Joel 1:2

2. Hear this A solemn summons to give attention to the words about to be uttered (Amos 3:1; Amos 4:1; Amos 5:1).

Inhabitants of the land With Joel, Judah, since all his interest seems to center there (see Joel 1:14; Joel 2:1; Joel 2:32; Joel 3:1; Joel 3:17, etc.).

Old men Not “elders” in an official sense, for, if mentioned at all by Joel, these do not appear until Joel 1:14; but those who have lived longest, who have experienced most, whose memories run back farthest, and whose testimony, therefore, will be of greatest weight in a case where appeal to past experiences is made.

This That is, a calamity such as the one described in Joel 1:4. The witnesses are asked whether such a calamity had been in their days, or whether the present generation had been told that there had ever been one like it.

In the days of your fathers “Among the people of the East memories of past times were handed down from generation to generation for periods which to us would seem incredible.” 3. The reply is not stated; the prophet continues, well aware that the answer could only be an emphatic No! He requests his hearers to hand down the story of the calamity from one generation to another as an event unique and unparalleled.

Tell The Hebrew verb comes from the same root from which is derived the word “book.” Here the verb is in the intensive form; it means more, therefore, than ordinary telling; it means the giving of careful, detailed information. This verse may be compared with Psalms 78:5-7; Deuteronomy 4:9; Deuteronomy 6:6-7; Deuteronomy 6:20-24; Deuteronomy 11:19, etc. The memory of the wonders of Jehovah’s love, his deliverances, his laws and statutes were to be handed down from father to son; here the memory of unparalleled woe and judgment; such story would not be without its lessons.