Joel

• DatesDate unknown; proposals range from the 9th to the 4th century BC (debated)
• GenreMinor Prophets
• AuthorshipJoel son of Pethuel
• Key textsJoel 1; Joel 2:28–32; Joel 3
• Read the textJoel in the World English Bible
• Covered in classSession 3

What the sources say, and how sure we are

• The text says

  The book does not name a king or give a date. It describes a locust plague, a call to repentance, and a promise of the Spirit.Joel 1:1; Joel 2:12–14; Joel 2:28–29

• Debated

  The book has been dated as early as the 9th century BC, in the time of King Joash, and as late as the 4th century BC. Those who favor a late date point to the absence of a king, the prominence of priests, the mention of Greeks, and the walls of Jerusalem. Those who favor an early date point to the position of the book among eighth-century prophets and its references to Phoenicia and Philistia.Joel 3:4–6

• Christian conclusion

  Peter quotes Joel 2:28–32 at Pentecost as fulfilled in the gift of the Spirit.Acts 2:16–21