October 19: Prophet Joel celebratestranslated

The prophet Joel (whose name means Yahweh is God) was the son of Bathuel, and from his book it is concluded that he came from the tribe of Judah and was based in Jerusalem, probably in the 7th BC. century. The short book of the prophet Joel is an extended liturgy for a day of penance in the temple of Jerusalem without being certain that it reflects a performed service or is merely an imitation of some worship custom. It begins with an appeal to the various social classes for popular lamentation and a desperate description of the plight of the people due to the poor harvest for the whole of that year, which is attributed to the invasion of locusts. It is not absolutely certain that insects count as locusts. Possibly they are Assyrians, who are represented by the prophet Nahum, who preceded the prophet Joel, as a cloud of locusts attacking God's people.

The book of Joel in the narrower or Palestinian-Judaic canon is in the second place among the Prophets, while in the wider-Alexandrian canon (translation of O') it is in the fourth place among the prophets...