4What the swarming locust has left, the great locust has eaten. What the great locust has left, the grasshopper has eaten. What the grasshopper has left, the caterpillar has eaten.
5Wake up, you drunkards, and weep! Wail, all you drinkers of wine, because of the sweet wine; for it is cut off from your mouth.
6For a nation has come up on my land, strong, and without number. His teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he has the fangs of a lioness.
7He has laid my vine waste, and stripped my fig tree. He has stripped its bark, and thrown it away. Its branches are made white.
4 What the swarming locust has left, the great locust has eaten. What the great locust has left, the grasshopper has eaten. What the grasshopper has left, the caterpillar has eaten.
5 Wake up, you drunkards, and weep! Wail, all you drinkers of wine, because of the sweet wine; for it is cut off from your mouth.
6 For a nation has come up on my land, strong, and without number. His teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he has the fangs of a lioness.
7 He has laid my vine waste, and stripped my fig tree. He has stripped its bark, and thrown it away. Its branches are made white.
KJVKing James Version
4 That which the palmerworm hath left hath the locust eaten; and that which the locust hath left hath the cankerworm eaten; and that which the cankerworm hath left hath the caterpiller eaten.
5 Awake, ye drunkards, and weep; and howl, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the new wine; for it is cut off from your mouth.
6 For a nation is come up upon my land, strong, and without number, whose teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he hath the cheek teeth of a great lion.
7 He hath laid my vine waste, and barked my fig tree: he hath made it clean bare, and cast it away; the branches thereof are made white.
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JPSJPS Tanakh (1917)
4 That which the palmer-worm hath left hath the locust eaten; and that which the locust hath left hath the canker-worm eaten; and that which the canker-worm hath left hath the caterpiller eaten.
5 Awake, ye drunkards, and weep, and wail, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the sweet wine, for it is cut off from your mouth.
6 For a people is come up upon my land, mighty, and without number; his teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he hath the jaw-teeth of a lioness.
7 He hath laid my vine waste, and blasted my fig-tree; he hath made it clean bare, and cast it down, the branches thereof are made white.
Joel 2:25(vv4, 6)I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the great locust, the grasshopper, and the caterpillar, my great army,…
Amos 4:9(vv4, 7)“I struck you with blight and mildew many times in your gardens and your vineyards; and the swarming locusts have devoured your fig trees…
Exodus 10:4(v4)Or else, if you refuse to let my people go, behold, tomorrow I will bring locusts into your country,
Psalms 78:46(v4)He gave also their increase to the caterpillar, and their labor to the locust.
Isaiah 33:4(v4)Your plunder will be gathered as the caterpillar gathers. Men will leap on it as locusts leap.
Show all 46 cross-references
Amos 7:1(v4)Thus the Lord Yahweh showed me: and behold, he formed locusts in the beginning of the shooting up of the latter growth; and behold, it was…
Deuteronomy 28:38(v4)You will carry much seed out into the field, and will gather little in, for the locust will consume it.
Psalms 105:34(v4)He spoke, and the locusts came with the grasshoppers, without number,
James 5:1(v5)Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming on you.
Exodus 10:12-15(v4)Yahweh said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, that they may come up on the land of Egypt, and eat…
2 Chronicles 7:13(v4)“If I shut up the sky so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people;
Isaiah 5:6(v7)I will lay it a wasteland. It won’t be pruned or hoed, but it will grow briers and thorns. I will also command the clouds that they rain no…
Jeremiah 51:14(v4)Yahweh of Armies has sworn by himself, saying, ‘Surely I will fill you with men, as with the canker worm; and they will lift up a shout…
Luke 21:34-36(v5)“So be careful, or your hearts will be loaded down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that day will come on you…
Revelation 9:3-7(v4)Then out of the smoke came locusts on the earth, and power was given to them, as the scorpions of the earth have power. They were told that…
1 Kings 8:37(v4)“If there is famine in the land, if there is pestilence, if there is blight, mildew, locust or caterpillar; if their enemy besieges them in…
2 Chronicles 6:28(v4)“If there is famine in the land, if there is pestilence, if there is blight or mildew, locust or caterpillar; if their enemies besiege them…
Isaiah 32:10-12(v5)For days beyond a year you will be troubled, you careless women; for the vintage will fail. The harvest won’t come. Tremble, you women who…
Jeremiah 51:27(v4)“Set up a standard in the land! Blow the trumpet among the nations! Prepare the nations against her! Call together against her the kingdoms…
Joel 1:12(v7)The vine has dried up, and the fig tree withered; the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, even all of the trees of…
Nahum 3:15-17(v4)There the fire will devour you. The sword will cut you off. It will devour you like the grasshopper. Multiply like grasshoppers. Multiply…
Exodus 10:15(v7)For they covered the surface of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened, and they ate every herb of the land, and all the fruit of…
Psalms 105:33(v7)He struck their vines and also their fig trees, and shattered the trees of their country.
Proverbs 30:14(v6)There is a generation whose teeth are like swords, and their jaws like knives, to devour the poor from the earth, and the needy from among…
Isaiah 8:8(v6)It will sweep onward into Judah. It will overflow and pass through. It will reach even to the neck. The stretching out of its wings will…
Isaiah 24:7(v7)The new wine mourns. The vine languishes. All the merry-hearted sigh.
Isaiah 24:7-11(v5)The new wine mourns. The vine languishes. All the merry-hearted sigh. The mirth of tambourines ceases. The sound of those who rejoice ends.…
Jeremiah 4:8(v5)For this, clothe yourself with sackcloth, lament and wail; for the fierce anger of Yahweh hasn’t turned back from us.
Jeremiah 8:13(v7)“ ‘I will utterly consume them, says Yahweh. No grapes will be on the vine, no figs on the fig tree, and the leaf will fade. The things…
Hosea 2:12(v7)I will lay waste her vines and her fig trees, about which she has said, ‘These are my wages that my lovers have given me; and I will make…
Joel 2:2-11(v6)A day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness. As the dawn spreading on the mountains, a great and strong people;…
Habakkuk 3:17(v7)For though the fig tree doesn’t flourish, nor fruit be in the vines; the labor of the olive fails, the fields yield no food; the flocks are…
Revelation 9:7-10(v6)The shapes of the locusts were like horses prepared for war. On their heads were something like golden crowns, and their faces were like…
Deuteronomy 28:42(v4)Locusts will consume all of your trees and the fruit of your ground.
Psalms 107:34(v6)and a fruitful land into a salt waste, for the wickedness of those who dwell in it.
Proverbs 30:25-27(v6)The ants are not a strong people, yet they provide their food in the summer. The hyraxes are but a feeble folk, yet make they their houses…
Isaiah 32:13(v6)Thorns and briers will come up on my people’s land; yes, on all the houses of joy in the joyous city.
Ezekiel 30:2(v5)“Son of man, prophesy, and say, ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “Wail, ‘Alas for the day!’
Hosea 9:3(v6)They won’t dwell in Yahweh’s land; but Ephraim will return to Egypt, and they will eat unclean food in Assyria.
Joel 1:11(v5)Be confounded, you farmers! Wail, you vineyard keepers; for the wheat and for the barley; for the harvest of the field has perished.
Joel 1:13(v5)Put on sackcloth and mourn, you priests! Wail, you ministers of the altar. Come, lie all night in sackcloth, you ministers of my God, for…
Joel 3:3(v5)and have cast lots for my people, and have given a boy for a prostitute, and sold a girl for wine, that they may drink.
Amos 6:3-7(v5)Those who put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near; Who lie on beds of ivory, and stretch themselves on their…
Luke 16:19(v5)“Now there was a certain rich man, and he was clothed in purple and fine linen, living in luxury every day.
Luke 16:23-25(v5)In Hades, he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far off, and Lazarus at his bosom. He cried and said, ‘Father Abraham,…
Romans 13:11-14(v5)Do this, knowing the time, that it is already time for you to awaken out of sleep, for salvation is now nearer to us than when we first…
46 distinct cross-references across this passage (48 total citations).
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (19 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
John Calvin1540 · Public DomainOn vv4–7He adds what that judgment was, — that the…
He adds what that judgment was, — that the hope of food had for many years disappointed them. It often happened, we know, that locusts devoured the standing corn; and then the chafers and the palmer worms did the same: these were ordinary events. But when one devastation happened, and another followed, and there was no end; when there had been four barren years, suddenly produced by insects, which devoured the growth of the earth; — this was certainly unusual. Hence the Prophet says, that this could not have been chance; for God intended to show to the Jews some extraordinary portent, that even against their will they might observe his hand. When any thing trifling happens, if it be rare, it will strike the attention of men; for we often see that the world makes a great noise about frivolous things. But this wonder, says the Prophet, “ought to have produced effect on you. What then will ye do, since ye are starving, and the causes are evident; for God has cursed your land, and brought these insects, which have consumed your food before your eyes. Since it is so, it is surely the time for you to repent; and you have been hitherto very regardless having overlooked God’s judgments, which have been so remarkable and so memorable.” Let us now proceed.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators1599 · Public DomainOn vv5–6Meaning, that the occasion of their excess and drunkenness…
Meaning, that the occasion of their excess and drunkenness was taken away.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp1656 · Public DomainOn vv4–7Joe 1:4 That which the palmerworm hath left hath…
Joe 1:4 That which the palmerworm hath left hath the locust eaten; and that which the locust hath left hath the cankerworm eaten; and that which the cankerworm hath left hath the caterpiller eaten.
Ver. 4. That which the palmerworm hath left hath the locust eaten] The palmerworm hath its name in Hebrew from shaving, גזם (because it shaveth off the fruits of the earth). In Chaldee from creeping; in Greek from crookening; in Latin from gnawing. (Zachala. καμπη. Eruca ab erodendo.) The locust hath its name in Hebrew from multitude, wherewith the very sun is darkened; in Latin from burning places, where it spoileth, Locusts, quasi loca ustulans; in Greek from cropping the tops of grain and plants, which, as they fled, they fed upon. The cankerworm hath its name in Hebrew from licking; in Chaldee from fleeing; in Greek and Latin from feeding upon the flowers of apples and other fruits, Aκρις Mηλοχονθη. Comester some render it. Flemings call it, The preacher, a bombo quem palando edit, from the noise it maketh as it flies. The caterpillar hath its name, Chasil, from wasting, because it utterly consumeth all, not only fruits and leaves, but tender boughs and branches: Ut ita creseat oratio sicut ipsum malum, to show that as their sin increased so did their punishment. The Lord of hosts cannot possibly want a weapon wherewith to beat a rebel; neither may wicked men expect that he should lay down the bucklers first. To that bold question of Pharaoh, Exo 5:2, "Who is the Lord, that I should obey him?" God made a large reply, by his armies of locusts, lice, flies, &c., till Pharaoh was forced to answer himself, "The Lord is righteous." What spoil hath been made by these despicable creatures here mentioned in other countries, Pliny recordeth. Pierius testifieth that the Egyptians made the locust a hieroglyphic of famine. And although we find not expressly set down in the holy history when this particular plague was executed, yet we need not doubt but it was done according to Deu 28:38-39. See 1Ki 8:37.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole1685 · Public DomainOn vv4–7Four sorts of insects pernicious to all sorts of…
Four sorts of insects pernicious to all sorts of trees, corn, and herbs are here mentioned, which did succeed each other, and devoured all that might be a future support to the Jews; whence ensued a grievous famine for four years together, say the Jewish interpreters, though there is no cogent reason in what they mention for proof hereof. These insects might in the same year succeed each other, the one, as is usual, might come sooner, the rest successively, each in its season, and so spoil the springing of all things, which they did (I do believe) really; and though these might be emblems of some future devastation, yet it seems most agreeable to reason, and the context, that there should really have been such caterpillars and other vermin, and that they did devour all that was green; and though this is no where else mentioned, as I remember, in the sacred history, yet it is likely it was done, as here told, and as so done was a figure of some greater devastation made by foreign powers, as by Tiglath-pileser, Shalmaneser, Sennacherib, and Nebuchadnezzar.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill1763 · Public DomainOn vv4–7That which the palmer worm hath left hath the…
That which the palmer worm hath left hath the locust eaten,.... These, with the two following, are four kinds of, locusts as Jarchi observes; though it is difficult to fix the particular species designed; they seem to have their names from some peculiar properties belonging to them; as the first of these from their sheering or cropping off the fruits and leaves of trees; and the second from the vast increase of them, the multitude they bring forth and the large numbers they appear in:
and that which the locust hath left hath the canker worm eaten; which in the Hebrew language is called from its licking up the fruits of the earth, by which it becomes barren:
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and that which the canker worm hath left hath the caterpillar eaten; which has its name from wasting and consuming all that comes in its way: now these came not together, but followed one another; not one one year, and another the second, and so on throughout four years, as Kimchi thinks; for though the calamity lasted some years as is manifest from Joe 2:25; yet it is not reasonable, that, for instance what the palmer worm left the first year should remain in the fields and vineyards, on the fig trees and vines till the next year for the locust to consume and is on:, but rather these all appeared in succession in one and the same year; and so what the palmer worm left having eaten up what was most agreeable to them, the locust came and devoured what they had left; and then what they left was destroyed by the canker worm, which fed on that which was most grateful to them; and last of all came the caterpillar, and consumed all the others had left; and this might be continued for years successively: when this calamity was, we have no account in sacred history; whether it was in the seven years' famine in the days of Elisha, or the same with what Amos speaks of, Amo 4:6; is not easy to say: and though it seems to be literally understood, as the drought later mentioned, yet might be typical of the enemies of the Jews succeeding one another in the destruction of them. Not of the four monarchies, the Babylonians, Persians, Grecians, and Romans, as Lyra and Abarbinel; since the Persians particularly never entered into the land of Judea and wasted it; though this is the sense of the ancient Jews, as Jerom relates; for he says the Hebrews interpret the "palmer worm" of the Assyrians, Babylonians, and Chaldeans, who, coming from one climate of the world, destroyed both the ten and the two tribes, that is, all the people of Israel: the locust they interpret of the Medes and Persians, who, having overturned the Chaldean empire, carried the Jews captive: the "canker worm" is the Macedonians, and all the successors of Alexander; especially King Antiochus, surnamed Epiphanes, who like a canker worm sat in Judea, and devoured all the remains of the former kings, under whom were the wars of the Maccabees: the "caterpillar" they refer to the Roman empire, the fourth and last that oppressed the Jews, and drove them out of their borders. Nor of the several kings of Assyria and Babylon, who followed one another, and wasted first the ten tribes, and then the other two, as Tiglathpileser, Shalmaneser, Sennacherib, and Nebuchadnezzar, so Theodoret; since this prophecy only relates to the two tribes. Rather therefore this may point at the several invasions and incursions of the Chaldean army into Judea, under Nebuchadnezzar and his generals; first, when he came up against Jerusalem, and made Jehoiakim tributary to him; a second time, when he carried Jehoiachin and his family into Babylon, with a multitude of the Jews, and their wealth; a third time, when he besieged Jerusalem, and took it, and Zedekiah the king, and carried him captive; and a fourth time, when Nebuzaradan came and burnt the temple, and the houses of Jerusalem, and broke down the walls of it, and cleared the land of its inhabitants and riches; see Kg2 24:1.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley1765 · Public DomainOn vv4–6Palmer-worm - Four sorts of insects, are here mentioned,…
Palmer-worm - Four sorts of insects, are here mentioned, which succeeded each other, and devoured all that might be a support to the Jews, whence ensued a grievous famine.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke1810 · Public DomainOn vv4–7Verse 4. That which the palmerworm hath left] Here…
Verse 4. That which the palmerworm hath left] Here he begins to open his message, and the words he chooses show that he is going to announce a devastation of the land by locusts, and a famine consequent on their depredations. What the different insects may be which he specifies is not easy to determine. I shall give the words of the original, with their etymology.
The palmerworm, גזם gazam, from the same root, to cut short; probably the caterpillar, or some such blight, from its cutting the leaves of the trees into pieces for its nourishment.
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The locust, ארבה arbeh, from רבה rabah, to multiply, from the immense increase and multitude of this insect.
Cankerworm, ילק yelek, from לק lak, to lick or lap with the tongue; the reference is uncertain.
Caterpillar, חסיל chasil, from חסל chasal, to consume, to eat up; the consumer. Bishop Newcome translates the first, grasshopper; the second, locust; the third, devouring locust; and the fourth, consuming locust. After all that has been said by interpreters concerning these four animals, I am fully of opinion that the arbeh, or locust himself, is the gazam, the yelek, and the chasil; and that these different names are used here by the prophet to point out the locust in its different states, or progress from embryo to full growth. See Clarke on Joe 2:2.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson1811 · Public DomainOn vv4–6Joe 1:4. That which the palmer-worm hath left hath…
Joe 1:4. That which the palmer-worm hath left hath the locust eaten — A succession of noxious creatures hath perfectly destroyed the fruits of the earth; which makes this judgment so strange and remarkable. It is usual with the prophets to speak of things which were certainly about to take place, as already come to pass; and it is likely that the prophet speaks thus here; and that the sense is, That which the palmer-worm shall leave the locust shall eat. Bochart hath assigned many probable reasons to show that the four Hebrew words here used signify four species of locusts.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes1834 · Public DomainOn vv4–7That which the palmerworm hath left, hath the locust…
That which the palmerworm hath left, hath the locust eaten - The creatures here spoken of are different kinds of locusts, so named from their number or voracity. We, who are free from this scourge of God, know them only by the generic name of locusts. But the law mentions several sorts of locusts, each after its kind, which might be eaten . In fact, above eighty different kinds of locusts have been observed , some of which are twice as large as that which is the ordinary scourge of God . Slight as they are in themselves, they are mighty in God’s Hand; beautiful and gorgeous as they are, floating in the sun’s rays , they are a scourge, including other plagues, famine, and often, pestilence.
Of the four kinds, here named by the prophet, that rendered “locust” is so called from its multitude, (from where Jeremiah says “they are more numerous than the locust” See Jdg 6:5; Jdg 7:12; Psa 105:34; Nah 3:15. It is a proverb in Arabic also)), and is, probably, the creature which desolates whole regions of Asia and Africa. The rest are named from their voracity, the “gnawer,” “licker,” “consumer,” but they are, beyond doubt, distinct kinds of that destroyer. And this is the characteristic of the prophet’s threatening, that he foretells a succession of destroyers, each more fatal than the preceding; and that, not according to the order of nature. For in all the observations which have been made of the locusts, even when successive flights have desolated the same land, they have always been successive clouds of the same creature.
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Over and above the fact, then, that locusts are a heavy chastisement from God, these words of Joel form a sort of sacred proverb. They are the epitome of his whole prophecy. It is “this” which he had called the old men to hear, and to say whether they had known anything like “this;” that scourge came after scourge, judgment after judgment, until man yielded or perished. The visitation of locusts was one of the punishments threatened in the law, “Thou shall carry much seed out into the field, and shalt gather but little in, for the locust shall consume it” Deu 28:38. It was one of God’s ordinary punishments for sin, in that country, like famine, or pestilence, or blight, or mildew, or murrain, or (in this) potato disease. Solomon, accordingly, at the dedication of the temple mentions the locust among the other plagues, which he then solemnly entreated God to remove, when individuals or the whole people should spread forth their hands in penitence toward that house 1Ki 8:37-38.
But the characteristic of “this” prophecy is the successiveness of the judgments, each in itself, desolating, and the later following quick upon the earlier, and completing their destructiveness. The judgments of God are linked together by an invisible chain, each drawing on the other; yet, at each link of the lengthening chain, allowing space and time for repentance to break it through. So in the plagues of Egypt, God, “executing His judgments upon them by little and little, gave them time for repentance” (Wisd. 12:10); yet, when Pharaoh hardened his heart, each followed on the other, until he perished in the Red Sea. In like way God said, “him that escapeth the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay; and him that escapeth from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay” 1Ki 19:17. So, in the Revelation, the “trumpets” are sounded Rev 8:1-13; Rev. 9; Rev 11:15, and “the vials of the wrath of God are poured out upon the earth, one after the other” Rev. 16. Actual locusts were very likely one of the scourges intended by the prophet. They certainly were not the whole; but pictured others fiercer, more desolating, more overwhelming. The proverbial dress gained and fixed people’s attention on the truth, which, if it had been presented to the people nakedly, they might have turned from. Yet as, in God’s wisdom, what is said generally, is often fulfilled specially, so here there were four great invaders which in succession wasted Judah; the Assyrian, Chaldaean, Macedonian and Roman.
Morally, also, four chief passions desolate successively the human heart. : “For what is designated by the “palmerworm,” which creeps with all its body on the ground, except it be lust, which so pollutes the heart which it possesses, that it cannot rise up to the love of heavenly purity? What is expressed by the “locust,” which flies by leaps, except vain glory which exalts itself with empty presumptions? What is typified by the “cankerworm,” almost the whole of whose body is gathered into its belly, except gluttony in eating? What but anger is indicated by mildew, which burns as it touches? What the “palmerworm” then “hath left the locust heath eaten,” because, when the sin of lust has retired from the mind, vain glory often succeeds. For since it is not now subdued by the love of the flesh, it boasts of itself, as if it were holy through its chastity. “And that which the locust hath left, the cankerworm hath eaten,” because when vain glory, which came, as it were, from holiness, is resisted, either the appetite, or some ambitious desires are indulged in too immoderately. For the mind which knows not God, is led the more fiercely to any object of ambition, in proportion as it is not restrained by any love of human praise. “That which the cankerworm hath left,” the mildew consumes, because when the gluttony of the belly is restrained by abstinence, the impatience of anger holds fiercer sway, which, like mildew, eats up the harvest by burning it, because the flame of impatience withers the fruit of virtue. When then some vices succeed to others, one plague devours the field of the mind, while another leaves it.”
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary1859 · Public DomainOn vv4–6Left, &c. Some understand this literally of the desolation…
Left, &c. Some understand this literally of the desolation of the land by these insects: others understand it of the different invasions of the Chaldeans, or other enemies. (Challoner) --- Jerusalem was four times plundered by the Babylonians, and every time worse than before, as these four sorts of destructive things shew. But we shall not enlarge upon these points, nor pursue the mystical sense of the prophets, which may be found in the fathers and Ribera. (Worthington) --- Others suppose that the Assyrians, Chaldeans, Greeks, (particularly Epiphanes) and Romans, are meant. We explain it simply of the devastation by insects. (Calmet) --- Four different species of locusts are denoted. (Bochart, p. 2. b. iv. 1.) --- Mildew. Hebrew chasil, (Haydock) is often rendered "a locust," by [the] Septuagint, (chap. ii. 25., &c.) and most suppose this is here the sense. The mildew destroys corn chiefly in low damp situations. (Calmet)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown1871 · Public DomainOn vv4–7This verse states the subject on which he afterwards…
This verse states the subject on which he afterwards expands. Four species or stages of locusts, rather than four different insects, are meant (compare Lev 11:22). Literally, (1) the gnawing locust; (2) the swarming locust; (3) the licking locust; (4) the consuming locust; forming a climax to the most destructive kind. The last is often three inches long, and the two antennæ, each an inch long. The two hinder of its six feet are larger than the rest, adapting it for leaping. The first "kind" is that of the locust, having just emerged from the egg in spring, and without wings. The second is when at the end of spring, still in their first skin, the locusts put forth little ones without legs or wings. The third, when after their third casting of the old skin, they get small wings, which enable them to leap the better, but not to fly. Being unable to go away till their wings are matured, they devour all before them, grass, shrubs, and bark of trees: translated "rough caterpillars" (Jer 51:27). The fourth kind, the matured winged locusts (see on Nah 3:16). In Joe 2:25 they are enumerated in the reverse order, where the restoration of the devastations caused by them is promised. The Hebrews make the first species refer to Assyria and Babylon; the second species, to Medo-Persia; the third, to Greco-Macedonia and Antiochus Epiphanes; the fourth, to the Romans. Though the primary reference be to literal locusts, the Holy Spirit doubtless had in view the successive empires which assailed Judea, each worse than its predecessor, Rome being the climax.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon1874 · Public DomainOn vv4–54. Description of the calamity to which Joe_1:2-3 point.…
4. Description of the calamity to which Joe_1:2-3 point. “The land is bare, swarm after swarm of destructive locusts have devoured the crops and the foliage.” What are we to understand by the four classes of locusts mentioned: (1) gazam, (2) arbeh, (3) yeleq, (4) hasil; The first may be rendered “shearer,” the second “swarmer,” the third “licker,” the fourth “devourer.” Of these four names arbeh seems to be the generic term for locust; it is the one used most frequently in the Old Testament. Gazam occurs again only in Joe_2:25, and Amo_4:9; in Amos the name is selected in the place of the common one because it suggests in itself destructiveness. Yeleq seems to be used in Psa_105:34, as equivalent to arbeh, and in Nah_3:15, the two are used apparently as synonyms. In a similar way hasil is used as equivalent to arbeh in Deu_28:38; Isa_33:4, etc. From these facts it may be safe to infer that gazam, yeleq, and hasil are all epithets applied to arbeh. The prophet piles up these names simply for rhetorical purposes, “to picture the work of destruction as complete and final.” So Wellhausen and Nowack, “The names are heaped up to exhaust the genus even to its last individual.” This is a more probable interpretation than that which makes the four names designations of four different kinds of locusts, or of locusts in four successive stages of development. The latter view is advocated by Credner, Wuensche, and others, but it is made impossible by Joe_2:25, where the four names occur in different order; again, the stage designated by arbeh would be an undeveloped state, which is improbable, since it is the most common term for locust; besides, it would be difficult to distinguish between four separate stages in the life of the locust. That four different kinds of locusts are meant cannot be shown from the context, and the use of the names in other passages speaks against this view. Driver’s view, also, which regards the four names in part as synonymous designations of the same species, in part as designations of different species and in part as designating the ordinary locust in different stages of development is improbable.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges1878 · Public DomainOn vv4–74. The calamity to which the prophet has thus…
4. The calamity to which the prophet has thus emphatically directed his hearers’ attention: a visitation of locusts, repeated for more years than one (Joe_2:25), and of unexampled severity; what had escaped the ravages of one swarm, had been speedily devoured by a succeeding one, till the crops were completely ruined, and every chance both of harvest and vintage had been utterly destroyed.
That which the shearer (gâzâm) hath left, the swarmer (arbeh) hath eaten;
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And that which the swarmer (arbeh) hath left, the lapper (yéleḳ) hath eaten;
And that which the lapper (yéleḳ) hath left, the finisher (ḥâsîl) hath eaten.
The general intention of the verse is manifestly to describe a total destruction of the herbage of the land; but as we cannot identify with certainty the kinds of locust meant,—nor, if we could, should have suitable English names by which to distinguish them,—it is best to translate the terms used by words expressing the ideas which they probably suggested to the Hebrew ear. Successive swarms of locusts, appearing partly, it is probable, in the same year, partly in following years, are indicated rhetorically by four distinct names, which may partly be synonymous designations of the same species (though not of the same individual insects), partly denote different species, and partly denote the ordinary locust in different stages of its development (see p. 84 f.). The gâzâm is mentioned besides only Joe_2:25, Amo_4:9. Arbeh is the usual name of the locust in Hebrew, and may be presumed therefore to have been the name of the species which most commonly invades Palestine, the Acridium peregrinum. The yéleḳ may have denoted the ordinary locust in its wingless larva- or pupa-stage (in which state it is not less destructive than in its mature form): in this case the second line of the verse will describe how what the fully-grown parent insects left in April or May, when they laid their eggs, was destroyed by the young larvae hatched in June. The ḥâsîl is named beside the arbeh, as a plague to which Palestine was liable, in 1Ki_8:37; this, therefore, was probably a distinct species, perhaps the Oedipoda migratoria or Pachytylus, also common in Palestine[30]. See further particulars in the Excursus at the end of the Book (p. 85 ff.).
[30] The four names cannot, as Credner and (somewhat differently) Gesenius thought, denote, as they stand, locusts in four successive stages of their development, for various reasons: (1) because not more than three stages are distinguishable by an ordinary observer [yet cf. p. 90]; (2) because, upon this view, arbeh, the most usual name of the locust, would denote only the immature insect; (3) because in Joe_2:25 the four names occur in a different order; (4) because, as swarms of locusts always move onwards, a swarm in one stage of its development could not be said to have devoured what it had left in a previous stage, since it would be upon entirely new ground. (Of course the last objection does not hold in the particular case of the larvae emerging from eggs, assumed above to represent the yéleḳ.)
In illustration of the allusions to locusts, contained in this and the following chapter, numerous passages from the descriptions of naturalists and travellers have been collected by Credner (ad locc. and pp. 261–313), and after him by Dr Pusey, a selection from which (with some additions from more recent authorities) is reprinted here. In the Excursus (p. 87 ff.) will be found also some continuous descriptions, by different observers, of the invasion of a country by locusts.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers1878 · Public DomainOn vv4–7(4) That which the palmerworm hath left.—The picture is…
(4) That which the palmerworm hath left.—The picture is introduced suddenly and graphically. “Behold the desolation!” “Note the cause.” The earth is bared by locusts beyond all previous experience. There were different sorts of locusts; as many as ninety have been reckoned. The four names, palmerworm, locust, cankerworm, caterpiller, indicate different swarms of the insect. The first—Gazam—points to its voracity; the second—Arbeh—its multitude; the third—Yelek—its manner of “licking up” the grass like cattle; the fourth—Chasil—its destructive effect. The number enumerated, four, draws attention to the “four sore judgments” with which Ezekiel was instructed to threaten Jerusalem, and to the four foreign invasions by the Assyrians, Chaldæans, Macedonians, and Romans.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary1880 · Public DomainOn vv4–7That which the palmer-worm hath left hath the locust…
That which the palmer-worm hath left hath the locust eaten; and that which the locust hath left hath the cankerworm eaten; and that which the canker-worm hath left hath the caterpillar eaten. Some interpreters consider, and rightly, we think, that the prophet enumerates in this verse four different species of locusts. The common or general name is arbeh, from rabhah, to be many; the gazam, or palmerworm, is the gnawer, or biter, from a root (guzam) which signifies "to gnaw, bite, or cut off;" the yeleq, or canker-worm, is the licker, from yalaqlaqaq, to lick, or lick off; the chasil, or caterpillar, is the devourer, from chasal, to cut off. Thus we have the locust, or multitudinous one, the gnawer, the licker, and the devourer, either as
(1) four different species of locust; or
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(2) the gnawer, licker, and devourer are poetical epithets of the locust, or multitudinous one.
These names do not denote the locust
(1) at different stages, according to Credner. Nor
(2) can we with propriety understand them allegorically, with Jerome, Cyril, and Theodoret, of the enemies of the Jews, whether
(a) the Assyrians, Babylonians, and Chaldeans,
(b) Medes and Persians,
(c) Macedonians and successors of Alexander, especially Antiochus, and
(d) the Romans;
or the hostile kings ,
(a) Shahnaneser,
(b) Nebuchadnezzar,
(c) Antiochus, and
(d) the Romans;
or those other kings ,
(a) Tiglath-Pileser,
(b) Shalma-neser,
(c) Sennacherib, and
(d) Nebuchadnezzar.
The most celebrated Hebrew commentators understand the passage of locusts in the proper and literal sense. Thus Rashi says, "The palmer-worm locust, cankerworm, and caterpillar are species of locusts; and the prophet prophesies about them that they will come; and they came in those days, and they devoured all the fruit of the trees and every herb of the field." Abon Ezra says, "This the prophet prophesied in reference to the locust which should come to destroy the land. In the days of Moses there was one kind of locust alone, but now, with the arbeh, there are the gazam and yeleq and chasil, and these three kinds are joined." He also quotes Japhet as saying "that gazam is equivalent to gozez, cutting, and the mere is like mere in chinmam reykam; and yeleq, that which licks (yiloq) with its tongue... and chasil of some signification (yachsele-nenu) as shall consume it." In like manner Kimohi gives the derivation of the words as follows: "Some say that gazam is so called because it cuts (gozez) the increase; and arbeh, because it is numerous in species; and yeleq, because it licks and depastures by licking the herb; and chasil, became it cuts the whole, from "And the locust shall consume it"." (Deu_28:38) When, however, Kimchi distributes the comings of the locusts into four separate and successive years, we must reject his interpretation in that respect. He says, "What the gazam left in the first year, the locust ate in the second year; for the four kinds did not come in one year, but one after another in four years; and he says, "I will restore to you the years the locust hath eaten.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator1887 · Public DomainOn v5Awake, ye drunkards, and weep.
Joe_1:5-9
Awake, ye drunkards, and weep.
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The insensibility and misery of the drunkard
The prophet now endeavours to awaken certain characters in the nation to an earnest sense of the woe that has overtaken them, and to deep repentance, that it may be averted. His first warning cry is to the drunkard. The evils of intoxication are often intimately connected with national plagues, and require that earnest ministries should be directed against them.
I. that the drunkard is insensible to the most important concerns of life, Awake. The prophet knew that it was the tendency of intoxicating drink to cast men into an unholy slumber, and to render them dangerously insensible to the most important things around them.
1. Intoxicating drink has a tendency to darken the intelligence of man.
2. Intoxicating drink has a tendency to deaden the moral susceptibilities of man. These drunkards of Judah were not merely mentally blind to the calamities which had come upon their country, but were morally incapable of estimating their due social effect.
3. Intoxicating drink has a tendency to destroy the conscience of man. These drunkards of Judah probably did not consider that they were working their own moral degradation, and that they were inviting the retribution of heaven. They imagined that they were enjoying the plenty they possessed, and that they were the happiest of men. The prosperity of fools shall slay them.
II. That the drunkard is exposed to the most abject misery. And howl, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the new wine; for it is cut off from your mouth.
1. He is liable to the misery of self-loathing. We can readily imagine that these drunkards of Judah would now and then awake from their sottish slumber, and that in the moment of bodily pain they would be seized with sad thoughts of their own degradation.
2. He is liable to the misery of social contempt. Drunkards are the object of social scorn, they are incapable of industrious work, they are injurious to the common good. They prostitute great abilities. They misuse golden opportunities. They place manhood on a level with the brute.
3. They are liable to the misery of unsatisfied appetite. The drunkards of Judah would howl because the new wine was cut off from their mouth. They had abused the gifts of providence, and now they are no longer allowed to enjoy them. Sin brings the wealthiest of sinners to want. Plenty at one time is no guarantee against penury at another. In the next life the appetite which sin has created will be for ever unsatisfied; then the wine will indeed be cut off from the mouth.
III. that the drunkard is in immediate need of the most earnest ministry which can be addressed to him. We cannot but see in this verse that the prophet addressed the drunkards of Judah in earnest and faithful speech. He called them by their right name. He urged them to thoughtfulness and repentance. There is need that the pulpit of our age should take up his cry. Lessons--
1. That the drunkard is incapable of the qualities necessary for true citizenship.
2. That many national calamities are occasioned by the drunkard.
3. That the most effective ministries of the Church should be directed against this, terrible evil. (J. S. Exell, M. A.)
Judgments adapted to sins
Prevailing Sins are often visited with corresponding judgments. The Lord in His righteous dealings withholds those gifts of His providence which have been abused. He takes from an ungodly people the means of gratifying their lusts, and leads them to repentance by afflictions which are not capriciously ordered, but with exactest wisdom suited to their character. Thus, to check a thoughtless indifference to religion, He sends forth pestilences which strike down thousands and spread universal dismay. To restrain from habits of self-indulgence and extravagance, He causes a blight to fall upon the earth, bringing on scarceness and want. To put a rein upon the unsatiated pursuit of wealth, He allows a panic on the Stock Exchange. So here the prophet denounces no other woe against the drunkards than the deprivation of the wine they had abused. It is not unlikely that this part of the prophecy has a literal as well as symbolical aspect, that it inveighs against intemperance as well as idolatry. It was sensuality that first led the Israelites into idolatry. Persistence in indulgences so debilitated their minds and blinded their understandings as to cause them to apostatise from Jehovah, and fall down before images of wood and stone. On no class of persons do Gods judgments fall more heavily than on those who embrute their souls with the intoxicating delights of idolatrous worship. (C. Robinson, LL. D.)
Woe to drunkards
Satan has three or four grades down which he takes men to destruction. One man he takes up, and through one spree pitches him into eternal darkness. That is a rare case. Very seldom, indeed, can you find a man who will be such a fool as that. Satan will take another man to a grade, to a descent at an angle about like that of the Pennsylvania coal-shute or the Mount Washington rail-track, and shove him off. But that is very rare. When a man goes down to destruction Satan brings him to a plane. It is almost a level. The depression is so slight that you can hardly see it. The man does not actually know that he is on the down grade and it tips only a little towards darkness--just a little. And the first mile it is claret, and the second mile it is sherry, and the third mile it is punch,, and the fourth mile it is ale, and the fifth mile it is porter, and the sixth mile it is brandy, and then it gets steeper and steeper and steeper and the man gets frightened and says, Oh, let me get off! No, says the conductor, this is an express train, and it does not stop until it gets to the Grand Central Depot at Smashupton. (T. De Witt Talmage.)
For a nation is come up upon my land, strong, and without number.
The agencies of Divine retribution
It is generally the way of God to meet sin by appropriate retribution; hence He destroys the vines of the drunkard. Some men are only reached through the lowest propensities of their nature, and are only conscious of penalty when their carnal wants are unsupplied.
I. That the agencies of divine retribution are great in their number, For a nation is come up upon my land, strong, and without number.
1. These agencies are numerous; The locusts did not come in a single flight, but in incredible and successive swarms, Heaven has an infinite resource of retributive messengers waiting its behest, It can soon darken our lives by a throng of hostile energies.
2. These agencies are strong. True, these locusts were in themselves weak and diminutive creatures, They were not like the proud monarch of the forest, and had not the majestic appearance or strength of the lion or the bear. They were insects. And so the most trivial agencies of the universe, when sent by God to punish sin, become mighty and resistless. Then the superior intelligence of man will avail nothing against them. Then the pride of the mighty will be brought to the dust.
3. These agencies are united, The locusts came upon the land of Judah as though they were animated by one national policy. The ants and conies are designated a people (Pro_30:25-26), indicative of the wisdom by which they are Divinely taught to act. Hence the term nation gives no favour to the view that the locusts are symbolical era foreign invasion. And so the retributive agencies of heaven often come upon the wicked in terrible combination. The agencies of Eternal Justice are unconsciously in sympathy with each other, and advance in one vast army to execute the penalty of sin.
II. That the agencies of divine retribution are well equipped for their work. Whose teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he hath the cheek-teeth of a great lion.
1. Their equipment is appropriate. The teeth of the locust are said to be harder than stone. They appear to be created for a scourge; since to strength incredible for so small a creature, they add saw-like teeth admirably calculated to eat up all the herbs in the land. The providence of God in executing the penalty of sin generally employs those agencies whose natural constitution the best fit them for the end contemplated. Heaven knows the most appropriate instrumentalities by which to punish the sinner.
2. Their equipment is fierce. These locusts were armed as with the cheek-teeth of a great lion. Thus they would be able to bite off the top, branches, and boughs of trees. And truly there are times when the judgments of heaven come fiercely upon the wicked, and destroy all that is precious to them.
III. That the agencies of divine retribution are desolating in their effect. He hath laid my vine waste, and barked my fig-tree: he hath made it Clean bare, and cast it away; the branches thereof are made white.
1. They desolate things of the greatest value. These locusts laid waste the noblest and most valuable fruit-trees of the land, which the Lord had given to His people for their inheritance. The messengers of Eternal Justice will not spare the vines and fig-trees of a sinful life. They strike at the root of all secular prosperity.
2. They desolate things to the utmost extent. These locusts attacked the herbage, fruit, leaves of trees, the young shoots, and their bark. Everything in the country was devoured and made clean bare. And so the agencies of Divine retribution sometimes spread their desolation over a vast area, over the entire history of a nation, throughout the entire circumstances of a family, or of an individual. They leave no token of former splendour.
3. They desolate things to the remotest period. The agencies of Divine retribution often achieve a destruction which is felt to the end of life.
IV. That the agencies of Divine retribution are productive of sad contemplation in the mind of the truly patriotic. For a nation is come up upon my land. The prophet here speaks in his character of representative of the people of God, and sees in the desolation of his country an occasion for sorrow. Hence the prophet, regarding the land as a Christian patriot, was pained by its desolation, and sought to remove the cause of the Divine anger. Piety makes men truly patriotic. Lessons--
1. That the retributive agencies of heaven are countless in number.
2. That the retributive agencies of heaven are effective in equipment.
3. That the retributive agencies of heaven spare not the most sacred possessions. (J. S. Exell, M. A.)
And barked my fig-tree.--
The fig-tree barked
We all have our fig-trees, and very early we become proprietors. Do these fig-trees continue to live and to thrive? Experience and observation furnish a prompt and sufficient reply. To bark a tree is to destroy it. To bark our fig-tree is to remove that in which we have found chief pleasure and advantage.
I. When may God be said to bark our fig-tree?
1. When God renders that which has been useful to us useless, and that which has been pleasant, obnoxious; and that which has been helpful, injurious.
2. When God removes something from us which He has given to us, and which we have taken to our hearts as all-important, and as supremely precious.
3. By breaking up some work of ours in which we have found much pleasure; or by rooting up something which we have planted, it may be with tears, it may be with joy.
II. By what means does god bark our fig-trees? God uses various means. He may permit some devil, commission some angel, allow or employ a fellow-man to bark our tree. He may use some inanimate and unconscious agent. Or He may effect the destructive work by some influence upon our minds and hearts.
III. With what intent is this done? What is the end of the Lord? Does He do this wantonly, cruelly, ignorantly, or unwisely? Nay, His object is either correction or prevention.
IV. How should a man of god demean himself when God barks his fig-tree? Submit quietly. Reverently ask, Why has God done this? Learn to use all temporal things without abusing thorn. (Samuel Martin.)
Barked fig-trees
I. Look at some of these barked fig-trees. High hopes are often changed into cruel disappointments. Bright prospects of coming happiness are turned, like fairy gold, into withered leaves. A young mans fig-tree is a healthy body and high spirits, and that tree is barked when affliction seizes him, and bodily weakness and mental depression make him as pale and helpless as a downright old man. A workmans fig-tree is regular work and a living wage; that tree is barked when work is scarce and wages low. The tradesmans fig-tree is a prosperous business; providence smiles upon him, friends multiply, and everything promises a golden harvest, when suddenly he meets with disappointment, his schemes are thwarted, the bank fails, and he is doomed to spend a helpless and penniless old age. A familys fig-tree is the father and husband; and it is barked when he is smitten down by death. The old mans fig-tree is a gladsome old age, which he hopes to spend with his wife and children about him; and that tree is barked when he suddenly dies before he has realised a thousandth part of his anticipated enjoyment. The invalids fig-tree is some glimmering hope of returning health; and it is barked when the doctor tells him that his disease is incurable, and that he must die.
II. Who barks our fig-trees? The prophet, looking up to God, said, Thou hast barked my fig-tree. The affairs of men, and especially of good men, are under Gods wise, omniscient, benevolent, and almighty control. Were there no particular, there could be no general providence, for it seems quite impossible to take care of the whole ii the separate and dependent parts be neglected. He holds the helm of the universe, and He will bring us into the desired haven.
III. Why does God bark our fig-trees?
1. Does He do it unkindly? No! He is too good to be unkind.
2. Does He do it unwisely? No! He is too wise to err.
3. God barks our fig-trees in mercy, and not in wrath. We are prone to think too much of those trees; to bestow too much thought and affection upon them, and to expect too much happiness from them.
4. Barked fig-trees destroy worldliness. Thomas Erskine used to say: Education would cease if we and our circumstances fitted each other. If our position in this world were always one of unmixed comfort, Im afraid we should never stretch our desires for a better. It is often said that the world satisfies no one; but, as a matter of fact, most men are so satisfied with it that they feel no concern for a better country, that is, a heavenly. Now, what is God to do with such people if their souls are not to be lost, but saved? They must be rendered dissatisfied with their earthly condition, and be made to welcome the hope of a happier state beyond the grave. And what is so likely to do this as some dispensation which snatches from them the objects of their inordinate affection?
5. Barked fig-trees help to mature Christian character. In the midst of our heaviest trials and deepest woes we can sing of mercy as well as of judgment.
(1) Jobs fig-tree was barked (Jam_5:11).
(2) Jacobs fig-tree was barked. The loss of Joseph was regarded by his family as a great domestic calamity.
(3) Pauls fig-tree was barked. He suffered imprisonment at Rome; some false brethren created division and strife in the Church.
(4) Barked fig-trees help to develop latent qualities. It was when Paul Gerdhart was banished from his church and manse, for preaching unpalatable truth, that he wrote that inspiring hymn, Give to the winds thy fears, etc.
IV. What are the lessons that this subject suggests?
1. Recognise the providence of God in all the events of life.
2. Moral goodness is the aim of all Gods dispensations.
3. Trust Gods providence. (H. Woodcock.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield1917 · Public DomainOn v4The palmerworm, locust, etc., are thought to be different…
palmerworm
The palmerworm, locust, etc., are thought to be different forms, at different stages of development, of one insect. The essential fact is that, according to the usual method of the Spirit in prophecy, some local circumstance is shown to be of spiritual significance, and is made the occasion of a far-reaching prophecy (e.g.) Isa 7:1-14 where the Syrian invasion and the unbelief of Ahaz give occasion to the great prophecy of Joe 1:14. Here in Joel a plague of devouring insects is shown to have spiritual significance Joe 1:13; Joe 1:14 and is made the occasion of the prophecy of the day of the Lord, not yet fulfilled. (See Scofield "Isa 2:12"). This is more developed in Joel 2, where the literal locusts are left behind, and the future day of Jehovah fills the scene.
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The whole picture is of the end-time of this present age, of the "times of the Gentiles" Luk 21:24; Rev 16:14 of the battle of Armageddon; Rev 16:14; Rev 19:11-21 of the regathering of Israel. (See Scofield "Rom 11:26") and of kingdom blessing. It is remarkable that Joel, coming at the very beginning of written prophecy (B.C. 836), gives the fullest view of the consummation of all written prophecy.
The order of events is:
(1) The invasion of Palestine from the north by Gentile world-powers headed up under the Beast and false prophet Joe 2:1-10 "Armageddon," (See Scofield "Rev 16:14").
(2) the Lord’s army and destruction of the invaders Joe 2:11; Rev 19:11-21.
(3) the repentance of Judah in the land Joe 2:12-17 (See Scofield "Deu 30:3").
(4) the answer of Jehovah Joe 2:18-27
(5) the effusion of the Spirit in the (Jewish) "last days" Joe 2:28; Joe 2:29.
(6) the return of the Lord in glory and the setting up of the kingdom Joe 2:30-32; Act 15:15-17 by the regathering of the nation and judgment of the nations Joe 3:1-16
(7) full and permanent kingdom blessing Joe 3:17-21; Zec 14:1-21. (See Scofield "Mat 25:32").
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0On vv4–5the swarming locust
the swarming locust
large groups of insects like grasshoppers that fly together and eat large areas of food crops (See: Translate Unknowns)
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swarming locust ... great locust ... grasshopper ... caterpillar
These are, respectively, an adult locust that can fly, a locust too large to fly easily, a locust with wings too young to fly, and a newborn locust that has not yet developed wings. Use names that would be understood in your language.
Tyndale Open Study Notes2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0On vv4, 5, 71:4 The disaster that had befallen Judah was a…
1:4 The disaster that had befallen Judah was a catastrophic plague of locusts. Some commentators have understood the four kinds of locusts mentioned here to represent four ancient empires that conquered Israel. Others have suggested that the words indicate four stages in the development of locusts. Most likely, the prophet was using multiple terms to emphasize the extent of the destruction wrought by wave after wave of the voracious insects.
John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv4–7 He adds what that judgment was, — that the…
He adds what that judgment was, — that the hope of food had for many years disappointed them. It often happened, we know, that locusts devoured the standing corn; and then the chafers and the palmer worms did the same: these were ordinary events. But when one devastation happened, and another followed, and there was no end; when there had been four barren years, suddenly produced by insects, which devoured the growth of the earth; — this was certainly unusual. Hence the Prophet says, that this could not have been chance; for God intended to show to the Jews some extraordinary portent, that even against their will they might observe his hand. When any thing trifling happens, if it be rare, it will strike the attention of men; for we often see that the world makes a great noise about frivolous things. But this wonder, says the Prophet, “ought to have produced effect on you. What then will ye do, since ye are starving, and the causes are evident; for God has cursed your land, and brought these insects, which have consumed your food before your eyes. Since it is so, it is surely the time for you to repent; and you have been hitherto very regardless having overlooked God’s judgments, which have been so remarkable and so memorable.” Let us now proceed.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv5–6 Meaning, that the occasion of their excess and drunkenness…
Meaning, that the occasion of their excess and drunkenness was taken away.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv4–7 Joe 1:4 That which the palmerworm hath left hath…
Joe 1:4 That which the palmerworm hath left hath the locust eaten; and that which the locust hath left hath the cankerworm eaten; and that which the cankerworm hath left hath the caterpiller eaten.
Ver. 4. That which the palmerworm hath left hath the locust eaten] The palmerworm hath its name in Hebrew from shaving, גזם (because it shaveth off the fruits of the earth). In Chaldee from creeping; in Greek from crookening; in Latin from gnawing. (Zachala. καμπη. Eruca ab erodendo.) The locust hath its name in Hebrew from multitude, wherewith the very sun is darkened; in Latin from burning places, where it spoileth, Locusts, quasi loca ustulans; in Greek from cropping the tops of grain and plants, which, as they fled, they fed upon. The cankerworm hath its name in Hebrew from licking; in Chaldee from fleeing; in Greek and Latin from feeding upon the flowers of apples and other fruits, Aκρις Mηλοχονθη. Comester some render it. Flemings call it, The preacher, a bombo quem palando edit, from the noise it maketh as it flies. The caterpillar hath its name, Chasil, from wasting, because it utterly consumeth all, not only fruits and leaves, but tender boughs and branches: Ut ita creseat oratio sicut ipsum malum, to show that as their sin increased so did their punishment. The Lord of hosts cannot possibly want a weapon wherewith to beat a rebel; neither may wicked men expect that he should lay down the bucklers first. To that bold question of Pharaoh, Exo 5:2, "Who is the Lord, that I should obey him?" God made a large reply, by his armies of locusts, lice, flies, &c., till Pharaoh was forced to answer himself, "The Lord is righteous." What spoil hath been made by these despicable creatures here mentioned in other countries, Pliny recordeth. Pierius testifieth that the Egyptians made the locust a hieroglyphic of famine. And although we find not expressly set down in the holy history when this particular plague was executed, yet we need not doubt but it was done according to Deu 28:38-39. See 1Ki 8:37.
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Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv4–7 Four sorts of insects pernicious to all sorts of…
Four sorts of insects pernicious to all sorts of trees, corn, and herbs are here mentioned, which did succeed each other, and devoured all that might be a future support to the Jews; whence ensued a grievous famine for four years together, say the Jewish interpreters, though there is no cogent reason in what they mention for proof hereof. These insects might in the same year succeed each other, the one, as is usual, might come sooner, the rest successively, each in its season, and so spoil the springing of all things, which they did (I do believe) really; and though these might be emblems of some future devastation, yet it seems most agreeable to reason, and the context, that there should really have been such caterpillars and other vermin, and that they did devour all that was green; and though this is no where else mentioned, as I remember, in the sacred history, yet it is likely it was done, as here told, and as so done was a figure of some greater devastation made by foreign powers, as by Tiglath-pileser, Shalmaneser, Sennacherib, and Nebuchadnezzar.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv4–7 That which the palmer worm hath left hath the…
That which the palmer worm hath left hath the locust eaten,.... These, with the two following, are four kinds of, locusts as Jarchi observes; though it is difficult to fix the particular species designed; they seem to have their names from some peculiar properties belonging to them; as the first of these from their sheering or cropping off the fruits and leaves of trees; and the second from the vast increase of them, the multitude they bring forth and the large numbers they appear in:
and that which the locust hath left hath the canker worm eaten; which in the Hebrew language is called from its licking up the fruits of the earth, by which it becomes barren:
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and that which the canker worm hath left hath the caterpillar eaten; which has its name from wasting and consuming all that comes in its way: now these came not together, but followed one another; not one one year, and another the second, and so on throughout four years, as Kimchi thinks; for though the calamity lasted some years as is manifest from Joe 2:25; yet it is not reasonable, that, for instance what the palmer worm left the first year should remain in the fields and vineyards, on the fig trees and vines till the next year for the locust to consume and is on:, but rather these all appeared in succession in one and the same year; and so what the palmer worm left having eaten up what was most agreeable to them, the locust came and devoured what they had left; and then what they left was destroyed by the canker worm, which fed on that which was most grateful to them; and last of all came the caterpillar, and consumed all the others had left; and this might be continued for years successively: when this calamity was, we have no account in sacred history; whether it was in the seven years' famine in the days of Elisha, or the same with what Amos speaks of, Amo 4:6; is not easy to say: and though it seems to be literally understood, as the drought later mentioned, yet might be typical of the enemies of the Jews succeeding one another in the destruction of them. Not of the four monarchies, the Babylonians, Persians, Grecians, and Romans, as Lyra and Abarbinel; since the Persians particularly never entered into the land of Judea and wasted it; though this is the sense of the ancient Jews, as Jerom relates; for he says the Hebrews interpret the "palmer worm" of the Assyrians, Babylonians, and Chaldeans, who, coming from one climate of the world, destroyed both the ten and the two tribes, that is, all the people of Israel: the locust they interpret of the Medes and Persians, who, having overturned the Chaldean empire, carried the Jews captive: the "canker worm" is the Macedonians, and all the successors of Alexander; especially King Antiochus, surnamed Epiphanes, who like a canker worm sat in Judea, and devoured all the remains of the former kings, under whom were the wars of the Maccabees: the "caterpillar" they refer to the Roman empire, the fourth and last that oppressed the Jews, and drove them out of their borders. Nor of the several kings of Assyria and Babylon, who followed one another, and wasted first the ten tribes, and then the other two, as Tiglathpileser, Shalmaneser, Sennacherib, and Nebuchadnezzar, so Theodoret; since this prophecy only relates to the two tribes. Rather therefore this may point at the several invasions and incursions of the Chaldean army into Judea, under Nebuchadnezzar and his generals; first, when he came up against Jerusalem, and made Jehoiakim tributary to him; a second time, when he carried Jehoiachin and his family into Babylon, with a multitude of the Jews, and their wealth; a third time, when he besieged Jerusalem, and took it, and Zedekiah the king, and carried him captive; and a fourth time, when Nebuzaradan came and burnt the temple, and the houses of Jerusalem, and broke down the walls of it, and cleared the land of its inhabitants and riches; see Kg2 24:1.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv4–6 Palmer-worm - Four sorts of insects, are here mentioned,…
Palmer-worm - Four sorts of insects, are here mentioned, which succeeded each other, and devoured all that might be a support to the Jews, whence ensued a grievous famine.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv4–7 Verse 4. That which the palmerworm hath left] Here…
Verse 4. That which the palmerworm hath left] Here he begins to open his message, and the words he chooses show that he is going to announce a devastation of the land by locusts, and a famine consequent on their depredations. What the different insects may be which he specifies is not easy to determine. I shall give the words of the original, with their etymology.
The palmerworm, גזם gazam, from the same root, to cut short; probably the caterpillar, or some such blight, from its cutting the leaves of the trees into pieces for its nourishment.
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The locust, ארבה arbeh, from רבה rabah, to multiply, from the immense increase and multitude of this insect.
Cankerworm, ילק yelek, from לק lak, to lick or lap with the tongue; the reference is uncertain.
Caterpillar, חסיל chasil, from חסל chasal, to consume, to eat up; the consumer. Bishop Newcome translates the first, grasshopper; the second, locust; the third, devouring locust; and the fourth, consuming locust. After all that has been said by interpreters concerning these four animals, I am fully of opinion that the arbeh, or locust himself, is the gazam, the yelek, and the chasil; and that these different names are used here by the prophet to point out the locust in its different states, or progress from embryo to full growth. See Clarke on Joe 2:2.
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Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv4–6 Joe 1:4. That which the palmer-worm hath left hath…
Joe 1:4. That which the palmer-worm hath left hath the locust eaten — A succession of noxious creatures hath perfectly destroyed the fruits of the earth; which makes this judgment so strange and remarkable. It is usual with the prophets to speak of things which were certainly about to take place, as already come to pass; and it is likely that the prophet speaks thus here; and that the sense is, That which the palmer-worm shall leave the locust shall eat. Bochart hath assigned many probable reasons to show that the four Hebrew words here used signify four species of locusts.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv4–7 That which the palmerworm hath left, hath the locust…
That which the palmerworm hath left, hath the locust eaten - The creatures here spoken of are different kinds of locusts, so named from their number or voracity. We, who are free from this scourge of God, know them only by the generic name of locusts. But the law mentions several sorts of locusts, each after its kind, which might be eaten . In fact, above eighty different kinds of locusts have been observed , some of which are twice as large as that which is the ordinary scourge of God . Slight as they are in themselves, they are mighty in God’s Hand; beautiful and gorgeous as they are, floating in the sun’s rays , they are a scourge, including other plagues, famine, and often, pestilence.
Of the four kinds, here named by the prophet, that rendered “locust” is so called from its multitude, (from where Jeremiah says “they are more numerous than the locust” See Jdg 6:5; Jdg 7:12; Psa 105:34; Nah 3:15. It is a proverb in Arabic also)), and is, probably, the creature which desolates whole regions of Asia and Africa. The rest are named from their voracity, the “gnawer,” “licker,” “consumer,” but they are, beyond doubt, distinct kinds of that destroyer. And this is the characteristic of the prophet’s threatening, that he foretells a succession of destroyers, each more fatal than the preceding; and that, not according to the order of nature. For in all the observations which have been made of the locusts, even when successive flights have desolated the same land, they have always been successive clouds of the same creature.
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Over and above the fact, then, that locusts are a heavy chastisement from God, these words of Joel form a sort of sacred proverb. They are the epitome of his whole prophecy. It is “this” which he had called the old men to hear, and to say whether they had known anything like “this;” that scourge came after scourge, judgment after judgment, until man yielded or perished. The visitation of locusts was one of the punishments threatened in the law, “Thou shall carry much seed out into the field, and shalt gather but little in, for the locust shall consume it” Deu 28:38. It was one of God’s ordinary punishments for sin, in that country, like famine, or pestilence, or blight, or mildew, or murrain, or (in this) potato disease. Solomon, accordingly, at the dedication of the temple mentions the locust among the other plagues, which he then solemnly entreated God to remove, when individuals or the whole people should spread forth their hands in penitence toward that house 1Ki 8:37-38.
But the characteristic of “this” prophecy is the successiveness of the judgments, each in itself, desolating, and the later following quick upon the earlier, and completing their destructiveness. The judgments of God are linked together by an invisible chain, each drawing on the other; yet, at each link of the lengthening chain, allowing space and time for repentance to break it through. So in the plagues of Egypt, God, “executing His judgments upon them by little and little, gave them time for repentance” (Wisd. 12:10); yet, when Pharaoh hardened his heart, each followed on the other, until he perished in the Red Sea. In like way God said, “him that escapeth the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay; and him that escapeth from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay” 1Ki 19:17. So, in the Revelation, the “trumpets” are sounded Rev 8:1-13; Rev. 9; Rev 11:15, and “the vials of the wrath of God are poured out upon the earth, one after the other” Rev. 16. Actual locusts were very likely one of the scourges intended by the prophet. They certainly were not the whole; but pictured others fiercer, more desolating, more overwhelming. The proverbial dress gained and fixed people’s attention on the truth, which, if it had been presented to the people nakedly, they might have turned from. Yet as, in God’s wisdom, what is said generally, is often fulfilled specially, so here there were four great invaders which in succession wasted Judah; the Assyrian, Chaldaean, Macedonian and Roman.
Morally, also, four chief passions desolate successively the human heart. : “For what is designated by the “palmerworm,” which creeps with all its body on the ground, except it be lust, which so pollutes the heart which it possesses, that it cannot rise up to the love of heavenly purity? What is expressed by the “locust,” which flies by leaps, except vain glory which exalts itself with empty presumptions? What is typified by the “cankerworm,” almost the whole of whose body is gathered into its belly, except gluttony in eating? What but anger is indicated by mildew, which burns as it touches? What the “palmerworm” then “hath left the locust heath eaten,” because, when the sin of lust has retired from the mind, vain glory often succeeds. For since it is not now subdued by the love of the flesh, it boasts of itself, as if it were holy through its chastity. “And that which the locust hath left, the cankerworm hath eaten,” because when vain glory, which came, as it were, from holiness, is resisted, either the appetite, or some ambitious desires are indulged in too immoderately. For the mind which knows not God, is led the more fiercely to any object of ambition, in proportion as it is not restrained by any love of human praise. “That which the cankerworm hath left,” the mildew consumes, because when the gluttony of the belly is restrained by abstinence, the impatience of anger holds fiercer sway, which, like mildew, eats up the harvest by burning it, because the flame of impatience withers the fruit of virtue. When then some vices succeed to others, one plague devours the field of the mind, while another leaves it.”
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv4–6 Left, &c. Some understand this literally of the desolation…
Left, &c. Some understand this literally of the desolation of the land by these insects: others understand it of the different invasions of the Chaldeans, or other enemies. (Challoner) --- Jerusalem was four times plundered by the Babylonians, and every time worse than before, as these four sorts of destructive things shew. But we shall not enlarge upon these points, nor pursue the mystical sense of the prophets, which may be found in the fathers and Ribera. (Worthington) --- Others suppose that the Assyrians, Chaldeans, Greeks, (particularly Epiphanes) and Romans, are meant. We explain it simply of the devastation by insects. (Calmet) --- Four different species of locusts are denoted. (Bochart, p. 2. b. iv. 1.) --- Mildew. Hebrew chasil, (Haydock) is often rendered "a locust," by [the] Septuagint, (chap. ii. 25., &c.) and most suppose this is here the sense. The mildew destroys corn chiefly in low damp situations. (Calmet)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv4–7 This verse states the subject on which he afterwards…
This verse states the subject on which he afterwards expands. Four species or stages of locusts, rather than four different insects, are meant (compare Lev 11:22). Literally, (1) the gnawing locust; (2) the swarming locust; (3) the licking locust; (4) the consuming locust; forming a climax to the most destructive kind. The last is often three inches long, and the two antennæ, each an inch long. The two hinder of its six feet are larger than the rest, adapting it for leaping. The first "kind" is that of the locust, having just emerged from the egg in spring, and without wings. The second is when at the end of spring, still in their first skin, the locusts put forth little ones without legs or wings. The third, when after their third casting of the old skin, they get small wings, which enable them to leap the better, but not to fly. Being unable to go away till their wings are matured, they devour all before them, grass, shrubs, and bark of trees: translated "rough caterpillars" (Jer 51:27). The fourth kind, the matured winged locusts (see on Nah 3:16). In Joe 2:25 they are enumerated in the reverse order, where the restoration of the devastations caused by them is promised. The Hebrews make the first species refer to Assyria and Babylon; the second species, to Medo-Persia; the third, to Greco-Macedonia and Antiochus Epiphanes; the fourth, to the Romans. Though the primary reference be to literal locusts, the Holy Spirit doubtless had in view the successive empires which assailed Judea, each worse than its predecessor, Rome being the climax.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv4–5 4. Description of the calamity to which Joe_1:2-3 point.…
4. Description of the calamity to which Joe_1:2-3 point. “The land is bare, swarm after swarm of destructive locusts have devoured the crops and the foliage.” What are we to understand by the four classes of locusts mentioned: (1) gazam, (2) arbeh, (3) yeleq, (4) hasil; The first may be rendered “shearer,” the second “swarmer,” the third “licker,” the fourth “devourer.” Of these four names arbeh seems to be the generic term for locust; it is the one used most frequently in the Old Testament. Gazam occurs again only in Joe_2:25, and Amo_4:9; in Amos the name is selected in the place of the common one because it suggests in itself destructiveness. Yeleq seems to be used in Psa_105:34, as equivalent to arbeh, and in Nah_3:15, the two are used apparently as synonyms. In a similar way hasil is used as equivalent to arbeh in Deu_28:38; Isa_33:4, etc. From these facts it may be safe to infer that gazam, yeleq, and hasil are all epithets applied to arbeh. The prophet piles up these names simply for rhetorical purposes, “to picture the work of destruction as complete and final.” So Wellhausen and Nowack, “The names are heaped up to exhaust the genus even to its last individual.” This is a more probable interpretation than that which makes the four names designations of four different kinds of locusts, or of locusts in four successive stages of development. The latter view is advocated by Credner, Wuensche, and others, but it is made impossible by Joe_2:25, where the four names occur in different order; again, the stage designated by arbeh would be an undeveloped state, which is improbable, since it is the most common term for locust; besides, it would be difficult to distinguish between four separate stages in the life of the locust. That four different kinds of locusts are meant cannot be shown from the context, and the use of the names in other passages speaks against this view. Driver’s view, also, which regards the four names in part as synonymous designations of the same species, in part as designations of different species and in part as designating the ordinary locust in different stages of development is improbable.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv4–7 4. The calamity to which the prophet has thus…
4. The calamity to which the prophet has thus emphatically directed his hearers’ attention: a visitation of locusts, repeated for more years than one (Joe_2:25), and of unexampled severity; what had escaped the ravages of one swarm, had been speedily devoured by a succeeding one, till the crops were completely ruined, and every chance both of harvest and vintage had been utterly destroyed.
That which the shearer (gâzâm) hath left, the swarmer (arbeh) hath eaten;
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And that which the swarmer (arbeh) hath left, the lapper (yéleḳ) hath eaten;
And that which the lapper (yéleḳ) hath left, the finisher (ḥâsîl) hath eaten.
The general intention of the verse is manifestly to describe a total destruction of the herbage of the land; but as we cannot identify with certainty the kinds of locust meant,—nor, if we could, should have suitable English names by which to distinguish them,—it is best to translate the terms used by words expressing the ideas which they probably suggested to the Hebrew ear. Successive swarms of locusts, appearing partly, it is probable, in the same year, partly in following years, are indicated rhetorically by four distinct names, which may partly be synonymous designations of the same species (though not of the same individual insects), partly denote different species, and partly denote the ordinary locust in different stages of its development (see p. 84 f.). The gâzâm is mentioned besides only Joe_2:25, Amo_4:9. Arbeh is the usual name of the locust in Hebrew, and may be presumed therefore to have been the name of the species which most commonly invades Palestine, the Acridium peregrinum. The yéleḳ may have denoted the ordinary locust in its wingless larva- or pupa-stage (in which state it is not less destructive than in its mature form): in this case the second line of the verse will describe how what the fully-grown parent insects left in April or May, when they laid their eggs, was destroyed by the young larvae hatched in June. The ḥâsîl is named beside the arbeh, as a plague to which Palestine was liable, in 1Ki_8:37; this, therefore, was probably a distinct species, perhaps the Oedipoda migratoria or Pachytylus, also common in Palestine[30]. See further particulars in the Excursus at the end of the Book (p. 85 ff.).
[30] The four names cannot, as Credner and (somewhat differently) Gesenius thought, denote, as they stand, locusts in four successive stages of their development, for various reasons: (1) because not more than three stages are distinguishable by an ordinary observer [yet cf. p. 90]; (2) because, upon this view, arbeh, the most usual name of the locust, would denote only the immature insect; (3) because in Joe_2:25 the four names occur in a different order; (4) because, as swarms of locusts always move onwards, a swarm in one stage of its development could not be said to have devoured what it had left in a previous stage, since it would be upon entirely new ground. (Of course the last objection does not hold in the particular case of the larvae emerging from eggs, assumed above to represent the yéleḳ.)
In illustration of the allusions to locusts, contained in this and the following chapter, numerous passages from the descriptions of naturalists and travellers have been collected by Credner (ad locc. and pp. 261–313), and after him by Dr Pusey, a selection from which (with some additions from more recent authorities) is reprinted here. In the Excursus (p. 87 ff.) will be found also some continuous descriptions, by different observers, of the invasion of a country by locusts.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv4–7 (4) That which the palmerworm hath left.—The picture is…
(4) That which the palmerworm hath left.—The picture is introduced suddenly and graphically. “Behold the desolation!” “Note the cause.” The earth is bared by locusts beyond all previous experience. There were different sorts of locusts; as many as ninety have been reckoned. The four names, palmerworm, locust, cankerworm, caterpiller, indicate different swarms of the insect. The first—Gazam—points to its voracity; the second—Arbeh—its multitude; the third—Yelek—its manner of “licking up” the grass like cattle; the fourth—Chasil—its destructive effect. The number enumerated, four, draws attention to the “four sore judgments” with which Ezekiel was instructed to threaten Jerusalem, and to the four foreign invasions by the Assyrians, Chaldæans, Macedonians, and Romans.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv4–7 That which the palmer-worm hath left hath the locust…
That which the palmer-worm hath left hath the locust eaten; and that which the locust hath left hath the cankerworm eaten; and that which the canker-worm hath left hath the caterpillar eaten. Some interpreters consider, and rightly, we think, that the prophet enumerates in this verse four different species of locusts. The common or general name is arbeh, from rabhah, to be many; the gazam, or palmerworm, is the gnawer, or biter, from a root (guzam) which signifies "to gnaw, bite, or cut off;" the yeleq, or canker-worm, is the licker, from yalaqlaqaq, to lick, or lick off; the chasil, or caterpillar, is the devourer, from chasal, to cut off. Thus we have the locust, or multitudinous one, the gnawer, the licker, and the devourer, either as
(1) four different species of locust; or
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(2) the gnawer, licker, and devourer are poetical epithets of the locust, or multitudinous one.
These names do not denote the locust
(1) at different stages, according to Credner. Nor
(2) can we with propriety understand them allegorically, with Jerome, Cyril, and Theodoret, of the enemies of the Jews, whether
(a) the Assyrians, Babylonians, and Chaldeans,
(b) Medes and Persians,
(c) Macedonians and successors of Alexander, especially Antiochus, and
(d) the Romans;
or the hostile kings ,
(a) Shahnaneser,
(b) Nebuchadnezzar,
(c) Antiochus, and
(d) the Romans;
or those other kings ,
(a) Tiglath-Pileser,
(b) Shalma-neser,
(c) Sennacherib, and
(d) Nebuchadnezzar.
The most celebrated Hebrew commentators understand the passage of locusts in the proper and literal sense. Thus Rashi says, "The palmer-worm locust, cankerworm, and caterpillar are species of locusts; and the prophet prophesies about them that they will come; and they came in those days, and they devoured all the fruit of the trees and every herb of the field." Abon Ezra says, "This the prophet prophesied in reference to the locust which should come to destroy the land. In the days of Moses there was one kind of locust alone, but now, with the arbeh, there are the gazam and yeleq and chasil, and these three kinds are joined." He also quotes Japhet as saying "that gazam is equivalent to gozez, cutting, and the mere is like mere in chinmam reykam; and yeleq, that which licks (yiloq) with its tongue... and chasil of some signification (yachsele-nenu) as shall consume it." In like manner Kimohi gives the derivation of the words as follows: "Some say that gazam is so called because it cuts (gozez) the increase; and arbeh, because it is numerous in species; and yeleq, because it licks and depastures by licking the herb; and chasil, became it cuts the whole, from "And the locust shall consume it"." (Deu_28:38) When, however, Kimchi distributes the comings of the locusts into four separate and successive years, we must reject his interpretation in that respect. He says, "What the gazam left in the first year, the locust ate in the second year; for the four kinds did not come in one year, but one after another in four years; and he says, "I will restore to you the years the locust hath eaten.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On v5 Awake, ye drunkards, and weep.
Joe_1:5-9
Awake, ye drunkards, and weep.
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The insensibility and misery of the drunkard
The prophet now endeavours to awaken certain characters in the nation to an earnest sense of the woe that has overtaken them, and to deep repentance, that it may be averted. His first warning cry is to the drunkard. The evils of intoxication are often intimately connected with national plagues, and require that earnest ministries should be directed against them.
I. that the drunkard is insensible to the most important concerns of life, Awake. The prophet knew that it was the tendency of intoxicating drink to cast men into an unholy slumber, and to render them dangerously insensible to the most important things around them.
1. Intoxicating drink has a tendency to darken the intelligence of man.
2. Intoxicating drink has a tendency to deaden the moral susceptibilities of man. These drunkards of Judah were not merely mentally blind to the calamities which had come upon their country, but were morally incapable of estimating their due social effect.
3. Intoxicating drink has a tendency to destroy the conscience of man. These drunkards of Judah probably did not consider that they were working their own moral degradation, and that they were inviting the retribution of heaven. They imagined that they were enjoying the plenty they possessed, and that they were the happiest of men. The prosperity of fools shall slay them.
II. That the drunkard is exposed to the most abject misery. And howl, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the new wine; for it is cut off from your mouth.
1. He is liable to the misery of self-loathing. We can readily imagine that these drunkards of Judah would now and then awake from their sottish slumber, and that in the moment of bodily pain they would be seized with sad thoughts of their own degradation.
2. He is liable to the misery of social contempt. Drunkards are the object of social scorn, they are incapable of industrious work, they are injurious to the common good. They prostitute great abilities. They misuse golden opportunities. They place manhood on a level with the brute.
3. They are liable to the misery of unsatisfied appetite. The drunkards of Judah would howl because the new wine was cut off from their mouth. They had abused the gifts of providence, and now they are no longer allowed to enjoy them. Sin brings the wealthiest of sinners to want. Plenty at one time is no guarantee against penury at another. In the next life the appetite which sin has created will be for ever unsatisfied; then the wine will indeed be cut off from the mouth.
III. that the drunkard is in immediate need of the most earnest ministry which can be addressed to him. We cannot but see in this verse that the prophet addressed the drunkards of Judah in earnest and faithful speech. He called them by their right name. He urged them to thoughtfulness and repentance. There is need that the pulpit of our age should take up his cry. Lessons--
1. That the drunkard is incapable of the qualities necessary for true citizenship.
2. That many national calamities are occasioned by the drunkard.
3. That the most effective ministries of the Church should be directed against this, terrible evil. (J. S. Exell, M. A.)
Judgments adapted to sins
Prevailing Sins are often visited with corresponding judgments. The Lord in His righteous dealings withholds those gifts of His providence which have been abused. He takes from an ungodly people the means of gratifying their lusts, and leads them to repentance by afflictions which are not capriciously ordered, but with exactest wisdom suited to their character. Thus, to check a thoughtless indifference to religion, He sends forth pestilences which strike down thousands and spread universal dismay. To restrain from habits of self-indulgence and extravagance, He causes a blight to fall upon the earth, bringing on scarceness and want. To put a rein upon the unsatiated pursuit of wealth, He allows a panic on the Stock Exchange. So here the prophet denounces no other woe against the drunkards than the deprivation of the wine they had abused. It is not unlikely that this part of the prophecy has a literal as well as symbolical aspect, that it inveighs against intemperance as well as idolatry. It was sensuality that first led the Israelites into idolatry. Persistence in indulgences so debilitated their minds and blinded their understandings as to cause them to apostatise from Jehovah, and fall down before images of wood and stone. On no class of persons do Gods judgments fall more heavily than on those who embrute their souls with the intoxicating delights of idolatrous worship. (C. Robinson, LL. D.)
Woe to drunkards
Satan has three or four grades down which he takes men to destruction. One man he takes up, and through one spree pitches him into eternal darkness. That is a rare case. Very seldom, indeed, can you find a man who will be such a fool as that. Satan will take another man to a grade, to a descent at an angle about like that of the Pennsylvania coal-shute or the Mount Washington rail-track, and shove him off. But that is very rare. When a man goes down to destruction Satan brings him to a plane. It is almost a level. The depression is so slight that you can hardly see it. The man does not actually know that he is on the down grade and it tips only a little towards darkness--just a little. And the first mile it is claret, and the second mile it is sherry, and the third mile it is punch,, and the fourth mile it is ale, and the fifth mile it is porter, and the sixth mile it is brandy, and then it gets steeper and steeper and steeper and the man gets frightened and says, Oh, let me get off! No, says the conductor, this is an express train, and it does not stop until it gets to the Grand Central Depot at Smashupton. (T. De Witt Talmage.)
For a nation is come up upon my land, strong, and without number.
The agencies of Divine retribution
It is generally the way of God to meet sin by appropriate retribution; hence He destroys the vines of the drunkard. Some men are only reached through the lowest propensities of their nature, and are only conscious of penalty when their carnal wants are unsupplied.
I. That the agencies of divine retribution are great in their number, For a nation is come up upon my land, strong, and without number.
1. These agencies are numerous; The locusts did not come in a single flight, but in incredible and successive swarms, Heaven has an infinite resource of retributive messengers waiting its behest, It can soon darken our lives by a throng of hostile energies.
2. These agencies are strong. True, these locusts were in themselves weak and diminutive creatures, They were not like the proud monarch of the forest, and had not the majestic appearance or strength of the lion or the bear. They were insects. And so the most trivial agencies of the universe, when sent by God to punish sin, become mighty and resistless. Then the superior intelligence of man will avail nothing against them. Then the pride of the mighty will be brought to the dust.
3. These agencies are united, The locusts came upon the land of Judah as though they were animated by one national policy. The ants and conies are designated a people (Pro_30:25-26), indicative of the wisdom by which they are Divinely taught to act. Hence the term nation gives no favour to the view that the locusts are symbolical era foreign invasion. And so the retributive agencies of heaven often come upon the wicked in terrible combination. The agencies of Eternal Justice are unconsciously in sympathy with each other, and advance in one vast army to execute the penalty of sin.
II. That the agencies of divine retribution are well equipped for their work. Whose teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he hath the cheek-teeth of a great lion.
1. Their equipment is appropriate. The teeth of the locust are said to be harder than stone. They appear to be created for a scourge; since to strength incredible for so small a creature, they add saw-like teeth admirably calculated to eat up all the herbs in the land. The providence of God in executing the penalty of sin generally employs those agencies whose natural constitution the best fit them for the end contemplated. Heaven knows the most appropriate instrumentalities by which to punish the sinner.
2. Their equipment is fierce. These locusts were armed as with the cheek-teeth of a great lion. Thus they would be able to bite off the top, branches, and boughs of trees. And truly there are times when the judgments of heaven come fiercely upon the wicked, and destroy all that is precious to them.
III. That the agencies of divine retribution are desolating in their effect. He hath laid my vine waste, and barked my fig-tree: he hath made it Clean bare, and cast it away; the branches thereof are made white.
1. They desolate things of the greatest value. These locusts laid waste the noblest and most valuable fruit-trees of the land, which the Lord had given to His people for their inheritance. The messengers of Eternal Justice will not spare the vines and fig-trees of a sinful life. They strike at the root of all secular prosperity.
2. They desolate things to the utmost extent. These locusts attacked the herbage, fruit, leaves of trees, the young shoots, and their bark. Everything in the country was devoured and made clean bare. And so the agencies of Divine retribution sometimes spread their desolation over a vast area, over the entire history of a nation, throughout the entire circumstances of a family, or of an individual. They leave no token of former splendour.
3. They desolate things to the remotest period. The agencies of Divine retribution often achieve a destruction which is felt to the end of life.
IV. That the agencies of Divine retribution are productive of sad contemplation in the mind of the truly patriotic. For a nation is come up upon my land. The prophet here speaks in his character of representative of the people of God, and sees in the desolation of his country an occasion for sorrow. Hence the prophet, regarding the land as a Christian patriot, was pained by its desolation, and sought to remove the cause of the Divine anger. Piety makes men truly patriotic. Lessons--
1. That the retributive agencies of heaven are countless in number.
2. That the retributive agencies of heaven are effective in equipment.
3. That the retributive agencies of heaven spare not the most sacred possessions. (J. S. Exell, M. A.)
And barked my fig-tree.--
The fig-tree barked
We all have our fig-trees, and very early we become proprietors. Do these fig-trees continue to live and to thrive? Experience and observation furnish a prompt and sufficient reply. To bark a tree is to destroy it. To bark our fig-tree is to remove that in which we have found chief pleasure and advantage.
I. When may God be said to bark our fig-tree?
1. When God renders that which has been useful to us useless, and that which has been pleasant, obnoxious; and that which has been helpful, injurious.
2. When God removes something from us which He has given to us, and which we have taken to our hearts as all-important, and as supremely precious.
3. By breaking up some work of ours in which we have found much pleasure; or by rooting up something which we have planted, it may be with tears, it may be with joy.
II. By what means does god bark our fig-trees? God uses various means. He may permit some devil, commission some angel, allow or employ a fellow-man to bark our tree. He may use some inanimate and unconscious agent. Or He may effect the destructive work by some influence upon our minds and hearts.
III. With what intent is this done? What is the end of the Lord? Does He do this wantonly, cruelly, ignorantly, or unwisely? Nay, His object is either correction or prevention.
IV. How should a man of god demean himself when God barks his fig-tree? Submit quietly. Reverently ask, Why has God done this? Learn to use all temporal things without abusing thorn. (Samuel Martin.)
Barked fig-trees
I. Look at some of these barked fig-trees. High hopes are often changed into cruel disappointments. Bright prospects of coming happiness are turned, like fairy gold, into withered leaves. A young mans fig-tree is a healthy body and high spirits, and that tree is barked when affliction seizes him, and bodily weakness and mental depression make him as pale and helpless as a downright old man. A workmans fig-tree is regular work and a living wage; that tree is barked when work is scarce and wages low. The tradesmans fig-tree is a prosperous business; providence smiles upon him, friends multiply, and everything promises a golden harvest, when suddenly he meets with disappointment, his schemes are thwarted, the bank fails, and he is doomed to spend a helpless and penniless old age. A familys fig-tree is the father and husband; and it is barked when he is smitten down by death. The old mans fig-tree is a gladsome old age, which he hopes to spend with his wife and children about him; and that tree is barked when he suddenly dies before he has realised a thousandth part of his anticipated enjoyment. The invalids fig-tree is some glimmering hope of returning health; and it is barked when the doctor tells him that his disease is incurable, and that he must die.
II. Who barks our fig-trees? The prophet, looking up to God, said, Thou hast barked my fig-tree. The affairs of men, and especially of good men, are under Gods wise, omniscient, benevolent, and almighty control. Were there no particular, there could be no general providence, for it seems quite impossible to take care of the whole ii the separate and dependent parts be neglected. He holds the helm of the universe, and He will bring us into the desired haven.
III. Why does God bark our fig-trees?
1. Does He do it unkindly? No! He is too good to be unkind.
2. Does He do it unwisely? No! He is too wise to err.
3. God barks our fig-trees in mercy, and not in wrath. We are prone to think too much of those trees; to bestow too much thought and affection upon them, and to expect too much happiness from them.
4. Barked fig-trees destroy worldliness. Thomas Erskine used to say: Education would cease if we and our circumstances fitted each other. If our position in this world were always one of unmixed comfort, Im afraid we should never stretch our desires for a better. It is often said that the world satisfies no one; but, as a matter of fact, most men are so satisfied with it that they feel no concern for a better country, that is, a heavenly. Now, what is God to do with such people if their souls are not to be lost, but saved? They must be rendered dissatisfied with their earthly condition, and be made to welcome the hope of a happier state beyond the grave. And what is so likely to do this as some dispensation which snatches from them the objects of their inordinate affection?
5. Barked fig-trees help to mature Christian character. In the midst of our heaviest trials and deepest woes we can sing of mercy as well as of judgment.
(1) Jobs fig-tree was barked (Jam_5:11).
(2) Jacobs fig-tree was barked. The loss of Joseph was regarded by his family as a great domestic calamity.
(3) Pauls fig-tree was barked. He suffered imprisonment at Rome; some false brethren created division and strife in the Church.
(4) Barked fig-trees help to develop latent qualities. It was when Paul Gerdhart was banished from his church and manse, for preaching unpalatable truth, that he wrote that inspiring hymn, Give to the winds thy fears, etc.
IV. What are the lessons that this subject suggests?
1. Recognise the providence of God in all the events of life.
2. Moral goodness is the aim of all Gods dispensations.
3. Trust Gods providence. (H. Woodcock.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On v4 The palmerworm, locust, etc., are thought to be different…
palmerworm
The palmerworm, locust, etc., are thought to be different forms, at different stages of development, of one insect. The essential fact is that, according to the usual method of the Spirit in prophecy, some local circumstance is shown to be of spiritual significance, and is made the occasion of a far-reaching prophecy (e.g.) Isa 7:1-14 where the Syrian invasion and the unbelief of Ahaz give occasion to the great prophecy of Joe 1:14. Here in Joel a plague of devouring insects is shown to have spiritual significance Joe 1:13; Joe 1:14 and is made the occasion of the prophecy of the day of the Lord, not yet fulfilled. (See Scofield "Isa 2:12"). This is more developed in Joel 2, where the literal locusts are left behind, and the future day of Jehovah fills the scene.
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The whole picture is of the end-time of this present age, of the "times of the Gentiles" Luk 21:24; Rev 16:14 of the battle of Armageddon; Rev 16:14; Rev 19:11-21 of the regathering of Israel. (See Scofield "Rom 11:26") and of kingdom blessing. It is remarkable that Joel, coming at the very beginning of written prophecy (B.C. 836), gives the fullest view of the consummation of all written prophecy.
The order of events is:
(1) The invasion of Palestine from the north by Gentile world-powers headed up under the Beast and false prophet Joe 2:1-10 "Armageddon," (See Scofield "Rev 16:14").
(2) the Lord’s army and destruction of the invaders Joe 2:11; Rev 19:11-21.
(3) the repentance of Judah in the land Joe 2:12-17 (See Scofield "Deu 30:3").
(4) the answer of Jehovah Joe 2:18-27
(5) the effusion of the Spirit in the (Jewish) "last days" Joe 2:28; Joe 2:29.
(6) the return of the Lord in glory and the setting up of the kingdom Joe 2:30-32; Act 15:15-17 by the regathering of the nation and judgment of the nations Joe 3:1-16
(7) full and permanent kingdom blessing Joe 3:17-21; Zec 14:1-21. (See Scofield "Mat 25:32").
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv4–5 the swarming locust
the swarming locust
large groups of insects like grasshoppers that fly together and eat large areas of food crops (See: Translate Unknowns)
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swarming locust ... great locust ... grasshopper ... caterpillar
These are, respectively, an adult locust that can fly, a locust too large to fly easily, a locust with wings too young to fly, and a newborn locust that has not yet developed wings. Use names that would be understood in your language.
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv4, 5, 7 1:4 The disaster that had befallen Judah was a…
1:4 The disaster that had befallen Judah was a catastrophic plague of locusts. Some commentators have understood the four kinds of locusts mentioned here to represent four ancient empires that conquered Israel. Others have suggested that the words indicate four stages in the development of locusts. Most likely, the prophet was using multiple terms to emphasize the extent of the destruction wrought by wave after wave of the voracious insects.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.