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Joel

About this book
Chapter 3

1 “For look! In those days and at that time I will return the exiles to Judah and Jerusalem. 2 Then I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. I will enter into judgment against them there concerning my people Israel who are my inheritance, whom they scattered among the nations.⁠ They partitioned my land, 3 and they cast lots for my people.⁠ They traded a boy for a prostitute; they sold a little girl for wine so they could drink. 4 Why are you doing these things to me, Tyre and Sidon? Are you trying to get even with me, land of Philistia? If you are, I will very quickly repay you for what you have done! 5 For you took my silver and my gold and brought my precious valuables to your own palaces. 6 You sold Judeans and Jerusalemites to the Greeks, removing them far from their own country. 7 Look! I am rousing them from that place to which you sold them. I will repay you for what you have done! 8 I will sell your sons and daughters to the people of Judah. They will sell them to the Sabeans, a nation far away.” Indeed, the Lord has spoken. 9 Proclaim this among the nations: “Prepare for a holy war! Call out the warriors! Let all these fighting men approach and attack! 10 Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears. Let the weak say, ‘I too am a warrior!’⁠ 11 Lend your aid and come, all you surrounding nations, and gather yourselves to that place.” Bring down, O Lord, your warriors! 12 “Let the nations be roused and let them go up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat, for there I will sit in judgment on all the surrounding nations.⁠ 13 Rush forth with the sickle, for the harvest is ripe! Come, stomp the grapes, for the winepress is full! The vats overflow. Indeed, their evil is great!”⁠ 14 Crowds, great crowds are in the Valley of Decision, for the day of the Lord is near in the Valley of Decision! 15 The sun and moon are darkened; the stars withhold their brightness. 16 The Lord roars from Zion; from Jerusalem his voice bellows out.⁠ The heavens and the earth shake.⁠ But the Lord is a refuge for his people; he is a stronghold for the citizens of Israel.⁠ 17 “You will be convinced that I, the Lord, am your God, dwelling on Zion, my holy mountain. Jerusalem will be holy— conquering armies will no longer pass through it. 18 On that day the mountains will drip with sweet wine,⁠ and the hills will flow with milk. All the dry stream beds of Judah will flow with water. A spring will flow out from the temple of the Lord, watering the Valley of Acacia Trees.⁠ 19 Egypt will be desolate,⁠ and Edom will be a desolate wilderness because of the violence they did to the people of Judah, in whose land they shed innocent blood. 20 But Judah will reside securely forever, and Jerusalem will be secure from one generation to the next. 21 I will avenge their blood that I had not previously acquitted.” It is the Lord who dwells in Zion!

Texts in conversation

Compare Joel 3:3 and Obadiah 1:11

Hebrew Bible

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Summary

Joel depicts the nations treating Judah’s people as objects and trading children for cheap rewards. Obadiah echoes this by describing and condemning outsiders for treating the people of Jerusalem as objects to be given away.

Passages

Joel 3:3

Hebrew Bible
1 “For look! In those days and at that time I will return the exiles to Judah and Jerusalem. 2 Then I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. I will enter into judgment against them there concerning my people Israel who are my inheritance, whom they scattered among the nations. They partitioned my land, 3 and they cast lots for my people. They traded a boy for a prostitute; they sold a little girl for wine so they could drink. 4 Why are you doing these things to me, Tyre and Sidon? Are you trying to get even with me, land of Philistia? If you are, I will very quickly repay you for what you have done! 5 For you took my silver and my gold and brought my precious valuables to your own palaces.
600–501 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Joel

Obadiah 1:11

Hebrew Bible
9 Your warriors will be shattered, O Teman, so that everyone will be destroyed from Esau’s mountain! 10 “Because you violently slaughtered your relatives, the people of Jacob, shame will cover you, and you will be destroyed forever. 11 You stood aloof while strangers took his army captive and foreigners advanced to his gates. When they cast lots over Jerusalem, you behaved as though you were in league with them. 12 You should not have gloated when your relatives suffered calamity. You should not have rejoiced over the people of Judah when they were destroyed. You should not have boasted when they suffered adversity. 13 You should not have entered the city of my people when they experienced distress. You should not have joined in gloating over their misfortune when they suffered distress. You should not have looted their wealth when they endured distress.
600–501 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Obadiah

References

"... Evidence from Joel 2:32–3:21: The book of Joel records the remarkable circumstances surrounding Yahweh’s judgment of the nations and the deliverance of his people. Joel’s prophecy resembles Obadiah’s, as six points of correspondence bear out. First, both texts state that “the Day of Yahweh is near” (Joel 3:14; Obadiah 15). Second, both texts speak of a time when Jerusalem or Zion will be holy: “Jerusalem will be holy” (Joel 3:17) and “Mount Zion ... will be holy” (Obadiah 17). Third, both texts predict that Gentiles will casts lots for God’s people: the nations “cast lots for my people” (Joel 3:3) and “foreigners ... cast lots for Jerusalem” (Obadiah 11). Fourth, both texts predict Yahweh’s revenge against the nations: “I will return recompense on your head” (Joel 3:4, 7) and “your dealings will return on your own head” (Obadiah 15). Fifth, both texts indicate that Edom will be judged because of their violence toward Judah: “Edom will become a desolate wilderness, because of the violence toward the Judahites (Joel 3:19) and “Because of violence to your brother Jacob shame will cover you” (Obadiah 10). Sixth, both texts speak of refugees who escape Mount Zion: “on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be those who escape” (Joel 2:32) and “on Mount Zion there will be those who escape” (Obadiah 17). These six similarities suggest that both prophets describe the same situation. As Beecher concludes, “these two prophets had in mind the same group of events.” ..."
Mark A. Hassler, “The Setting of Obadiah: When Does the Oracle Concerning Edom Transpire?” JETS 59.2 (2016): 241–254.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Joel 3:3 and Obadiah 1:11

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