Joel 2:10

10 The earth quakes as they advance, and the heavens tremble. The sun and moon grow dark, and the stars no longer shine.

Joel 2:10 Meaning and Commentary

Joel 2:10

The earth shall quake before them
The inhabitants of it, because of the desolating judgments they bring with them, and those enemies that are signified by them: the heavens shall tremble;
being obscured by them: the sun and moon shall be dark;
the locusts sometimes come in such large numbers as to intercept the rays of the sun. Pliny ^F20 says they sometimes darken it; and though some thought they did not fly in the night, because of the cold; this he observes is owing to their ignorance, not considering that they pass over wide seas to distant countries; and this will account for it how the moon also may be darkened by them, and the stars, as follows: and the stars shall withdraw their shining;
though all this may be understood in a figurative sense of the great consternation that all sorts of persons should be in at such calamities coming upon the land, either by locusts, or by enemies; as the king, queen, nobles, and the common people of the land, signified by sun, moon, and stars, heaven and earth.

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FOOTNOTES:

F20 Ibid. (Nat. Hist. l. 11. c. 29.)

Joel 2:10 In-Context

8 They never jostle each other; each moves in exactly the right position. They break through defenses without missing a step.

9 They swarm over the city and run along its walls. They enter all the houses, climbing like thieves through the windows.

10 The earth quakes as they advance, and the heavens tremble. The sun and moon grow dark, and the stars no longer shine.

11 The LORD is at the head of the column. He leads them with a shout. This is his mighty army, and they follow his orders. The day of the LORD is an awesome, terrible thing. Who can possibly survive?

12 That is why the LORD says, “Turn to me now, while there is time. Give me your hearts. Come with fasting, weeping, and mourning.