Joel 1:19

19 Lord, I am calling to you for help, because fire has burned up the open pastures, and flames have burned all the trees in 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 Though we planted fig seeds, they lie dry and dead in the dirt. The barns are empty and falling down. The storerooms for grain have been broken down, because the grain has dried up.

18 The animals are groaning! The herds of cattle wander around confused, because they have no grass to eat; even the flocks of sheep suffer.

19 Lord, I am calling to you for help, because fire has burned up the open pastures, and flames have burned all the trees in the field.

20 Wild animals also need your help. The streams of water have dried up, and fire has burned up the open pastures.