Joel 2:22
in Joel 2Do not be afraid, O beasts of the field, for the open pastures have turned green, the trees bear their fruit, and the fig tree and vine yield their best.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Be not afraid, ye beasts of the field; for the pastures of the wilderness do spring, for the tree beareth its fruit, the fig-tree and the vine do yield their strength.
KJV
Be not afraid, ye beasts of the field: for the pastures of the wilderness do spring, for the tree beareth her fruit, the fig tree and the vine do yield their strength.
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This verse in Joel 2
Commentary
12 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
As before (Joe 1:18, 20) he represented the beasts as groaning and crying for want of food in the "pastures," so now he reassures them by the promise of springing pastures.
This site's exposition
Do not be afraid, O land
on Joel 2:21-24
The words "Do not be afraid, O land" turn the address from the people to the land itself. Verse 23 promises "both autumn and spring rains", the rain for sowing and the rain for ripening together. "The threshing floors will be full of grain" answers the losses of 1:10.
This site's exposition
Do not be afraid, O beasts of the field
The beasts that groaned at 1:18 and 1:20 are now comforted. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown note the reversal, the pastures they lacked springing green again. The trees that withered at 1:12 bear fruit once more.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
David said that "the Lord would reign from the tree." Elsewhere too the prophet predicts the fruit of this tree, saying, "The earth has given its blessings"—of course that virgin earth, not yet irrigated with rains or fertilized by showers, out of which humanity was of old first formed, out of which now Christ through the flesh has been born of a virgin. "And the tree bears its fruit"—not that tree in paradise, which yielded death to the first humans, but the tree of the passion of Christ, whence life, hanging, you did not believe!
For the fig tree, on account of its sweetness and richness, represents the delights of humankind, which they had in paradise before the Fall. Indeed, not rarely, as we shall afterwards show, the Holy Spirit takes the fruit of the fig tree as an emblem of goodness. But the vine, on account of the gladness produced by wine and the joy of those who were saved from wrath and from deluge, signifies the change produced from fear and anxiety into joy. Moreover, the olive, on account of the oil which it produces, indicates the compassion of God, who again, after the deluge, bore patiently when people turned aside to ungodliness, so that he gave them the law and manifested himself to some, and nourished by oil the light of virtue, now almost extinguished.
(Verse 22 onwards) Do not be afraid, O land; rejoice and be glad, for the Lord has done great things. Do not fear, you animals of the field, for the pastures in the wilderness are becoming green. The trees are bearing their fruit; the fig tree and the vine yield their riches. Be glad, O children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God, for he has given you the autumn rains for your vindication. He sends you abundant showers, both autumn and spring rains, as before.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
) that the pastures of the wilderness, the pastures which the locusts had left as bare as the wilderness, shall again spring and the trees shall again bear their fruit, particularly the fig-tree and the vine. But, when we see how the country is wasted, we are tempted to say, Can these dry bones live?
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Be not afraid, ye beasts of the field,....
4 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
A prediction of the setting up of the kingdom of the Messiah in the world, by the pouring out of the Spirit in the latter days,
The promises of corn, and wine, and oil, in the foregoing verses , would be very acceptable to a wasted country; but here we are taught that we must not rest in those things. God has reserved some better things for us, and these verses have reference to those better things, both the kingdom of grace and the kingdom of glory, with the happiness of true believers in both.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
In an ascending gradation, the land destroyed by the enemy, the beasts of the field, and the children of Zion, the land's inhabitants, are addressed, the former two by personification.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The reversal of the whole former sentence is continued up to man. The beasts of the field “groaned, were perplexed, cried” unto God; now they are bidden, “be not afraid;” before, “the pastures of the wilderness were devoured by fire;” now, they “spring” with fresh tender life; before, “the fig tree” was “withered, the vine languished;” now, they should “yield their strength, put out their full” vigor. For God was reconciled to His people; and all things served them, serving Him.
The words behind it
16 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אַל־ | ʾal- | may not | H408 → | 724 times |
| תִּֽירְאוּ֙ | tireu | you fear | H3372 → | 315 times |
| בַּהֲמ֣וֹת | bahamot | O animals of | H929 → | 190 times |
| שָׂדַ֔י | sadai | [the] field | H7704 → | 334 times |
| כִּ֥י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| דָשְׁא֖וּ | dasheu | they are green | H1876 → | |
| נְא֣וֹת | neot | [the] pastures of | H4999 → | 12 times |
| מִדְבָּ֑ר | midbar | [the] wilderness | H4057 → | 270 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| עֵץ֙ | ʾetz | [the] tree[s] | H6086 → | 328 times |
| נָשָׂ֣א | nasa' | it has borne | H5375 → | |
| פִרְי֔וֹ | firyo | fruit its | H6529 → | |
| תְּאֵנָ֥ה | teenah | [the] fig tree | H8384 → | 39 times |
| וָגֶ֖פֶן | vagefen | and [the] vine | H1612 → | 55 times |
| נָתְנ֥וּ | natenu | they have given | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| חֵילָֽם׃ | cheilam | strength their | H2428 → | 246 times |
אַל־may not
ʾal-H408 →724 times
תִּֽירְאוּ֙you fear
tireuH3372 →315 times
בַּהֲמ֣וֹתO animals of
bahamotH929 →190 times
שָׂדַ֔י[the] field
sadaiH7704 →334 times
כִּ֥יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
דָשְׁא֖וּthey are green
dasheuH1876 →
נְא֣וֹת[the] pastures of
neotH4999 →12 times
מִדְבָּ֑ר[the] wilderness
midbarH4057 →270 times
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
עֵץ֙[the] tree[s]
ʾetzH6086 →328 times
נָשָׂ֣אit has borne
nasa'H5375 →
פִרְי֔וֹfruit its
firyoH6529 →
תְּאֵנָ֥ה[the] fig tree
teenahH8384 →39 times
וָגֶ֖פֶןand [the] vine
vagefenH1612 →55 times
נָתְנ֥וּthey have given
natenuH5414 →2011 times
חֵילָֽם׃strength their
cheilamH2428 →246 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 67:6The earth has yielded its harvest; God, our God, blesses us.
it leads to
- Leviticus 26:4
I will give you rains in their season, and the land will yield its produce, and the trees of the field will bear their fruit.
- Exodus 3:15
God also told Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’ This is My…
- Psalms 85:9–12
Surely His salvation is near to those who fear Him, that His glory may dwell in our land.
- Leviticus 26:4
Through
Zechariah 8:12“For the seed will be prosperous, the vine will yield its fruit, the ground will yield its produce, and the skies will give their dew. To the remnant of this people I will give…
it leads to
- Leviticus 26:4–5
I will give you rains in their season, and the land will yield its produce, and the trees of the field will bear their fruit.
- Deuteronomy 33:13
Concerning Joseph he said: “May his land be blessed by the LORD with the precious dew from heaven above and the deep waters that lie beneath,
- Genesis 27:28
May God give to you the dew of heaven and the richness of the earth—an abundance of grain and new wine.
- Matthew 6:33
But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.
- Leviticus 26:4–5
Through
Psalms 65:12The pastures of the wilderness overflow; the hills are robed with joy.
it leads to
- Job 38:26–27
to bring rain on a barren land, on a desert where no man lives,
- Job 38:26–27
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies23
On this chapter
About Joel
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Joel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Methodius of Olympus, BANQUET OF THE TEN VIRGINS 10:2 and Tertullian, ANSWER TO THE JEWS 12.