GIOELE (Heb. Jô'el, “Jahweh is God”). — Prophet, son of Phatuel (1:1). Since in his book he speaks only of Judah, Jerusalem, and the Temple, it may be inferred that he exercised his ministry in Judah, perhaps in the capital itself.
Many exegetes (from Credner onward) assigned G. to the time of King Ioas (836–797); among more recent scholars, König and Theis did likewise. But the data supplied by the book favor the position of modern exegesis (from Merx onward), which places G.’s activity after the exile, between 500 and 400. Some place G. immediately after Malachia: in G., the priests appear as pious intercessors (1:13ff.; 2:15ff.). G. makes no mention of the Kingdom of Samaria, Damascus, Assyria, Babylon, the monarchy of Judah, or the sins of idolatry; he speaks only of priests; the people of Judah represent all Israel (2:17–27; 3:2–16 = Heb. chap. 4, as in the Paralipomeni); he alludes to the already accomplished ruin of Jerusalem, to Israel’s dispersion among the pagans, and to the occupation of the land by neighboring nations. G. depends on the earlier prophets (Driver), and particularly on Ezechiele (Merx, Scholtz). Judah’s enemies are the Phoenicians, Philistines, Edomites, and Egyptians (3 [Heb. 4], 4–8, 19; cf. Ez. 35–36; while vv. 9–17 recall Ez. 38–39, and V. 18 Ez. 47:1–12). We are therefore, it seems, after the return from exile.
In the Vulgate there are 3 chapters; in the Hebrew editions, however, there are 4: 2:28–32 are Heb. 3:1–5, and chap. 3 (Vulg.) is chap. 4 (Heb.).
The starting point of G.’s prophecy is a terrible invasion of locusts, which has devastated the land (1:1–12); the prophet urges repentance (1:13–20). In chap. 2 he takes up the same theme again; the scourge, described with vivid images and powerful metaphors, is regarded as a type of the “day of Jahweh” (2:1–11); G. again urges repentance (2:12–17). There follows the Lord’s response: the cessation of the scourge, the promise of great temporal blessings (2:18–27) and spiritual blessings (2:28–32; Heb. 3:1–5). Judah will be delivered from the enemies who will attempt to stifle it: their punishment and divine protection for Israel (3, Heb. 4).
The text is well preserved. The style is brilliant and generally pure. The literary unity of the book is recognized, despite the few attempts to the contrary (Rothstein, Marti, Sellin).
The central idea of G.’s prophecy is the assurance that the prophecies concerning the perpetuity of the new Israel, reborn after the exile, and its passage into the kingdom of the Messiah will be fulfilled.
The exegesis that saw in the description of the locusts only an allegory of the attacks of the enemies in chap. 3 (Heb. 4) (s. Girolamo, Calmet) was refuted long ago. Instead, some attempted an eschatological exegesis (Schegg, Merx, van Hoonacker, Tobac). The invasion of the locusts would not have actually occurred; we would have only a description of one of the future calamities that will announce the day of the Lord: the end of the world or something similar.
In reality, this is a historical description and a prophecy, with some of the descriptive elements that would later pass into the apocalyptic genre. “Day of Jahweh” is what the prophets call a particular manifestation of his justice; here, for example, against the nations that will attack Judah. It is the future of the new Israel (or of the theocracy) that the prophet announces, with its struggles and triumphs, against the background of the messianic kingdom. The celebrated oracle refers to the latter (2:28–32; Heb. 3:1–5), fulfilled at Pentecost (Act. 2:14–21; cf. Rom. 10:12ff.).
The natural prodigies described here are already traditional images (cf. Is. 13:10; Ez. 32:7ff.), and they indicate the grandeur of the divine intervention in the outpouring of the Spirit, without reference to real cosmic changes or to the end of the world. The name of the valley (cf. 3, Heb. 4), where God will judge the nations hostile to Judah, is symbolic (Iosaphat = “Jahweh judges,” cf. Ez. 39:11ff.). Only from the fourth century A.D. was this name given to the valley of the Cedron (H. Vincent, Jérusalem, II, Paris 1926, pp. 849–82).