o be manifested in the Teacher. And this is as little applicable to a
plurality of human teachers, as to a single individual. It is _further_
proved by the fundamental passage in Deut. xviii. 18, 19, where,
indeed, the prophetic order is comprehended in an _ideal_ person. This,
however, has its reason only in the circumstance, that the idea of
prophetism was, at some future time, to find its realization in a
_real_ person. It is _further_ seen from the state of the Messianic
hopes at the time of Joel, and from the exceeding greatness of what is
here connected with the appearance of the Teacher of righteousness. In
addition to the allusion in Gen. xlix. 10 and Deut. xviii., the Messiah
appears as a Teacher in the Song of Solomon also, chap. viii. 2; and in
Is. lv. 4: "Behold, I give Him for a witness to the people, for a
prince and a lawgiver to the people;" as also in those passages of the
second part of Isaiah, in which He is declared to be the Prophet
[Greek: kat' exochen]. [Pg 331] When thus understood, the explanation
of the _ideal_ teacher may be preferable to the reference to Christ
exclusively. In favour of such a reference, there is the comprehensive
character and the _ideal_ import which are, in general, peculiar to the
prophecies of Joel. Such a reference is, moreover, favoured by the
expression itself, which points out only that which Christ has in
common with the former servants of God, viz., the teaching of
righteousness, and especially by a comparison with the fundamental
passages, Deut. xviii.

Footnote 1: The English version has "a teacher of righteousness," as a
marginal reading.--Tr.

Footnote 2: Since the appearance of the first edition of this work, it
has been acknowledged also by _Ewald_, _Meier_, and _Umbreit_.

Footnote 3: _Hitzig_ explains it: "In the first month." But altogether
apart from the consideration that it is only in a chronological
connection that "in the first" can stand for "in the first _month_,"
this explanation is objectionable on the ground that the early rain and
the latter rain cannot, by any means, belong to the same month. There
is the less difficulty in explaining it by "first," as [Hebrew:
brawvnh] undeniably occurs, several times, in this signification;
compare, _e.g._, Zech. xii. 7.

EXPOSITION OF CHAP. III. (II. 28-32.)

Ver. 1. "_And it shall come to pass, afterwards, I will pour out My
Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughter