Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Joel 2:7
They shall run like mighty men; they shall climb the wall like men of war; and they shall march every one on his ways, and they shall not break their ranks:
7. They run like mighty men] i.e. like warriors, which is what the word ( gibbr) regularly denotes (2Sa 23:8; and comp. on Amo 2:14). To run means here to charge: cf. Psa 18:29; Job 15:26.
they climb the wall ] viz. of the city which they essay to enter.
they move along every one in his ways, and they entangle not their paths ] i.e. they all march straight forward into the city (Jos 6:5); none crosses the path of his neighbour, so as to impede his advance.
entangle ] can hardly be rendered otherwise than lend on pledge, figuratively for interchange, which however would be here a very forced metaphor. It is better to read either , which occurs Mic 7:3, and which, though the root is not otherwise known, may perhaps mean twist together, intertwine (cf. a rope,?something twisted), or, with Wellh., (and in Mic. ), which certainly would mean make crooked or twist (Ecc 7:13).
The steadiness and regularity which mark the advance of a body of locusts, when moving along the ground, has been often noticed: see below, pp. 88 90. Comp. Pro 30:27 “The locusts have no king; yet go they forth all of them in bands” (lit. divided).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
7 9. The attack, anticipated by the peoples with alarm ( Joe 2:6) now follows: the onward movement of the locusts is compared to that of a well-appointed army: nothing impedes their advance; there is no disorder in their ranks; they climb the highest walls, and penetrate into the strongest cities.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
They shall run like mighty men – They are on Gods message, and they linger not, but rejoice to run their course Psa 19:5. The height of walls cannot hinder the charge of the mighty; they enter not by the gates but over the walls , as of a city taken by assault. People can mount a wall few at a time; the locusts scale much more steadily, more compactly, more determinately, and irresistibly. The picture unites the countless multitude, condensed march, and entire security of the locust with the might of warriors.
They shall march every one on his ways – There is something awful and majestic in the well-ordered flight of the winged locusts, or their march while yet unwinged. This, says Jerome, we have seen lately in this province (Palestine). For when the hosts of locusts came, and filled the air between heaven and earth, they flew, by the disposal of God ordaining, in such order, as to hold each his place, like the minute pieces of mosaic, fixed in the pavement by the artists hands, so as not to incline to one another a hairs breadth. You may see the locust, says Theodoret, like enemies, both mounting the walls, and marching on the roads, and not allowing itself to be dispersed by any violence, but making the assault by a sort of concert. It is said, says Cyril, that they go in rank, and fly as in array, and are not severed from each other, but attend one on the other, like sisters, nature infusing into them this mutual love. : They seemed to be impelled by one common instinct, and moved in one body, which had the appearance of being organized by a leader. : There is something frightful in the appearance of these locusts proceeding in divisions, some of which are a league in length and 200 paces in breadth. : They continued their journey, as if a signal had been actually given them to march.
So, of the young brood it is related; : In June, their young broods begin gradually to make their appearance; no sooner were any of them hatched than they immediately collected themselves together, each of them forming a compact body of several hundred yards square, which, marching afterward directly forward, climbed over trees, walls and houses, ate up every plant in their way, and let nothing escape them. : They seemed to march in regular battalions, crawling over everything that lay in their passage, in one straight front. So the judgments of God hold on their course, each going straight to that person for whom God in the awful wisdom of His justice ordains it. No one judgment or chastisement comes by chance. Each is directed and adapted, weighed and measured, by Infinite Wisdom, and reaches just that soul, for which God appointed it, and no other, and strikes upon it with just that force which God ordains it. As we look on, Gods judgments are like a heavy sleet of arrows; yet as each arrow, shot truly, found the mark at which it was aimed, so, and much more, does each lesser or greater judgment, sent by God, reach the heart for which He sends it and pierces it just as deeply as He wills.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 7. Like mighty men-like men of war (and as horsemen, Joe 2:4)] The prophet does not say they are such, but they resemble. They are locusts; but in their operations they are LIKE the above.
They shall not break their ranks] See the account on Joe 2:2, from Dr. Shaw.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
They, locusts, and they who by the locusts are signified, viz. Chaldeans, Assyrians, or Babylonians,
shall run, with speed, fierceness, and irresistible power, against their enemies.
Mighty men; valiant and strong men, or giants.
They shall climb the wall; no walls of any fortified towns shall be high enough to keep them out. Strange locusts, that assault cities! but armed and commissioned of God, they shall vigorously act their part, and do what he appointeth and commandeth them to do.
Like men of war; who fear no power that from within the cities might oppose them, they shall valiantly and skilfully manage the assault.
They shall march every one on his ways, and they shall not break their ranks: naturalists testify the truth of this in the stories of these insects, and their marshalling of themselves, of which also see Pro 30:27; Nah 3:17. This skill in ordering, and steadiness in keeping order, like exactly trained soldiers, foretells the terror and strength both of the armies signified by these locusts, and of the locusts themselves. As these then did, so the Assyrians, Chaldeans, or Babylonians should proceed in arms against this people.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
7-9. Depicting the regularmilitary order of their advance, “One locust not turning anail’s breadth out of his own place in the march” [JEROME].Compare Pr 30:27, “Thelocusts have no king, yet go they forth all of them by bands.“
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
They shall run like mighty men,…. Like men of war, in a hostile way, as soldiers run upon their enemy with undaunted courage and bravery. Bochart from Pisidas describes the locusts’ manner of fighting, who says, they strike not standing, but running:
they shall climb the wall like men of war; scale the walls of cities as besiegers do; walls and bulwarks cannot keep them out; all places are accessible to them, walled cities, towns, yea, even houses, Ex 10:6;
and they shall march everyone on his ways; in his proper path, following one another, and keeping just distance:
and they shall not break their ranks; or “pervert their ways”, as the word signifies in the Arabic language, as Aben Ezra, Kimchi, and Ben Melech, observe; that is, decline not from their paths, as the Septuagint version; proceed in an orderly way, keep rank and file; so they are said to go forth in bands, Pr 30:27; and to encamp, Na 3:17. Jerom on the text relates what he saw with his own eyes:
“this we lately saw (says he) in this province (Palestine); for when swarms of locusts came, and filled the air between heaven and earth, they flew in such order, by the disposition and command of God, that they kept their place like chequered squares in a pavement fixed by the hands of artificers; so as not to decline a point, nor even I may say a nail’s breadth;”
they keep as exact order as if military discipline was known and observed by them. Some render it, “they shall not ask their way” n; being unconcerned about it, moving on in a direct line securely.
n “non interrogabunt [isti ab illo] de semitis suis”, some in Vatablus, and others in Kimchi and Abendana.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
In Joe 2:7-10 the comparison of the army of locusts to a well-equipped army is carried out still further; and, in the first place, by a description of the irresistible force of its advance. Joe 2:7. “They run like heroes, like warriors they climb the wall; every one goes on its way, and they do not change their paths. Joe 2:8. And they do not press one another, they go every one in his path; and they fall headlong through weapons, and do not cut themselves in pieces. Joe 2:9. They run about in the city, they run upon the wall, they climb into the houses, they come through the windows like a thief.” This description applies for the most part word for word to the advance of the locusts, as Jerome (in loc.) and Theodoret (on Joe 2:8) attest from their own observation.
(Note: Jerome says: “We saw ( al. heard) this lately in the province (Palestine). For when the swarms of locusts come and fill the whole atmosphere between the earth and sky, they fly in such order, according to the appointment of the commanding God, that they preserve an exact shape, just like the squares drawn upon a tesselated pavement, not diverging on either side by, so to speak, so much as a finger’s breadth. ‘And,’ as he (the prophet) interprets the metaphor, ‘through the windows they will fall, and not be destroyed.’ For there is no road impassable to locusts; they penetrate into fields, and crops, and trees, and cities, and houses, and even the recesses of the bed-chambers.” And Theodoret observes on Joe 2:8: “For you may see the grasshopper like a hostile army ascending the walls, and advancing along the roads, and not suffering any difficulty to disperse them, but steadily moving forward, as if according to some concerted plan.” And again, on Joe 2:9: “And this we have frequently seen done, not merely by hostile armies, but also by locusts, which not only when flying, but by creeping along the walls, pass through the windows into the houses themselves.”)
They run like heroes – namely, to the assault: referring to an attack, as in Job 15:26 and Psa 18:30, “as their nimbleness has already been noticed in Joe 2:4” (Hitzig). Their climbing the walls also points to an assault. Their irresistible march to the object of their attack is the next point described. No one comes in another’s way; they do not twist ( ) their path, i.e., do not diverge either to the right hand or to the left, so as to hinder one another. Even the force of arms cannot stop their advance. is not a missile, telum , missile (Ges. and others), but a weapon extended or held in front (Hitzig); and the word is not only applied to a sword (2Ch 23:10; Neh 4:11), but to weapons of defence (2Ch 32:5). , not “to wound themselves” (= ), but “to cut in pieces,” used here intransitively, to cut themselves in pieces. This does no doubt transcend the nature even of the locust; but it may be explained on the ground that they are represented as an invincible army of God.
(Note: The notion that these words refer to attempts to drive away the locusts by force of arms, in support of which Hitzig appeals to Liv. hist. xlii. 10, Plinii hist. n. xi. 29, and Hasselquist, Reise nach Pal. p. 225, is altogether inappropriate. All that Livy does is to speak of ingenti agmine hominum ad colligendas eas (locustas) coacto ; and Pliny merely says, Necare et in Syria militari imperio coguntur. And although Hasselquist says, Both in Asia and Europe they sometimes take the field against the locusts with all the equipments of war,” this statement is decidedly false so far as Europe is concerned. In Bessarabia (according to the accounts of eye-witnesses) they are merely in the habit of scaring away the swarms of locusts that come in clouds, by making a great noise with drums, kettles, hay-forks, and other noisy instruments, for the purpose of preventing them from settling on the ground, and so driving them further. Hass’s account of a pasha of Tripoli having sent 4000 soldiers against the insects only a few years ago, is far too indefinite to prove that they were driven away by the force of arms.)
On the other hand, the words of Joe 2:9 apply, so far as the first half is concerned, both to the locusts and to an army (cf. Isa 33:4; Nah 2:5); whereas the second half applies only to the former, of which Theodoret relates in the passage quoted just now, that he has frequently seen this occur (compare also Exo 10:6).
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
(7-9) They shall run lite mighty men.The onward irresistible march of the invaders is graphically described by the illustration of the advance of locusts. They appear on the mountains which environ the city, they mount the walls, they rush through the streets, they enter the houses, they are in possession of Jerusalem. Dr. Thomson (The Land and the Book, p. 416) describes the movements of a locust army in the following terms:Their number was astounding; the whole face of the mountain was black with them. On they came, like a living deluge. We dug trenches, and kindled fires, and beat and burned to death heaps upon heaps; but the effort was utterly useless. Wave after wave rolled up the mountain-side, and poured over rocks, walls, ditches, hedgesthose behind covering up and bridging over the masses already killed.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
7-10. The comparison with a well-equipped army is taken up again and carried further; the advance is irresistible; there is no confusion or disorder in their ranks; they climb the highest walls; they penetrate the inmost recesses of the houses.
They run To the assault; advance, charge (Psa 18:29; Job 15:26). There is no delay (Joe 2:4); if they have decided upon a point of attack they carry out their plan; nothing can impede their progress; walls they climb like men of war. They do not get into one another’s way, they advance straight ahead, without turning to the right or left. An admirable description of the advance of locusts (compare remark on Joe 2:4). Jerome says: “When the swarms of locusts come and fill the whole atmosphere between earth and sky, they fly, according to the appointment of the commanding God, in such order that they preserve an exact shape, just like the squares drawn upon a tessellated pavement, not diverging on either side by, so to speak, so much as a finger’s breadth. There is no road impassable to locusts; they penetrate into fields, and crops, and trees, and cities, and houses, and even the recesses of the bedchambers.” So also Theodoret: “You may see the locusts like a hostile army ascending the walls, and advancing the roads, not suffering any difficulty to disperse them, but steadily moving forward as if according to some concerted plan.”
And when they fall upon the sword, they shall not be wounded Better, R.V., “and they burst through the weapons, and break not off their course.” No resistance is effective; they throw themselves upon the weapons and pass on without being disturbed or confused. Some may be wounded and drop, but the great mass continues in regular order. This is a better interpretation than that implied in the translation, “They did not cut themselves to pieces” (Keil), or “without being wounded” (Von Orelli). The verse would seem to imply that the people were accustomed to meet the locusts with weapons to fight them off; and that is actually done, according to the statements of some travelers. “Both in Asia and Europe they sometimes take the field against the locusts with all the implements of war” (Hasselquist). “The guard of the Red Town attempted to stop their irruption into Transylvania by firing at them; and indeed when the balls and shot went through the swarm they gave way and divided; but having filled up their ranks in a moment they proceeded on their journey” (quoted by Pusey). Thomson also speaks of the impossibility of stopping their progress: “We dug trenches and kindled fires, and beat and burned to death heaps upon heaps, but the effort was utterly hopeless.” Livy and Pliny seem to have known of similar methods of fighting the locusts.
Sword R.V., “weapons”; Hebrews shelah; not the ordinary word for weapon, but one used only in late writings; it seems to have been a weapon that was extended or held in front.
Held back by nothing, the host (9) forces its way into the city.
They shall run to and fro in the city Hebrews shaqaq; literally, drive, impel to run, then, run hither and thither; here not, “they run to and fro in the city” after mastering it (A.V., Driver, Hitzig), but “they throw themselves upon the city” (Isa 33:4; Nah 2:4). Again they are successful; they run upon the wall, yea, they get into the houses themselves. On Joe 2:9 Theodoret makes this comment: “And this we have frequently seen done, not merely by hostile armies but also by locusts, which not only when flying but by creeping along the walls penetrate into dwellings by the light holes.” “During the great plague of locusts in 1865 many inhabitants of Nazareth were compelled to leave their homes” (Riehm).
Windows Glass was and still is exceedingly scarce in the Orient, therefore expensive and used but rarely for windows; the latter consist ordinarily of lattice work, and serve also as chimneys out of which smoke may escape; so it was quite easy for locusts to creep through.
Like a thief Would hardly be said of a hostile army, but is true of the locusts.
With Joe 2:10 a new start is made. The whole earth is terrified, for it becomes clear that the judgment is of unusual significance. The thought of the day of Jehovah becomes more prominent and influences the description to a large extent.
Before them The singular, as in Joe 2:6, while the verbs in the preceding verses referring to the locusts are in the plural; yet the pronoun refers undoubtedly to the swarm of locusts which are looked upon as a unit. The preposition is not the same as in Joe 2:6; in the latter causality is implied, here the phenomena spoken of may be regarded not as caused by the locusts, but simply accompanying them; it leaves it undecided whether the locusts of 2-9 or Jehovah (Joe 2:11) is the cause.
The earth shall quake the heavens shall tremble “It is not that the strength of the locusts is so great that it can move the heavens and shake the earth, but that, to those who suffer from such calamities, through the greatness of their own terror the heavens appear to shake and the earth to reel” (Jerome).
Shall be dark Heb, kadhar, “coal black”; not a particle of light is to be seen. The day of Jehovah is inaugurated by extraordinary phenomena in the sphere of nature (Joe 2:30-31; Joe 3:15; Isa 13:10; Isa 13:13; Amo 8:9). The locusts do darken the sky, but here the reference seems to be to something more we are in the sphere of the apocalyptic to the approach of Jehovah himself, before whom all nature stands in awe and terror. The thought of an actual earthquake, eclipse, or severe thunderstorm may have been in the mind of the prophet; but this is not certain, though the coming of Jehovah is often pictured in the imagery of a storm (Psa 18:7 ff.). The whole is a vivid picture of the terror that overcomes man and nature when it is discovered that Jehovah approaches for judgment. Jehovah is the leader of the hosts.
Utter his voice Of command; Hebrews nathan qol; a very common Old Testament expression to designate thunder. Only so can he make himself understood, because the camp is very great It stretches far into the distance, and the noise made by the locusts must be drowned; it is this vastness of the army also that makes it necessary to have a divine commander. The introduction of the next two clauses with “for” rather weakens the message of the prophet; they should be translated as exclamations (G.-K., 148d), emphasizing the vastness of Jehovah’s army: “Yea, strong is he that executeth his word” the army of locusts (2-9, 25), which carries out his command; “yea, the day of Jehovah.” Here again the day cannot be identified with the calamity already experienced; it is still in the future, though near at hand. Already the wonderful phenomena that announce the day are seen in the sky (Joe 2:31; Mal 4:5).
Who can abide Or, endure. No one can stand its terrors. The forerunner has exhausted all resources, all strength. Complete annihilation threatens, unless somehow the final blow can be turned aside.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Joe 2:7-8. They shall run, &c. Bochart again shews how exactly this description agrees with the locusts; first, They shall run. Now their manner of fighting is thus described; they strike or wound, not as they stand, but as they run. Secondly, They run as mighty men: what are more innumerable or strong than locusts, says St. Jerome, whom no human pains can resist? Thirdly, They shall march every one in his way, and not break their ranks: and in the next verse, Neither shall one thrust nor press his comrade. St. Jerome tells us, “I lately saw in this province, that when the swarms of locusts come, they fly in such exact order by the disposition and command of God, that every one keeps his place, like the squares in a chequered pavement, and does not vary from it so much as a point or a nail’s breadth.” The same is observed by other writers cited by Bochart: and what is farther remarkable, before the body of them come to any place, they send scouts and messengers as it were to view the ground, and measure it out for their use; as the same last-mentioned writer remarks from Sigibertus, concerning the locusts which destroyed France in the year 874. The meaning of the last clause in Joe 2:8. When they fall upon the sword, &c. is, that swords shall be no match for them: such being their natural lightness and hardness, that though they shall fall on them they shall not be wounded. See Rev 9:9 and Chandler.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Joe 2:7 They shall run like mighty men; they shall climb the wall like men of war; and they shall march every one on his ways, and they shall not break their ranks:
Ver. 7. They shall run like mighty men ] Horribiles, fortissimi ut gigantes. They shall strike terror into others, as in the former verse, but themselves, as giants and conquerors, shall overrun all with incredible swiftness and prowess. Strong soldiers have strong sinews, and thence their speedy marches and quick despatch. “Asahel was light of foot as a wild roe,” 2Sa 2:18 . Achilles is everywhere by Homer called swift-footed, . Alexander the Great, being asked how he so quickly conquered so many countries, answered, M , by my nimbleness. Caesar in omnia princeps, Caesar in all things first, saith Lucan, he passed the Alps, and was at Rome with a trice, as they say. His word was, Veni, vidi, vici, I no sooner came, but I overcame. He is said to have taken a thousand towns, conquered three hundred nations, took prisoner one million of men, and to have slain as many. What a deal was done by Joshua in a short space at the conquest of Canaan? Charles V, Emperor of Germany, is reported to have won in the Indies, by his captains and commanders there, twenty-eight kingdoms in twenty-eight battles. Bajazet, the great Turk, for his swiftness and fierceness, was surnamed Gilderun, or lightning. To such worthy warriors, ready and speedy, prompt and present, are these locusts, God’s armed soldiers, here compared. “They shall run like mighty men, they shall climb the wall like men of war,” that cannot be kept out, that will not be worsted.
They shall march every one (Heb., man) on his way] Though many, yet they shall not one hinder or hurt another, but hold a comely equipage, keep rank and file, observe the laws and rules of discipline, and so
“ Coniuneti pollent etiam vehementer inertes. ”
They go forth all of them by bands, or gathered together, saith Solomon, Pro 30:27 . So do those locusts in the Revelation, the Popish clergy under their king, the destroyer, Rev 9:11 . Locusts they are fitly called for their numerosity and voracity. The Jesuits alone have sometimes 200,000 scholars. And how they feed on the fat and drink the sweet where they swarm who knows not.
They shall not break their ranks
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
men. Heir plural of ‘enosh. App-14.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
They shall run: In their progress, says Dr. Shaw, “they kept their ranks like men of war; climbing over every tree or wall that was in their way. Nay, they entered into our very houses and bedchambers, like so many thieves. Every effort of the inhabitants to stop them was unavailing; the trenches they had dug were quickly filled up, and the fires they had kindled extinguished, by infinite swarms succeeding each other.” 2Sa 1:23, 2Sa 2:18, 2Sa 2:19, Psa 19:5, Isa 5:26-29
climb: Joe 2:9, 2Sa 5:8, Jer 5:10
they shall march: Pro 30:27
Reciprocal: 1Ch 12:36 – expert in war Isa 5:27 – shall be
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Joe 2:7. Not break their ranks de-notes the orderly conduct of the sol-diers of the king of Bablyon, Shall climb the wall refers to the ability of the soldiers to mount over the walls that were erected as a barrier against an attacking foe. These barricades were to be no effective hindrance to the success of the invading army.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Joe 2:7-8. They shall run like mighty men They shall proceed everywhere like stout and mighty men, who are afraid of nothing. The description here given agrees perfectly to locusts, as Bochart has shown. First, They shall run. Now their manner of fighting is thus described: They strike, or wound, not as they stand, but as they run. Secondly, They run as mighty men. What are more innumerable or strong than locusts, says St. Jerome, which no human pains can resist? Thirdly, They shall march every one in his way, and not break their ranks: and in the next verse, Neither shall one thrust or press his comrade. St. Jerome, in his notes on this place, observes, This we lately saw in our part of the country; for when swarms of locusts came and filled the lower region of the air, they flew in such order, by the divine appointment, and kept their places as exactly, as when several tiles, or party-coloured stones, are skilfully placed in a pavement, so as not to be a hairs breadth out of their several ranks. The same is observed by other writers cited by Bochart: and what is further remarkable, before the body of them come to any place, they send scouts and messengers, as it were, to view the ground, and measure it out for their use; as the same last-mentioned writer remarks from Sigibertus, concerning the locusts which destroyed France in the year 874. When they fall upon the sword they shall not be wounded By reason of their lightness and nimbleness, and the hardness and smoothness of the outward coat of their skin. It refers, says Newcome, to the scales with which locusts are covered as with a coat of mail. Most animals retreat at the sight of a man, but it is the reverse with locusts, for they will studiously attack. Where they collect in numbers, the inhabitants retire into their dwellings as fast as possible, lest by appearing abroad they might provoke their anger. They show no fear, and, from their slender shape, frequently elude the blow aimed at them.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
The enemy soldiers ran with great stamina and climbed over walls, as locusts do. They were very disciplined in their attack, each one staying in his proper position and not crowding his fellow soldiers (cf. Jos 6:5). Even when they broke through an obstacle they did not break ranks. They rushed on the city of Jerusalem, ran along its walls, and climbed into its houses like so many thieves. Again the comparison with locusts is striking (cf. Exo 10:5-6).