The date of Joel has been debated among scholars for centuries now, and no definite answer has been given even today as to when the date of Joel truly is. Parallel passages and the Historical facts of Joel will hopefully bring to light the date in when Joel was written. Based on the evidence, the Post-Exilic dating of Joel makes the most sense in contrast to the evidence at hand. 

 

Historical facts:

 

The historical factor indicated by Joel’s writing is key in figuring out the most likely date for Joel’s writings.

 

1. The Northern Kingdom -Israel- is not mentioned in Joel. Israel had become a synonym for Judah (Joel 2:27; 3:16). This is natural in a post-exilic period as Israel had fallen and serves as a difficulty for someone who favors an early date.

 

2. The “children of Javan” or “Greeks” in Joel 3:6 refutes any date older than the 8th Century B.C. as the civilization of Ancient Greece emerged into the light of world history in the 8th century B.C. (See Ezekiel 27:13).

 

3. Joel did not allude to kings or princes, although he enumerates various classes of people (farmers, elders, and priests, etc.), led to the idea by those who favor a pre-exilic date that Joel belonged to the first period of Joash’s reign, when the monarchy was held in tutelage by the priesthood. However, the silence accords equally well with the known facts of the post-exilic period, and the mention of elders favor a date after Joash.

 

4 Joel pictures Israel scattered among the nations, and restoring the captivity of Judah (Joel 3:1-2). Even advocates of the early dates freely admit that this is more natural in a later period of history than an early period. 

 

5. Joel shows the importance of meat and drink offerings, the failing of this was the condition of the nation. This condition existed prominently in the post-exilic period (See Joel 1:9; Malachi 3:10, Nehemiah 10:37-39). The advocates of an early date attribute this condition during the regency of Jehoiada. Perhaps it is impossible to say that priests, temple, and offerings did not hold such a commanding position for a few brief years. Yet, this hardly can be called a reasonable conjecture. This condition is known to exist in the post-exilic period.

 

6. Joel prophesied when a temple was standing, so, if Joel is post-exilic, he would have to be placed after Haggai and Zechariah after the completion of the Second Temple. Likely the walls of Jerusalem were finished (See Joel 2:9), in which case the date is after Nehemiah.

 

7. Joel's reference to Sidon as yet to be judged (Joel 3:4) argues for a time before 345 B.C., when Artaxerxes III Ochus destroyed the city and sold it’s inhabitants into slavery. 

 

8. F.R. Stephenson uses Astronomy to support a post-exilic date for Joel. Stephenson assumes that Joel 2:31 and 3:15, which mentions the darkening of the sun, referred to an eclipse that had taken place and found there was an eclipse in 402 B.C. It needs to be noted, however, that Joel predicts the darkening of the sun as a future sign of the day of the Lord. Therefore we cannot be sure that Joel was directly influenced by an eclipse he saw himself.

 

9. J.M. Myers added Archaeological evidence to determining the date of Joel and found that it should be unnecessary to say, without the benefit of seeing Myer’s evidence, that the selling of the Jews to the Greek (3:6) was unlikely before the fourth century “when Greek contact with Palestine began”.

 

10. The word “weapon” used by Joel, in Joel 2:8, is a late word used elsewhere in 2 Chronicles 23:10 and Nehemiah 4:7, 23.

 

Parallel Passages:

 

Parallel Passages are often used by advocates for an early date as proof of a pre-exilic period as they believe there are only parallel passages for a pre-exilic period. However, a closer examination of the passages can actually support a post-exilic date.

 

• Joel 1:15~Amos 4:9; Isaiah 13:6; Zechariah 14:1
• Joel 2:3~Isaiah 51:3; Ezekiel 38:35
• Joel 2:10~Isaiah 13:10
• Joel 2:11~Malachi 3:2
• Joel 2:28~Ezekiel 39:29
• Joel 2:31~Malachi 4:5
• Joel 2:32~ Obadiah 17
• Joel 3:10~Isaiah 2:4; Micah 4:3
• Joel 3:16~Isaiah 13:13; Amos 1:2
• Joel 3:18~Amos 9:13

 

Variations of “and you shall know that I am the Lord your God” occur 50 times in Ezekiel, and therefore Joel 3:17 is probably the borrower.

 

The Conclusion reached by G.B. Gray. in his study “Parallel Passages in Joel, and their Bearing on the Date” stated that, “Joel shows dependence upon the early prophets rather than early prophets on Joel.”

 

Problems with a pre-exilic dating of Joel: 

 

1. The foriegn nations mentioned (Phoenicians, Philistines, Egyptians, Edomites, Greeks, and Sabeans) do not include the Assyrians or the Chaldeans which pre-exilic prophets mention (See Joel 3:6, 8, 19). D. Deere observes that Phoenicia and Philistia were pre-exilic enemies of Judah, but, it should be noted, they were also post-exilic enemies.

 

2. Worship of the god Baal, which was predominant in the pre-exilic period, is not mentioned in Joel. If Joel is a pre-exilic prophet it is mysterious as to why he never mentioned the problem of Baal worship. However, M. Bic uses Ugaritic parallels to support dating Joel in the time of Joash. He interprets Joel’s prophecy as a polemic against Baalism. He sees, in Joel 1:8, a reference to Anat weeping for the dead Baal, and in Joel 2:9 a reference to the Ugaritic myth of Mot entering the temple of Baal. The context of the first passage lists those who mourn the locust plague, and the context of the second is a description of the coming of the locusts to the city. These contexts hardly prepare for mythological references. If the book is a polemic against Baalism, one would expect clear references to Baal, to idols, to idolatrous altars, to the high places, to idolatrous rites, or to idol priests. These features of idolatry are clearly denounced by pre-exilic prophets (e.g., Hosea 2:8; 4:13; 9:10; Jeremiah 2:8; 7:9; 19:5), and the absence of such denunciations is a probable indication of origin after the exile, when idolatry had practically ceased among the Jews.

 

3. If Joel is pre-exilic, the fact that he doesn’t denounce more wrong is striking. The great sins that happened in Amos, Hosea, and Micah’s day apparently did not exist in Joel’s day (See Hosea 6:8; Micah 3:7; Amos 5:21-25; Isaiah 1:11). Some color may be given to the claim for the early date by assuming that this would be a characteristic of the time before the great prophetic insistence upon justice and mercy rather than sacrifice. That seems to have been a new idea in the time of Amos. And, it might be that before such a conception had arisen. On the other hand, the fact Joel does not attack unrighteous conduct toward one’s fellow-men would be very natural in the post-exilic period.

 

4. Joel finds nothing to condemn in the priests and existing ritual. To Joel, the cessation of the ritual was equal to a break between land and Yahweh, a view which is unlike all the prophets down to Jeremiah. It is only in Ezekiel, Haggai, and Zechariah that we find other prophets attributing such importance to the temple. This is natural on the supposition of the late date; but if Joel was early, we must suppose that in the ninth century the priestly and prophetic religion were at one, and the distinction between the two, which was conspicuous from the time of Amos and Micah to that of Jeremiah, arose in the years between Joash in the ninth century and Amos and Micah in the eighth. The temple (Joel 1:9, 13, 14, 16; 2:17; 3:5) and its ritual (Joel 1:9, 13; 2:14) are regarded as very important elements of religion, in contrast to pre-exilic prophets who criticized ritualism. 

 

5. In Joel’s picture of the ideal future, there are elements common to nearly all the prophets, but there is at least one conception, which, if Joel was early, seems to have disappeared from the prophetic teaching for around two hundred years. It then appears again in Zephaniah, but in fullness only in Ezekiel and Zechariah 14. It’s difficult to suppose that Joel originated in the ninth century. The ideal picture of the gathering of the nations against Judah, there to be judged by Yahweh, and that this dropped out of the prophetic anticipation for a long time, although successive prophets predicted bitter ruin to the enemies of Israel. If Joel was early, we should expect them to have adopted this picture, since they did not hesitate to adopt his ideas and even his language. 

 

6. J. Ridderbos argues for Joel to be placed about 830 B.C. He sees the background of Joel 3:19 as Shishak’s invasion (1 Kings 14:25) and in Edom’s revolt against Joram (2 Kings 8:20). However, since the Egyptians and Edomite hostility to the Israelites could be remembered after the exile, and actually continued after the exile, it is therefore no proof of a pre-exilic date. If Joel had prophesied about 830 B.C., a reference to the High Priest Jehoiada would be expected, since he was even more important than Joshua mentioned in Haggai 1:1, 12, 14, and Zechariah 3:1-8. J. Ridderbos rightly recognizes that 3:2-3 sounds like the destruction of Jerusalem. He identifies the attackers as the Chaldeans or (if it's predictive) the Romans. He suggests the passage may be predictive or a later addition. However, a simpler solution is to understand the passage as referring to the capture of Jerusalem in 587 B.C., which, if Joel was post-exilic, would have already taken place when Joel prophesied.

 

7. J. Steinman argues for a date around 600 B.C. Steinmann points out that Joel's phrase, "the day of Yahweh" (1: 15; 2: I, 11, 31 [3: 4]; 3 [4]: 14), also occurs in pre-exilic Zephaniah and Jeremiah. Advocates of a post-exilic date can point out that the expression also occurs in post-exilic Zech 14: 1, and that "the day" for the time of judgment is often found in Zechariah and Malachi. Steinmann frankly admits that 3:I, 3, 7 must come after the fall of Jerusalem, but he thinks that these verses are later additions to an essentially pre-exilic Joel. But, it is difficult to take these verses away from their context with verses 2, 6, and 17. which also imply the fall of Jerusalem. It is simpler to leave these verses in place and recognize that the prophecy is post-exilic. 

 

8. C. A. Keller places the ministry of Joel between 630 and 600 B.C., and he adduces careful and comprehensive arguments. Because no mighty empire is mentioned, Keller places 3:1-8 after the decline of Assyria and before the rise of Babylonia and Persia-that is, between 630 and 625 B.C. An advocate of a post-exilic date could point out that the dominant Persian empire is not mentioned in post-exilic Malachi, except by implication in the reference to the governor (MalI: 8), and Joel may come from the same period of benevolent Persian administration. Keller associates 3 [4]: 19 with Pharaoh Neco's invasion of Palestine and killing of Josiah in 609 B.C. It may well be that this Egyptian invasion was the attack or one of the attacks referred to by the prophet, but it cannot be assumed that the prophecy was delivered immediately after the attack. The people of the Near East have long historical memories. Keller interprets 3:1-3 as referring to raids by the Philistines and Phoenicians. However, the scattering of the Jews and the dividing of their land imply something more serious than raids. Furthermore, Joel does not accuse the Philistines and the Phoenicians of an attack on Judah, but only of receiving plunder and selling Jewish slaves (3:5-6).

 

9. W. Rudolph argues for a date around 597 B.C. With Rudolph's dating, it is strange that Joel does not specifically mention the Chaldeans, as Habakkuk, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel do. Rudolph argues that Joel would have referred to the destruction of the Temple if this event connected with the capture of Jerusalem in 587 B.C. had already taken place. Joel 3:5 seems to imply that the Temple had been looted, and, therefore, presumably destroyed. Rudolph thinks that Joel 2: 11, 31 precede the parallels in Mal 3: 2; 4: 5, but recently G. F. Wood has argued to the contrary.

 

Conclusion:

 

Although this study does not confirm that Joel prophesied post-exile, it is more likely than a pre-exilic date based on the historical facts, parallel passages, and problems with a pre-exilic date.

 

Sources:

 

Thompson, John Alexander. The Date of Joel. American Bible Society. BiblicalStudies.org.uk, https://biblicalstudies.org.uk/pdf/myers/thompson.pdf.

 

“The Date of the Book of Joel.” Journal of Biblical Literature, vol. 85, no. 1, 1966, pp. 29–40. JSTOR, https://www.jstor.org/stable/3268873.

 

Davidson, A. B. “The Parallel Passages in ‘Joel’ in Their Bearing on the Question of Date.” The Expositor, 4th series, vol. 8, 1888, pp. 208–213. BiblicalStudies.org.uk, https://biblicalstudies.org.uk/pdf/expositor/series4/08-208.pdf.