rew: re] to the
adulterers, and for this reason:--that it is always Israel's love to
the idols that is spoken of, but never the love of the idols to Israel.
In the explanation given in the words immediately following, it is not
the idols that take the initiative; it is Israel who turns to other
gods.

Footnote 2: _J. D. Michaelis_ remarks: "In the present captivity they
do not, indeed, worship idols, but nevertheless they do not know, nor
worship, the true God, since they reject the Son, without whom the
Father will not be worshipped, John xvii. 3; 1 John ii. 23; 2 John 9."

Footnote 3: The "priest" here corresponds with the "Ephod" in Hosea.

Footnote 4: In 1 Kings xii. 16, also, David stands for the Davidic
dynasty.

[Pg 291]

THE PROPHET JOEL.

PRELIMINARY REMARKS.

The position which has been assigned to Joel in the collection of the
Minor Prophets, furnishes an external argument for the determination of
the time at which Joel wrote. There cannot be any doubt that the
Collectors were guided by a consideration of the chronology. The
circumstance, that they placed the prophecies of Joel just between the
two prophets who, according to the inscriptions and contents of their
prophecies, belonged to the time of Jeroboam and Uzziah, is thus
equivalent to an express testimony that he also lived, and exercised
his ministry, during that time.

By this testimony we have, in the meanwhile, obtained a firm
standing-point; and it must remain firm, as long as it is not
overthrown by other unquestionable facts, and the Collectors are not
convicted of an historical error. But, as regards the latter point,
there is the greater room for caution, because all the other statements
which they have made are, upon a careful examination, found to stand
the test; for none of the other Minor Prophets is found to occupy a
place to which he is not entitled. But no such facts are to be found;
on the contrary, everything serves to confirm their testimony.

It will not be possible to assign the prophecies of Joel to a later
period; for Amos places at the head of one of his prophecies one of the
utterances of Joel (compare Amos i. 2 with Joel iv. 16 [iii. 16]), as
the text, as it were, on which he is to comment. That we are not
thereby precluded from considering the two prophets as contemporaneous,
is shown by the altogether similar case of Isaiah, in his relation to
Micah. Isaiah