Texts in Conversation
Joel describes animals crying out in thirst when rivers dry up, showing how drought leaves even wildlife desperate for water. Psalm 42 uses similar language, comparing a person’s longing for God to a deer searching for a stream.
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Joel 1:20
Hebrew Bible
17 The grains of seed have shriveled beneath their shovels. Storehouses have been decimated, and granaries have been torn down because the grain has dried up. 18 Listen to the cattle groan! The herds of livestock wander around in confusion because they have no pasture. Even the flocks of sheep are suffering. 19 To you, O Lord, I call out for help, for fire has burned up the pastures of the wilderness, flames have razed all the trees in the fields. 20 Even the wild animals long for you53, for the river beds have dried up; fire has destroyed the pastures of the wilderness.
Date: 6th Century B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Psalm 42:1
Hebrew Bible
1 For the music director, a well-written song by the Korahites. As a deer longs for streams of water, so I long for you, O God! 2 I thirst for God, for the living God. I say, “When will I be able to go and appear in God’s presence?” 3 I cannot eat; I weep day and night. All day long they say to me, “Where is your God?” 4 I will remember and weep. For I was once walking along with the great throng to the temple of God, shouting and giving thanks along with the crowd as we celebrated the holy festival.
Date: 6th-3rd Centuries B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... Psalm 42:1: The Masoretic text has the masculine form “hart”; many commentators assume the form should be the feminine to harmonize with the verb which occurs only here and in Joel 1:20. It is possible that the feminine ending might have been omitted by haplography. The singular noun could be taken as a collective for sense agreement. The Greek version has “longs for” or “earnestly desires,” a word used for longing for water ..."
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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