OF Joel and his time we know nothing but what is contained in his book. The heading of the book tells us that Joel was the son of pethuel. He lived and spoke in Jerusalem, at a period when the temple services were regularly maintained, when the Northern Kingdom did not come into the prophet's ken, and when the king of Judah demanded no mention; when Tyre, Sidon, and Philistia, Edom, and Egypt, were the national foes, and Assyria and Babylon were beyond the horizon. . . .
That there is no Northern Kingdom mentioned argues that there was none in existence, especially as Israel seems to be now synonymous with Judah. That priests and elders are mentioned, but not a king, is best explained by the circumstances after the Exile. The regularity of the temple service, the one sanctuary at Jerusalem, and the importance attached to the daily sacrifices, bring us into the atmosphere of the Book of Daniel. Further, we have here no denunciations of idolatry, such as flowed from the lips of the earlier prophets, and even of Ezekiel. It is fair to assume that the idols are at last put away, as they were after the Captivity. —From The Minor Prophets, from The New Century Bible.
