that the general exile is here predicted, the assertion that Joel had prophesied only after the captivity. No one, of course, has been willing to agree with him in this; but as long as the devastation by the locusts is understood literally, it will not be possible to undermine the grounds upon which he supports his views. It is altogether in vain that people spend their labour in disputing the fact, so obvious and evident, that the discourse here concerns the total occupation of the land by the heathen, the total carrying away of its inhabitants.

It may be further remarked, that this passage at the same time considerably strengthens the proof already adduced, that Joel foretells future things in chap. i. and ii. A devastation by the locusts is described in these chapters; but the substance of this figure does not refer to the time of Joel.

Finally—We must still direct attention to the words in iv. 17:—And Jerusalem shall be a sanctuary, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more." This promise stands in evident contrast to the former threatening, and becomes intelligible only by it. In it, therefore, the strangers must be represented under the figure of the locusts.

And now, after all these single proofs have been enumerated—proofs which, if necessary, might easily have been strengthened and increased—let us look back to this survey of the contents of the book, and we shall see how, according to our view, and according to it alone, the prophecy of Joel forms an harmonious, complete, and well finished whole, and that the prophet adheres closely to the outlines already given by Moses, with the filling up and finishing of which all other prophets also are employed. And let us, finally, add, that exegetical tradition also bears a favourable testimony to the figurative interpretation.

We need not spend much time in considering the arguments advanced against the figurative interpretation by Credner (S. 27 ff.), Hitzig, and others. They all rest upon an almost incomprehensible ignoring of the nature of poetry, of the metaphor, and of the allegory. Thus, e.g., Credner says, "What man of sound sense will ever be able to say of horses, horsemen and warriors, that they resemble horses and horsemen? Who has ever seen horses and horsemen climbing over walls? What shall we say concerning chap. ii. 20? Do land armies ever perish in the sea, and, moreover, in two different seas? What is the use of foretelling, in chap. ii. 22, 23, the ceasing of the drought, if the prophet here thought of real enemies?" But in opposition to all these and similar objections, let us simply keep in mind, that the prophet does not by any means view the enemies as such, and only incidentally compares them with locusts; but that in his inward vision they represented themselves to him as locusts. It is just the characteristic feature of the allegory, that the image becomes in it substantial, and has the thing represented, not beside it, but in, with, and under it. But it is just for this reason that many a feature must be introduced which does not belong to the real subject, i.e., the figure, but to the ideal only, i.e., the thing represented thereby. It is for this very reason also, that the metaphor, raised to the ideal subject, may again be compared with the real subject. After all this we may well judge what right Ewald has to call the figurative explanation "an error, which, in consideration of our present knowledge, becomes from day to day less pardonable."

We remark further, that, in chap. i. 4, it is distinctly indicated that Israel's visitation by the world's power will not be a simple one, but will present various aspects: "That which the gnawer has left, the locust devoureth; and that which the locust hath left, the licker devoureth; and that which the licker hath left, the eater devoureth." The opinion has been entertained, that "the prophet does not say, one cloud of locusts after another, or swarms of locusts of every description have come up; but, on the contrary, that they are all contemporary, and that all of them devour the same things." But a succession is quite obvious. The four parties do not devour at the same time; but the second devours what the first has left. It is true that the succession appears as very rapid; but that is a peculiarity belonging only to the vision. If there be at all a succession of those extensive empires representing the world's power, there must in reality be considerable intervals between them. The question then arises, however, whether the number four is to be considered as a round number, so that the thought would only be this, that several nations are to visit the people of the Lord, or whether, on the contrary, importance is to be attached to the number four as such. According to Jerome, the Jews followed the latter view. In accordance with their view, the first swarm denotes the Assyrians, together with the Chaldeans; the second, the Medo-Persians; the third, the Grecian kingdoms; the fourth, the Romans. The analogies of the four horns in Zech. ii. 1-4 (i. 18-21), the four beasts in Daniel, the seven heads of the beast in Revelation—denoting the seven phases of the world's power opposed to God—are decisive in favour of the latter view; compare my Commentary on Rev. xii. 18, xiii. 1. Now, if we follow this view at all, we must, in determining the four swarms, certainly assent to the opinion of the Jews, as given in Jerome; and this so much the more, as the four swarms are, in that case, exactly parallel to the four beasts in Daniel, which denote the Chaldean, Medo-Persian, Grecian, and Roman monarchies. The fact that the Assyrians are taken together with the Chaldeans can be the less strange, because, so early as in the prophecy of Balaam, Asshur and Babylon are comprehended under the common name עבר, i.e., "that which is on the other side,"—the power on the other side of the Euphrates; and are contrasted with the new empire which pressed on from the West—from Europe. (Compare my Dissertation on Balaam, p. 593 ff.)^[3] It was the less possible to ascribe to the Assyrians an independent position here, as Joel has to do mainly with Judah, upon which no judgment of real importance was inflicted by the Assyrians.

ON CHAPTER II. 23.

"And, ye sons of Zion, exult and rejoice in Jehovah your God; for He giveth you the Teacher of righteousness, and then He poureth down upon you rain, the former rain and the latter rain, for the first time."

The words, "In Jehovah your God," are an addition peculiar to the sons of Zion. In reference to the earth, which the locusts had devastated, it was in ver. 21 said only, "Fear not, exult and rejoice." In reference to the beasts, i.e., to the heathen world, which was kept in subjection by the conquerors of the world, but which is delivered by the great deeds of the Lord, it is in ver. 22 said only: "Fear not." They are only the sons of Zion who know and love the Author of Salvation, and who receive from Him special gifts, besides the general ones.

There is considerable difference in the interpretations of this verse. The words, את־המורה לצדקה, are, by the greater number of interpreters, translated, "The Teacher of righteousness." Thus, Jonathan, the Vulgate, Jarchi, Abarbanel, Grotius, and almost all the interpreters of the early Lutheran Church translate them. Others take מורה in the signification of "rain," and לצדקה as qualifying its nature more accurately. Even in ancient times, this explanation was not at all uncommon. Among the Rabbinical interpreters, it was held by Kimchi, Abenezra, S. B. Melech, who explain it of a timely rain. Calvin, who rendered the לצדקה by justa mensura, defends it with great decision, and declares the other explanations to be forced, and unsuitable to the connection. It is translated by "rain" in the English^[1] and Genevan versions, and by many Calvinistic interpreters, who differ, however, in the translation of לצדקה, and render it either: "In right time," or "in right measure," or "in the right place," or "for His righteousness," or "according to your righteousness." Marckius is of opinion that "rain" is necessarily required by the context; but that, on account of לצדקה, this rain must be understood spiritually of the Messiah with His saving doctrine, and His Spirit. Among the interpreters of the Lutheran Church, Seb. Schmid thinks of "a rain in due season." Among modern interpreters, the explanation by "rain" has become altogether so prevalent, that it is considered scarcely of any importance even to mention the other. לצדקה is explained by Eckermann: "In proof of His good pleasure;" by Ewald, Meier, and Umbreit: "For justification;" by Justi: "For fruitfulness;" and by the others (Rosenmüller, Holzhausen, Credner, Rückert, Maurer, and Hitzig) by: "In right measure." We consider this explanation to be decidedly erroneous, and the other to be the sound one; and this for the following reasons:—1. The great difference, on the part of the defenders of the current opinion, as regards the explanation of לצדקה certainly indicates, with sufficient clearness, that, by this addition, a considerable obstruction is put in its way. The most current explanation, by "justa mensura," "in right measure," "sufficiently," is certainly quite untenable. Even the fact, that it is not צדק but צדקה which is used here, must excite suspicion. (On the difference betwixt these two words, compare Ewald in the first edition of his Grammar, S. 312-13.) But what is quite decisive is the fact that these two words, which occur with such extraordinary frequency, are never found in a physical, but always in a moral sense only. The only passage in which, according to Winer, צדק signifies "rectitude" in a physical sense, is Ps. xxiii. 3: מעגלי צדק which, according to him, means: "Straight, right ways." But that verse runs thus: "He restoreth my soul, He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake." The path is a spiritual one; it is righteousness itself, which consists in the actual declaration of being just, and in justification, which are implied in the gift of salvation. With regard to צדקה, Holzhausen (S. 120) maintains that it is used of a measure which has its due size in Lev. xix. 35, 36. The words are these: "Ye shall not do unrighteousness in judgment, in measure, in division. Balances of righteousness, weights of righteousness, ephas of righteousness, shall ye have: I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt." Even the contrast—so evident—with the unrighteousness, shows distinctly that balances, measures, and weights of righteousness are here such as belong to righteousness—are in harmony with it. Even the root צדק never occurs in a physical sense, but always, only in a moral sense. To this it must be added, that the explanation, "Teacher of righteousness," is recommended by the parallel passage in Hos. x. 12, where, also, teaching occurs in connection with righteousness: וירה צדק לכם, "And the Lord will come and teach you righteousness." This parallel passage is also opposed to Ewald's explanation, "for justification,"—the only explanation among those mentioned to which, it must be admitted, no philological objection can be raised. But the thought, "The early rain an actual justification of Israel," would be rather strange, and so much the more so, because the wrath of God had not manifested itself in a drought and want of water, but rather in the sending of the army of locusts.

2. That the giving of the מורה, in the first hemistich of the verse, must denote a divine blessing different from the giving of the מורה in the second, is evident for this reason:—that, otherwise, there would arise a somewhat meaningless tautology. They who assigned to מורה in the first hemistich, the signification of "rain in general," have felt how very unsuitable is the twofold mention of the early rain. To this must be added the use of the Fut. with Vav convers., ויורד. By this form, an action is denoted which follows from the preceding one; but according to the current explanation, one and the same action would here be expressed, only in different words. It cannot be denied, indeed, that the form occurs by no means rarely in a weakened sense, and is used only to express a connection; and that for this reason, this argument is not, per se, conclusive. Yet the original signification so generally holds, that we can abandon it only for distinct and forcible reasons. In addition to this, it must be considered that the addition of גשם to the second מורה distinctly marks out the latter as being different in its meaning from the former. It must also be kept in mind that it is one of the peculiarities of Joel to use the same words and phrases, after brief intervals, in a different sense; compare Credner's remarks on ii. 20, iii. 5.

3. The explanation by "Teacher" is far more obvious for the reason that מורה always occurs with the signification of "teacher" (even in Ps. lxxxiv. 7, where the right translation is: "With blessing also the teacher covereth himself"), and never with that of "rain," or "early rain." This is rather the meaning of יורה; and the verb also never occurs in Hiphil, as it does in Kal, with the signification "to sprinkle," "to water." By this we are led to the supposition that Joel, in the second hemistich, made use of the uncommon form מורה with the meaning of "early rain," solely on account of the resemblance of the sound to the מורה occurring immediately before, with its usual signification; and that, at the same time, he added גשם for the purpose of avoiding ambiguity. What serves to confirm this supposition, is the circumstance that Jeremiah, alluding to the passage under consideration, has, in chap. v. 24, put יורה in the place of מורה; which proves that the second מורה in Joel ii. 23 has originated only from its connection with the first, which is altogether wanting in Jeremiah.

4. A causal connection, similar to that which exists here betwixt the sending of the Teacher of righteousness and the pouring out of the rain, occurs also in that passage of the Pentateuch which the prophet seems to have had in view, viz., Deut. xi. 13, 14: "And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken unto my commandments which I command you this day, that ye love the Lord your God, and serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul, that I will give you the rain of your land in due season, the first rain and the latter rain (יורה ומלקוש), and thou shalt gather in thy corn, and thy must, and thine oil." Here, as well as there, the righteousness of the people is the antecedens; the divine mercies and blessings are the consequens. Since the former does not exist, God begins the course of His mercies by sending Him who calls it forth. This remark removes, at the same time, the objection, that the mention of the Teacher of righteousness is unsuitable in a connection where the prophet speaks of temporal blessings only, and rises to spiritual blessings only afterwards, in chap. iii. There existed for the Covenant-people no benefits which were purely temporal; these were always, at the same time, signs and pledges of the divine favour, which depended upon the righteousness of the people, and this, in turn, upon the divine mission of a Teacher of righteousness.

5. The בראשון is also in favour of our explanation. It stands in close relation to אחרי־כן in chap. iii. 1, ii. 28. The sending of the Teacher of righteousness has two consequences;—first, the pouring out of the temporal rain—an individualizing designation of every kind of outward blessings, and chosen with a reference to the passage of the Pentateuch which we have just cited, but with special reference to the description of the calamity, under the figure of a devastation by locusts;—and, secondly, the outpouring of the spiritual rain—the sending of the Holy Ghost. It needs only the pointing out of this reference, which has been overlooked by interpreters,^[2] to set aside the manifold and different explanations of בראשון which are, all of them, unphilological, or give an unsuitable sense.^[3]

But if any doubt should still remain, it would be removed by a parallel passage in Isaiah, which depends upon the text under review, in a manner not to be mistaken, and which, therefore, must be regarded as the oldest commentary upon it. Isaiah is describing the condition of the people subsequent to their having obtained mercy, after a long time of deep misery, in chap. xxx 20: "And the Lord gives you the bread of adversity, and the water of affliction; and then thy teacher (מוריך is singular) shall no longer hide himself, and thine eyes shall see thy teacher; Ver. 21: And thine ears hear a word behind thee, This is the way, walk ye in it; do not turn to the right hand, nor to the left." Accordingly, after they have put away what was evil, ver. 22: "The Lord giveth the rain of thy seed, with which thou sowest thy land," etc., ver. 23. The teacher is not a human teacher, but God. Human teachers had not concealed themselves; but that the Lord had concealed Himself, is affirmed in the preceding verses. The words, "Behind thee" (ver. 21), suggest the idea of a teacher of such a glory that they could not look in his face (compare Rev. i. 10); and the words, "Thine eyes see thy teacher," ver. 20, imply the idea of the high majesty of the teacher, and suggest the idea of a revelation of the glory of the Lord; compare Is. xl. 5, lii. 8. The Lord must first manifest Himself as a Teacher, before He appears as a Saviour. In Isaiah, the Lord Himself appears as the Teacher; as also in Hos. x. 12: "It is time to seek the Lord, till He come and teach you righteousness;" while in Joel, on the contrary, it is the Lord who giveth the Teacher. Both may be reconciled by the consideration, that in the Teacher whom the Lord gives, the glory of the Lord becomes manifest.

It now only remains to inquire who is to be understood by the Teacher of righteousness. (Teacher of righteousness is equivalent to: "Teaching them how they should fear the Lord," 2 Kings xvii. 28.) It is referred to the Messiah, not only by almost all those Christian interpreters who follow this explanation, with the exception of Grotius, who conjectures that Isaiah or some other prophet is to be thereby understood; but also, after the example of Jonathan, by several Jewish commentators; e.g., Abarbanel, who says: "This teacher of righteousness, however, is the King Messiah, who will show the way in which we must walk, and the works which we must do." Even on account of the article, it is not possible to refer it to a single human teacher; and this argument may, at the same time, be added to those which oppose the explanation of מורה by "an early rain." There can be only the choice betwixt the Messiah as the long promised Teacher κατ᾽ ἐξοχήν, and the ideal teacher,—the collective body of all divine teachers. But the latter view requires to be somewhat raised, before it can be allowed to enter into the competition. That we have not here before us an ordinary collective body, is shown by the parallel passage in Isaiah, according to which the glory of the Lord is to be manifested in the Teacher. And this is as little applicable to a plurality of human teachers, as to a single individual. It is further proved by the fundamental passage in Deut. xviii. 18, 19, where, indeed, the prophetic order is comprehended in an ideal person. This, however, has its reason only in the circumstance, that the idea of prophetism was, at some future time, to find its realization in a real person. It is further seen from the state of the Messianic hopes at the time of Joel, and from the exceeding greatness of what is here connected with the appearance of the Teacher of righteousness. In addition to the allusion in Gen. xlix. 10 and Deut. xviii., the Messiah appears as a Teacher in the Song of Solomon also, chap. viii. 2; and in Is. lv. 4: "Behold, I give Him for a witness to the people, for a prince and a lawgiver to the people;" as also in those passages of the second part of Isaiah, in which He is declared to be the Prophet κατ᾽ ἐξοχήν. When thus understood, the explanation of the ideal teacher may be preferable to the reference to Christ exclusively. In favour of such a reference, there is the comprehensive character and the ideal import which are, in general, peculiar to the prophecies of Joel. Such a reference is, moreover, favoured by the expression itself, which points out only that which Christ has in common with the former servants of God, viz., the teaching of righteousness, and especially by a comparison with the fundamental passages, Deut. xviii.

EXPOSITION OF CHAP. III. (II. 28-32.)

Ver. 1. "And it shall come to pass, afterwards, I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy; your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions."

The communication of the Spirit of God was the constant prerogative of the Covenant-people. Indeed, the very idea of such a people necessarily requires it. For the Spirit of God is the only inward bond betwixt Him and that which is created; a Covenant-people, therefore, without such an inward connection, is an impossibility. As a constant possession of the Covenant-people, the Spirit of God appears in Isaiah lxiii. 11, where the people, in the condition of the deepest abandonment, say, in the remembrance of the divine mercies, "Where is He that put His Holy Spirit within him?" But it was peculiar to the nature of the Old Testament dispensation, that the effusion of the Spirit of God was less rich. His effects less powerful, and a participation in them less general. It was only after God's relation to the world had been changed by the death of Christ that the Spirit of Christ could be bestowed,—a higher power of the Spirit of God, standing to Him in the same relation as the Angel of the Lord to the incarnate Word. The conditions of the bestowal of the Holy Spirit were, under the Old Testament, far more difficult to obtain. The view of Christ in His historical personality, in His life, suffering, and death, was wanting. God, although infinitely nearer to the Jews than to the Gentiles, yet ever remained a God relatively distant. Since the procuring cause of the mercy of God—the merit of Christ—was not yet so clearly seen, it was far more difficult to lay hold of it, and the by-path of legalism was far nearer. It was thus only upon a few—especially upon the prophets—that the direct possession of the Spirit of God was concentrated; while the greater number, even among those of a better disposition, enjoyed a spiritual life derived only from a union with them, and hence it was less strong. It arose from the nature of the case that, at some future time, there must take place a richer and more powerful effusion of the Spirit of God; and it was just for this reason that it was the desire of Moses, that such might take place, and that the whole people might prophesy. Num. xi. 29, besides expressing such a desire, is, at the same time, a prophecy. He wished nothing else than that the people of God might attain to such a degree as to realize the idea of a people of God; and this must come to pass at some future time, because the omnipotent and faithful God could not leave His work unfinished. But Moses himself immediately subjoins the prophecy to the wish, as a clear proof, that behind the wish the prophecy is concealed: "Would God that all the Lord's people were prophets! for the Lord will give His Spirit upon them," etc.; which is equivalent to: "At some future time, the whole people of the Lord shall be prophets, not against, but agreeably to, my wish; for," etc. It is this promise of Moses which is here resumed by Joel, with whom, subsequently. Is. in chap. xxxii. 15, "Until the Spirit be poured upon us from on high;" chap. xi. 9, liv. 13; Jer. xxxi. 33, 34; Ezek. xxxvi. 26 ff., and Zech. xii. 10, connect themselves. The ultimate reference of the promise is to the Messianic time; but the reference to the preparatory steps must not, for this reason, be by any means excluded. The announcement of the pouring out of the Spirit rests upon the insight into the nature of God's relation to His kingdom. God's judgments, in which He draws near to His people, in which the abstract God becomes a concrete God, excite in the people a longing for a union with Him. Teachers sent by God give a right direction to this longing, and then an outpouring of the Spirit takes place. This proceeding does, and must continually, repeat itself in the history of the Covenant-people. The perfect fulfilment at the time of Christ could not at all have taken place, unless the imperfect fulfilment had already pervaded their whole earlier history; and that there is, in the prophecy under consideration, no reference at all to such imperfect fulfilments, could be maintained only, if there existed in the text any hint that the prophet intended to speak of only the last realization of the idea. But as the exclusion of all the preliminary stages is entirely arbitrary, it is just as arbitrary to separate, from the events which make up the main fulfilment in the Messianic time, one particular event, viz., that which took place on the first day of Pentecost. It is only to a certain extent that we can affirm that the prophecy found its final fulfilment in this event, viz., in as far as it formed the pledge of it,—in as far as the whole succeeding development and progress were already contained in it,—in as far as Joel's prophecy in words was then changed into an infinitely more powerful prophecy in deeds. It is from overlooking the relation of the prophecy to the thought which animates it, and from the error arising from this, viz., that the fulfilment must necessarily fall within a particular, limited period, that the various opposite interpretations had their rise (compare the copious enumeration and representation of these in Dresde, Comparatio Joelis de Effusione Spir. S. vatic. c. Petrina interpret. Wittemb. 1782, Spec. 2), all of which are partially true, and are false only by their one-sidedness and exclusiveness. 1. Several interpreters think of an event at the time of Joel. Thus Rabbi Moses Hakkohen, according to Abenezra, Teller on Turrettine de interpret. p. 59, Cramer on the Scythische Denkmäler, p. 221.—2. Others insist on an exclusive reference to the first Pentecost. Thus do almost all the Fathers of the Church—among whom, however, Jerome (on Joel iii. 1) felt the great difficulties in the way of this view, arising from the context—and most of the later Christian interpreters.—3. Others would refer it at the same time to the events in Joel's time, and to those at the first Pentecost. Of this opinion are Ephraem Syr., Grotius, and Turrettine.—4. Others place the fulfilment altogether in the future. Thus did the Jews as early as in the time of Jerome, and afterwards Jarchi, Kimchi, and Abarbanel.—5. Others, finally, find in the first Pentecost the beginning only of the fulfilment, and regard it as pervading the whole Christian time. Thus, e.g., Calovius (Bibl. illustr. ad. h. l.) says: "Although that prophecy began to be fulfilled in a remarkable manner on that feast of the Pentecost, yet its reference is not to that solemn event only, but to the whole state of these last, or New Testament times, just after the manner of other general promises." These last words show that Calovius was very near the truth. But if the promise be a general one, by what are we entitled to place the beginning of its fulfilment only at the times of the New Testament, and to exclude all of that same gift which God bestowed in Old Testament times? The insufficiency of the foundation for such a limitation in the text itself is proved by the following confession of Dresde (l. c. p. 8), who even believes himself obliged to defend such a limitation from the authority of the Apostle Peter, and to whom it did not at all occur, that any other reference than to some particular event was even possible: "It appears, therefore," he says, "that the prophecy, considered in itself, is so expressed, that no one, except the first author of the prophecy, will be able convincingly to define the exact event to which it really refers." We shall afterwards see that the testimony of the New Testament to which Dresde here alludes, does not by any means demand such a limitation. We have seen that Joel points to a fourfold oppression of Israel by the world's power. The main fulfilment we must then expect at the time of the fourth; but this can scarcely be the first fulfilment; for we cannot imagine that the former calamities should have passed over the people altogether without effect; and the divine gift of the Spirit goes always hand in hand with the susceptibility of the people. By proving that fourfold oppression, we have also furnished the proof that the prophecy of the outpouring of the Spirit has a comprehensive character.—From the already established reference of the אחרי־כן to the בראשון in chap. ii. 23, it is obvious that it is not so much a determination of the succession of time, as of a succession in point of importance, which is thereby given. Among the two effects of the mission of the Teacher of righteousness, first, the lower, and then, the higher, presents itself to the view of the prophet. The determination of time is not the essential point; that serves only to illustrate the internal relation of these two events, the gradation of these divine blessings; although we are able to demonstrate that, even as regards time, the prophecy was fulfilled in this order. For after the destruction by the Chaldeans, the temporal blessings were restored to the people, before the main fulfilment of the promise of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit took place; compare Ps. cvii. 33-42 with Joel ii. 25-27.—The words, "I shall pour out," refer to the rain in ver. 23. The idea of copiousness, opposed to the former scantiness, is indeed implied in it. Yet it must not be exclusively considered; the qualities of the rain alluded to in ver. 24 ff.—viz., the quickening of what was previously dead, the fructifying power—must not be overlooked.—The words, "Upon all flesh," are, by most of the Jewish interpreters (e.g., Kimchi, Abenezra; compare Lightfoot and Schöttgen on Acts ii. 16, 17), referred to the members of the Covenant-people only; but by the Christian interpreters, whom even Abarbanel joins, to all men. So, still, does Steudel in the Tübinger Pfingst-Programm, 1820, p. 11. But in this latter explanation, one thing has been overlooked—as, among the older interpreters, has been well shown by Calvin,^[1] and among the more recent, by Tychsen (progr. ad h. l. p. 5)—viz., that the subsequent words, "Your sons, your daughters, your old men, your young men, the servants, the handmaids," contain a specification of the בשר; so that the all, by which it is qualified, does not do away with the limitation to a particular people, but only with the limits of sex, age, and rank, among the people themselves. The participation of the Gentiles in the outpouring of the Holy Ghost did not, in the first instance, come into consideration in this place, inasmuch as the threatening of punishment, with which the proclamation of salvation is connected, had respect to the Covenant-people only. Credner has been led into a strange error, by pressing the words כל־בושר without any regard to the connection. He imputes to the prophet the monstrous idea, that the Spirit of God, the fountain of all which is good and great, well pleasing to God, and divine, is to be poured out upon all animals also, even upon the locusts.—The foundation for the promise of the Holy Spirit is formed by Gen. ii. 7, compared with i. 26. It supposes that the spirit of man, as distinguished from all other living things on earth, is a breath from God.—There is here, moreover, the same contrast betwixt בשר and רוח as in Gen. vi. 3 and Is. xxxi. 3: "The Egyptians are men, and not God; their horses are flesh, and not spirit." (Compare other passages in Gesenius' Thesaurus, s. v. p. 249.) Flesh, in this contrast, signifies human nature with respect to its weakness and helplessness; the spirit is the principle of life and strength. As "your sons," etc., is a specification of all flesh, so, the words, "They prophesy, they dream dreams, they see visions," are a specification of: "I pour out My Spirit." From this, it is evident that the particular gifts do not here come into consideration according to their individual nature, but according to that essential character which is common to them as effects of the Spirit of God. Hence it is obvious also, that we are not at liberty to ask why it is just to the sons and daughters that the prophesying is ascribed, etc. The prophet, whose object it is only to individualize and expand the fundamental thought, i.e., the universality of the effects of the Spirit, chooses for this purpose the extraordinary gifts of the Spirit,^[2] because these are more obvious than the ordinary ones; and from among the extraordinary ones, again, those which were common under the Old Testament; without thereby excluding the others, or, as regards the real import, adding anything to the declaration, "I will pour out My Spirit." This appears also from ver. 2, where, in reference to the servants and handmaids, the expression returns to the former generality. In distributing the gifts of the Spirit among the particular classes, the prophet has been as little guided by any internal considerations, as, e.g., Zechariah, when in chap. ix. 17 he uses the words, "Corn maketh the young men grow up, and must, the maids." The remark made by Credner and Hitzig, after the example of Tychsen, that visions are ascribed to vigorous youth, but dreams to feebler age, appears at once, from an examination of the historical instances, and from the comparison of Num. xii. 6, to be unfounded. "Your sons and your daughters prophesy," etc., is equivalent to: "Your sons and your daughters, your old men and your young men, prophesy, have divine dreams (a limitation to such is implied in their being the effects of the outpouring of the Spirit), and see visions;" and this again is equivalent to: "They will enjoy the Spirit of God, with all His gifts and blessings." In this, and in no other way, has the passage been constantly understood among the Jews. If it had been otherwise, how could Peter have so confidently declared the events on the feast of Pentecost, where there occurred neither dreams nor visions, to be a fulfilment of the prophecy of Joel? It is implied, however, in the nature of the case, that, in the principal fulfilments of the prophecy of Joel, the extraordinary gifts of the Spirit should be accompanied by the ordinary ones; for the former are the witnesses and means of the latter, although, at the same time, the basis also on which they rest; so that times like those which are described in 1 Sam. iii. 1, where the Word of God is precious in the country, and there is no prophecy spread abroad, must necessarily be poor in the ordinary gifts of grace also. It is not in the essence, but only in the form of manifestation, that the extraordinary gifts differ from the ordinary ones,—just as Christ's outward miracles differ from His inward ones.

Ver. 2. "And upon the servants also, and upon the handmaids, I will pour out My Spirit in those days."

Credner refers this to the Hebrew prisoners of war, living as servants and handmaids among heathen nations, far away from the Holy Land. But if the prophet had this in view, he must necessarily have expressed himself with greater distinctness. Moreover, the relation to the preceding verse requires that, as the difference of sex and age was there done away with, so no allowance should here be made for the difference of rank. The גם shows that the extension of the gifts of the Spirit even to servants and handmaids, who, to the carnal eye, appeared to be unworthy of such distinction, is to be considered as something unexpected and extraordinary. That there is very little correctness in the assertion of Credner, that "there could have been scarcely any doubt as regards the participation of the Hebrew slaves," is sufficiently shown by the fact, that Jewish interpreters have attempted, in various ways, to lessen the blessing here promised to the servants and handmaids. Even the translation of the LXX. by, ἐπὶ τοὺσ δούλουσ μου καὶ ἐπὶ τὰσ δούλασ μου, may be considered as such an attempt. In the place of the servants of men, who appeared to them unworthy of such honour, they put the servants of God. Abarbanel asserts that the Spirit of God here means something inferior to the gift of prophecy, which is bestowed only upon the free people. Instead of regarding the Spirit of God as the root and fountain of the particular gifts mentioned in the preceding verse, he sees in Him only an isolated gift,—that of an indefinite knowledge of God. But such a view is opposed even by the relation of the words, "I will pour out My Spirit," in ver. 2, to the same words in ver. 1; and also by Is. xi. 2, where "Spirit of God" is likewise used in a general sense, and comprehends within itself all that follows. It is not without design that the fact is so prominently brought out in the New Testament, that the Gospel is preached to the poor, and that God chooses that which is mean and despised in the eye of the world. The natural man is always inclined to suppose that that which is esteemed by the world must be so by God also. This is sufficiently evident from the deep contempt of the Pharisees for the ὄχλοι; compare, e.g., John vii. 49.

Ver. 3. "And I give wonders in the heavens, and on earth; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke."

The mercy bestowed upon the Congregation of God is accompanied by the judgment upon her enemies. Since the Congregation has again become the object of His favour, especially in consequence of the Holy Spirit being poured out upon her, it cannot be but that He will protect her against the persecution of the world, and avenge her upon it. In vers. 3 and 4, the precursors of the judgment (before cometh, ver. 4) are described, and in chap. iv. throughout, the judgment itself. There is here an allusion to an event of former times, and which is now to be repeated on a larger scale, viz., the plagues inflicted upon Egypt in consequence of the same law. The prophet had specially in view the passage, Deut. vi. 22: "And the Lord gave signs and wonders, great and sore, upon Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his household before our eyes."—The wonders are divided into those which are in heaven, and those which are on earth; then those which are on earth are in this verse designated individually; and afterwards, in ver. 4, those which are in heaven. With regard to the former, many interpreters (the last of whom is Credner) understand by the "blood," bloody defeats of the enemies of Israel; by "fire and smoke," their towns and habitations consumed by fire. But this interpretation cannot be entertained. The very designation by מופתים indicates that we have here to think of extraordinary phenomena of nature, the symbolical language of which is interpreted by the evil conscience, which recognises in them the precursors of coming judgment. This is confirmed also by the more particular statement of the signs in heaven, in ver. 4; for the signs on earth must certainly be of the same class as these. It is confirmed likewise by a comparison with the type of former times, which we have pointed out; for it is from this, that the blood is directly taken. The first plague is thus announced in Exod. vii. 17: "Behold, I smite with the rod in mine hand upon the waters in the river, and they are turned into blood." Jalkut Simeoni (in Schöttgen, p. 210) remarks: "The Lord brought blood upon the enemies in Egypt: thus also shall it be in future times; for it is written, I will give wonders, blood and fire." The same is the case as respects the fire. Exod. ix. 24: "And there came hail, and fire mingled with the hail." It is more natural to suppose that the prophet borrowed these features, as, in the former description of the judgment upon Israel, the plague of the locusts lies at the foundation, and as the contents of the following verse have likewise their prototype in those events. Compare Exod. x. 21: "And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand toward the heaven, and let there be darkness over the land of Egypt." That it is not real blood which is here meant, but that only which, by its blood-red colour, reminds of blood (comp. e.g., "Waters red as blood," 2 Kings iii. 22), is shown by the fundamental passage, Exod. vii. 17, where the water which had become red is called simply blood; compare my work on Egypt and the Books of Moses, p. 106. Blood brings into view the shedding of blood; the fiery phenomena announce that the fire of the anger of God, and the fire of war, will be enkindled; compare remarks on i. 19, 20.—The word תימרות requires a renewed investigation. Interpreters uniformly explain it by "pillars,"—a signification which is altogether destitute of any foundation; for the Chaldee תלרה, to which they refer, is not found with the signification "pillar." Such a meaning is quite inappropriate in the single passage quoted by Buxtorf; the signification "smoke," or "cloud of smoke," is necessarily required in that place. As little are we at liberty to appeal to תמר, "palm," with which תימרה has nothing at all to do. The י, which would be without any analogy if derived from תמר (compare Ewald on Song of Sol. iii. 6), requires the derivation from ימר. The word תימרה is a noun formed from the 3d pers. fem. Fut. of this verb with ה affixed (compare, on these nouns, the remarks on Hos. ii. 14, and my work on Balaam, p. 434), and, as to its form, it corresponds exactly with תמורה, derived from the 3d fem. Fut. of the verb מור. There cannot now be any doubt regarding the signification of ימר. Is. lxi. 6, and Jer. ii. 11, where המיר and הימיר occur in the same verse, show that it corresponds entirely with מור. Hence Ewald (l. c.) is wrong in identifying it with אמר, the alleged meaning of which is "to be high." Now in Hebrew, מור and ימר occur only in the derived signification of "to transform," "to change," "to exchange;" but the primary signification is furnished by the Arabic, where it means: huc illuc latus, agitatus fuit,—-fluctuavit. (Compare the thorough demonstration by Scheid, ad cant. Hisk. p. 159 sqq.) תימרות can accordingly signify only "clouds" or "vortices." (In Arabic, מור means "dust agitated by the wind.") The connection of this signification with that of "palpehrae," "eye-lids," in which it occurs in the Talmudic and Rabbinical languages, is very obvious. They were so called from their continual motion hither and thither. Such a connection, however, we must the more easily be able to prove, because that Talmudic and Rabbinical use of the word cannot be derived from any other root than an ancient Hebrew one. The ἀτμίς of the LXX. likewise leads to our interpretation, rather than to the prevailing one. The former is, in the only passage in which תימרות occurs, besides the one under consideration, and where it likewise occurs in the connection with עשן, viz., in Song of Sol. iii. 6, at least as suitable as the latter. We have to think here of such phenomena as those which are described in Exod. xix. 18: "And Mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the Lord had descended upon it in fire, and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace." Here, as well as there, the fire, and the accompanying smoke, represent, in a visible manner, the truth that God is πῦρ καταναλισκον, Heb. xii. 29. The clouds of smoke are the sad forerunners of the clouds of smoke of the divine judgments upon the enemies, and of the fire of war, in the form of which the former commonly appear. Compare Is. ix. 18, 19: "And they mount up like the lifting up of smoke.... And the people became as the fuel of fire; no man spareth his brother." The belief—which pervades all antiquity—that the angry Deity announced the breaking in of judgments through the symbolical language of nature, is very remarkable. This belief cannot be a mere delusion, but must have a deep root in the heart. Nature is the echo and the reflection of the disposition of man. If there prevail within him a fearful expectation of things to come, because he feels his own sin, and that of his people, all things external harmonize with that expectation; and, most of all, that which is the natural image and symbol of divine punitive justice, which would not, however, be acknowledged as such, were it not for the interpreting voice within. Having regard to this relation of the mind to nature, God, previous to great catastrophes, often causes those precursors of them to appear more frequently and vividly, than in the ordinary course of nature. In a manner especially remarkable, this took place previous to the destruction of Jerusalem. Compare Josephus, d. Bell. Jud. iv. 4, 5. "For during the night, a fearful storm arose,—there arose boisterous winds with the most violent showers, continual lightnings and awful thunders, and tremendous noises, while the earth was shaken. It was, however, quite evident that the condition of the universe was put into such disorder for the destruction of men, and almost every one conjectured that these were the signs of impending calamity." A great number of other signs and precursors are mentioned by him in B. J. vi. 5, § 3. These will never be altogether absent, as certainly as punishment never comes without sin, and sin never exists without the consciousness, without the expectation, of deserved judgment. But the chief point in this mode of viewing things, is not the sign itself, but the disposition of mind which interprets it,—the consciousness of guilt, which fills the soul with the thought of an avenging God,—the condition of filings which brings into view the infliction of the judgment. It is by this that we can account for the circumstance that; in the Old Testament, the darkening of the sun and moon, and other things, frequently appear as direct images of sad and heavy times.

Ver. 4. "The sun is turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before there cometh the great and terrible day of the Lord."

Among all interpreters, Calvin has given the most admirable interpretation of this verse: "When the prophet says that the sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, these are metaphorical expressions, by which he indicates that the Lord will show signs of His wrath to all the ends of the earth, as if a whole revolution of nature were to take place, in order that men may be stirred up by terror. For, as sun and moon are witnesses of God's fatherly kindness towards us, as long as, in their changes, they provide the earth with light, so will they, on the other hand, says the prophet, be the messengers of the angry and offended God.—By the darkness of the sun, by the bloody appearance of the moon, by the black cloud of smoke, the prophet intended to express the idea, that wheresoever men should turn their eyes, upwards or downwards, many things would appear to fill them with terror. Hence the language of the prophet amounts to this:—that never had the state of things in the world been so miserable,—that never had there appeared so many and so terrible signs of the anger of God."—We have already seen that the prophet has before his eye the Egyptian type. The darkness upon the whole land of Egypt, while there was light in the dwellings of the Israelites, represented, in a deeply impressive manner, the anger of God in contrast with His grace, of which the symbol is the shining of His heavenly lights. The extinction of these is, in Scripture, frequently the forerunner of coming divine judgments, or an image of those which have been already inflicted; compare the remarks on Zech. xiv. 6. Thus it has already occurred in the Book of Joel itself, in the description of the former judgment; compare ii. 2: "Day of darkness and gloominess, day of clouds and mist;" ii. 10: "Before Him quaketh the earth, and trembleth the heaven; the sun and the moon mourn, and the stars withdraw their shining." Thus it returns in iv. 14, 15: "The day of the Lord is near in the valley of judgment. The sun and the moon mourn, and the stars withdraw their shining." The passages in which, as in the one before us, the extinction has not a figurative, but a typical character, must not be limited to a single phenomenon. Everything by which the brightness of the heavenly luminaries is clouded or darkened, eclipses of the sun or moon, earthquakes, thunderstorms, etc., fill with fear those in whose hearts the sun of grace has set.

Ver. 5. "And it comes to pass, every one who calls on the name of the Lord is saved; for in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be such as have escaped, as the Lord hath said, and amongst those who are spared is whomsoever the Lord calleth."

We must first determine the signification of פליטה. The greater number of interpreters explain it by "deliverance;" but it means rather "that which has escaped." This appears, 1. from the form. It is the fem. of the Adj. פליט, the ־־ִ־י of which has arisen from ־־ֵ־ by means of lengthening; hence it is that פְלֵיטָה is thrice formed without ־־ִ־י. It is, then, an adjective of intransitive signification. Now it is true that, by means of the feminine termination, adjectives are changed into abstract nouns, but never into such as indicate an action; but always into such only for which, in Latin and Greek, the neuter of the adjective might be used. This, however, is here inadmissible. 2. To this must be added the constant use; as in Is. xxxvii. 31, 32: "And that which has escaped (פליטת) of the house of Judah, the remnant, taketh root downward, and beareth fruit upward. For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant (שארית), and that which has escaped out of Mount Zion,"—a passage exactly parallel to the one under consideration (compare also the following words in Is. xxxvii. 32: "For the zeal of the Lord will do this," with "As the Lord hath said," here). Is. iv. 2: "To that which has escaped," with which, "That which is left in Zion, and that which remaineth in Jerusalem," in the following verse, is identical; Is. x. 20: "The remnant (שאר) of Israel, and that which has escaped of the house of Jacob;" Obad. ver. 17: "And upon Mount Zion shall be that which has escaped,"—which forms an antithesis to ver. 9: "And man shall be cut off from the Mount of Esau;" and finally—Gen. xxxii. 9 (8): "And the camp which has been left is for the escaped." There does not thus remain a single passage in which the signification "deliverance" is even the probable one. The passages in Jeremiah, where שריד ופליט occur together (xlii. 17, xliv. 14; Lam. ii. 2), show that פליטה here is not different from שרידים in the subsequent clause of the verse.—The expression קרא בשם יהוה never is used of a merely outward invocation, but always of such as is the external expression of the faith of the heart; compare the remarks on Zech. xiv. 9. Even on account of this stated condition, it is not possible to think of the deliverance of the promiscuous multitude of Israel, in contrast with that of the Gentiles; for the condition is one which is purely internal, and it affords an important hint for the right understanding of what follows. The כי by which it is connected remains inexplicable, if Mount Zion and Jerusalem be considered as a place of safety and deliverance for all who are there externally. The same thing is evident from פליטה. The sense is not by any means that all the inhabitants of Zion and Jerusalem shall be delivered; but that there shall be some who have escaped—viz., those who call on the name of the Lord; while those who do not, shall be consumed by the divine judgment. The second condition stated by the prophet—that of being called by the Lord—is in like manner internal. The words אֲשֶׁר יְהוָֹה קֹרֵא have so evident a reference to אֲשֶׁר־יִקְרָא בְּשֵׁם יְהוָה, that we cannot at all suppose, as Credner does, that they refer to other subjects. On the contrary, they who call on the Lord, are also they whom He calls from the general calamity into His protecting presence; and the prophet has endeavoured, by the choice of the words, to bring out into view the close connection of these two parties. They who call on the Lord, and they whom the Lord calls (Maurer's explanation: "And among those who have escaped is every one who calls on the Lord" [compare Ps. xiv. 4], gives a very feeble tautology), are the very same upon whom, according to vers, 1 and 2, the fulness of the Spirit has been poured out.—The words, "As the Lord has said," indicate, that the faithful ones may safely take comfort from this promise; inasmuch as it is not the word of men, but of God. We may see, from such parallel passages as Is. i. 20, xiv. 5, lviii. 14, how little reason we have for thinking that the prophet here refers to some other prophecy. That the prophet, and not the Lord Himself, is speaking in this verse, is evident from the words: "Who calls on the name of the Lord." It was, therefore, very suitable to show, that it was by Immediate, divine commission that the prophet had given utterance to the consolatory promise, that the people of God would escape in these great and heavy judgments which were to come upon the world. That it is very natural for believers to fear that the punishments which threaten the world should fall upon them also who are living in the world, is shown by Rev. vii., the aim of which is, throughout, to allay the anxious fear which might arise in believers when considering the judgments which threaten the world. The relation of the whole verse to what precedes and follows is this:—In vers. 3 and 4, the prophet had stated the signs and forerunners of the great and fearful day of the Lord. Now he points to the only, and the absolutely sure means of standing on that day. Then, in chap. iv., which is connected by כי, he describes the judgment itself.

If, now, we endeavour to discover the historical reference of vers. 3-5, we are met by a great variety of opinions. It is referred to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans, by Grotius, Cramer, Turrettine (de Scrip, s. interpret. p. 331); among the Socinians, in the Raccovian Catechism, p. 22, and by Oeder; and among the Arminians, by Episcopius in the Instit. Theol. p. 198. Others (as Jerome) think of the resurrection of the Lord; others (as Luther) of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit; others (as Münster, Capell, Lightfoot, Dresde, l.c. p. 22) of the destruction by the Romans. It is referred to the judgment upon the enemies of the Covenant-people soon after the return from the Babylonish captivity, by Ephraem Syrus; to the impending overthrow of Gog, at the time of the Messiah, by the Jewish interpreters; to the general judgment, by Tertullian, Theodoret, and Crusius, In Theol. Prophet. i. p. 621; and to the destruction of Jerusalem, and the general judgment at the same time, by Chrysostom and others.

The great variety of these references has arisen solely from the circumstance, that the prophecy has not been reduced to its fundamental idea. This fundamental idea is:—The manifestation of God's punitive justice upon all which is hostile to His kingdom, which runs parallel with the manifestation of His grace towards the subjects of His kingdom. This idea appears here, in all its generality, without any temporal limitation whatsoever. Not one of these interpretations, therefore, can be absolutely right. They differ only in this, that some of them are altogether false, inasmuch as they assume a reference to events which do not at all fall under the fundamental idea; while others are only limited and partial views of the truth.

To the first of these classes belong evidently the references to the resurrection, and to the outpouring of the Holy Ghost. It is only by detaching these verses from the following chapter that such a view could arise. These events stand in no relation whatsoever to the animating thought of the passage. There is a certain relation to that thought in the reference to the destruction by the Chaldeans, in so far as this was really a manifestation of divine punitive justice. But the reference to this event would be admissible here, only if the prophet were describing the manifestation of divine punitive justice in general. But such is not the case. The comparison of chap. i. and ii. shows that the subject of the prophecy is rather the manifestation of divine justice in reference to those who are enemies to the kingdom of God. The defenders of such a view have altogether misunderstood the structure of the prophecy of Joel; for, otherwise, they would have seen that that event belongs to the threatening of judgment in chap. i. and ii., where the judgment upon the house of God is described; while, here, there is a description of the judgment upon those who are without.

The same argument seems, at first sight, to apply also to the destruction by the Romans. But on a closer examination, there appears to be a difference betwixt these two events, and one which brings the latter far more within the scope of the prophecy. The destruction by the Romans was much more intimately connected with a total apostasy and rejection, than was that by the Chaldeans. Even before the former destruction, and immediately after the death of Christ, the former Covenant-people had sunk down to the rank of the Gentiles. They were no more apostate children, who were, by means of punishment, to be brought to reformation, but enemies, who were judged on account of their hostile disposition towards the kingdom of God. Malachi, in chap. iii. 23 (iv. 5), shows that such a time would come when that, which they imagined to be intended only for the heathen by descent, should be realized upon Israel after the flesh. The verbal repetition of the words, "Before there cometh the great and dreadful day of the Lord," and their application to the judgment upon Israel, can be accounted for only by his intention to oppose the prevailing carnal interpretation of the prophecy under consideration.

It will now be seen also, what the relation is which the phenomena at the death of Christ, the darkening of the sun, the quaking of the earth, the rending of the rocks (compare Matt. xxvii. 45, 51; Luke xxiii. 44), occupy to the passage before us. They were like the מופתים here, actual declarations of the divine wrath, and forerunners of the approaching judgment; and they were recognised as such by the guilty, to whom this symbolical language was interpreted by their consciences; compare Luke xxiii. 48: Καὶ πάντες οἱ συμπαραγενόμενοι ὄχλοι; ἐπὶ τὴν θεωρίαν ταύτην, θεωροῦντες τὰ γενόμενα, τύπτοντες ἑαυτῶν τὰ στήθη, ὑπέστρεφον.

But we must not limit ourselves to the obduracy of the Covenant-people. This we are taught, not only by the relation of chap. i. and ii. to iv. 2, but, with especial distinctness, by the renewal of this threatening in Rev. xiv. 14-20, where the image of the vintage and winepress, in particular, is borrowed from Joel; see iv. 12, 13. The objects of judgment are there the heathen nations on account of their hostility to the people of God, who, by Christ, and by the outpouring of the Spirit procured by Him, have fully attained to that dignity. Nor is the judgment there an isolated one. On the contrary, all which, in history, is realized in an entire series of judicial acts, to be at last consummated in the final judgment, is there comprehended in one great harvest—in one great vintage.

We have still to make a few remarks upon the quotation in Acts ii. 16 ff. Nothing but narrow-mindedness and prejudice could deny that Peter found, in the miracle of Pentecost, an actual fulfilment of the promise in vers. 1 and 2. This becomes probable, not only from the circumstance, that the reference of this prophecy to the Messianic time was the prevailing one among the Jews (compare the passages in Schöttgen, S. 413), but also from the translation of אחרי־כן by ἐν ταῖς ἐσχάταις ἡμέραις, by which, in the New Testament, the Messianic time is always designated. To this must also be added the express declaration in ver. 39, that the promise was unto the generation then present. How could Peter have uttered such a declaration, if his view had been that the promise had found its fulfilment in a time long gone past? At the same time, it is equally certain, that Peter was so far from considering all the riches of the promise to be completely exhausted by that Pentecostal miracle, that he rather considered it to be only a beginning of the fulfilment,—a beginning, indeed, which implies the consummation, as the germ contains the tree. This is quite obvious from ver. 38: μετανοήσατε καὶ βαπτισθήτω ἕκαστοσ ὑμῶν.... καὶ λήψεσθε τὴν δωρεὰν τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος. How could Peter, referring to the prophecy, promise the gift of the Holy Spirit, promised in the prophecy to those who should be converted, if the prophecy was already completely fulfilled? But it is still more apparent from ver. 39: Ὑμῖν γάρ ἐστιν ἡ ἐπαγγελία καὶ τοῖς τέκνοις ὑμῶν, καὶ πᾶσι τοῖς εἰς μακρὰν, ὄσους ἂν προσκαλέσηται Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς ἡμῶν. The question is, who are to be understood by those εἰς μακρὰν? No one could have doubted that the Gentiles are thereby to be understood, unless two things altogether heterogeneous had been confounded, viz., the uncertainty of Peter concerning the fact of the reception of the Gentiles into the kingdom of God, and his uncertainty concerning the mode of their reception. Considering the condition of the Old Testament prophecy, the latter is easily accounted for; but the former cannot. To state only one from among the mass of arguments which prove that Peter could not be ignorant of the fact, we observe that the very manner in which, in Acts iii. 25, he quotes the promise given to Abraham, that by his seed the nations should be blessed, proves that he regarded the Gentiles as partakers of the kingdom of Christ. This is rendered still more incontrovertible by the πρῶτον in ver. 26. To understand, by εἰς μακρὰν, foreign Jews, is inadmissible, for the single reason that these were present in great numbers, and hence, were included in the term ὑμῖν. Now Peter, throughout, addresses all those who were present. How then could he have here confined himself, all at once, to a portion of these I There is, moreover, a plain allusion to the close of Joel iii. 5, which the LXX. translate οὓς Κύριος προσκέκληται. This allusion contains, at the same time, a proof of the concurrent reference to the Gentiles, which is not in express words contained in the prophecy, provided we do not put an arbitrary interpretation upon בשר. Attention is thereby directed to the fact, that, In that passage, salvation, which requires, as its condition, a participation in the outpouring of the Spirit, does not depend upon any human cause, but solely upon the call of God—upon His free grace. In a manner entirely similar, does St Paul, in Rom. x. 12, 13, prove, from the beginning of Joel iii. 5, the participation of the Gentiles in the Messianic kingdom: Οὐ γάρ ἐστι διαστολὴ Ἰουδαίου τε καὶ Ἕλληνος· ὁ γὰρ αὐτὸς Κύριος πάντων, πλουτῶν εἰς πάντας τοὺς ἐπικαλουμένους αὐτόν. Πᾶς γὰρ ὃς ἂν ἐπικαλέσηται τὸ ὄνομα Κυρίου, σωθήσεται. If the calling on God were the condition of salvation, access to it was as free to the Gentiles as to the Jews. But if the prophecy has a distinct reference to the still unconverted Jews, their children and the Gentiles, it is then evident, that, according to the view of the Apostle, it did not terminate in that one instance of Its fulfilment, but that, on the contrary, it extends just as far as the thing promised—as the outpouring itself of the Holy Spirit. This clearly appears, also, from the allusions to the passage under consideration. In the accounts of later outpourings of the Spirit; compare, e.g., Acts x. 45, xi. 15, xv. 8. How, then, was it even possible that Peter should have limited to the few who had already, at that time, received the Spirit, a prophecy, in which the idea of generality is, intentionally, made so prominent? But, even if the universal character of the prophecy had been less distinct, Peter would certainly not have thought of confining it in such a manner. Such a gross and superficial view of the prophecies was far from Peter, as well as from the other Apostles.