Joel 1:19

19 ¹To You, O LORD, I cry; For ²fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness And the flame has burned up all the trees of the field.

Joel 1:19 Meaning and Commentary

Joel 1:19

O Lord, to thee will I cry
Or pray, as the Targum; with great vehemency and earnestness, commiserating the case of man and beast: these are the words of the prophet, resolving to use his interest at the through of grace in this time of distress, whatever others did: for the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness;
or, "of the plain" ^F3 though in the wildernesses of Judea, there were pastures for cattle: Kimchi interprets them of the shepherds' tents or cotes, as the word ^F4 is sometimes used; which were will not to be pitched where there were pastures for their flocks: and so the Targum renders it, "the habitations of the wilderness"; these, whether pastures or habitations, or both, were destroyed by fire, the pastures by the locusts, as Kimchi; which, as Pliny ^F5 says, by touching burn the trees, herbs, and fruits of the earth; see ( Joel 2:3 ) ; or by the Assyrians or Chaldeans, who by fire and sword consumed all in their way; or by a dry burning blasting wind, as Lyra; and so the Targum interprets it of a strong east wind like fire: it seems rather to design extreme heat and excessive drought, which burn up all the produce of the earth: and the flame hath burnt all the trees of the field;
which may be understood of flashes of lightning, which are common in times of great heat and drought; see ( Psalms 83:14 ) .

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FOOTNOTES:

F3 (rbdm) "non tantum desertum significat sed et campum sativum", Oecolampadius. "A place of pasture for cattle", Ben Melech.
F4 (twan) "caulas", Piscator. So Ben Melech.
F5 Nat. Hist. l. 11. c. 29.

Joel 1:19 In-Context

17 The seeds shrivel under their clods; The storehouses are desolate, The barns are torn down, For the grain is dried up.

18 How the beasts groan! The herds of cattle wander aimlessly Because there is no pasture for them; Even the flocks of sheep suffer.

19 To You, O LORD , I cry; For fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness And the flame has burned up all the trees of the field.

20 Even the beasts of the field pant for You; For the water brooks are dried up And fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness.

Cross References

• 1. Psalms 50:15; Micah 7:7
• 2. Jeremiah 9:10; Amos 7:4