Book of Joel
The Book of Joel is collected as one of the twelve minor prophets of the Nevi'im ("Prophets") in the Hebrew Bible, and as a book in its own right in the Christian Old Testament. Content. After a superscription ascribing the prophecy to Joel (son of Pethuel), the book may be broken down into the following sections: Chapters. The Book of Joel's division into chapters and verses differs widely between editions of the Bible; some editions have three chapters, others four. Translations with four chapters include: the Jewish Publication Society's version of the Hebrew Bible (1917 ), Jerusalem Bible (1966), New American Bible (Revised Edition, 1970), Complete Jewish Bible (1998), Tree of Life Version (2015) In the 1611 King James Bible, the Book of Joel is formed by three chapters: the second one has 32 verses, and it is equivalent to the union of the chapter 2 (with 26 verses) and chapter 3 (with 5 verses) of other editions of the Bible. The differences of the division is as follows: Historical context. As there are no explicit references in the book to datable persons or events, scholars have assigned a wide range of dates to the book . The main positions are: Evidence produced for these positions includes allusions in the book to the wider world, similarities with other prophets, and linguistic details. Some commentators, such as John Calvin, attach no great importance to the precise dating. Joel 1 and 2 are preserved in the Dead Sea Scrolls, in fragmentary manuscripts 4Q78, 4Q82, and the Scroll Wadi Muraba’at. History of interpretation. The Masoretic text places Joel between Hosea and Amos (the order inherited by the Tanakh and Old Testament), while the Septuagint order is Hosea–Amos–Micah–Joel–Obadiah–Jonah. The Hebrew text of Joel seems to have  suffered little from scribal transmission, but is at a few points supplemented by the Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate versions, or by conjectural emendation. While the book purports to describe a plague of locusts, some ancient Jewish opinion saw the locusts as allegorical interpretations of Israel's enemies. This allegorical interpretation was applied to the church by many church fathers. Calvin took a literal interpretation of chapter 1, but allegorical view of chapter 2, a position echoed by some modern interpreters. Most modern interpreters, however, see Joel speaking of a literal locust plague given a prophetic/ apocalyptic interpretation. The traditional ascription  of the whole book to the prophet Joel was challenged in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries by a theory of a three-stage process of composition: 1:1–2:27 were from the hand of Joel, and dealt with a contemporary issue; 2:28–3:21/3:1–4:21 were ascribed to a continuator with an apocalyptic outlook. Mentions in the first half of the book to the day of the Lord were also ascribed to this continuator. 3:4–8/4:4–8 could be seen as even later. Details of exact ascriptions differed between scholars. This splitting of the book's composition began to be challenged in the mid-twentieth  century, with scholars defending the unity of the book, the plausibility of the prophet combining a contemporary and apocalyptic outlook, and later additions by the prophet. The authenticity of 3:4–8 has presented more challenges, although a number of scholars still defend it. Biblical quotes and allusions. There are many parallels of language between Joel and other Old Testament prophets. They may represent Joel's literary use of other prophets, or vice versa. In the New Testament, his prophecy of the outpouring of God's Holy Spirit upon all people was notably quoted by Saint Peter in his Pentecost sermon. Joel  3:10 / 4:10 is a variation of Isaiah 2:4 and Micah 4:3's prophecy, "They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.", instead commanding, "Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears." The table below represents some of the more explicit quotes and allusions between specific passages in Joel and passages from the Old and New Testaments. Other references. Plange quasi virgo ("Lament like a virgin"), the third responsory for Holy Saturday, is loosely based on verses from the Book of Joel: the title comes from Joel 1:8. Further reading. See also works  on the Minor Prophets as a whole.