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Joel is a common name in the Bible. There are 14 men with that name mentioned in the Bible. The author, Joel was the son of a man called Pethuel (Peth-u-el). The internal evidence in the book can determine the time in which he lived. The United Kingdom is not mentioned, Elders and Priests were the authorities, Israel consists only of Judah, Jerusalem is the Holy Place, the Temple had been rebuilt (520-516 BC.) and is standing and the walls of Jerusalem had been rebuilt (445 BC.) which dates him and his book sometime in the post exile period after 445 BC. Very little else is known about this Joel.
We know from the book that he lived during the time of a locust invasion that devastated the land of Judah. As Joel reflected on this disaster, the Word of the Lord came to him. He became a prophet to his people proclaiming the divine implications of the disaster. The destruction that was wrought by the locusts on the agriculture, religious and economic life of the people, is described in scientific accuracy.
Joel describes the four stages of development of locust:
Military invasions by Syria furnished him with terminology to describe the destruction of these insects. Some view Joel's description as being figurative, some as apocalyptical, but most agree that it was a historical event that occurred during his lifetime. Joel, like most Old Testament writers, believed that these disasters were caused by man's disobedience to God.
| Subject | Chapter |
|---|---|
| The Phases of Disaster | 1 |
| The Description of Disaster | 2 |
| Glorious Deliverance | 3 |
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