Joel 1:4 NIV

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Joel 1:1-7

It is a foolish fancy which some of the Jews have, that this Joel the prophet was the same with that Joel who was the son of Samuel (1 Sam. 8:2); yet one of their rabbin very gravely undertakes to show why Samuel is here called Pethuel. This Joel was long after that. He here speaks of a sad and sore judgment which was now brought, or to be brought, upon Judah, for their sins. Observe, I. The greatness of the judgment, expressed here in two things:?1. It was such as could not be paralleled in... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Joel 1:4

That which the palmer worm hath left hath the locust eaten ,.... These, with the two following, are four kinds of, locusts as Jarchi observes; though it is difficult to fix the particular species designed; they seem to have their names from some peculiar properties belonging to them; as the first of these from their sheering or cropping off the fruits and leaves of trees; and the second from the vast increase of them, the multitude they bring forth and the large numbers they appear in: ... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Joel 1:4

That which the palmerworm hath left - Here he begins to open his message, and the words he chooses show that he is going to announce a devastation of the land by locusts, and a famine consequent on their depredations. What the different insects may be which he specifies is not easy to determine. I shall give the words of the original, with their etymology. The palmerworm, גזם gazam , from the same root, to cut short; probably the caterpillar, or some such blight, from its cutting the... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Joel 1:4

Verse 4 He adds what that judgment was, — that the hope of food had for many years disappointed them. It often happened, we know, that locusts devoured the standing corn; and then the chafers and the palmer worms did the same: these were ordinary events. But when one devastation happened, and another followed, and there was no end; when there had been four barren years, suddenly produced by insects, which devoured the growth of the earth; — this was certainly unusual. Hence the Prophet says,... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Joel 1:1-4

National calamity. "The word of the Lord that came to Joel the son of Pethuel. Hear this," etc. These verses lead us to look upon some aspects of that terrible national calamity which was the great burden of the prophet's ministry. We learn from the passage— I. THAT THIS CALAMITY WAS DIVINELY REVEALED AT FIRST TO THE HIND OF ONE MAN . "The word of the Lord that came to Joel the son of Pethueh" No one knew at first what a sad calamity was coming on the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Joel 1:2-4

A retrospect and a prospect. The former was sufficiently gloomy, the latter might prove salutary in its tendency. The oldest are challenged to look back on the past and recall all the years that had been, and then say if they could find any parallel for the disasters of the calamitous time through which they had just passed or were passing. The prophet did not need to name or specify the calamity; somewhat indefinitely or abruptly he asks, "Hath this been in your days, or even in the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Joel 1:2-7

These verses describe the invasion of the locusts, with an exhortation to reflect on and lament for the calamity. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Joel 1:4

That which the palmer-worm hath left hath the locust eaten; and that which the locust hath left hath the cankerworm eaten; and that which the canker-worm hath left hath the caterpillar eaten. Some interpreters consider, and rightly, we think, that the prophet enumerates in this verse four different species of locusts. The common or general name is arbeh , from rabhah , to be many; the gazam , or palmer-worm, is the gnawer , or biter, from a root ( guzam ) which signifies... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Joel 1:4

That which the palmerworm hath left, hath the locust eaten - The creatures here spoken of are different kinds of locusts, so named from their number or voracity. We, who are free from this scourge of God, know them only by the generic name of locusts. But the law mentions several sorts of locusts, each after its kind, which might be eaten . In fact, above eighty different kinds of locusts have been observed , some of which are twice as large as that which is the ordinary scourge of God . Slight... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Joel 1:4

Joel 1:4. That which the palmer-worm hath left hath the locust eaten A succession of noxious creatures hath perfectly destroyed the fruits of the earth; which makes this judgment so strange and remarkable. It is usual with the prophets to speak of things which were certainly about to take place, as already come to pass; and it is likely that the prophet speaks thus here; and that the sense is, That which the palmer-worm shall leave the locust shall eat. Bochart hath assigned many... read more

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Joel 1:1-7

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Joel 1:4

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Joel 1:4

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Joel 1:4

The Pulpit Commentary - Joel 1:1-4

The Pulpit Commentary - Joel 1:2-4

The Pulpit Commentary - Joel 1:2-7

The Pulpit Commentary - Joel 1:4

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Joel 1:4

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Joel 1:4

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