Joel

Abstract

This essay offers an introduction to the major literary and theological issues of the book of Joel. It shows how an agrarian disaster (locusts and drought) is transformed into a prophecy concerning the nations. The book's engagement with 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. In its final form, the book is shaped by a vague specificity that allows its use and application over a broad period of time. © Oxford University Press 2021.