Yoel 1:12

12 The gefen is dried up, and the teenah languisheth; the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, even all the trees of the sadeh, are withered; because sasson (joy) is withered away from the bnei Adam.

Yoel 1:12 Meaning and Commentary

Joel 1:12

The vine is dried up
Withered away, stripped of its leaves and fruits, and its sap and moisture gone: or, "is ashamed" F20; to see itself in this condition, and not answer the expectation of its proprietor and dresser: and the fig tree languisheth;
sickens and dies, through the bite of the locusts: the pomegranate tree:
whose fruit is delicious, and of which wine was made: the palm tree also; which bears dates: and the apple tree;
that looks so beautiful, when either in bloom, or laden with fruit, and whose fruit is very grateful to the palate; so that both what were for common use and necessary food, and what were for delight and pleasure, were destroyed by these noisome creatures: [even] all the trees of the field are withered;
for locusts not only devour the leaves and fruits of trees, but hurt the trees themselves; burn them up by touching them, and cause them to wither away and die, both by the saliva and dung, which they leave upon them, as Bochart, from various authors, has proved: because joy is withered away from the sons of men;
this is not given as a reason of the above trees dried up and withered, but of the lamentation of the vinedressers and husbandmen: or else the particle (yk) is merely expletive, or may be rendered, "therefore", or "truly", or "surely" F21, "joy is withered", or "ashamed"; it blushes to appear, as it used to do at the time of harvest; but now there was no harvest, and so no joy expressed, as usually was at such times; see ( Isaiah 9:3 ) .


FOOTNOTES:

F20 (hvybwh) "confusa est", V. L. "pudefacta est", Cocceius; "pudet", Drusius.
F21 (yk) "ideo", Grotius; "imo", Piscator; "sane", Mercer.

Yoel 1:12 In-Context

10 The sadeh (field) is wasted, the adamah (land) mourneth; for the grain is wasted; the new wine is dried up, the oil languisheth.
11 Be ye ashamed, O ye husbandmen [i.e., farmers]; wail, O ye vinedressers, for the wheat and for the barley; because the katzir (harvest) of the sadeh is perished.
12 The gefen is dried up, and the teenah languisheth; the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, even all the trees of the sadeh, are withered; because sasson (joy) is withered away from the bnei Adam.
13 Gird yourselves, and lament, ye kohanim; howl, ye mesharetim of the Mizbe’ach; come, lie all night in sackcloth, ye mesharetim of my G-d; for the minchah and the nesekh is withheld from the Beis of your G-d [i.e., the Beis Hamikdash].
14 Sanctify ye a tzom (fast), call an atzarah (solemn assembly), gather the zekenim and all the yoshvei ha’aretz into the Beis Hashem Eloheichem, and cry unto Hashem,
The Orthodox Jewish Bible fourth edition, OJB. Copyright 2002,2003,2008,2010, 2011 by Artists for Israel International. All rights reserved.