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Volume 11, Article 6
TOVA GANZEL,
THE SHATTERED DREAM
THE PROPHECIES OF JOEL: A BRIDGE BETWEEN
EZEKIEL AND HAGGAI?



DOI:10.5508/jhs.2011.v11.a6
2 JOURNAL OF HEBREW SCRIPTURES


THE SHATTERED DREAM
THE PROPHECIES OF JOEL: A BRIDGE
BETWEEN EZEKIEL AND HAGGAI?
TOVA GANZEL
BAR-ILAN UNIVERSITY
INTRODUCTION
The observation by Abraham ibn Ezra that we have no way of
establishing to which generation he [Joel] belonged and, according
to the plain meaning, he is not the son of Samuel,
1
perhaps encap-
sulates Ibn Ezras understanding that this prophet deliberately hid
his era so as to make his prophecy timeless. But for modern
scholarship, the inability to unequivocally determine the date or
historical background of these oracles hampers comprehension of
their prophetic message. Moreover, as evidenced by the widely
varying proposals and suggested methods, dating Joel is no simple
matter.
This article seeks to contribute to this challenging undertak-
ing, notwithstanding the inherent critical difficulties. Many scholars
assign Joels prophecies to the post-destruction period, mainly on
the grounds of (a) the absence of references to a king ruling Judea,
a priestly leadership, or the northern kingdoms of Assyria and Ba-
bylonia; (b) the language of the book, including its use of earlier
prophecies; (c) the denunciation of the slave trade; and (d) the
punishments predicted for Egypt and Edom.
2
Within this general
frame, this article proposes a dating that is usually ruled out by the
assumption that a functioning cult in Jerusalem excludes the pe-
riod from 586 to 516, from the destruction of the temple by the
Babylonian army to its restoration under the prophetic leadership
of Haggai and Zechariah.
3
This article proposes that the oracles in


* It is my pleasure to thank Professor Mark J. Boda both for his
generosity in reading a draft of this article and for his incisive comments. I
thank Dena Ordan not only for translating the article but also for her
assistance in clarifying the argument. All the dates in this article are B.C.E.
Where chapter and verse numbers appear without attribution to a specific
work, they refer to Joel.
1
Uriel Simon, Abraham Ibn Ezras Two Commentaries on the Minor Proph-
ets: An Annotated Critical Edition (Ramat Gan: Bar-Ilan University Press,
1989), 1:135 (Hebrew). See also Abarbanels commentary on Joel (Tel
Aviv: Torah va-Daat, 1960), 65.
2
See, for example, James L. Crenshaw, Joel: A New Translation with In-
troduction and Commentary (AB, 24C; New York: Doubleday, 1995), 2129.
3
Crenshaw, Joel, 25.
THE PROPHECIES OF JOEL


3
the book of Joel were uttered during the early restoration period in
Judah, and more specifically, during the seventeen-year period be-
tween Cyruss decree (538537 BCE) and the prophecies of Haggai
(520 BCE), in year two to Darius, before the dedication of the
Second Temple.
4
Moreover, this study views the book of Joel as
partly filling the lacuna in prophetic literature between the latest
prophecies of Ezekiel, dated to 570 BCE (Ezek 29:17), and the
earliest prophecies of Haggai and Zechariah, dated to year two of
Darius (Hag 1:1; Zech 1:1).

The scholarly proposal closest to this
one assigns the book of Joel to the time of Haggai and Zechariah
(separate from Malachi), ca. 520 BCE, based on the similarities be-
tween Joel and Haggai and Zechariah and their distance from Ma-
lachi, who is later.
5
A dating of Joel to these years is consistent with
the linguistic criteria that guide most scholars to assign this book to
the postexilic period.
The sole biblical description of the early restoration period,
which recounts the building of the altar and the laying of the foun-
dations of the temple, is the retrospective one in Ezra 14. The
dating of the events described in these chapters is difficult, howev-
er. Thus the return described in Ezra 23 under the leadership of
Zerubabel and Jeshua can be viewed as the immediate continuation
of the return of Sheshbazzar (1:11), the chiefs of the clans of Judah
and Benjamin, and the priests and Levites (1:5) just after the issuing
of Cyruss proclamation (Ezra 1). Alternately, it can be understood
as testifying to a later wave of return, perhaps during Dariuss
reign. This raises additional questions: Was the temple founded and
the altar dedicated between the initial return and the second return
during the reign of Darius, or did these years pass without any
initiation of building? In the latter instance, the events described in
Ezra 3 took place at an even later date.
6
In either case, the return-
ing priests, who had hoped to resume the sacrificial rites and the
rebuilding of the temple, confronted a harsh reality and disap-
pointment at the circumstances so far from their original expecta-
tions. Although it is not necessary to argue that the descriptions in


4
My working assumption is of the unity of the book of Joel. For a
discussion of the unity of the text, see John Barton, Joel and Obadiah: A
Commentary (OTL; Louisville, Westminster John Knox Press, 2001), 514.
5
See Jacob M. Myers, Some Considerations Bearing on the Date of
Joel, ZAW 74 (1962), 17795.
6
For a discussion of the dating of these events in Ezra, see Jacob L.
Wright, Rebuilding Identity: The Nehemiah Memoir and Its Earliest Readers
(BZAW, 348; Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 2004), 3013; H. G. M. William-
son, Ezra, Nehemiah (WBC, 16; Waco, Texas: Word, 1985), 4445; Jacob
M. Myers, Ezra Nehemiah (AB, 14; New York: Doubleday, 1965), xxiv
xxvii. For a recent discussion of the redaction of Ezra and Nehemiah, see
Mark J. Boda and Paul L. Redditt (eds.), Unity and Disunity in Ezra-
Nehemiah: Redaction, Rhetoric and Reader (Hebrew Bible Monographs, 17;
Sheffield: Phoenix Press, 2008).
4 JOURNAL OF HEBREW SCRIPTURES


Joel reflect a functioning altar in order to date him to the early
restoration period, in my opinion this was indeed the case. The
historical context for Joel proposed here contributes to the resolu-
tion of many puzzling elements in this book and highlights the
close affinity between prophecy and its accompanying historical
circumstances.
The many proposals for dating Joels prophecies span five
centuries
7
ranging from the mid-ninth century, during the reign
of Jehoram ben Ahab, to the rise of the Greeks in the fourth cen-
tury BCE
8
and testify to the lack of a single, agreed upon criterion


7
For discussions of the progressive interrelationships in the book that
indicate its unity, see Willem S. Prinsloo, The Unity of the Book of Joel,
ZAW 104 (1992), 6681; and more recently, Ernst R. Wendland, Dra-
matic Rhetoric, Metaphoric Imagery, and Discourse Structure in Joel,
Journal for Semitics 18 (2009), 20539. For a synchronic reading of Joel, see
James R. Linville, The Day of Yahweh and the Mourning of Priests in
Joel, Lester L. Grabbe and Alice Ogden Bellis (eds.), The Priests in the
Prophets: The Portrayal of Priests, Prophets and Other Religious Specialists in the
Latter Prophets (JSOTSup, 408; London: T & T Clark, 2004).
8
For a comprehensive survey of the possibilities for dating Joel by
biblical scholars until 1974, see John Alexander Thompson, The Date of
Joel, Howard N. Bream, Ralph D. Heim, and Carey A. Moore (eds.), A
Light Unto My Path: Old Testament Studies in Honor of Jacob M. Myers (Gettys-
burg Theological Studies, 4; Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1974),
45364. I cite in addition examples of rabbinic approaches, Hebrew stu-
dies, and several studies published after Thompsons article, and note
some articles particularly relevant to my proposal.
For a mid-ninth century dating of Joel, during the reign of Yehoram
ben Ahab, see Rashi (in addition to his identification of Joel as the son of
the prophet Samuel), Miqraot gedolot ha-maor: Neviim u-ketuvim (Jerusa-
lem: Hamaor Institute, 2000), 120; and Rabbi David Kimhi, ibid., 121.
The eighth-century dating, during the reign of Uzziah and Jeroboam ben
Joash, relies on this books placement between Hosea and Amos in the
Minor Prophets, and see the recent article by Aaron Schart, The First
Section of the Book of the Twelve Prophets: Hosea-Joel-Amos, Interpre-
tation 61 (2007), 13852. For attribution to the seventh century, during the
reign of Manasseh, see Heinrich W. Guggenheimer, trans., Seder Olam: The
Rabbinic View of Biblical Chronology (Northvale, N.J.: Aronson, 1998), 176
78, n. 7; or during Manassehs early reign or even at the end of Sennache-
ribs reign, see Yehezkel Kaufmann, Toledot ha-emunah ha-yisraelit (Tel Aviv:
Mossad Bialik, 1960), 3:33139; and recently, Duane A. Garrett, Hosea, Joel
(New American Commentary, 19A; Nashville: Broadman and Holman,
1997), 28694. For a sixth-century dating, close to the time of the destruc-
tion, see in addition to Maries (n. 44 below), Ben Zion Luria, The Date
of Joel 4, Bet Mikra 32 (1986/87), 34549 (in Hebrew). See also Pesiq.
Rab Kah.: Nahamu 128b [Braude-Kapstein ed., 295], which includes Joel
among the eight prophets who prophesied after the destruction of the
Temple. Most scholars date Joels oracles to the fifth or fourth centuries,
based on linguistic links to other biblical texts assigned to this period. See,
for example, Benjamin Uffenheimer, Qavim le-ofi ha-sifruti u-le-reqa ha-
THE PROPHECIES OF JOEL


5
for determining the date of this book. However, the weight of
scholarly opinion assigns Joel's oracles to the post-exilic period, and
my proposal is in line with this premise. Previous discussions that
placed Joel in the Second Temple period have relied largely on
analysis of the linguistic affinities between Joel and Ezekiel and
between Joel and Haggai. Based on the outcome of their linguistic
arguments,
9
the present discussion draws more heavily on topical
affinities in order to suggest a closer dating for the book of Joel.
Part of the difficulty in unequivocally establishing the date and
background of Joel derives from the text itself and its remarkable
lack of clarity.
I suggest that serious consideration be given to the possibility
that Joel was among the returning exiles, or if he remained in the
land of Israel that he was exposed to the oracles delivered by Eze-
kiel in Babylonia.
10
Placement of Joel in the early restoration pe-
riodbetween the setting up of the altar but before the rebuilding
of the templehas the ability to explain much of the problematic
content of the oracles in Joel 12. One question relates to identifi-
cation of what reality underlies the description of the priests per-
forming the altar service as engaging in mourning customs; also,
what prevented the offering of the grain and libation sacrifices?
Certainly, if viewed against the background of actual difficulties the
returnees confronted, this description has a heightened effect.
Another question is the unusual absence of moral or social up-
braiding in the call for repentance and of any rationale to which to
attribute the peoples fate. Furthermore, I wish to suggest that the
difficult, future-directed apocalyptic oracles of Joel 34, which also
call for immediate, radical change, perhaps reflect a narrow time
slot, during whichin the context of the return of the exiles, their
desire to sacrifice on an active altar, and to realize the license to
rebuild the templethere were expectations for fulfillment of the


histori shel Yoel 12, H. Gevaryahu, B. Z. Luria, and Y. Melman (eds.),
Sefer Biram: Maamarim be-heqer ha-tanakh (Pirsumei ha-hevrah le-heqer ha-
miqra be-yisrael, 2; Jerusalem: Kiryat Sefer, 1946), 10815, who dates Joel
after the destruction and before the fifth-century expulsion of the Edo-
mites. For a dating to the late sixth century, after the rebuilding and dedi-
cation of the Temple (516), during the reign of Darius but before Ezra
(458), see Mordechai Cogan, Joel (Mikra leyisrael; Tel Aviv: Am Oved,
1994), 10; and Myers, Date of Joel, 17795; and in his wake Leslie C.
Allen, The Books of Joel, Obadiah, Jonah and Micah (NICOT; Grand Rapids:
Eerdmans, 1976), 1925, among many others. For a fifth-century dating,
during Ezra and Nehemiahs day but before the rise of the Greeks, see
Crenshaw, Joel, 2129. For the late fourth century (400 the earliest), see
John Barton, Joel and Obadiah: A Commentary (OTL; Louisville, Westmin-
ster John Knox Press, 2001), 1418. Barton concludes that the second
part of Joel is later than the first and is a secondary addition.
9
See n. 45 below.
10
See n. 44 below.
6 JOURNAL OF HEBREW SCRIPTURES


unique restoration prophecies delivered by Ezekiel in Babylonia,
hopes abandoned with the rebuilding of the temple in Haggai and
Zechariahs day. In the context of an article, and given Joels textual
complexity, this understanding cannot be applied to specific verses
but to broader issues alone.
THE EARLY RESTORATION PERIOD: BETWEEN THE
ERECTION OF THE ALTAR (537 BCE) AND THE
BUILDING OF THE TEMPLE (520 BCE)
If correct, the dating of Joel suggested here provides a modicum of
missing data regarding a period for which few biblical sources exist
for the history of the Jews in either Judea or Babylonia. The sole
extant prophecies that can be specifically dated to the post-
destruction era, but before the completion of the Second Temple,
are found in Ezek 29:17 (570 BCE), Jer 52:3134 (561 BCE), Hag
1:114 (520 BCE), in addition to 2 Chr 36:2223 and the retrospec-
tive description of events after Cyrus decree in Ezra 14, 6.
11
Nor
are there significant finds from extrabiblical sources;
12
there is no
inscriptional evidence and only one document dated to the fifth
year of Cambyses reign has been discovered in Israel, at Tel
Mikhmoret.
13
For Babylonia, we have a collection of economic
documents, which shed scant light on the situation of the Jews
OLYLQJLQWKHO-Yahudu (Town of Judah).
14
The sole description
of this period is the retrospective one in Ezra 13, which includes:


11
This is in addition to Deutero-Isaiahs oracles (which many scholars
also date to the post-fall years and before the restoration), Lamentations,
and some psalms (125, 137).
12
On archeological finds in Jerusalem and its environs, see, among
others, Charles E. Carter, The Emergence of Yehud in the Persian Period: A
Social and Demographic Study (JSOTSup, 294; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic
Press, 1999), 13462.
13
I thank Hanan Eshel for bringing this to my attention. See Yosef
Porath, Samuel M. Paley, and Robert R. Stieglitz, Mikhmoret, Tel,
NEAEHL 3:1044.
14
On the socio-economic situation of the Jews of Babylonia under
Babylonian and Persian rule in light of Akkadian and cuneiform legal-
economic documents, see Ran Zadok, The Jews in Babylonia during the Chal-
dean and Achaemenian Periods according to the Babylonian Sources (Studies in the
History of the Jewish People and the Land of Israel, 3; Haifa: University
of Haifa Press, 1979); idem, The Earliest Diaspora: Israelites and Judeans in Pre-
Hellenistic Mesopotamia (Publications of the Diaspora Research Institute,
151; Tel Aviv: Diaspora Research Institute, Tel Aviv University, 2002).
For their familial setting and acclimation to Babylonian culture in light of
WZR$NNDGLDQGRFXPHQWVIURPO-Yahudu, see K. Abraham, An Inherit-
ance Division among Judeans in Babylonia from the Early Persian Pe-
riod, M. Lubetski (ed.), New Seals and Inscriptions, Hebrew, Idumean, and
Cuneiform (Hebrew Bible Monographs, 8; Sheffield: Sheffield Phoenix
Press, 2007), 20621.
THE PROPHECIES OF JOEL


7
Cyruss decree (1:15); a description of the returnees (1:56); the
goods they brought with them (1:711); the list of returnees (2:1
70); the setting up of the altar, the offering of sacrifices, and cele-
bration of Sukkot (3:17), the appointment of Levites, the laying of
the foundations of the temple;
15
and finally the rejoicing mixed
with the tears of the elderly when the cornerstone was laid (3:8
13).
16

What delayed the building of the temple for fifteen years is
not entirely clear; the extant sources ascribe it mainly to the
interference of the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin (Ezra 4:1
5) and to the peoples preference for staying at home in face of the
many difficulties (Hag 1:2, 9). The cessation of building after the
erection of the altar and the laying of the temples foundations
created a new reality in Judeaa reality that sparked the returnees
to question whether Gods presence was among them.
17
We can
perhaps also identify echoes of this complex reality in the oracles of
Haggai and Zechariah which describe the period preceding the
completion of the building of the temple, during which sacrifices
were offered without a temple (Hag 2:4; Zech 7:3) Note that, in
light of the present discussion, these verses are seen as describing
the situation after the erection of the altar and not the cultic situa-
tion during the fifty years after the destruction of the First Tem-
ple.
18
A late echo of this complex situation appears in b. Zebah. 62a:
Three prophets went up with them from the Exile: one testified to
them about [the dimensions of] the altar, another testified to them
about the site of the altar; and the third testified to them that they
could sacrifice even though there was no temple.
Neither archeological finds nor literary sources provide a pre-
cise picture of the situation in Judea for the interim period between


15
As noted earlier, a first group of returnees, which included priests
and Levites, came back immediately following the proclamation of Cyrus
under the leadership of Sheshbazzar. It is impossible to determine the
year of the return under the leadership of Zerubabel and Jeshua. As Jacob
M. Myers notes, The year of the writers seventh month [Ezra 3:1] is not
specified (Ezra Nehemiah [AB, 14; Garden City: Doubleday, 1965], 26).
16
To this we can perhaps add Ezra 4:16. On the reliability of the de-
scription in Ezra, see Rainer Albertz, Israel in Exile: The History and Litera-
ture of the Sixth Century BCE (Studies in Biblical Literature; Leiden: Brill,
2004), 12022 and n. 249 there. On the historicity of the description in
Ezra 13 in light of the correspondence and scroll found in Darius library
in Ezra 56, see Sarah Japhet, The Temple in the Restoration Period:
Reality and Ideology, From the Rivers of Babylon to the Highlands of Judah:
Collected Studies on the Restoration Period (Winona Lake: Ind.: Eisenbrauns,
2006), 183214.
17
Perhaps the returnees sense of misery and perception that the di-
vine presence was absent from their efforts (Ezra 3:7) was heightened by
the fact that it was through Cyruss agency that they undertook their activ-
ity in Jerusalem.
18
See Japhet, The Temple in the Restoration Period, 21718.
8 JOURNAL OF HEBREW SCRIPTURES


the initial return under Cyrus and later between the setting up of
the altar and the building of the temple, and little is known of the
immediate historical reality the returnees encountered on their
return.
19
We can speak in general terms only of the situation in the
sixth century BCE, from the destruction of the temple to recovery
under Persian rule. After the Babylonian army devastated Judea, its
much-reduced population underwent socio-cultural disintegra-
tion,
20
as attested by the description in Jer 43:26, which receives
backing from archeological evidence
21
and from the absence of
Greek ceramics in Judea during that period.
While the local pottery cannotbe securely dated to the pe-
riod under discussion, there is Greek pottery that is traditional-
ly dated to the 6
th
century with great precision. This pottery,
however, is practically absent from the Land of Israel, even
along the coast. This seems to be of importance both to the
reality on the ground at the time discussed and to the dating
of local pottery. The lack of imports seems to show that the
region was insignificant in the prospering 6
th
century maritime
trade. When compared with the situation in other parts of the
Mediterranean, and especially in the Phoenician colonies in the
west, the disappearance of imported pottery from the southern
Levant is indicative not only of the devastation of the region,
but also of the Babylonian policy and economic interests in the
region.
22

Judean autonomy was restricted under Persian rule,
23
and the
population did not increase significantly.
24
Notwithstanding scho-


19
On the Persian regime and its corollaries based on extrabiblical
sources, including the granting of the right to the Judeans to return to
their land and build a temple during that period, see Albertz, Israel in Exile,
11225 and the bibliography there, 112-13.
20
Recently, the question of the population of Judea has been the sub-
ject of widespread discussion. See Avraham Faust, Social and Cultural
Changes in Judah during the 6
th
Century BCE, UF 36 (2004), 15776;
Oded Lipschits, The Fall and Rise of Jerusalem: Judah under Babylonian Rule
(Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns, 2005), 15254. I lean toward Fausts
stance that the entire land was devastated, including the territory of Ben-
jamin, and that the population was greatly reduced.
21
This description of historical reality is in harmony with the opinion
that the destruction sparked an overall crisis for the Judeans who re-
mained behind. See the recent treatment by Avraham Faust, Judah in the
Sixth Century BCE: Continuity or Break? Eretz-Israel 29 (2009), 33947
(Hebrew).
22
Avraham Faust, Judah in the Neo-Babylonian Period: The Archaeology of
Desolation (forthcoming). I thank him for allowing me access to this ma-
terial prior to its publication.
23
See John W. Betlyon, Neo-Babylonian Operations Other than
War, Oded Lipschits and Joseph Blenkinsopp (eds.), Judah and the Judeans
THE PROPHECIES OF JOEL


9
larly disagreement regarding the scope of settlement during those
years, it was undoubtedly small;
25
those who remained in Judea saw
themselves as a leaderless remnant (Jer 44) and underwent the
rapid social disintegration, so typical of post collapse societies.
26

Finally, we must take into account that the new settlement was
slow in gaining stability and that, even after its recovery during the
Persian period, Judea never returned to its pre-destruction dimen-
sions. The period has been characterized as one of great settle-
ment decline.
27
Little is known of the identity of the returnees,
28

or of the authority granted the Jewish leadership by the Persian
regime (even though we know their names).
29
Nor do the biblical
sources provide a clear picture of this period; the biblical data
which cover the destruction period and, later, that of Haggai and
Zechariah, leave the early restoration period in obscurity.
JOEL 12 AS A REFLECTION OF HISTORICAL REALITY
Nonetheless, the available data suggest that the reality confronted
by the returnees was difficult. The terrible drought noted in Haggai
(1:6), with its concomitant lack of livelihood and economic straits,
was no transient event. Precipitating causes for lack of livelihood
are not just low rainfall but also the failure to cultivate crops. If Joel
belonged to the early restoration period, his prophecies yield some
missing data for this period; the harsh disappointment of the
returnees and the severe drought and locust invasion
30
that de-


in the Neo-Babylonian Period (Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns, 2003), 263
83.
24
See Carol L. Meyers and Eric M. Meyers, Haggai, Zechariah 18: A
New Translation with Introduction and Commentary (AB, 25B; Garden City,
N.Y.: Doubleday, 1987), xxxvi; and more recently, Avraham Faust, Set-
tlement Dynamics and Demographic Fluctuations in Judah from the Late
Iron Age to the Hellenistic Period and the Archaeology of Persian-Period
Yehud, Yigal Levin (ed.), A Time of Change: Judah and Its Neighbors in the
Persian and Early Hellenistic Periods (Library of Second Temple Studies, 65;
London: T & T Clark, 2007), 3446.
25
Charles E. Carter, The Emergence of Yehud in the Persian Period: A Social
and Demographic Study (JSOTSup, 294; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press,
1999), 134ff. and the bibliography there.
26
Faust, Settlement Dynamics, 4346; idem, Social and Cultural
Changes in Judah, 170.
27
Faust, Settlement Dynamics, 4451.
28
See John Kessler, Persias Loyal Yahwists: Power Identity and
Ethnicity in Achaemenid Yehud, Oded Lipschits and Manfred Oeming
(eds.), Judah and the Judeans in the Persian Period (Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisen-
brauns, 2006), 91121.
29
See Joel Weinberg, The Citizen-Temple Community (trans. Daniel L.
Smith-Christopher; JSOTSup, 151; Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1992).
30
On the question of whether the descriptions of the locusts are to be
understood as referring to real locusts, as symbolizing the enemy forces,
or as apocalyptic imagery signifying the day of the Lord, see Ronald A.
10 JOURNAL OF HEBREW SCRIPTURES


stroyed the crops and perhaps took place close to the uttering of
the oracle (chs. 12).
31
Joels references to animal husbandry are
not surprising, notwithstanding the lack of pasturage (1:18) and
water (1:20) to which Joel refers. This because the returnees report-
edly brought many animals with them (Ezra 2:6667); and, second,
because animal husbandry, which requires more land per family
than crops, often expands when the population is sparse and more
profitable avenues cannot be exploited. Also, as animal husbandry
requires less water than crops, it is suitable for drought periods.
32

Thus, Joels descriptions of the drought and other natural forces
that destroy crops but not animals complement Haggais descrip-
tions of the situation a decade later.
As the returning exiles interpreted it, this difficult situation
was a sign that God was not with them (Joel 2:17; Hag 1:13; 2:5);
he therefore neither sends rain nor blesses the crops. This gave rise
in turn to feelings of ambivalence among the returnees, especially
against the background of the choice many made not to return but
to settle in Babylonia (Ezra 1:6). Thus the description in Ezra (3:8-
13) especially, Many of the priests and Levites and the chiefs of
the clans, the old men who had seen the first house, wept loudly at
the sight of the founding of this house. Many others shouted
joyously at the top of their voices (v. 12), supplements Joels por-
trayal of the disappointment and sorrow of the priests who cry,
notwithstanding the spark of hope inherent in this situation (1:13
20, 2:1218). Perhaps this is also the source of the uncertainty re-
garding the question of whether YHWH's day had arrived,
33
as


Simkins, God, History, and the Natural World in the Book of Joel, CBQ
55 (1993), 43552. For the opinion that they reflect reality, see Garrett,
Hosea, Joel, 298301. The question of to what extent this prophecy reflects
reality has implications for our understanding of the verses; thus, for
example, some interpret the mention of a wall in 2:7, 9 as evidence that
the book is late, dating to Nehemiahs day, when the wall was built around
Jerusalem. See Thompson, Date of Joel, 459. I find it likely that the
description relates to a real locust invasion that took place shortly before
Joel uttered his prophecy.
31
An interesting parallel, which indicates that this was a known
cyclical reality, comes from letters found in Afghanistan and published by
Shaul Shaked, La satrape de Bactriane et son gouverneur: Documents aramens du
iv
e
s. avant notre re provenant de Bactriane, Pierre Briant (ed.), Confrence
donnes au Collge de France, 14 et 21 mai 2003; Paris: De Boccard,
2004), 1527. There the locust invasion caused delays to the extent that
they were forced to ask for an extension of the building permit granted by
the Persian rulerperhaps something similar occurred in ancient Israel.
This finding is in addition to those listed by Crenshaw, Joel, 9194.
32
See Avraham Faust, Judah, Philistia, and the Mediterranean World:
Reconstructing the Economic System of the Seventh Century B.C.E.,
BASOR 338 (2005), 7677.
33
James L. Crenshaw, Freeing the Imagination: The Conclusion to
the Book of Joel, Yehoshua Gitay (ed.), Prophecy and the Prophets: The
THE PROPHECIES OF JOEL


11
Crenshaw aptly sums up: Experience failed to confirm traditional
belief. Faced with discontinuity between confessional statements
about divine compassion and the circumstances confronting Ju-
deans in his day, Joel strove valiantly to hold together competing
views of YHWHs nature.
34

The presence of a sanctified precinct in Jerusalem in the early
restoration period is pivotal to this proposal, as it testifies to the
ramifications of the difficult situation in Judea during the years in
question. On the one hand, there were priests and Levites among
the returnees,
35
and the returnees subsequently erected the altar;
apparently, daily sacrifices were reinstated even though the temple
had not yet been rebuilt. In the wake of Cyruss proclamation, the
returnees had high hopes for the swift completion of its building.
But the reality was far removed from their dream,
36
both because
of the severe drought (Joel 1:20; Hag 1:1011) and locust invasion
(Joel 1:18) that devoured all the crops (1:1112), and later because
of the interference of the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin and
the people of the land (Ezra 4:15). The lack of crops impacted
directly on the cult, preventing the offering of plant sacrifices: The
grain offering and the drink offering are cut off from the house of
YHWH. The priests mourn[,] the ministers of YHWH (1:9), even
though those who minister to the altar and the altar are ready to
receive these offerings (1:13). The stress on the grain and drink
offerings is not fortuitous. Animal sacrifices perhaps continued to
be offered on the altar, because the returnees brought cattle (Ezra
1:6) and other animals with them (Ezra 2:6667), whereas the
components of the grain and drink offeringsgrain (1:4, 11),
grapes (1:5, 12), and oil (1:10)were unavailable locally. That is
why the ministering priests, who stood in the holiest precinct in the
temple, wept at its disgrace and sought to obviate the shame of an
altar without the grain and drink offerings and of a temple
37
whose
building was interrupted: Between the vestibule and the altar let
the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep,
38
Let them say, Spare


Diversity of Contemporary Issues in Scholarship (SemeiaSt; Atlanta: Scholars
Press, 1997), 134.
34
James L. Crenshaw, Who Knows What YHWH Will Do? The
Character of God in the Book of Joel, Astrid B. Beck, et al. (eds.), Fortu-
nate the Eyes That See: Essays in Honor of David Noel Freedman in Celebration of
His Seventieth Birthday (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1995), 196.
35
For the identity and actions of the returnees after Cyrus proclama-
tion, see above.
36
Sacrifices are mentioned in 1:13, 2:14 does not imply that they were
offered daily. See Barton, Joel and Obadiah, 15 and n. 31 there.
37
The place where the priests stood is called n nn ' in 1:10, 13, 14,
which is similar to Jer 41:5, in which the site of the destroyed temple is
also called n nn ' .
38
According to the prevailing explanation, the specification of place
between the vestibule and the altar implies that the vestibule is standing.
12 JOURNAL OF HEBREW SCRIPTURES


your people, YHWH, and do not make your heritage a mockery, a
byword among the nations (2:17).
39

A reality in which there is a functioning altar but no grain or
drink offerings because of crop unavailability also sheds light on
the subsequent proclamation of mourning customs by the priests
and elders: Put on sackcloth and lament, priests; wail, ministers of
the altar. Come, pass the night in sackcloth, ministers of my God!
For grain and drink offering are withheld from the house of your
God. Sanctify a fast, call an assembly. Gather the elders and all the
inhabitants of the land to the house of YHWH your God, and cry
out to YHWH (1:1314). This appeal to God and the call for a
fast by the priests (1:1314) and the people (2:12) is the outcome of
the loss of the joyous hope with which they initiated the building of
the house of God (Ezra 3:11) given the halting of construction and
the inability to offer certain sacrifices: Is not the food cut off be-
fore our eyes, joy and gladness from the house of our God? (1:16).
Joel requests of God that the current situation not remain in force
(2:14), that there be pasturage and water for animals (1:1720).
40

The divine response promises agricultural bountygranaries filled
with grain, vats with wine and oiland rejoicing by the people of
Zion (2:1827). Wine, oil, and grain (in that order) are the main
crops in this region and their production requires a self-supporting
agricultural society.
41
Thus, as interpreted here, Joel 12 reflects the
difficult conditions the returnees faced and the promised divine
rectification of their situation through assurances of agricultural
bounty.
42



It is also possible that this marked the coordinates for the place where the
priests stood and does not necessarily imply that the vestibule has been
constructed, but rather that its foundations have been laid and perhaps
somewhat more. Cf. Ezek 8:16: Then he brought me to the inner court
of the house of YHWH, and there at the entrance of YHWHs temple,
between the porch and the altar, which indicates the importance of this
locus, the site of the most heinous idolatry in the most sacred spot in the
courtyard. Although the Temple was still standing when Ezekiel uttered
this oracle, it is perhaps not by chance that the priests in Joel chose the
very spot that, some fifty years earlier, Ezekiel had identified as the one
where the acts that caused the destruction were carried out.
39
For a discussion of this verses paronomasia and its centrality to an
understanding of Joels prophetic message, see James R. Linville, Letting
the Bi-word Rule in Joel 2:17, Journal of Hebrew Scriptures 5 (20045),
available at http://www.jhsonline.org and reprinted in E. Ben Zvi (ed.),
Perspectives in Hebrew Scriptures II: Comprising the Contents of Journal of Hebrew
Scriptures, vol. 5 (Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press, 2007), 1324.
40
There is perhaps affinity between the mules in Ezra 2:66 and the
n:c in Joel 1:17.
41
Faust, Judah, Philistia, and the Mediterranean World, 77.
42
On the uniqueness of the appeal to God in Joel and the divine re-
sponse in Joel 12, see Katherine M. Hayes, When None Repents, Earth
Laments: The Chorus of Lament in Jeremiah and Joel, Mark J. Boda,
THE PROPHECIES OF JOEL


13
JOEL 34: BETWEEN EZEKIEL AND HAGGAI
43

If the opening chapters of Joel reflect the historical-economic cir-
cumstances of the returnees, the oracles concentrated mainly in
chapters 34 are future oriented. Despite their complexity, consid-
eration of their content shows that some are unique. At the same
time, their affinities to Ezekiels prophecies can support my pro-
posed placement of Joel in the restoration period, in line with Ma-
ries earlier suggestion on this basis that Joel prophesied immediate-
ly post-destruction to the remnant in Jerusalem that was not exiled
to Babylonia.
44

As noted, others have studied the linguistic and stylistic simi-
larities between Joel and Ezekiel, and between Joel and Haggai.
45

Before continuing to a thematic treatment, I first note some of
these lexical affinities: (1) the abbreviated expression c: (Hag
2:19, instead of ncy or n:) appears only there and in Ezekiel (17:8;
36:8) and Joel (2:22); (2) the description of YHWHs day in Joel
and Haggai, which exhibits a unique linguistic affinity: Joels re-
marks : o b c :c c : n: ' b c : n o b (4:16) are in harmony with
Haggais o: c n n : n op b n: nn : o b c nn c c b : :
(2:6, 9); and (3) the shared expressions y:nc: ::o (Hag 1:6; Joel
2:26), and : , c:n , nv , nb (Joel 1:10; Hag 1:11).
In subjecting their prophecies to a thematic examination, I
again propose reconsideration of the possibility that Joels oracles
can be understood as reflecting the narrow timespan during which,
despite their tribulations, hope remained that the Second Temple
would incorporate aspects of the restoration oracles delivered by
Ezekiel in Babylonia during the post-destruction years (Ezek 34
48). Perhaps the historical developments that gradually destroyed
the hope of immediate realization of these oracles (as reflected in


Daniel K. Falk, and Rodney A. Werline (eds.), Seeking the Favor of God
(SBLEJL, 21; Atlanta: SBL, 2006), 1:13437.
43
Recent important studies have examined the Minor Prophets as a
whole. See, for example, James D. Nogalski and Marvin A. Sweeny (eds.),
Reading and Hearing the Book of the Twelve (SBLSymS, 15; Atlanta: SBL,
2000). Nogalski even identifies Joel as a literary anchor for the book of
the Twelve (ibid., 91109) and notes additional links between Joel and
Haggai (ibid., 1023). Although Nogalskis discussion is mainly synchronic
in nature, my proposed dating for Joel, which belongs to the range to
which the Twelve are usually assignedfrom the eighth-century Assyrian
period into the postexilic Persian periodperhaps adds a diachronic
dimension to his discussion.
44
L. Maries, Propos de recentes tudes sur Joel, Recherches de science
religieuse 37 (1950), 12124.
45
For a comprehensive study of Joel in the broad biblical context, see,
for example, Judah Jungman, Yoel ben Petuel: Iyyun sifruti bi-nevuotav (Jerusa-
lem: Avivim, 1991), 7677, 1047. Regarding linguistic affinities between
Joel and Haggai, the restricted corpora of these books (38 verses in Hag-
gai and 73 in Joel) make it difficult to reach definitive conclusions.
14 JOURNAL OF HEBREW SCRIPTURES


Hag 12)
46
over the space of a few years contributed to the more
reserved nature of Joels oracles of a better future.
47
Thematically,
what unites these three prophets are the returnees aspirations for
the building of the Second Temple, especially their desire to
perceive the divine presence in their midst. As it appears in these
three prophets, this vision has five shared features: the outpouring
of the divine spirit on the people; YHWHs day; the spring that will
issue from the house of the Lord; the distancing of foreigners from
the divine dwelling place; and, finally, the prophecy that God will
dwell in Gods city.
48
Although the discussion here focuses on
comparison of the expectations for restoration in these prophets,
there are, however, additional thematic affinities: descriptions of
YHWHs dayfor Israel in Joel 4:16, for Egypt in Ezek 30:2; the
reference to the contents of the temple using o:y bb/ bb
on:on (Joel 4:5; Ezek 24:25); and apocalyptic descriptions (Joel
1:16, 3:3; Ezek 30:23, 38:22).
49

The possibility of evaluating evidence of textual links has been
the subject of much study. Leonard proposes the following prin-
ciples as methodological guidelines: (1) shared language; (2) shared
language that is rare or distinctive; (3) shared language in similar
contexts; (4) shared phrases; and (5) the accumulation of shared
language. He notes in addition that shared language need not be
accompanied by shared ideology or a shared form. When texts
meet these shared criteria, we can presume a textual relationship.
50

In the case of the texts considered here, the first two themes exhi-
bit strong linguistic as well as thematic links between the three
prophets, and for the first theme, even share a unique, rare combi-
nation. The motif of water emerging from the temple is not found
in other prophets, and finally the themes of the distancing of fo-
reigners and Gods return to the city are shared. Although the
strongest links, according to these suggested criteria, are found only


46
While there is also room for comparison of the oracles of the future
in Joel and Haggai with those of Zechariah this is not the place for a
comprehensive discussion.
47
On the restrained character of Joels oracles of the future as com-
pared to other prophets, see Crenshaw, Freeing the Imagination, 137
43.
48
A similar trend is reflected in Mark Bodas diachronic comparison
of Zech 11:416 to Ezek 34 and 37 (Reading between the Lines: Zecha-
riah 11.416 in its Literary Contexts, Mark J. Boda and Michael H. Floyd
(eds.), Bringing Out the Treasure: Innerbiblical Allusion in Zechariah 914 (Lon-
don: Sheffield Academic Press, 2003), 28488.
49
For the dating of Ezekiels post-destruction prophecies, see Moshe
Greenberg, Ezekiel 120: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary
(AB, 22; Garden City: Doubleday, 1983), 1217.
50
For a recent study of textual links, see Jeffery M. Leonard, Identi-
fying Inner-biblical Allusions: Psalm 78 as a Test Case, JBL 127 (2008),
24165.
THE PROPHECIES OF JOEL


15
for the first two examples, it appears that taken as a whole it can be
argued that these prophetic texts exhibit textual links.
OUTPOURING OF THE DIVINE SPIRIT ON THE PEOPLE
One feature of post-exilic oracles is the expectation of the absence
of prophets as intermediaries of the divine word. In Joel, this is
reflected by the unique shift predicted following Joels oracle on
agricultural plenty, which says, I will pour out my spirit on all flesh
( c c z : o : c : n (s ); your sons and your daughters shall
prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men
shall see visions; and even on the male and female slaves, in those
days, I will pour out my spirit ( : n (s c ) (3:12). These verses
detailing the future outpouring of the divine spirit on the entire
people, so that all will be prophets, indirectly explain the absence of
prophets as future intermediaries between the people and the di-
vine word; the people as a whole are granted the gift of prophecy.
51

Although not explicitly found elsewhere in prophetic litera-
ture, the seeds of this promise can be identified in the conclusion
of Ezekiels restoration oracles, prior to his vision of the future
temple: I will never again hide my face from them, for I will pour
out My spirit upon the House of Israel (: c n z : c : n n o c c)
declares the Lord God (Ezek 39:29). In a certain sense then the
starting point for Joels oracle of the future is where Ezekiels left
offin his prophecy Joel affirms and even elaborates on the pour-
ing out of the divine spirit found in Ezekiels oracle and the two
prophets share the use of the unique, rare combination of the
words :n nocc. In Haggais oracles, on the other hand, God
affirms the existence of the divine presence in the midst of Gods
people; in this passage, however, the divine spirit is not poured out
on the people, but stands among them: And be strong, all you
people of the land.Oracle of Yahweh. Indeed I will be with
you.Oracle of Yahweh of HostsMy spirit is standing in your
midst (o o on z n by : :); do not fear (Hag 2:45).
52

Another possible echo of the premise that prophetic abilities
will be bestowed on the entire people comes from the fact that
Ezra, like Joel, nowhere mentions contemporary prophets as in-
termediaries for conveying the word of God.
53
This is grounded in
the assumption that the leadership function of Zerubabel and Je-
shua differed from that of the First Temple prophets. In Ezra,


51
See Crenshaw, Joel, 16566; Barton, Joel and Obadiah, 9496.
52
Elie Assis, A Disputed Temple (Haggai 2,19), ZAW 120 (2008),
59091. The continuation of the verse the word/covenant I made with
you when you came out of Egypt requires separate discussion of the
relationship between Haggai and Exodus.
53
Note that Ezra uses similar terminology to describe those who re-
turned to Judea in the wake of Cyruss decree: all whose spirit had been
roused by God (Ezra 1:5).
16 JOURNAL OF HEBREW SCRIPTURES


priests and Levites preside over the temple dedication ceremony
and approach God through musical instruments and praise (Ezra
3:811). In Joel as well, the priests and elders appeal to God direct-
ly (1:1314). To this we must add the absence of explicit mention
of king in the verses treating the future leader, which serves to
date the book. As in Ezra 13 the functionaries include the elders
(Joel 1:2, 14) and the inhabitants of the land (Joel 1:2), and the
priests, the ministers of God (Joel 1:9, 13; 2:17).
54
In Ezekiel as well
the post of the king as a leader is missing.
55
In the context of the
proposed, narrow timeframe for their prophecies this could be
interpreted as proof of the expected imminent realization of these
oracles.
56

YHWHS DAY
Another feature found in Joel, Ezekiel, and Haggai are the literary
parallels between the descriptions of the upheavals that accompany
YHWHs day, a motif shared by many prophets. Thus, in the con-
text of the punishment of the nations and the granting of peace to
Israel,
57
both Joel and Haggai mention the shaking of the earth and
the heavens, using similar terminology: o b c :c c n : : : : c :
(2:10); n: : o b c :c c ' b c : n o b (4:16). Compare to Hag-
gais o: c n n : n op b n: ... nn : o b c nn c c b : :
(Hag 2:6, 21). It is possible to discern a link between these oracles
and Ezekiels, also apocalyptic in nature. Others have noted Joels
reliance on EzekielZimmerli, for example, who writes, The
book of Joel, which, alongside the Ezekiel oracles of the Day of
Yahweh (Ezekiel 7.30) and of the description of the temple stream
(Ezekiel 47), clearly makes quite specific use of Ezekiel 38f.
58
In
Ezekiel, Joel, and Haggai the above-mentioned upheavals are the
result of direct divine intervention and herald the Day of the Lord:
each by the sword of his brother (Hag 2:22; cf. Ezek 38:21), after
which the longed-for peace comes: and in this place will I grant
well-being (Hag 2:9 as in Ezek 34:25, 37:26).
59



54
See Hag 2:22; Zech 3:8, 6:1213; and Garrett, Hosea, Joel, 28889.
55
On the absence of a king in Ezekiels restoration oracles, see Tova
Ganzel, The Status of Functionaries in the Future Temple of Exekiel,
Shnaton 19 (2009), 1317 (Hebrew).
56
Zechariah already stresses the absence of a human king by applying
the epithet king to God (Zech 14:9, 17).
57
Rimon Kasher, Haggai and Ezekiel: The Complicated Relations
between the Two Prophets, VT 59 (2009), 55682.
58
Walther Zimmerli, Ezekiel 2: A Commentary on the Book of the Prophet
Ezekiel, Chapters 2548, James D. Martin (trans.); Paul D. Hanson with
Leonard Jay Greenspoon (eds.), (Hermeneia; Philadelphia: Fortress, 1983),
321; Stephen L. Cook, Prophecy and Apocalypticism: The Postexilic Social Setting
(Philadelphia: Fortress, 1995), 17280.
59
On the significance of Hag 2:9, see Assis, Disputed Temple, 593
94.
THE PROPHECIES OF JOEL


17
WATER/A SPRING ISSUING FROM THE TEMPLE
Ezekiel contains an unusual prophecy of water issuing from the
temple: and I found that water was issuing from below the plat-
form of the Templebecause the waterfrom them flows from
the Temple. Their fruit will serve for food and their leaves for heal-
ing (Ezek 47:112). Here too Zimmerli finds that Joels prophecy,
which says, And it shall happen on that day: that the mountains
shall drip sweet wine, and the hills shall run with milk, and all the
watercourses of Judah shall flow with water; and a fountain shall
come forth from the house of YHWH and water the Wadi Shittim
( n n z b c b: ' o o c n : : n n p c n : v ) (4:18) echoes that of
Ezekiel.
60
No similar prophecy is found in Haggai. Zechariahs
eschatological oracles, however, contain a comparable feature: In
that day, fresh water shall flow from Jerusalem, part of it to the
Eastern Sea and part to the Western Sea, throughout the summer
and winter (Zech 14:8).
61
An intriguing proposal has been made
that these three prophecies reflect a reality: the flow of water that
emerges from the Temple Mount and is discovered in the valley,
north of the Shallecheth gate.
62
Although as found in these texts
this theme does not share strong linguistic affinities, the motif of
water flowing from the temple is absent from other prophets.
There are, in addition, two other shared motifs, which, al-
though not definitive, do not contradict a link between the book of
Joel and the specific historical context proposed here. They are the
distancing of foreigners from the temple and Gods return to the
city.
MAINTAINING THE SANCTITY OF THE TEMPLE REQUIRES THE
DISTANCING OF FOREIGNERS
Both Ezekiel and Joel (but not Haggai) call for the distancing of
aliens from the temple, something that was not taken for granted in
the early days of Solomons Temple (1 Kgs 8:4043).
63
Joel predicts
that aliens will not enter Jerusalem: So you shall know that I,


60
Zimmerli, Ezekiel 2, 515.
61
The inclusion of Zechariah would certainly enhance the argument in
this article. However, this requires separate discussion of the dating of the
book of Zechariah. See Mark J. Boda, Zechariah: Master Mason or Peni-
tential Prophet? Bob Becking and Rainer Albertz (eds.), Yahwism After the
Exile: Perspectives on Israelite Religion in the Persian Era (Studies in Theology
and Religion, 5; Assen: Royal Van Gorcum, 2003), 4969. On the unique
link between Ezekiel, Zechariah, and Joel regarding this topic, see Cren-
shaw, Freeing the Imagination, 143, which he attributes to a priestly
preference of the author responsible for Joel 4:1721.
62
Ben-Zion Luria, U-maayan mi-bet ha-shem yetse (Joel 4:18),
Bet Mikra 16 (1970), 6.
63
This is perhaps a partial continuation of the approach found in Ezra
and Nehemiah; see Crenshaw, Joel, 198.
18 JOURNAL OF HEBREW SCRIPTURES


YHWH your God, dwell in Zion, my holy mountain. And Jerusalem
shall be a sanctuary and strangers shall never again pass through it (4:17).
In Ezekiel we find the presence of foreigners in the temple listed
among the causes of the destruction: Let no alien, uncircumcised
in spirit and flesh, enter My Sanctuaryno alien whatsoever
among the people of Israel (Ezek 44:9). This theme clearly be-
longs to Ezekiels vision of the future temple and the preservation
of its sanctity.
THE DIVINE PRESENCE IN ZION
As Crenshaw observes, the concluding verse of Joel, for YHWH
dwells in Zion (4:21),
64
expresses hopes for the realization of the
final verse of Ezekiel: the name of the city from that day on shall
be The Lord Is There (Ezek 48:35): This author believed that
Yahwehs abode in Jerusalem guarantees security for those who
take refuge there. In a very real sense, this inclusion corresponds to
the ecstatic shout with which Ezekiel concludes: Yahweh is there!
Where Yahweh resides, one need not fear.
65

There is another dimension to these remarks, namely, the dif-
ficult historical circumstances these prophets faced. Ezekiel proph-
esied in a generation that, contrary to its expectations, saw the di-
vine presence depart from the temple; his oracles therefore con-
clude with its promised return to Jerusalem. If my proposal is cor-
rect, Joel, on the other hand, confronted the dashing of first
returnees expectation of a palpable divine presence among them;
accordingly, Joels oracles also end with a promise that the divine
presence will dwell in Zion. But because the situation in Jerusalem
continued to be difficult in the coming years, Haggais oracles as
well emphasize that the divine presence will dwell in the temple,
whose construction he encourages the people to resume.
This comparison of the themes shared by Joel with Ezekiel
and by Haggai and Joel supports my hypothesis that Joels oracles
were uttered some thirty years after Ezekiels last prophecies, im-
mediately following Cyruss decree and the initial return of the
exiles to Judea. I suggest that this period fits his oracles because, in
my view, it embodied great hope that, alongside the building of the
Second Temple and the renewal of the temple service by the
priests, the prophetic vision of redemption would be realized. In a
sense, the unusual historical reality of an altar without a functioning
temple, and perhaps without the divine presence, parallels the pre-
destruction years during which Ezekiel prophesied. In his oracles
Ezekiel reiterated that, even though the temple still stood, God had
departed from the temple (Ezek 10). Thus, the returneesof
whom I have already suggested that Joel was a memberwho


64
On the uniqueness of the concluding unit of Joel (4:17-21), see
Crenshaw, Freeing the Imagination, 12947.
65
Crenshaw, Freeing the Imagination, 143.
THE PROPHECIES OF JOEL


19
heard Ezekiels oracles in Babylonia were cognizant of the possi-
bility that the setting up of the altar did not necessarily mean the
return of the divine presence and their ambivalent attitude toward
their situation must be seen in this light.
66

WHY DID JOEL NOT ASK THE PEOPLE TO BUILD THE
TEMPLE?
As noted earlier, we cannot rule out the possibility that Joels
oracles reflect a somewhat functioning temple.
67
I propose, howev-
er, that the descriptions that ostensibly demonstrate the temples
existence only indicate that the altar was functioning.
68
One often-
asked question is why the restoration of the Second Temple did not
take place immediately after Cyruss decree but was delayed until
the early reign of Darius I.
69
We must also inquire, why, if indeed
Joel prophesied during this period, did he not call for the rebuilding
of the temple?
Although we can reach no definitive conclusion regarding the
above question, a possible answer lies in the proposed attribution
to Joel as a link in a chain between Ezekiel and Haggai. Whereas
the focus of Haggais prophetic activity lies in his demand that the
people rebuild the temple (Hag 1:311; 2:15), nowhere does Eze-
kiel turn to the people to rebuild the temple,
70
and it appears that


66
Another point of comparison is the attitude toward the Edomites
manifested in the conclusion of Joel (4:19), which is consistent with Ju-
dean anger at the Edomites for participating in the Babylonian devastation
of the land (cf. Ezek 25:1214; Obad 1:1114, and the commentators ad
loc.). Conceptually and theologically we find enmity toward the Edomites
in Ezek 35 as well.
67
Perhaps the fact that no biblical books are explicitly dated to 586
516 also contributed to the failure to seriously consider dating Joel to this
period.
68
On the conceptual significance of the temple, priesthood, and ritual
in Joel, see Linville, Day of Yahweh, 98114. I accept his conclusions
but differ as to his dating of Joel.
69
A common answer to this question is that seventy years had not yet
passed since the destruction. See, for example, Hayim Tadmor, The
Appointed Time Has Not Yet Arrived: The Historical Background of
Haggai 1:2, Robert Chazan, William W. Hallo, and Lawrence H. Schiff-
man (eds.), Ki Baruch Hu: Ancient Near Eastern, Biblical, and Judaic Studies in
Honor of Baruch A. Levine (Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns, 1999), 4018.
70
See Kasher, Haggai and Ezekiel, 55682, who follows P. R. Bed-
ford, Temple Restoration in Early Achaemenid Judah (JSJSup, 65; Leiden: Brill,
2001), 82; see also ibid., 265n170. On the motif of divine building of the
Temple in the Bible and the ancient Near East, see Victor A. Hurowitz, I
Have Built You an Exalted House: Temple Building in the Bible in Light of Mesopo-
tamian and Northwest Semitic Writings (JSOTSSS, 115/JSOT/ASOR Mono-
graph Series, 5; Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1992), 33234.
20 JOURNAL OF HEBREW SCRIPTURES


this was not his intention.
71
In that, I suggest that Joel is apparently
closer to, and continues, Ezekiels prophetic doctrine. Because he
saw the building of the temple as a divine, not human, task, he is
satisfied with assigning the people a role that includes prayer and
mourning customs.
72
Somewhat later Haggai diverged from Eze-
kiels view and demanded that the people themselves undertake to
rebuild the temple, although divinely inspired to do so. Yet, I pro-
pose that what was seemingly an obvious demand for Haggai and
Zechariah isfor ideological reasonsmissing from Joel. This
may also explain why Joel issues no admonitions regarding socio-
religious sin, in this following in Ezekiels wake as well.
73
Although
Joel asks the people to return to God (2:1213) this is not a call for
repentance but rather a request to come closer to God through
renewed and heightened devotion and to honor him through acts
of mourning.
74
If in Joel, the people pray and observe mourning
customs, Haggai demands that they actively resume the building of
the temple. But, in none of these three prophets is the hoped for
change dependent on the peoples moral behavior.
75

CONCLUSION: THE SHATTERED DREAM
Immediately upon their return, the former exiles found themselves
confronting not only the dream but also its dissipation.
76
As I read
them, the shared motifs in Ezekiel, Joel, and Haggai all respond to
a common exigency: the absence of the temple. Ezekiels oracles to
the Babylonian exiles generated the dream of a Second Temple,
which would by its very essence correct what brought the First
Temple down. At a later date, with the returnees arrival in Judea,
we learnthrough Joels propheciesof the harsh and disappoint-
ing historical circumstances they faced. I propose that his oracles
reflect an attempt to confront this situation, when hopes for the


71
See Walther Zimmerli, Plans for Rebuilding after the Catastrophe
of 586, I Am Yahweh, Douglas W. Stott (trans.); Walter Brueggeman (ed.)
(Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1982), 11516.
72
That Ezekiel saw the building of the Temple as a divine task
emerges from Ezek. 40:24 and the absence of verses calling on the
people to rebuild the Temple.
73
On the absence of moral admonitions in Ezekiel, see Baruch J.
Schwartz, Ezekiels Dim View of Israels Restoration, Margaret S. Odell
and John T. Strong (eds.), The Book of Ezekiel: Theological and Anthropological
Perspectives (Symposium Series, 9; Atlanta: SBL, 2000), 4367.
74
Barton, Joel and Obadiah, 13339; Ronald A. Simkins, Return to
Yahweh: Honor and Shame in Joel, Semeia 68 (1994), 4154.
75
This differs, however, from Zechariah. See Boda, Zechariah, 52
54.
76
The group here denoted returnees (oncn) evidently included some
Judeans who had not been exiled, but this is not the place for further
discussion of this point. See John Kessler, The Book of Haggai: Prophecy and
Society in Early Persian Yehud (SVT, 91; Leiden: Brill, 2002), 14142.
THE PROPHECIES OF JOEL


21
realization of the restoration prophecies in the book of Ezekiel still
resonated. A mere decade or so later, and as a result of their con-
tinued tribulations and the apperception that God was not in their
midst, there was another turning point, manifested in the oracles of
Haggai. We can perhaps attribute the features these prophets share
to a specific historical reality: The post-destruction reality (Ezekiel),
the initial return to Judea (Joel), and the situation ten years later
(Haggai).
I conclude by drawing upon Rimon Kashers postulation of a
link between Ezekiel and Haggai,
77
based on the specific
circumstances each experienced. To his analysis, I suggest that a
two-way link between each of these prophets and Joel can be add-
ed. First of all, Ezekiel, Joel, and Haggai share a worldview that
foresees an imminent, radical deliverance; moreover, all three deal
with the theological conundrum of the status of the God of Israel.
Haggai, who was active in the early restoration period, calls for an
imminent realization of his eschatological goals. Ezekiel, who wit-
nessed the destruction, introduced divine, rather than human me-
chanisms to his picture of the near future, the means by which to
prevent another collapse and profanation of the divine name. Joel,
who may have prophesied in the twilight zone between the two,
tries to realize this vision and incorporates many of its motifs in his
oracles.
If Haggai urged to people to rebuild the temple and expected
the restoration of the monarchy, Ezekiel makes the forthcoming
restoration depend on God alone. Joel, for his part, places his hope
in God, but also calls for deeds to be carried out by the priests,
Gods servants who minister to the altar. There are also contrasts
between the three regarding the process of redemption. If human
beings are passive in the process of redemption and restoration as
Ezekiel describes it, Haggais theocentricity leaves room for human
effort to take steps to end the economic crisis from which the
people suffer. He expects humans to resolve the crisis; for him,
laying the foundations of the temple is the start of redemption. I
suggest that, Joel, like Ezekiel, ascribes a more passive role to the
people in the process of redemption; nowhere does he call for
them to actively begin rebuilding the temple.
78


Thus, the dating of Joel to the early restoration period proposed
here has the potential to shed light both on the historical back-
ground portrayed in this book and on its theological and ideologi-
cal viewpoint, seen as mediating between the prophecies of Ezekiel
and Haggai. It is against this setting that his unique treatment of the
difficulties of his day can perhaps best be understood. From this


77
Kasher, Haggai and Ezekiel, 55682.
78
Kasher, Haggai and Ezekiel, 55682.

22 JOURNAL OF HEBREW SCRIPTURES


perspective, his oracles contributed significantly to the creation of a
positive turning point that promised peace and security for Jerusa-
lem and Gods future presence there.