A Call to Lamentation and Fasting
Joel 1:13-20
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Joe.1.13 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- חגרו: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,3,m,sg
- וספדו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- הכהנים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- הילילו: VERB,piel,imp,2,m,pl
- משרתי: NOUN,m,pl,cs
- מזבח: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- באו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- לינו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- בשקים: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- משרתי: NOUN,m,pl,cs
- אלהי: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- כי: CONJ
- נמנע: VERB,nip,perf,3,m,sg
- מבית: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אלהיכם: NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,2,m,pl
- מנחה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ונסך: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Joel 2:17 (verbal): Directly parallel scene: priests and ministers of the altar are called to weep and intercede at the sanctuary (’between the porch and the altar’), echoing Joel 1:13’s summons for priests to mourn and keep vigil in sackcloth.
- Isaiah 1:11-15 (thematic): God rejects the people’s sacrifices because of their sin (’to what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices…?’), thematically linking refusal/withholding of offerings in Joel 1:13 to prophetic critiques of unacceptable worship.
- Haggai 1:2-11 (thematic): Complaint that the house of the LORD lies waste and ritual/temporal blessings are diminished until the temple is rebuilt connects with Joel’s image of offerings and drink-offerings being withheld from the house of God.
- Psalm 79:1-5 (thematic): Communal lament over devastation of Jerusalem and profanation of the sanctuary (pleas for God’s help, mourning over the ruin) parallels Joel’s priestly lament and mourning for the house of God.
- Malachi 1:10-14 (verbal): Priestly failures and God’s rejection of improper offerings (and priests’ complaints) resonate with Joel 1:13’s focus on priests/altar-servants mourning because offerings to God are withheld.
Alternative generated candidates
- Gird yourselves and mourn, O priests; wail, O ministers of the altar; come, spend the night in sackcloth, O servants of your God—for the grain-offering and the libation are withheld from the house of your God.
- Gird yourselves and mourn, O priests; wail, ministers of the altar; come, spend the night in sackcloth, ministers of your God; for the grain offering and the libation are withheld from the house of your God.
Joe.1.14 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- קדשו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- צום: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- קראו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- עצרה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- אספו: VERB,qal,imp,2,pl
- זקנים: ADJ,m,pl,abs
- כל: DET
- ישבי: NOUN,m,pl,cons
- הארץ: NOUN,f,sg,def
- בית: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אלהיכם: NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,2,m,pl
- וזעקו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- אל: NEG
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Joel 2:15-16 (structural): Immediate parallel in the same book: a renewed call to sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly, bring the elders and inhabitants to the house of the LORD to seek mercy.
- Jonah 3:5-8 (thematic): Nineveh's response: proclamation of a fast, public mourning, and summons of people and animals—an example of communal fasting and repentance in response to divine warning.
- 1 Samuel 7:6 (verbal): Israel gathered at Mizpah; they drew water, fasted, and confessed, echoing the motifs of assembly, elders, fasting, and crying out to the LORD.
- 2 Chronicles 20:3-4 (thematic): Jehoshaphat proclaims a fast throughout Judah and calls the people to seek the LORD, mirroring the communal call to fasting and prayer in Joel.
- Nehemiah 9:1 (structural): The people assemble with fasting, sackcloth, and confession before God—a liturgical parallel to Joel's summons to gather, fast, and cry to the LORD in the house of God.
Alternative generated candidates
- Sanctify a fast; proclaim a solemn assembly; gather the elders, all who dwell in the land, to the house of the LORD your God, and cry out to the LORD.
- Sanctify a fast; call a solemn assembly; gather the elders, all who dwell in the land, to the house of the LORD your God, and cry out to the LORD.
Joe.1.15 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- אהה: INTJ
- ליום: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- כי: CONJ
- קרוב: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- יום: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- וכשד: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- משדי: PREP+NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- יבוא: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Isaiah 13:6-9 (verbal): Crying 'Wail/Alas' that 'the day of the LORD is near' and describing it as destruction from the Almighty—very close verbal and thematic parallel to Joel 1:15.
- Zephaniah 1:14-18 (verbal): Announces 'The great day of the LORD is near' and stresses sudden, fearful judgment—echoes Joel's imminent-day motif and urgency.
- Obadiah 1:15 (allusion): Declares 'For the day of the LORD is near upon all the nations,' reflecting the same proclamation of an imminent, retributive day as in Joel.
- Amos 5:18-20 (thematic): Addresses expectations about 'the day of the LORD,' warning that it will be a day of darkness and judgment rather than deliverance—thematically aligned with Joel's lament.
- Ezekiel 30:3 (verbal): Repeats the motif 'for the day is near' and portrays it as a coming calamity from the Almighty, resonating closely with Joel's language and theme.
Alternative generated candidates
- Alas for the day! For the day of the LORD is near; it comes as devastation from the Almighty.
- Alas for the day! For near is the day of the LORD— it comes like devastation from the Almighty.
Joe.1.16 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- הלוא: PART
- נגד: PREP
- עינינו: NOUN,f,pl,poss_1pl
- אכל: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- נכרת: VERB,niphal,perf,3,m,sg
- מבית: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אלהינו: NOUN,m,pl,abs,poss:1,pl
- שמחה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- וגיל: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Jeremiah 7:34 (verbal): Jeremiah prophesies that the 'voice of mirth and the voice of gladness' will cease from the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem—closely echoing Joel’s image of joy and gladness being cut off from the house of God.
- Amos 8:10 (thematic): Amos warns that feasts will be turned to mourning and gladness to sorrow; thematically parallels Joel’s depiction of communal worship and joy being stopped as a result of divine judgment.
- Isaiah 24:7-8 (verbal): Isaiah describes mirth and the sound of rejoicing being stilled throughout the city, language that closely corresponds to Joel’s report of joy and gladness being taken away from God’s house.
- Psalm 79:1-4 (thematic): This lament recounts the defilement of the sanctuary by foreign nations and the ensuing loss of worship and rejoicing—a thematic parallel to Joel’s complaint that gladness has been removed from the house of the Lord.
Alternative generated candidates
- Is not the food cut off before our eyes—joy and gladness from the house of our God?
- Has not joy been cut off before our eyes— gladness and rejoicing from the house of our God?
Joe.1.17 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- עבשו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- פרדות: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- תחת: PREP
- מגרפתיהם: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- נשמו: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- אצרות: NOUN,m,pl,construct
- נהרסו: VERB,nif,perf,3,m,pl
- ממגרות: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- כי: CONJ
- הביש: NOUN,m,sg,def
- דגן: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Joel 1:18 (verbal): Immediate parallel within the same oracle: repeats the cry of the animals and herds suffering for lack of pasture and grain, effectively the same scene and diction.
- Hosea 4:3 (thematic): Attributes widespread desolation to sin and explicitly links the land's mourning with the suffering and loss of the beasts of the field—same motif of animal distress caused by agricultural failure.
- Psalm 107:33-35 (thematic): Describes God turning fruitful land into barrenness and rivers into wilderness, producing the same agricultural devastation that leaves animals and people without sustenance.
- Isaiah 24:4-6 (thematic): Speaks of the earth mourning and languishing because of human transgression, with the land's produce failing—a prophetic precedent for nationwide crop failure and the resulting distress of animals.
- Deuteronomy 28:38-40 (structural): Part of the covenant curses predicting failed harvests, loss of yield, and consequences for livestock—provides the covenantal/ legal-theological framework for famine and animal suffering depicted in Joel.
Alternative generated candidates
- The seed rots beneath their clods; the storehouses lie desolate, the granaries are broken down, for the grain has been ruined.
- The seed shrivels under its clods; the storehouses are laid waste, the granaries broken down; for the grain has failed.
Joe.1.18 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- מה: PRON,int
- נאנחה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- בהמה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- נבכו: VERB,niphal,perf,3,m,pl
- עדרי: NOUN,m,pl,cns
- בקר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- כי: CONJ
- אין: PART,neg
- מרעה: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- להם: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
- גם: ADV
- עדרי: NOUN,m,pl,cns
- הצאן: NOUN,m,sg,def
- נאשמו: VERB,niphal,perf,3,m,pl
Parallels
- Joel 1:10-12 (structural): Immediate context in the same chapter: earlier verses catalog the devastation of grain, vines and trees (no food), culminating structurally in the lament over cattle and flocks in 1:18.
- Hosea 4:3 (thematic): Both portray the land under divine judgment so that the country mourns and ‘the beasts of the field’ languish for lack of pasture.
- Habakkuk 3:17 (thematic): Image of agricultural collapse — trees and vines fail and ‘the flocks are cut off from the fold’ — closely parallels Joel’s depiction of livestock suffering for want of pasture.
- Ezekiel 34:16, 34:29 (thematic): Ezekiel speaks of scattered or suffering sheep under judgment and then God’s future provision of pasture; thematically related as the companion motif of flock loss and subsequent restoration to the situation Joel describes.
Alternative generated candidates
- How the beasts groan! The herds of cattle are bewildered, for there is no pasture for them; even the flocks of sheep are made desolate.
- How the cattle groan! The herds of oxen are perplexed because there is no pasture; even the flocks of sheep are dismayed.
Joe.1.19 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- אליך: PREP+PRON,2,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אקרא: VERB,qal,impf,1,_,sg
- כי: CONJ
- אש: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- אכלה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- נאות: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- מדבר: VERB,qal,ptc,3,m,sg
- ולהבה: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- להטה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- כל: DET
- עצי: NOUN,m,pl,cons
- השדה: NOUN,m,sg,def
Parallels
- Ezekiel 20:47 (verbal): God declares he will kindle a fire in the Negev that will devour every green and dry tree—language closely parallel to Joel’s image of fire consuming the pastures and all the trees of the field.
- Isaiah 9:18-19 (thematic): Uses the image of wickedness burning like a consuming fire that devours briers and thorns—thematically similar depiction of wide devastation by fire affecting vegetation and land.
- Nahum 1:10 (verbal): Speaks of the enemy being consumed like fully dried stubble—verbal imagery of burning up vegetation comparable to Joel’s depiction of fields and trees destroyed by flame.
- Malachi 4:1 (thematic): Foretells a coming day that will burn like an oven and consume the wicked like stubble—shares the eschatological/justicial motif of consuming fire laid on the land and people.
- 2 Chronicles 7:1 (structural): Narrates fire coming down from heaven and consuming the offerings—parallels Joel’s motif of divine fire bringing destruction and the theophanic association with Yahweh.
Alternative generated candidates
- To you, O LORD, I call, for fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and a flame has burned up all the trees of the field.
- To you, O LORD, I cry; for fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and a flame has burned all the trees of the field.
Joe.1.20 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- גם: ADV
- בהמות: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- שדה: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- תערוג: VERB,qal,imprf,3,f,sg
- אליך: PREP+PRON,2,m,sg
- כי: CONJ
- יבשו: VERB,qal,imprf,3,m,pl
- אפיקי: NOUN,m,pl,cons
- מים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- ואש: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- אכלה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- נאות: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- המדבר: VERB,qal,ptc,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Habakkuk 3:17 (verbal): Uses similar drought imagery—crop failure and loss of flocks/herds—portraying agricultural collapse and the distress of animals as a result of calamity.
- Amos 4:7 (verbal): Describes God’s withholding of rain and the consequent drying up of streams and pastures, a close verbal/thematic parallel to brooks drying and pastures consumed in Joel.
- Psalm 104:10-11 (thematic): Speaks of springs and brooks giving drink to every beast of the field; offers a thematically related image (water supplying or failing to supply animals) that contrasts Joel’s picture of thirsty, panting beasts.
- Hosea 4:3 (thematic): Depicts the land mourning and the beasts of the field suffering under divine judgment—parallel theme of environmental devastation causing animal distress.
Alternative generated candidates
- Even the beasts of the field pant to you, for the brooks of water are dried up; and fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness.
- Even the animals of the field cry to you; for the brooks of water are dried up, and fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness.
Gird yourselves and mourn, O priests; wail, you servants of the altar; come, lie in sackcloth, you ministers of your God; for the grain offering and the drink offering are withheld from the house of your God.
Consecrate a fast; call a solemn assembly; gather the elders, all who dwell in the land, to the house of the LORD your God, and cry out to the LORD.
Alas for the day! For near is the day of the LORD; like devastation from the Almighty it comes.
Is not rejoicing and gladness cut off from the house of our God before our eyes?
The seed shrivels beneath its clods; the storehouses are desolate, the granaries broken down— for the grain has failed.
How the beasts groan! The herds of cattle are bewildered because there is no pasture for them; even the flocks of sheep are made desolate.
To you, O LORD, I call, for fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and flame has burned all the trees of the field.
Even the beasts of the field long for you, for the brooks of water are dried up; fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness.