Joel.
Joel.
§ 157. Joel. Some translate 
as “beginning,” others as “the descent of the Lord.” He was born and buried in Canaanite land, in the district of Beth-horon, the son of Pethuel (
), which they translate as “the breadth” or “entry of the Lord” or “God who opens.” He was of the tribe of Reuben. Because he makes no mention at all of Israel and the ten tribes, it is assumed from this that whatever the prophet says is related to the kingdom of Judah and Jerusalem. Jerome claims that he prophesied at the same time and under the same kings as did Hosea. There are some who believe that he followed Isaiah and Hosea, who foretold the devastation of the kingdom of Judah at the hands of the Babylonians, and that he began to prophesy, after the devastation of the kingdom of Israel that Hosea predicted, concerning the kingdom of Judah that would soon be destroyed by the Babylonians. All the circumstances of time show that he prophesied at the time of King Hezekiah.
The book has three chapters, which contain partly an exhortation to repentance and partly the comfort offered to those who repent.