Joel 1:19

19 To thee, O Lord, will I cry: for fire has devoured the fair places of the wilderness, and a flame has burnt up all the trees of the field.

Joel 1:19 Meaning and Commentary

Joel 1:19

O Lord, to thee will I cry
Or pray, as the Targum; with great vehemency and earnestness, commiserating the case of man and beast: these are the words of the prophet, resolving to use his interest at the through of grace in this time of distress, whatever others did: for the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness;
or, "of the plain" ^F3 though in the wildernesses of Judea, there were pastures for cattle: Kimchi interprets them of the shepherds' tents or cotes, as the word ^F4 is sometimes used; which were will not to be pitched where there were pastures for their flocks: and so the Targum renders it, "the habitations of the wilderness"; these, whether pastures or habitations, or both, were destroyed by fire, the pastures by the locusts, as Kimchi; which, as Pliny ^F5 says, by touching burn the trees, herbs, and fruits of the earth; see ( Joel 2:3 ) ; or by the Assyrians or Chaldeans, who by fire and sword consumed all in their way; or by a dry burning blasting wind, as Lyra; and so the Targum interprets it of a strong east wind like fire: it seems rather to design extreme heat and excessive drought, which burn up all the produce of the earth: and the flame hath burnt all the trees of the field;
which may be understood of flashes of lightning, which are common in times of great heat and drought; see ( Psalms 83:14 ) .

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FOOTNOTES:

F3 (rbdm) "non tantum desertum significat sed et campum sativum", Oecolampadius. "A place of pasture for cattle", Ben Melech.
F4 (twan) "caulas", Piscator. So Ben Melech.
F5 Nat. Hist. l. 11. c. 29.

Joel 1:19 In-Context

17 The heifers have started at their mangers, the treasures are abolished, the wine-presses are broken down; for the corn is withered.

18 What shall we store up for ourselves? the herds of cattle have mourned, because they had no pasture; and the flocks of sheep have been utterly destroyed.

19 To thee, O Lord, will I cry: for fire has devoured the fair places of the wilderness, and a flame has burnt up all the trees of the field.

20 And the cattle of the field have looked up to thee: for the fountains of waters have been dried up, and fire has devoured the fair places of the wilderness.